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A review by olivialandryxo
A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy
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.