The Blood Trials (The Blood Gift Duology, #1)

by N.E. Davenport

Blending fantasy and science fiction, N.E. Davenport's fast-paced, action-packed debut kicks off a duology on loyalty and rebellion, in which a young Black woman must survive deadly trials in a racist and misogynistic society to become an elite warrior.

Perfect for fans of RED RISING and AURORA RISING

It's all about blood.

Blood spilled long ago between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor, ending all blood magic.

Now there is peace in the Republic - but there is also a strict class system, misogyny, and racism. Her world is not perfect, but Ikenna survived in it. Until now.

With the murder of her grandfather, Ikenna spirals out of control. Though she is an initiate for the Republic's deadly elite military force, Ikenna has a secret only her grandfather knew: she possesses the blood magic of the Republic's enemies.

Ikenna throws herself into the gladiatorial war games at the heart of her martial world: trials that will lead her closer to his killers. Under the spotlight, she subjects herself to abuse from a society that does not value her, that cherishes lineage over talent - all while hiding gifts that, if revealed, would lead to execution or worse. Ikenna is willing to risk it all to find out who killed her grandfather...

So she can end them.

Magic, technology, and rebellion meet in this stunning debut - part one of a duology that sees a young Black woman rise through misogyny and racism to become an elite warrior.

• ISBN13: 9780008551025
• Publish Date: 14 April 2022 (first published 5 April 2022)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: HarperVoyager
• Edition: Illumicrate Exclusive
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 464
• Language: English
• Special: Sprayed Edges

Reviews

[lessthelonely]

I'm going to be honest, I expected more from this book.

I think that what this book had quite a few great parts to it: Ikenna's characterization is great, there are a lot of great ideas put in place here (supernatural, technology, et cetera), the exploration of grief and the murder-mystery. However, I think that this was a mix of ideas that, by the time I finished the book, felt half-baked.

I could see many of the "reveals" coming from a mile away, and not in a way that is enticing, but merely saddening, because there was so much of the book to come. The only way to get away with being a little bit predictable is to tighten the readers' belts and make sure those reveals happen fast. However, that didn't happen, and the book's quite long arc on the trials dragged on for a while, and by the time we reach the fourth trial and you think you're in for a treat, it's not nearly as engaging as you'd think (in my opinion, Trial 3 should've been Trial 4).

I, however, enjoyed this book. But it felt like it tried to do too much: romance, "magic", technology, political intrigue, murder-mystery... but none of these parts were given the extra mile. Most of them felt like plot points, but especially the romance.

However, I very much enjoyed how adult the book managed to become. There was violence in this book I did not anticipate and I ate it the fuck up. So yeah! 4/5 stars.