Item: The Queen of Blood
Rating: 3.00
Author: kait

by Sarah Beth Durst

Set in the magical world of Renthia, The Queen of Blood is Sarah Beth Durst’s ambitious entry into adult epic fantasy. With the danger of Peter Brett’s The Warded Man, heart of Naomi Novik’s Uprooted, and lyricism of Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind, this is the first chapter in a series destined to be a classic.

Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . .

But the spirits that reside within this land want to rid it of all humans. One woman stands between these malevolent spirits and the end of humankind: the queen. She alone has the magical power to prevent the spirits from destroying every man, woman, and child. But queens are still just human, and no matter how strong or good, the threat of danger always looms.

With the position so precarious, young women are chosen to train as heirs. Daleina, a seemingly quiet academy student, is under no illusions as to her claim to the throne, but simply wants to right the wrongs that have befallen the land. Ven, a disgraced champion, has spent his exile secretly fighting against the growing number of spirit attacks. Joining forces, these daring partners embark on a treacherous quest to find the source of the spirits’ restlessness—a journey that will test their courage and trust, and force them to stand against both enemies and friends to save their land . . . before it’s bathed in blood.

This was good but not a favourite, though I keep thinking about it because it was really interesting to pull apart. The plot and worldbuilding was 100% up my alley but I just never quite fully connected with Daleina.

I was very conscious it was a story and I wasn’t immersed—it made me think a lot about third person though and also how to write an effective and believable romantic relationship. Not that Durst did it wrong, just there were some holes in it I think and I wasn’t fully invested.

Ultimately I guess that’s my criticism—I never felt invested in this story. Because objectively, there were things I loved about it. I really liked how Durst represented the different kinds of relationships girls can have in their school years, especially with the not-so-nice top-of-the-class girl. I LOVE training montages so that part of the book really appealed to me. I loved the concept of a “tree people” and how that would play out logistically. I thought Daleina’s emotional arc was really well considered. Daleina’s struggle of leaving home and then coming back to it and not belonging is one that I think many people will relate to. The political aspects of the plot were interesting and I’m super curious to see what will happen in [b:The Reluctant Queen|32600602|The Reluctant Queen (The Queens of Renthia, #2)|Sarah Beth Durst|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481737807s/32600602.jpg|44737355].

All that being said, I just did NOT connect. I think it was something about the way she wrote in third person. I’d like to go back and dig into the whys and hows of that a little more, but I just can’t put my finger on it for now.

The Queen of Blood (Queens of Renthia, #1)

by Sarah Beth Durst

Reviewed by Kait ✨ on Dec 26, 2016

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