A review by readingwithhippos
The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst

4.0

The hype is justified. The Queens of Renthia trilogy is fantasy as it should be. The world Durst imagines is creative and fresh, the twists and turns of the plot are never predictable, and not only are there strong female characters, they’re all strong in different ways. I love the complexity that happens when characters who all feel like real people have to deal with a big, hairy mess of a problem! In this case, the problem is the world is inhabited by nature spirits who are tied to specific elements—oh, and the spirits hate humans and will attack with abandon unless reined in by a powerful human queen. Only women have the ability to control spirits, and only some women at that, so girls who show aptitude are shipped off to training academies so there’s always a future queen ready to step in if the current queen dies.

I sometimes struggle with fantasy in audio because it can be hard to get a handle on worldbuilding details, but I had no trouble following these books, which I credit to both the writing and the amazing narration of Khristine Hvam. If you want to totally immerse yourself in a magic forest where people live in trees, this trilogy is for you.