Mundie Moms

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

THE QUEEN OF BLOOD by Sarah Beth Durst / Blog Tour: Book Review / Giveaway


Hello and welcome to the next stop in THE QUEEN OF BLOOD, blog tour. Today's stop features a giveaway, along with my review. First, here's a little bit about Sarah Beth Durst's newest release:

ABOUT THE BOOK


By: Sarah Beth Durst

Published by: Harper Voyager
Released on: September 20th, 2016
Series: The Queens of Renthia #1
Purchase from: Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads 
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review

Filled with political intrigue, violent magic, and malevolent spirits, Sarah Beth Durst’s mesmerizing entry into adult fantasy is sure to capture the imaginations of anyone who reads it.


Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow… But these are not sweet, frolicking nature sprites. The spirits that reside within this land want to kill all humans. Only a few women have the power to command and control the spirits. These women become queens—or die trying. Without a queen, humans will die at the hands and teeth of hostile spirits. But with an unstable queen, no one and nothing is safe. 


Born during the reign of a paranoid and bloodthirsty queen, Daleina is determined to become queen and right the wrongs in her land. Ven is a disgraced champion, a man whose life has been destroyed by the queen. Hating her cruelty, he wants to replace her with a queen of his own. He chooses an overlooked student at one of the academies: Daleina. Together, they must find the strength and skill to stand against both enemies and friends, before their beloved land is bathed in blood.


MY REVIEW



The first book in a new, adult series by Sarah Beth Durst, The Queen of Blood has all the elements you'd except in a Durst fantasy. Rich world building, intriguing elements, interesting characters, danger, brutal magic battles and a few surprising twists. 

The world of Renthia is intriguing at best, and brutal at it's worst. Ruled by a Queen who binds herself to the spirits who control the elements (Air and Earth spirits control the elements, Ice spirits control the seasons etc), this world is full of magic, violence, and power. Controlling the spirits takes a lot of power, and effort, and is not something that's usually accomplished for a long period of time. By nature, the spirits want to create as much as they want to destroy. One of the things they seek to eliminate are the humans. Since Queens don't live to an old age, the land of Renthia trains select young woman who are prepared to be an heir to the Queen.


Dalenia, whom is a child when the book first starts, and is nineteen by the end, is a character we see grow from a young child with a hidden power, into a women who not only learns to harness her incredible gift/power to control the spirits. She's also been selected to train as one of the possible heirs to the Queen. What I loved about Dalenia, is her quiet strength, her kindness, who willingness to do whatever is necessary to learn to harness her power in order to protect those she loves, and her home. She's not someone who is hardened by the brutality of the world she lives in. What makes this unlikely heroine  relatable, is that she is someone who has to work harder than most. She's not always the best at what she does, but she doesn't give up. She trains hard, stays true to herself, and doesn't stray from what she wants. She doesn't need to prove herself to anyone, but herself. Her determination is fierce and unwavering. 


Written from a muliti-character point of view, Durst allows readers to not only see the story from different angels, and get an in-depth look into the world of Renthia, readers get a clearer understanding of the characters, their intertwined history, and their motives. Normally I'm not a fan of narrations written this way, but it worked great for this story. This story is detailed, layered, and complex. When I found myself not connecting with certain characters in the story, something that usually makes me lose interest in a book, I was still very invested with the story itself and all that was going on. 


There is a lot going on in this story. Sometimes that was a great advance to the story, and kept me invested in reading it, and at other times it felt like it was too much, and it make the story drag. However, this is the first book in a series, and there is a lot that is set up in this book. There's a lot of history that is covered in the story. That ending definitely made up for the parts I felt lagged. I was not excepting that ending what so ever at all. Overall, this is a good read, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.


* Since we are primarily a YA book review site, I do want to mention that this book's targeted reading audience is adult


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Sarah Beth Durst is the author of ten fantasy novels for adults, teens, and children, including THE LOST, VESSEL, and THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM. She was awarded the 2013 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award and has been a finalist for SFWA’s Andre Norton Award three times. She is a graduate of Princeton University, where she spent four years studying English, writing about dragons, and wondering what the campus gargoyles would say if they could talk. Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband and children. Visit her atwww.sarahbethdurst.com.


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ENTER TO WIN!


1 winner will receive a copy of THE QUEEN OF BLOOD and a woodland fairy tiara (US Only). To enter, please fill out the form below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

6 comments:

  1. I really like the description of this book. Definitely on the TBR list. Thanks for the post and the giveaway!

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  2. Sounds like a good book. Thanks for the post!

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  3. This sounds like a great book! Loved your review!!

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  4. The Queen of Blood sounds like a good fantasy ♡ Looking forward to reading this book. Thank you

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  5. I can’t wait for this one! That tiara is gorgeous!

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  6. Lovely review Katie. <3 I'm glad you liked this one, despite not loving it :) I don't think it would be for me. Though it do seem pretty awesome :)

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