cybersuccubus's review
5.0
I am head over heels for Adrian and Isolde. I can't believe I have to wait so long for the next book! This book has such a perfect amount of everything: smut, fighting, love, witches, vampires. It fulfills each and every of my fantasy needs.
el_rincon_de_lena's review
2.0
Gracias Netgalley por darme la oportunidad de leer y reseñar el libro!
Primero siento que tengo que explicar que el libro me llamó la tención por la autora. La reconocí porque hace poco leí su libro A touch of Darkness, y aunque no me encantó, me entretuvo. Asique obviamente no iba con las expectativas muy altas para A King Of Battle and Blood, pero de todas formas me decepcionó.
Seguimos la historia de Isolde, princesa de Lara, cuando el rey de los vampiros pide su mano en matrimonio a cambio de paz.
No es la historia más original que van a encontrar, está llena de clichés. Pero no es eso lo que me molestó de la historia. Lo que me sacaba de onda al leer es el insta-lust, que normalmente no me molesta, pero en este caso ella lo veía a él como un monstruo, asique en mi cabeza no cabía la idea de que estuviera tan atraído a él. (Aunque al final sí que le dan una explicación).
Aparte de eso la trama fue muy predecible así que cuando llegué a la parte del "plot twist" no me sorprendí, para nada. Me confirmaron lo que yo llevaba sospechando desde el inicio.
Y por último: Los vampiros no parecen vampiros, obviamente beben sangre y todo ese rollo, pero no se sienten como vampiros al leer. Para explicarlo mejor voy a comparar a los vampiros de éste libro con los del libro "Un Descubrimiento de Brujas y el clásico ¨Crepúsculo¨.
En esos libros los vampiros son evidentemente rápidos y fuertes, viven y piensan de otra forma debido a su larga vida y se recalca una y otra vez su sed de sangre como algo casi insaciable y difícil de controlar. Es decir, claramente son vampiros. En cambio, en A King of Battle and Blood, los vampiros se sienten como humanos normales, solo que necesitan tomar sangre y son más fuertes de lo normal.
De todas formas el libro me tuvo atrapada hasta el 60%, después de esa marca me costó seguir leyendo.
Thanks, Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review the book!
First I feel like I have to explain that the book caught my eye for the author. I recognized her because I recently read her book A Touch of Darkness, and although I didn't love it, it entertained me. So obviously I wasn't going with high expectations for A King Of Battle and Blood, but I was disappointed anyway.
We follow the story of Isolde, the princess of Lara, when the king of vampires asks for her hand in marriage in exchange for peace between their kingdoms.
It's not very original and is full of clichés. But that's not what bothered me about the story. What bothered me while reading was the insta-lust, which normally doesn't bother me, but in this case, she saw him as a monster, so for me, the fact that she was so attracted to him felt really weird. (Although in the end, it has an explanation).
Other than that, the plot was very predictable so when I got to the "plot twist" part I wasn't surprised at all. They confirmed what I had suspected from the beginning.
And lastly: Vampires don't seem like vampires, they obviously drink blood and all that stuff, but they don't feel like vampires when reading. To explain it better I am going to compare the vampires in this book with the ones in the books "A Discovery of Witches" and the classic " Twilight ".
In these books vampires are super fast and strong, they live and think differently due to their long life, and their thirst for blood is emphasized over and over again as something almost insatiable and difficult to control. I mean, they are clearly vampires. Instead, in A King of Battle and Blood, vampires feel like normal humans, only they need to drink blood and are stronger than normal.
In any case, the book had me trapped up to 60%, after that mark I had lost almost all my interest in the story.
Primero siento que tengo que explicar que el libro me llamó la tención por la autora. La reconocí porque hace poco leí su libro A touch of Darkness, y aunque no me encantó, me entretuvo. Asique obviamente no iba con las expectativas muy altas para A King Of Battle and Blood, pero de todas formas me decepcionó.
Seguimos la historia de Isolde, princesa de Lara, cuando el rey de los vampiros pide su mano en matrimonio a cambio de paz.
No es la historia más original que van a encontrar, está llena de clichés. Pero no es eso lo que me molestó de la historia. Lo que me sacaba de onda al leer es el insta-lust, que normalmente no me molesta, pero en este caso ella lo veía a él como un monstruo, asique en mi cabeza no cabía la idea de que estuviera tan atraído a él. (Aunque al final sí que le dan una explicación).
Aparte de eso la trama fue muy predecible así que cuando llegué a la parte del "plot twist" no me sorprendí, para nada. Me confirmaron lo que yo llevaba sospechando desde el inicio.
Y por último: Los vampiros no parecen vampiros, obviamente beben sangre y todo ese rollo, pero no se sienten como vampiros al leer. Para explicarlo mejor voy a comparar a los vampiros de éste libro con los del libro "Un Descubrimiento de Brujas y el clásico ¨Crepúsculo¨.
En esos libros los vampiros son evidentemente rápidos y fuertes, viven y piensan de otra forma debido a su larga vida y se recalca una y otra vez su sed de sangre como algo casi insaciable y difícil de controlar. Es decir, claramente son vampiros. En cambio, en A King of Battle and Blood, los vampiros se sienten como humanos normales, solo que necesitan tomar sangre y son más fuertes de lo normal.
De todas formas el libro me tuvo atrapada hasta el 60%, después de esa marca me costó seguir leyendo.
Thanks, Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review the book!
First I feel like I have to explain that the book caught my eye for the author. I recognized her because I recently read her book A Touch of Darkness, and although I didn't love it, it entertained me. So obviously I wasn't going with high expectations for A King Of Battle and Blood, but I was disappointed anyway.
We follow the story of Isolde, the princess of Lara, when the king of vampires asks for her hand in marriage in exchange for peace between their kingdoms.
It's not very original and is full of clichés. But that's not what bothered me about the story. What bothered me while reading was the insta-lust, which normally doesn't bother me, but in this case, she saw him as a monster, so for me, the fact that she was so attracted to him felt really weird. (Although in the end, it has an explanation).
Other than that, the plot was very predictable so when I got to the "plot twist" part I wasn't surprised at all. They confirmed what I had suspected from the beginning.
And lastly: Vampires don't seem like vampires, they obviously drink blood and all that stuff, but they don't feel like vampires when reading. To explain it better I am going to compare the vampires in this book with the ones in the books "A Discovery of Witches" and the classic " Twilight ".
In these books vampires are super fast and strong, they live and think differently due to their long life, and their thirst for blood is emphasized over and over again as something almost insatiable and difficult to control. I mean, they are clearly vampires. Instead, in A King of Battle and Blood, vampires feel like normal humans, only they need to drink blood and are stronger than normal.
In any case, the book had me trapped up to 60%, after that mark I had lost almost all my interest in the story.
jaedyn's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
tinyyreads's review
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It was smut and it's served well, it was good in a predictable way. The drama is a little juicy, I wish we could've been more intrigued with what was going to happen in the current book as well as the building of the plot for the next book because at the end it feels a bit rushed and it felt that I'm not that intrigued to read the next book right away, I'm more curious than hooked I guess but that is also okay but could be better unless it was the intention. I liked how the characters and scenes, the way it was described, felt more human and nuanced rather than to just fit a character stereotype. I didn't like the character per se but I liked how I get it why they're like that or their actions could be justified. Also, I felt that it did the "right feminism" or whatever it is that most YAs are trying so hard but kinda failed with their MCs so yeah it was nice to read.
The feeling of being rushed at the end is okay since it could also mean that we're going to discover her history in the next book at the same pace as she will remember. This is just a bit nitty gritty but then I just had this feeling at the end that it was telling and not showing but would be much better if added a bit more flare while still being quickpaced it was just a bit of an itch that could make the readers more into the scene than getting over the book becaus it was finishing. I' just like to add that in their defense, war is a stressing time so sex would be a good distraction, but also I think they deserve to bang after being away for years so don't clap them on but would I wish for it to be less so that we could explore more world building,politics, and more character to Adrian, yes. But then again there's a fckng crimson mist that witch can't get anywhere so yeah those are the only thing I'd defend.
Spoiler
The feeling of being rushed at the end is okay since it could also mean that we're going to discover her history in the next book at the same pace as she will remember. This is just a bit nitty gritty but then I just had this feeling at the end that it was telling and not showing but would be much better if added a bit more flare while still being quickpaced it was just a bit of an itch that could make the readers more into the scene than getting over the book becaus it was finishing. I' just like to add that in their defense, war is a stressing time so sex would be a good distraction, but also I think they deserve to bang after being away for years so don't clap them on but would I wish for it to be less so that we could explore more world building,politics, and more character to Adrian, yes. But then again there's a fckng crimson mist that witch can't get anywhere so yeah those are the only thing I'd defend.
thathanhilp's review
2.0
I absolutely devoured the first probably 150 pages. It wasn’t amazing or anything but it was entertaining until I got to about page 200 and then it just started going downhill. The last 60 or so pages were so rushed. A new plot would be introduced only to be resolved by the end of the next paragraph. The plots and twists and even the romance would have been so much more interesting and exciting if the author would have spent a little more time on the buildup and the backstory and explanation. I barely read the last 25 pages. I assume we are getting a second book so I’m hoping that at least somewhat makes up for those last several chapters. This book seemed so promising and I was very disappointed by the end of it.
grifmk01's review
3.0
Another disappointing book from this author. I wanted more depth to the magic and lore of the world, but romance seemed to once again be the predominant aspect of this book.
loanereel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75