Scan barcode
A review by abbajane
A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy
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.
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death