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abbajane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
There were a lot of things in this book that made me feel like the most popular YA tropes of the moment had been tossed into a bag and pulled out at random -- heir sisters forced to kill each other, infuriatingly beautiful men, wily old fey with a smart mouth, magic to control shadows, half-human half-animal creatures, blood magic. It got a little annoying a few times, and as I read I could tab each reference that felt like it came from another YA fantasy novel. The characters stayed a little shallow, the plot stayed a little predictable, and the dialogue stayed a little awkward. The writing was nice, and I feel like Joy had some really great lines and turns of phrases. I appreciate the nuance of this book in contrast to the most popular YA novels on the market, but overall it stayed just "meh" for me. Not sure if I will read the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
girlonbooks's review
adventurous
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
👑👑👑👑👑 (5 stars as rated in crowns worth killing your sister for)
As it has been for eight generations, the Rival Heirs of Myre must face one another to the death for the Ivory Throne on the youngests' seventeenth nameday. For Eva, untrained in her magick and long estranged from her elder and more refined sister, Isa, the day might as well be a death sentence. Though her sister's magick - that of influence - is well known and admired, the court vocally reviles the magick of Eva, with her Mother as the loudest of them all. But when an assassin is sent to take her life, Eva realizes how much more is at stake in the Queendom than the fate of Rival Heirs. Though the magick of blood and bone has only ever been mastered by few, if Eva is to stand a chance against the powerful sorcery of her sister, she must find someone to teach her to wield this dangerous power and quickly. With so much on the line and so many who would wish her ill, Eva turns to the help of foreign allies. But she knows as well as anyone that in the court of the Ivory Throne, no one is ever quite what they seem; least of all those knights in shining armor whose timely arrivals may be a little too convenient.
As it has been for eight generations, the Rival Heirs of Myre must face one another to the death for the Ivory Throne on the youngests' seventeenth nameday. For Eva, untrained in her magick and long estranged from her elder and more refined sister, Isa, the day might as well be a death sentence. Though her sister's magick - that of influence - is well known and admired, the court vocally reviles the magick of Eva, with her Mother as the loudest of them all. But when an assassin is sent to take her life, Eva realizes how much more is at stake in the Queendom than the fate of Rival Heirs. Though the magick of blood and bone has only ever been mastered by few, if Eva is to stand a chance against the powerful sorcery of her sister, she must find someone to teach her to wield this dangerous power and quickly. With so much on the line and so many who would wish her ill, Eva turns to the help of foreign allies. But she knows as well as anyone that in the court of the Ivory Throne, no one is ever quite what they seem; least of all those knights in shining armor whose timely arrivals may be a little too convenient.
I'm calling it now, this is the kind of book you're going to wish you'd picked up sooner. I absolutely adored the concept and the characters were really dynamic without ever bogging me down in supporting info. The story itself moves very quickly while also managing never to ask great suspensions of disbelief from the reader. A big thumbs up to that alone! The main character, Eva, responded really reasonably to everything she faces. In fact, she acted exactly the way I would have in almost every scenario - particularly when maneuvering her relationships with Prince Aketo and Lord Baccha. Seriously, who doesn't love when a character does and says what you were thinking!?! *raises hand* BAH! My only gripe here is that I wanted her to pursue a different love interest at the end. Womp. Still, my fingers are crossed that we'll get a switch-a-roo in book two, A Queen of Gilded Horns, which incidentally is released ONE WEEK FROM TODAY on March 16th 2021!
Freedom that could cost your life was just enslavement under a different name.
✨ Rep in this book: Black protagonist, diverse characters, gay supporting character, own voices
✨ Content warnings for this book: violence, themes of war and battle, death of an animal, mind control with magic, murder, racism, estrangement from family members, self harm, bullying, blood
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Self harm, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Racism, and Murder
olivialandryxo's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Joy’s debut is fierce, magical, and absolutely fantastic. From the very beginning, I was intrigued by the world, by its history and magic system, and as the story progressed I was caught in the whirlwind plot. I quickly became attached to the protagonist, as well as multiple side characters, and to say I was invested in their journey would be an understatement.
In some debuts, it seems obvious, for any number of reasons, that it’s the author’s debut. In others, every element is well-written, the entire book so well-crafted, that it’s hard to believe this is just their debut. For me, A River of Royal Blood was the latter.
And that ending?! Holy nuggets. I’m speechless, and in desperate need of the sequel ASAP—both so I can find out what happens next, and so I can get more Eva and Aketo content. I love Aketo with everything in me and he must be protected.
Please read this book. It deserves much more love and hype. It’s brilliant.
Representation
In some debuts, it seems obvious, for any number of reasons, that it’s the author’s debut. In others, every element is well-written, the entire book so well-crafted, that it’s hard to believe this is just their debut. For me, A River of Royal Blood was the latter.
And that ending?! Holy nuggets. I’m speechless, and in desperate need of the sequel ASAP—both so I can find out what happens next, and so I can get more Eva and Aketo content. I love Aketo with everything in me and he must be protected.
Please read this book. It deserves much more love and hype. It’s brilliant.
Representation
- Black protagonist and side characters
- gay side character
- queer Black side character (no term specified but he’s interested in men and women)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Racism
Minor: Gore and Self harm
There’s a scene in the last third of the book where a character finds another character murdered, and it’s somewhat gruesome but not overly graphic.
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