Red Blood by Kaitlyn Legaspi

Red Blood (Card Holders, #1)

by Kaitlyn Legaspi

There are two kinds of people in this world: the bound and unbound. The unbound are born with unnatural, inhuman abilities. While having powers may come with its perks, to be unbound is to be cursed. Unbound individuals are treated as freaks, yet despite this, they hold the highest positions in the government: the Card Holders of the fifty-two domains.

When her domain's Card Holder dies, unbound seventeen-year-old Neela Blydes is forced to participate in a tournament to find the unbound most worthy of leading the Queen of Hearts Domain. But the tournament isn't as glorious as it seems. It's a tournament that herds unique unbound called Specialists into deadly combat, a tournament where winning by default is nonexistent and killing is permitted.

As Neela progresses through the rounds with her life on the line, she forges new alliances and encounters dangerous unbound adversaries. Among them is a white-haired man with crimson eyes.

Dangerously familiar crimson eyes.

Reviewed by Baroness Book Trove on

5 of 5 stars

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I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Red Blood by Kaitlyn Legaspi is about a group of people called Specialists fighting to be the next holder of their domain card.

Will Neela get passed the solo fights?


Neela Blydes


Neela Blydes is the main character and the one we follow through the story. She is a seventeen-year-old teenage girl who is one of the unbound Specialists. Neela has to fight in the tournament to be the leader of her domain. She only has her older brother, and he went to the core with his little sister.

Since losing their parents as young kids, these two were thick as thieves, even if Neela has been pulling back a bit from her brother. Neela puts up a front to some people when in reality, once people get to know her, she's just a sweet little cinnamon bun. She is a great character, and I can't wait to see what else happens to her.

The Story


Neela Blydes is a vigilante in the slums and doesn't want to go to the core to be in the tournament. She is scared about going into the tournament, and having her brother and trainer there in the core helped her. Neela meets a lot of different people throughout her time in the core. The story has a lot of things happening around poor Neela, and I can't go into much more detail but get your tissues.
Five Stars

Red Blood by Kaitlyn Legaspi is a young girl that lost her parents and needs to be in the domain for the tournament. Ms. Legaspi spun an extraordinary story that I loved about everything in the story, from the beginning to all the plot twists to the ending. Neela has been through a lot, and I hope that Ms. Legaspi gives her a break in the next book.

My rating for Red Blood by Kaitlyn Legaspi is five stars, and I'm recommending it to anyone that loves young adult fantasy books. I can't wait for Two More LivesĀ by Kaitlyn Legaspi to come out.



Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Red Blood by Kaitlyn Legaspi.

Until the next time,



Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 14 March, 2022: Finished reading
  • 14 March, 2022: Reviewed