A review by nerdydreamer107
The Bleeding Throne by Daniela A. Mera

adventurous dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 

Thank you to Equality Book Tours and the author for an eARC of this book.  This does not influence my opinion.

 

This was great conclusion to the Blood Tournaments trilogy.  

I started to like the main characters again and loved that we got to know so much history and world building, it was very interesting and seemed well thought through. 

Sadly, most of the side characters felt very flat and the main characters kept contradicting themselves in their actions and words/thoughts, not just related to trauma. Due to that, I often felt like I was missing information and plot points. Still, the plot was easy to follow and understand. 

Carmen’s journey of healing (trauma) was portrayed very realistically, which of course often made the character frustrating as she kept lashing out at her loved ones and being a hypocrite, at least in the beginning. I am also happy to report that we do not get a “magic cures all” storyline here. Carmen’s journey to healing physically may have been sped up by magic, but all her struggles with getting used to her missing limb and using her prosthetic were portrayed realistically (as far as I can tell), slowly and influenced her a lot over the course of the book. 

Ultimately, I would say, her healing journey was the main plot of this book, the fight for her freedom (for lack of a better spoiler-free description) being secondary. 

The book did surprise me with some of its twists, not because I didn’t expect them at all, but because I expected them later in the book. Of course, this opened up the plot for other twists and turns, which I really liked. 

All in all a great read.