Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Alas de sangre

I was so close to DNFing in the first chapter when there was wayyy too many references to how tiny and fragile Violet is but I stuck it out because I had already paid for the book. Part of my enjoyment of my reading experience came from relaying the plot to my fiance who promptly renamed Violet to Mary Sue. While I don’t think that title fits her perfectly, she does feel Mary Sue adjacent to me because everyone is so obsessed- good or bad- with this chick at any given point in the book. She also only seems to have flaws in the way that someone at a job interview talks about how their weakness is that they’re a perfectionist. Her flaws seem to be her physical build and ambiguous disability (which is not something she could control), her proximity to power which makes her a target (she can’t control who gave birth to her), that she’s merciful (see the Threshing), and that she’s too trusting (see Dain).

I liked the dragons and found that aspect much more interesting than pretty much anything that Violet was thinking at any given point, which was usually about how hot Xaden is. It was pretty clear that Yarros is more of a romance writer than a fantasy writer. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that but it’s frustrating when Violet is worried about how attracted to Xaden she is more than how many people are actively plotting to kill her. I was much more interested in the symbiotic relationship between humans and dragons and the (sub)plot about what their government is hiding from them about the dangers and nature of the regular attacks along the border.

Also the number one offense in this book, hands down, bar none, go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200: Xaden nicknaming her Violence. I hate it so much forever. He says it at super weird times and then sort of taunts her saying “we’ll see if you live up to your nickname” like bro, you gave her the nickname, you’re telling her to live up to the expectation you privately set for her and that’s so weird. If someone is known in their hometown as Sandwich Man and you come in out of nowhere and challenge them to a sandwich eating contest, then you can say let’s see if you live up to your nickname then that’s fine because it makes sense but if you see someone eat a sandwich one time and dub them Sandwich Man, then when everybody else is making sandwiches together and your new acquaintance is minding their business, it’s super weird if you insist they go live up to the nickname that you gave them!

Once Xaden and Violet cave to their primal desire for each other, I got bored. The sex scenes were just as mediocre as everything else. With how much people hyped up the spice/smut in the book, I expected better. If you’ve read literally any sex scenes before then you’ve already read these too.

Unfortunately, this was just an okay book. A lot of it felt like a rehash of YA tropes shifted into dragon rider murder college. I understand why so many people love it but I don’t think it lives up to that hype, nor is it the worst thing I’ve ever read.

Content Warnings