If you loved Three Dark Crowns and Children of Blood and Bone, then you will be a huge fan of A River of Royal Blood. I was gifted an early copy of the book by the publisher, but this review is in no way sponsored or part of paid promotion.
The alternate title for this book should be: wow, what is trust and who do I give it to?! Every time I finished a chapter, well until I was 75% of the way through the book, I just had so many questions. About character motives, history of the world, the brewing romance. And I don’t think I’ve had that kind of reaction to an ending since I finished Children of Blood and Bone, which is saying a lot!
A River of Royal Blood had almost every fantasy trope I love, and they were done well: a romance between underdogs, a rich world with a well developed magic system, a morally grey teacher you aren’t sure you can trust, and a strong female character you can’t help but root for.
About A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy
Synopsis via Goodreads
Sixteen-year-old Eva is a princess, born with the magick of marrow and blood–a dark and terrible magick that hasn’t been seen for generations in the vibrant but fractured country of Myre. Its last known practitioner was Queen Raina, who toppled the native khimaer royalty and massacred thousands, including her own sister, eight generations ago, thus beginning the Rival Heir tradition. Living in Raina’s long and dark shadow, Eva must now face her older sister, Isa, in a battle to the death if she hopes to ascend to the Ivory Throne–because in the Queendom of Myre only the strongest, most ruthless rulers survive.
When Eva is attacked by an assassin just weeks before the battle with her sister, she discovers there is more to the attempt on her life than meets the eye–and it isn’t just her sister who wants to see her dead. As tensions escalate, Eva is forced to turn to a fey instructor of mythic proportions and a mysterious and handsome khimaer prince for help in growing her magick into something to fear. Because despite the love she still has for her sister, Eva will have to choose: Isa’s death or her own.
When we first meet Eva, she’s trying to make the best out life as she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. She knows that the magick she’s been born with is violent and destructive and wants nothing more than to stifle it. But she is also desperate to know herself, understand her magick, and be a change agent for all of the wrong she sees in the world around her. She hates the way the royal courts are run and filled with deception. Hates the way her mother, the queen, rules. Hates the way her sister, who she’s a rival heir with, abuses her magick.
Eva is so many of us who are simultaneous terrified of and driven by our greater purpose in the world.
As far as main characters go, I really liked Eva. I always appreciate a strong female character who is smart, compassionate and who you truly want to win. I wish we would have gotten more perspective and insight from Eva’a mother, the queen and her sister, Issadore. Because the world is essentially a matriarchy, the women in this book are super interesting and powerful, and I wanted so much more of them! Especially Issadore, who seemingly has just as much on the line as Eva. I would have loved another 100 pages of this book just to get more of the ladies.
The men of the story were very well done, too.
Baccha, Eva’s very morally grey and mysterious teacher, was probably my second favorite character in the book. I would absolutely read a Baccha short story or spinoff book! Like I said, this book gave me major trust issues and Baccha was definitely a major reason why! I loved him so much but was also terrified of him and what is ulterior motives could be!
The world created in this book is incredibly rich and lush and so, beautifully Black. I think the thing the excited me the most about this book was the representation, and I was even more excited as I read and saw just how much beautiful diversity is packed into this book. Not in a way that feels forced or inauthentic, which so many books have done lately. The world is built on issues of race and ethnicity that Amanda Joy tackles gracefully and intentionally throughout the story.
The characters in this book cover many cultures, shades, personalities, and sexualities. I honestly got emotional while reading, thinking about how a younger version of me would have loved to read about a character like Eva and see myself reflected.
My one critique, if you can even call it that, of this book is that it is very much a first book in a series. Which means a lot of slow burn, world building, and foundation laying. There is still plenty of action happening along the way, but we have a lot to establish early on, and you’ll probably have a few more questions than answers for a while. I’m interested to see where book two picks up!
Overall, I thought this was a really solid first book in a series, and cannot wait to get my hands on book two. I gave A River of Royal Blood 4.5/5 stars!
This book releases tomorrow, October 29 — so be sure to grab a copy!