Summary:
A Kingdom where you’re only as good as the blood you vow and the magic you wield. A Queen governed by fear, rules solely to exploit her power. A Royal Assassin haunted by her past is sent to kill the only one who can save her. An Exile haunted by a vision of the future he can’t escape, seeks to reclaim his home and save his people. All find a love that they might have to die for.
Tropes include:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Fated Mates
- Forced Proximity
- Nothing As It Seems
- Touch Her and Die
- One Horse/One Bed
- Morally Grey MMCs & FMC
- Love Triangle
- Found Family
- Revolution
- Vampires, Fae, & more
- Bondage, Primal, Praise, Degradation, & more
My Thoughts:
A Kingdom of Blood and Magic is really good, I flew right through it! I was hooked from the beginning, and struggled to put it down and go to bed. It kept me pulled into the story, needing to see how everything played out.
The world building, character development, and plot were all excellent! I really truly enjoyed this story!
Mareina was such a good FMC! I love when the FMC is morally grey, it adds a layer of complexity to their character that I love. While she may not be morally grey by choice, she still is. together with her best friend and partner in crime Malekai, she is unstoppable and lives life alone – except for Malekai. He is the only person she has let inside her walls.
Nakoa was weird, wild, and unhinged, and I loved him for it. He was so handsome, interesting, powerful and dedicated to his goal, and I loved it. He was rough with Mareina, and it was so spicy!
The soulbound between them was a super good plot line driver throughout the story. It was so interesting to read about fated mates who kind-of-but-also-not-at-all into each other – it’s like the epitome of enemies to lovers. I really liked how they struggled with it, and fought each other the whole way.
I do wish someone, ANYONE, culminated some of these spice scenes – the scenes as is were oh so good but I wish we had more! I’m interested to see if this comes in book 2, or if we will just be teased through the series… and I am not complaining about that either!
All of the side characters were wonderful and added really well to the story, and I am interested to see how they play a part in the next book.
We end on one hell of a cliffhanger, and I am now dying for book 2! Can’t wait to continue on in this world with these characters.
Overall, I truly enjoyed A Kingdom of Blood and Magic by Chiara Forestieri, and recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy, romance, fated mates, and a darker more serious fantasy story.
Read-worthy.
See what books I think are worthy of a re-read here.
