Blood's Pride

Shattered Kingdoms #1

by Evie Manieri

Rising from their sea-torn ships like vengeful, pale phantoms, the Norlanders laid waste to the Shadar under cover of darkness. They forced the once-peaceful fisher folk into slavery and forged an alliance with their former trading partners, the desert-dwelling Nomas tribe, cutting off any hope of salvation.

Now, two decades after the invasion, a rebellion gathers strength in the dark corridors of the city. A small faction of Shadari have hired the Mongrel, an infamous mercenary, to aid their fledgling uprising—but with her own shadowy ties to the region, she is a frighteningly volatile ally. Has she really come to lead a revolution, or for a more sinister purpose all her own?

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Romance, Adult, Magic, Science Fiction Fantasy

529 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 30, 2012

About the author

Evie Manieri is the author of the Shattered Kingdoms trilogy from Tor Books and Jo Fletcher Books. She's also a UX designer with a software company, a mom, an obsessed knitter, and a classic film buff. She can usually be found lurking around Twitter. Evie lives with her family in New York City.

Reviews

[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book on a whim and I'm glad I did as it turned out to be a hidden gem. I'm not quite sure why, but the synopsis left me with the impression that this would be an action fantasy with a bit of romance following the story of the Mongrel. Imagine my surprise then when this turned out to be a dark, intense, complicated multiple POV fantasy with excellent world building and characters that were all shades of grey.

The Plot

A generation ago the strange Norlander raiders arrived in their ships and invaded and enslaved the Shadari people. The Norlanders sought a strange ore with magical properties than can only be found in the Shadari deserts.

We join the story just as rebellion is brewing. Tension is high between the Norlanders, who are worried that the magical ore reserves are running low, and the Shadari slaves who long for freedom from the harsh life of working in the mines or serving the Norlanders as slaves and servants. With the Norlander governor terminally ill the Shadari fear his daughter, the harsh and cruel White Wolf, will be next in line for the position. The Shadari rebel leaders hire the mysterious mercenary known only as the Mongrel to help them overthrow the Norlanders. The problem is the Mongrel's own mysterious past has its roots in Shadar and her loyalty is not a sure thing!

The World Building

The world building was excellent. We had three different and interesting cultures clashing. The Norlanders were a bit reminiscent of the Vikings in culture. In an interesting twist they were not fully human. The Shadari call them the Dead Ones as they are cold, pale, and burn in the sunlight! They can also communicate telepathically with each other and other races. Despite that they are not actually vampires. The Shadari had an interesting culture of their own. Before the arrival of the Dead Ones they followed a religion that was lead by their mage priests the Ashas. Rather than use their magic to help at the time of the Norlander invasion the Ashas chose to commit mass suicide by flinging themselves from the Temple into the sea! The third people in the mix were the Nomas. They remained neutral during the invasion and are an interesting bunch as the men are desert dwellers while the women prefer life at sea. They meet only a few times a year.

This book had plenty of cool magic and creatures. The Norlanders use the mysterious magical ore to create magically enchanted Imperial swords. The also ride dragon like creatures called Triffons. Both the Shadari and the Nomas had magic of their own.

The Characters

This was a character driven fantasy with a ton of interesting POV and secondary characters. This was no simple tale of good vs evil and the characters were a well drawn bunch who each had flaws and strengths to recommend or condemn them.

The children of the ailing Norlander governor were a complicated and interesting bunch. They were a dysfunctional family to rival the Lannisters! From the Shadari, both Harotha and Daryan were likable, but flawed characters. The Nomas king Jachad also had an interesting story arc as he had to juggle his personal desires with the needs of his people. The last of the POV characters, the disillusioned Norlander soldier Rho, was perhaps the most intriguing of the lot.

Overall Thoughts

All in all I really enjoyed this compelling character driven fantasy and loved its intense and melancholy feel. I was caught up in the story and emotionally engaged by the happenings which is always a sign of a good book.

Rating: 4.5 stars.

Audio Note: This was narrated by the excellent Bianca Amato. She really got the tone of the story.

[Kitty G Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this book is one I had seen on a lot of the shelves in bookshops, but I just never got around to picking it up. I am really glad that the publisher decided to send me the whole series and that gave me the push to finally try it, because it's exactly the kind of fabulous fantasy that I enjoy (and it's a female fantasy author which is even better!)

This story is set in a world where two cultures are constantly at odds and they have a slave/master relationship. The Norlanders invaded Shadar a generation ago, and now the 'Dead Ones' with blue blood and cold skin rule. They have subjugated the Shadari and they rule over them, but the Governor is slowly dying and we follow his three children: Eofar, Frea and Isa.
We also follow another character who is called Mongrel, she is a strange outcast from society who has grown up on the fringes because of her deformity. She is renowned for her fighting prowess and the way that she has taken on many yet always come away victorious, and now the Shadari want her on their side to fight back against the Norlanders.

What I liked about this is that it's multiple PoV but I feel like all the PoVs we see are quite unique. I think in the end I enjoyed Damian and the Mongrel and Isa the most because they are all characters who have a bit of a chip on their shoulder or something to prove and over the course of the story they do this. Each of them feels like they have their own personal battles to fight alongside the big impending battle between Norlander and Shadari. They all held my interest and it was nice to see some female characters as the focus of the story at times.

The magic of this world is never fully explained but people believe in Gods and there is a magic to the Dead Ones as they are so chilled at all times and have blue blood in their veins. They are burned when a Shadari touches them for long, and it's unpleasant for them. Shadari bleed like regular humans, red blood, and I think that this difference in the two races was quite a cool one.
There is also magic within people so we meet a boy who has an extraordinary power and who is sought after. He is young and doesn't understand the implications of what he can do, and this is a key part of his story.
We also have great big winged beasts which are ridden into battle by the Norlanders. These are pretty cool too and added another exciting layer to the battles.

Overall, I think the pacing of this was very solid and it was gradually increasing in intensity. I certainly think this is a series I will enjoy as I continue on, and I am pleased to have found an author that I really like and who I've not heard much about yet. 4*s from me :)

[Evie Manieri]

Excerpt of the prologue and first chapter is available on tor.com.
http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/12/bl...

Note from the author: "Blood's Pride is the story of an epic rebellion told on a very personal level. If you like character-driven fantasy, epic fantasy that steers away from convention, strong and varied female characters, emotional depth, and unique societies not even loosely based on the civilizations of medieval Europe, then I encourage you to check it out. I sincerely hope you enjoy it." - Evie

[Kaora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this book. It kept me turning the pages!

There are a lot of characters, so sometimes I had to stop and remember who was who. The sword names were a bit cheesy as well, but it was non-stop action and I think a very interesting world.

[Deniz · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5Stars rounded up

Struggled through this one!
A totally frustrating read. While it seems to have all the ingredients for a good book. It totally fell short in the delivery.
Not epic fantasy - just a long book with a couple of good ideas added to the usual same old and rather tedious writing.


I had high hopes for this Blood's Pride. It sounded like exactly my kinda book. So I was rather pleased when I got approved to read the ARC.
After reading the prologue, this impression was confirmed. I was sure this was going to be an interesting read. Sadly a few pages into the first chapter I realized I was wrong.

The nearly 600pages that followed were a struggle. I found there were so many characters with really odd names.  I wouldn't have mind the many characters, if I didn't have to constantly check who they were. I got confused for most of the book and had to go and check the glossary to be sure I am thinking of the right character. The reason for this are definitely the odd names. But also, and this is much more disappointing, I didn't manage to connect to any of them. After finishing the book I was still kinda untouched by their misfortunes or happiness.

The whole novel is written in third person, that definitely didn't help the problem. But all the different POV -and Manieri did write a lot of different POV- sounded exactly the same. All of them were too observant to detached somehow. It's another reason that made it impossible to connect to the different characters. And after reading the book there are not many details I remember about the individual characters nor would I be able to remember their correct names without checking them up. Having a cheat sheet while reading, honestly sucks!
Sadly the character building was barley exsistent. It felt like there was an outline for characters done for the storyline. They had their purpose. Defiant youngest sister, servant that's actually a king, evil heartless tyrant, mysterious .... and that's what the stayed mostly. In my opinion Manieri put very little into character building, which is one of the biggest downfalls of the books.

The world building was actually quite interesting. I like the idea of the Tribes. The different ideologies.
The only thing like with the rest of the book, it didn't feel like there was follow through. After a really good prologue, I was expecting more of the world building as well. Though I think it definitely was the best part of the book. And it's the reason I rounded it up to 2 Stars actually.

The story line was ok, but nothing new. I guess its classic epic fantasy stuff and comes with the territory. But I have been reading epic fantasy since my teens. So I have plenty to compare it to, sadly it left me underwhelmed as well.

The writing style, oh and here is the crux of the issue. Was not to my liking. Writing style is really important to me. It makes or breaks a book. And while by no means this is really bad -I have read far worse- it felt just not quite good enough. The same tone throughout the book, despite the multiple POV, and gone were the beautiful descriptions from the prologue, it felt like Manieri could do better. And I kept on expecting her to do better, since she clearly can judging from the prologue at least.

Well it did make me think, just not about what I did expect to think about after reading it. It made me think about what I think makes a good epic....
A good epic fantasy combines great world building, a good story and interesting characters. It makes you care about the characters their fates, their world and it makes you wanna discover more about it all. But mostly when you a good epic fantasy book, you are lost in that world. Totally consumed by the story, absorbed by every detail. A great story teller can make it feel so real, that when you finish that last sentence you have to blink a few times to realize where you are and most of all you are sad that its over. you want it to go on... When I finished Blood's Pride I was just glad it was over.
A really disappointing book with a great prologue, and I honestly wish I could say differently!

ARC was provided by Publishers through Netgalley. Thank you!

[Kells Next Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fantastical read. I honestly was not expecting to fall in love with every single character ( yes the good and the bad ). The plot had so many twist and turns that I never saw coming, not to mention the swoon worthy ships. Guys this underated masterpiece is a must read and must have on your bookshelf.

[Sud666 · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Blood's Pride" was a pretty good story. While I did not find it amazing, it did entertain.

The land of Shadar has been invaded by strange peoples known as "Norlanders". These vaguely Viking-themed invaders radiate cold and are burned by the sun, but they aren't vampires. The native mage-priests of the Shadar commit suicide and the real story begins.

Years later, during the occupation, we find ourselves in the middle of a royal clusterfuck. The Norlanders have internal conflicts as The White Wolf pulls a palace coup and takes over rule from her brother, Eofar.

While this is happening, a revolution is brewing under the command of a strange mercenary known as "The Mongrel". Apparently, a young boy with amazing powers has been born and all the sides want him for their own.

That's the bare-bones explanation without spoilers. The setting is interesting. The characters? Some are intriguing, but the great deal of exposition regarding their feelings didn't do it for me. I was most interested in the Mongrel but was underwhelmed by her. Where does she get her reputation from? Is she a brilliant tactician? A great fighter? I'm still not sure.

The same goes for Imperial Swords- it's never really explained as to their powers, why they are better than normal swords, etc.

Overall? It was a fun read. Will I be in a rush to grab the second book? Likely not.

[Milo · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A great new voice in fantasy that’s not to be missed.” ~The Founding Fields


I had the opportunity to read Blood’s Pride late last year through NetGalley – but held off writing the review until closer to the publishing date in the USA even though it had already been released in the UK. But needless to say, Evie Manieri’s debut novel is a strong one, character focused despite having the backdrop of an epic rebellion. If you’re a fan of Joe Abercrombie and George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones, I strongly suggest that you give this novel a look into. It’s a promising start to a series with only a few minor flaws.

Rising from their sea-torn ships like vengeful, pale phantoms, the Norlanders laid waste to the Shadar under cover of darkness. They forced the once-peaceful fisher folk into slavery and forged an alliance with their former trading partners, the desert-dwelling Nomas tribe, cutting off any hope of salvation.

Now, two decades after the invasion, a rebellion gathers strength in the dark corridors of the city. A small faction of Shadari have hired the Mongrel, an infamous mercenary, to aid their fledgling uprising—but with her own shadowy ties to the region, she is a frighteningly volatile ally. Has she really come to lead a revolution, or for a more sinister purpose all her own?

This thrilling new epic fantasy is set in a quasi-Medieval Mediterranean region, drawing together the warrior culture of Vikings, the wanderlust of desert nomads, and the oracles of ancient Greece. Evie Manieri’s Blood’s Pride is an intricate, lush fantasy novel full of taut action, gut-wrenching betrayal, and soaring romance

Let’s start with what I didn’t like about Blood’s Pride. The naming conventions I’m not a big fan of, and the characters themselves are quickly forgettable. That’s really about it, for the rest of the novel is very engaging and very enthralling. I gave it a three stars on my initial Goodreads rating but upon reflection am probably going to boost that up to a 3.5 or a 4 come the end of this review.

Read the Full Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/02/....

[Nat]

I got this book on a whim. the cover looked badass so I said; why the heck not! ...

and it was absolutely phenomenal. the characters journey were deep and transforming, and to be honest a little exhausting. the shifting points of view might throw off some readers, but I had no problems following. there's still some minor things I don't get but that's ok. I'm sure they'll be explain later.

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. I have read my share of formulaic fantasy, and don’t get me wrong – I love a great Naive Hero vs. Big Bad Evil formula book as much as the next guy. A few new names, a new ‘code’ of magic, then you pretty much know how the story is going to go without working too hard. Hey, who doesn’t want to believe that the little guy can’t just rise up and defeat pure evil? I do. That’s why it’s fantasy.
THIS IS NOT THAT BOOK. Be forewarned. THIS IS MUCH, MUCH BETTER. Evie Manieri has created an imaginative, complex and deep new world filled with three-dimensional characters who have magical powers, mysterious and noble pasts and ancestry, but at the same time have character flaws that threaten and sometimes utterly destroy the execution of their noble intentions. Any one of the main characters could be the Hero; it is fascinating to watch how many are defeated by their own flaws -- just like real people. It takes incredible insight into human nature to develop characters and relationships this complex yet so internally consistent. I found myself hoping against hope not only for the Shadari to win their freedom, but for each of these characters to rise above themselves. Some do, which is gratifying. But there are enough wild cards (Dramash, the Mongrel) to wonder just how it will go in the next book. I personally can’t wait to find out.
Thanks, Evie Manieri, for writing a book for people who want, every once in a while, to read a fantasy book with real characters. And by the way, I loved the battles. ☺

[Alex McGilvery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evie Manieri does a fantastic job of creating a fascinating world for the action of Blood’s Pride. In a series, the world becomes a character in the story and is shaped and reshaped by the action. There are some really wonderful things happening here. We are given hints of odd magic. There are old gods who watch and care about what is going on. The single thing that caught my imagination the most was the idea of a people who lived in darkness and at night, who burned in the sun. What was best was that these weren’t vampires, but a people from the far north who blue cold blue blood and found the touch of human warmth painful.

The story begins in a tiny outpost of the empire whose only importance is the mine that contains the ore for Imperial Swords - weapons that answer the mental commands of their owners. The people who have been enslaved to work the mine are planning revolt and they have hired a mercenary. That pulls in the other people who inhabit the land. There are the prerequisite twists and turns and double dealing, but what kept me turning pages was the depth of the characterization. These are flawed human beings who are still noble enough for me to want to follow their lives through a series of books. 

I am not a fan of books that just stop without any kind of ending and expect the reader to simply wait a year to read the next chapter. Blood’s Pride leaves no question about where it is headed next, but there is sufficient conclusion for me to be able to put the book down with a sense of satisfaction.

I would highly recommend this book to any who like epic fantasy with rich and varied characters and cultures.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book really held a lot of promise for me. Different, magically gifted(?) races fighting against one another. A mercenary with a hidden past. Forbidden love.

Right? Sounds good?

The hurry up and wait pacing was not a good time. Just tell the story. Please stop going back, slowing down to have dramatic interviews between different people etc. Just fucking make it happen! When the action was up, it was good but when they slowed down to build up the backstory on some character it was just like.... Why? I know I'm not an author, and that this type of fantasy would be difficult to write, but I just feel like it could've been so much better than it ended up being.

[Mieneke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interview with Civilian Reader first made me aware of Evie Manieri's debut novel Blood's Pride. It sounded really good, plus I saw several people be very complimentary about it on Twitter. So when I had the chance to review it, I jumped. It turns out that the people of Twitter spoke truly when they said Blood's Pride was a wonderful debut. It is a wonderful epic fantasy tale, with a close personal feel. On the book jacket there is a quote from Fantasy Faction that says "Combine Trudi Canavan with [George R.R.] Martin and you won't be far off"; however, to me Blood's Pride evoked another Australian author, Rowena Cory Daniells, whose works – especially the Outcast Chronicles – gave me the same sense of immediacy and the same urge to keep turning pages. In fact, clocking in at 516 pages, Blood's Pride is a big, fat door-stopper of a book, but I finished in a bit over a day. And that is something that rarely happens these days!

While Blood's Pride had some amazing world building and a grabbing plot – more on both of those later – what grabbed me most were the characters. Manieri fills her world with some amazing people, who for better or for worse, do what they think is best and do so even if they are flinching from the consequences. While from the above flap text it seems that the book focuses on the three Norlander siblings and the Mongrel, in fact the cast of main point of view characters is far larger and Frea, the middle sibling, and the Mongrel don't have their own points of view. The points of view are mixed between all three races present in the narrative, three Norlander, two Shadari, and one Nomas. I liked all of their story lines, but my favourites were Isa, Rho and Harotha. Isa is the youngest of the three siblings and somewhat the odd one out. I loved how she came into her own during the narrative, finding herself, her strength and an innate wisdom that made her leap off the page. Her final decision in this book left me both saddened and proud, because she chose to do what was right at great personal cost and I'm hoping we'll see that courage repaid in the next book. Rho is a Norlander guard and he crept under my skin. I loved his connection to Dramash and the unreasoning feeling of protectiveness he has towards the boy. Harotha broke my heart in several places, protecting those she loves with cruel words and discovering that not everyone changes for the better. The Mongrel's story and character was fascinating and while at times her refusal to explain her actions to Jachad made me want to slap her, she stole every scene she was in. Manieri created some well-formed bad guys. Especially Frea, who is stone-cold and ambitious, but Manieri manages to create empathy for her, by showing what has formed her character and informed her choices.

The world building was fabulous. The races inhabiting the world of the book are fascinating. I loved the warm-blood/cold-blood juxtaposition between the Shadari and the Norlanders and the latter's forced nocturnal way of life as a result of their physical traits. I loved that this hadn't anything to do with vampirism, but was due to their adapting to the harsh conditions of their homeland. They are also a strong honour-based warrior culture and I always enjoy those. The Shadari are warm-blooded and well adapted to their desert habitation. I found their culture, where literacy is taboo for anyone other than a priest and even looking at writing evokes a feeling of horror in most regular Shadari, to be fascinating. The idea of institutionalised illiteracy is abhorrent to me, but I loved how Manieri fit it in to the narrative and even made it seem logical. The Nomas don't seem to differ too much from the Shadari, but are very much different in their cultural development, with their nation split into two by gender, the men folk trading in the deserts and the women folk trading by the sea. They even worship opposing gods, the men worship Shof (the sun) and the women Amai (the moon). While most of the action was focused on the Shadar and the Shadari temple in Blood's Pride, there is a definite sense of a well-defined world surrounding it and I can't wait to explore more of it in further books in the Shattered Kingdoms.

The plot is an interesting mix of rebellion and discovery. The rebellion part should speak for itself; the Shadari rise up against their Norlander conquerors to throw them out of the Shadar. The discovery part is less self-explanatory, as there are several forms of discovery. It's the Mongrel discovering her heritage and the reason for her abandonment; it's Eonar, Frea, and Isa discovering the real truths behind their mother's tragic demise and their posting in the Shadar; it's Isa discovering her inner strength and wisdom; it's Daryan finally discovering how to be the leader everyone expects him to be; it's Harotha's discovery of the history of their people. And these are just the ones I could think of off the top of my head, there are more I am sure. All of these discoveries are an integral part of the plot and move it forward at a fast clip. Coupled with an incredibly smooth writing style, Blood's Pride reads like a dream, with pages and pages gone at such a fast rate I kept being surprised by the small amount of time that had actually passed—normally it's the other way around.

Blood's Pride is a great debut for Evie Manieri and gives us a great new voice in epic fantasy. I had a fabulous time with this story and I can't wait to return to it with the second instalment. If epic fantasy is your thing, you really ought to pick up Blood's Pride and discover the rich world of Manieri's Shattered Kingdoms.

This book was provided for review by the publisher.

[Burgoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evie Manieri describes herself as a fan of intricacies. I would describe the plotting of The Wire as intricate, where certain actions don’t pay off for 1 or maybe 2 seasons. Blood’s Pride must be a whole other sort of intricate, most likely meaning cramming as much as possible into a single story.

The story of Blood’s Pride takes place a generation after the city state of Shadar is conquered by the seafaring Norlanders. The Norlanders have come in order to control magical ore which can only be found in Shadar. Needless to say, the people of Shadar are not happy about the brutal rule of the Norlanders, and Blood’s Pride is about their attempt to overthrow the rule of the Norlanders and regain control of their own city.

Before getting into some of the problems of Blood’s Pride, let me mention a couple of things that worked well for me. First of all, Manieri’s overall vision is admirable. She has envisioned a fantasy that is different from the norm. Sure, some of the characters do fit some familiar tropes – the mixed blooded outsider, the slave who is really a secret king, etc. But the overall storyline of a city fighting back against foreign oppression is not one commonly told. Secondly, she does a good job with the pacing of her story. I found myself being pushed forward to the end of the book quite rapidly. In a new fantasy world, she doesn’t waste time on info dumps or other long expository passages, but focuses on plot development instead. This means that in spite of the flaws of the book, it is an entertaining read.

But there are some problems with Blood’s Pride as well. Some of them are logical, and there may be explanations that work that we simply haven’t received yet. For example, how is a culture that can’t be exposed to sunlight an effective expansionistic empire? Wouldn’t that whole “sunlight kills them” thing be a very effective natural deterrent to their activities? Another culture is split between living in the desert and at sea, yet has members who are gingers. As a ginger myself, I can tell you that neither boating nor desert excursions are things that gingers are well suited for. While she packs plenty of cool ideas and details into the book, most of them create more problems than they solve, once you begin to examine them. For example, how do they transport those huge flying animals on ships? Why use the ships if they can fly? How does that magical ore make those swords? And if they bring the blood south to pre-bond the swords, how are they transporting that much blood in a world without refrigeration? See what I mean? Now this is only the first book of a trilogy, and many of these problems may be resolved in the later volumes. But it is a bad sign when this seems to be a trend in only the first book.

A more significant problem is the development of the characters. There have been some complaints about her naming conventions, with readers saying that they found it difficult to follow. I don’t think that the problem is with the names, per se. Rather it is with the character development. Blood’s Pride has a rather large cast of characters, and unfortunately they are thinly developed at best. What’s happening is that readers are confused by shifting perspectives on the story due to the lack of character depth. The tangible thing that they can latch onto is the names, but the real issue is the lack of in depth character development. The names themselves are no stranger than bog standard fantasy names.

I thought that Blood’s Pride was an entertaining read with a fast paced plot and an unusual fantasy world. Unfortunately that was overshadowed by the author’s tendency to cram too much into a single volume. Not only are there too many loose ends in the world building, but character development has also suffered as a result. It doesn’t matter how many “oh cool” ideas or moments are in the story if the reader isn’t invested in the characters.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out promising - the Shandari people conquered by the warring Norlanders and then forced to live as less than second class citizens for decades, the brewings of an uprising fueled by an underground rebellion - but it all lost steam along the way. There are at least two pairs of star crossed lovers reaching across enemy lines and a lot of changing alliances that all seem to happen with not a lot of soul searching going on so it's hard to take the supposed seriousness of the situation seriously. It's all told through the third person POV of seven characters but I ended up only being mildly interested in three of them. I picked up this book and the second book (of the trilogy) at the same time from a used book store, breaking my own rule to not buy more than one book in a series at a time, so I will read the second just to get my money's worth.

[ambyr · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a slog from start to finish, full of characters whose motivations I did not understand and worldbuilding that frequently seemed contradictory. I kept waiting for it to all click and come into focus; when it (sort of) did, I groaned. There are some interesting ideas nestled in here, but I am extremely unlikely to read further.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blood’s Pride, in the end, left me incredibly frustrated. The world and cultures show incredible potential, but the plot and characters are completely lacking. Awkwardly paced, with events that never seem to stop happening and characters that you’ve probably read about in a hundred other books before, Blood’s Pride never really surfaces. Too many events, too many battles, uninteresting characters, and a clunky plot bog down this book, which is unfortunate because juxtaposed to that is some great writing and a fantastically unique world. Sadly, the wonderful cultures just aren’t enough to revive this work.


Read my full review here:

http://www.bookwormblues.net/2013/02/...

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most authors shy away from having so many main characters for fear of losing the interest of readers or lack of skill in creating so many unique voices. This was skillfully done though. Each character was well developed, and the interwoven stories were gracefully written in such a way that not only did I not lose track of who was who, I was drawn even deeper into the overall story by following the various perspectives. Overall this book was a joy to read and had one of the best first book in series endings I've come across.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book based on the cool looking cover of a temple in the middle of a desert - not that god awful looking edition with some buff dude and buff girl on the front that screams cringe and YA. It’s been rated pretty low on here and I wanted to give it a chance and hoped to be pleasantly surprised. Alas, I was not.

No map. Not a good start. I found this book very bland. Whilst the world itself sounds like it could be interesting with a warrior race of tall pale people that are ice cold, ruling over a desert people with a religious sect that has magic powers, it just all felt very thin and hollow. Like there was no depth or history to the world. The whole world felt like this one colony and the immediate surrounding area. It just made what could’ve been a great world very dull and lifeless.

There are initially interesting ideas but in my opinion they just weren’t executed well. The author whipped up cool things like the griffins/dereshadi and the Norlander’s characteristics but I didn’t get why a warrior race - where their whole culture seems to be based around their swords and honour and fighting - why do they outcast their people if they get scars or become disfigured? They’re obviously going to get scars if they’re warriors and are obviously going to end up with more outcasts than those without scars. It just seems a bit dumb and a bit of a stretch that the whole plot hangs on this.

The book seems to sacrifice intricate world building for characters and story. Which is okay but I never felt attached to or liked any of the characters. This lead me to get burned out with this book and stop at 60% in. I wanted to carry on and not feel like I’ve cheated on my goodreads page count stats but I just didn’t care about the story. The story did feel fast paced though and would have been fun if I’d cared about the characters but I just didn’t.

The author did a decent job with the romance in this book. It never felt cringe and I don’t think I eye rolled even once but I did raise an eyebrow a couple times.

The action wasn’t great. The “battle” at the mines when the Shadar started their uprising was a massively missed opportunity. We could’ve seen a really intense battle between the two races with POVs on either side. All out chaos with dereshadi flying around and shit just absolutely kicking off. But instead it focuses on the White Wolf and the Mongrel having a really weak duel during which the Norlander’s win the battle in the background when it just sounded like they were going to lose from being heavily outnumbered. A big waste of what could’ve been a great scene.

Also what’s with the imperial swords? Apparently they do what the user wants but all I’ve seen them do is shake a little bit in their sheaths or pull towards their owners hands. Hardly worth invading another people just for the metal to do this. And how do the Norlander’s manage to enslave another people in the desert if they die in the sunlight?

I was really hoping for this book to be a hidden gem but sadly it’s not for me.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first heard of Blood's Pride right around the time it came out, on tor.com. It fit right in with my plan to read more fantasy novels by women*, but I never got around to reading it. Turns out, the second book in this trilogy is coming out this month, so it was time to get going on this series at last!

* Then and now, it seems like the gents constantly get the spotlight in fantasy: for example, 90% of the recommendations goodreads provided off my reading this book were by men.

The prologue and first chapter of this novel are excellent, giving the reader a good introduction to the setting, to the situation between the Shadari and the Norlanders, and to central character Meiran, also known as the Mongrel.

After that, the pace picks up significantly as things in the Shadar, which weren't great in the first place, fall into dissolution and chaos. Several characters are introduced and put into place for a huge rupture toward the middle of the book. The pace was rushed, or even too rushed; a new chapter introduced another player in the drama before I'd gotten to know the previous one. I never had trouble figuring out what was going on, even though people changed locales and motivations frequently, but I wasn't particularly absorbed, either. In general, I would have like to have had more breathing room in the first half of the book. It isn't often that I say I'd like a fantasy novel to be longer! But I do think that the events of the first 250 pages would have been much more interesting if the characters in particular had been filled out more. At about the midway point, I felt like things had settled in, and the latter half of the novel, including the various fight scenes, flowed smoothly and enjoyably.

I liked the women in this book. There's Harotha, whose bravery and single-mindedness are in no way impeded by her being in the latter month or two of pregnancy. There's Frea, whose determination is a very different flavor and who's scary as heck (until, unfortunately, she isn't anymore). And there's Isa, whose characterization is somewhat irregular, going from spacey naïf to cool-headed warrior in a very brief period of time, but who comes into her own in a climactic battle.

And then there's the Mongrel, whose being the central figure on the cover, in my opinion, accurately reflects her place as the heart and soul of the book. Not to spoil too much, she's a part of all three cultures in the novel: the Shadari, the Norlanders, and the Nomas, and a loner who's reportedly never been defeated in battle. Every scene, except one, which hit my heart in any way while reading Blood's Pride featured Meiran. She tries very hard to be the baddest badass ever, but her (mostly) low-key romance with Nomas king Jachad, and some other events, show that she's struggling to make do just like everyone else. She's the one to see us out in the epilogue, too, and I'm curious to see where she goes from here considering her new situation.

Strangely, I didn't get a strong impression from the male characters. Well, that's okay. Usually it's the other way around. Daryan, Eofar, and Jachad all have a lot of potential, and considering the title of the second book in this series, Rho may well be more of a central figure soon.

Dramash, a young child, runs away from his family toward his people's persecutors several times because he wants to ride the sphinx-like creatures they control, which makes him pretty irritating. It turns out he's a MacGuffin, and that means he spends a lot of time being kidnapped and threatened and heedlessly using his magical powers. I don't know much about children's psychology, but he takes his role with more equanimity than I'd expect, especially when it comes to the things that happen to his parents.

Blood's Pride is limited both in the scope of its setting and time. The Shadar was a city-state with its own king before it was occupied by the Norlanders, and all but one or two scenes in the novel take place within its borders. Between the prologue and the details provided in the main part of the story, I got a good picture of the Shadar and its various locales: the Temple, the ruined palace, the cave, the mine and associated colony, and the city streets where the Shadari live. From Chapter One to the epilogue, the whole novel takes place within a few days, and those few days encompass a lot of change, including a huge battle that pretty much trashes the place. I hope that the next two books take us back to the Shadar as it, literally, rises up from the ashes.

I like this novel more for what it's trying to do than what it's actually accomplished, but that's part of the reason I love first novels. It's better than some folks' twentieth novels, and it absolutely had enough going for it to make me look forward to the next one, Fortune's Blight.

[Cee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

When I was fourteen, I absolutely loved fantasy books. I read Terry Goodkind's tomes back to back, and basically finished all epic fantasy books in our library. Enter Goodreads and blogging. I fell in love with urban fantasy, then with paranormal romance, and then with YA. Fantasy books went forgotten and gathered dust. Blood's Pride is the first straight up fantasy book I have read in years.

Blood's Pride is set in the Shadar, a desert city next to the sea. Towering over the city is a temple, which used to belong to the Shadari asha's (kind of magic priests). Then the Dead Ones (called Norlanders) came, and made the Shadari into slaves. The book follows a whole cast of characters throughout a rebellion, intrigue and all kinds of people that have more powers than previously thought.

Blood's Pride has a shit-ton of characters. Like, for the first six chapters, you feel as if every chapter you're in someone else's head, completely unrelated to the previous character. No longer used to the brain capacity fantasy requires to keep track of the world, I struggled. Ms Manieri takes the fantasy book away from the Western-orientated medieval style. This also implicates that she doesn't adhere to the standard naming in fantasy, which is usually some prettified version of a Western name (like Petyr or Peeta from Peter). For my untrained ear the names of the Shadari sounded Arabic, like Jachad, Harotha, Faroth and Dramash. On one hand I'm full of praise for the author for taking this setting to the next level with realistic naming, on the other hand it's so hard to remember them. I kept confusing Dramash and Daryan, even though they are completely different characters (one is a kid, one is a man-slave).

Reading the first hundred pages of Blood's Pride can be summed up with the word confusion. It took me a long while to start forming a mental image of the Shadar and its inhabitants, and to keep track of what was actually going on. I think it might have been better if there had been a bit less characters. The switching point of views are forced in the beginning of the book. It gets smoother once you pass the half-way mark, but this is way too far in for most readers to wait it out.

The main strength of Blood's Pride is it's originality. We all know the fantasy story of the boy that finds a sword/dragon/magic book. Blood's Pride offers a more grown up and complicated form of fantasy which deals with themes of slavery and suppression in a non-condemning way. There are plenty of good Norlander characters (oppressors), just as there are plenty of bad Shadari (slaves). Though the book takes place in the small bubble of the Shadar, it seems as if after the happenings of the book, we will discover more of the world in the second book, Fortune's Blight. It also promises more court intruige, which is one of my favourite subjects in fantasy.

Blood's Pride is not an easy, breezy read. It will take some effort, especially in the beginning. However, I would recommend it for the more hardcore fantasy fans that want some more originality in their stories. The story line promises to become pretty epic in the next book.

[Ryan Viergutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

How did I forget to ramble about this? It was AMAZING. It's ... surprisingly hard to describe. The big picture is easy to describe, it's about a group of rebels fighting against an empire, yay, right? But at its heart it's about the /people/ and Mein Bog is it one seriously bonkers character story.

It's one of those books that's almost too fast so it's hard to remember how it all goes together. But the characters are the real point of the book. Some of the POVs...

-> A pregnant woman adventurer who has this strange instinct for knowing exactly what to say to who and when. She's not a manipulator she's just a SMART lady. And you have to give her incredible credit for going absolutely everywhere, nonstop, chasing every single clue she can discover, while she's VERY PREGNANT. How often do you see a pregnant woman POV in ANY book, especially in a fantasy book?!

-> The prince of the rebels who is trapped on a temple above his people. He's been stuck in it for a VERY LONG time, the tormented guy, and he starts to make real decisions when things start hitting the fan.

-> One of the daughters (pretty sure she's the youngest) of the imperial governor who has a serious admiration for her older sister (who is /very/ driven and also thoroughly bonkers) and a crush on the prince. You want to talk changes, wow, man, she transforms in her whole outlook and personality...

-> The King of the Nomas wanderers who have stayed out of the conflict between the rebels and imperials for as long as they could... although he has some real history with them that involves the Mongrel who returned for revenge (though that might not be her real purpose!) and ultimately decides which way he'll go.

-> ANOTHER one of the governing rulers who is a high-ranking soldier in their ranks. He's a cool, introspective guy, although when the rebels start to get berserk, and HE finds himself torn up by them, he starts to ponder which way he's actually going.

Anyway, I really got into it about half through, and it is pretty thoroughly difficult to describe. I have no idea how the heck the writer managed to juggle so many characters so linked together but man, she did. Go read it so I have to someone to geek out about it.

(I want the sequel NOW.)

[Ubiquitousbastard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly a three star book to me, but since this is the first book in a while where I said "No!" out-loud, that's a four star book right there. I actually cared about several of the characters, including ones that grew on me throughout the book. I loved the different types of family interactions as well. I liked the fact that this wasn't a book focused on one character for the most part; I tend to like ensemble-y books, and this didn't disappoint in that. Also, the author didn't linger too long on pointless or boring parts, and kept it switched up. The different romances were handled rather well, too. The men weren't blank slates of aloofness, and the women weren't paragons of amazing. Everyone had their own personality, and no one was perfect. This all being done without making everyone evil bastards.
It got slightly confusing toward the end, though; too many things going on too quickly. I wish there had been just a bit more focus on each event, but I guess that is better than being bogged down in pointless details.

[Alex Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a bit like a cake. It has all the right ingredients there; flour (interesting backstory), eggs (wide mix of characters), sugar (conflict between them). And from the description on the back I was looking forward to it.

However, this book/cake wasn’t left in the oven long enough, so came out a bit soggy and left me feeling unfilled and disappointed.

The initial premise starts off well. The Shadari live relatively peacefully on the edge of a desert, in the shadow of a mountain top temple, home to the Shadrari’s priests. However, their peace is broken by the arrival of the Nordlanders. They seize control of the Shadari, making them into a slave race, either as servants in the temple turned fortress or in the mines, extracting the magical ore the Nords use in the smelting of their swords. Now after decades of crushing rule, the Shadari rebellion is growing, with an uneasy alliance with the nomadic Nomas people, the Shadari have brought the help of the legendary mercenary ‘the Mongrel’ and think the time to overthrow their oppressors has come. Now characters from each side are thrown together in a mix of conflicts and compromises as the war starts.

This is essentially the best part of the book. The set up of the plot, and with the mix of cultures and characters you can think of all paths and turns it could take. But unfortunately, it starts to crumble pretty quick from the promising prologue.

The pace of the book is very rapid, jumping from character and location. I like the fact that the author doesn’t feel the need to layout and explain every detail, but there’s a limit to what the reader (i.e. me) can fill in the blanks and get some kind of handle on what’s going on. Plot points and explanations are either thinly explained or revealed too late in the story that you’ve been a bit irritated stuff has been going on where you have little clue what or why things are happening as they are. Little is also given in the descriptions of…well basically everything. While the Shadari and Nomas are (I believe) to be normal humans, the Nords meanwhile are from a cold climate and seem to be a race adapted to the cold. When they invaded the Shadari’s homeland, they were seen as being rotting zombie-like. They have a severe aversion to heat and the sun, where the try to avoid direct contact. But this is never made fully clear. This is just what I managed to glean from odd passages thrown here and there. While a touch from a Shadari can burn a Nord, that hasn’t stopped Eofar, elder son the ruling governor sleeping with Harotha, sister to the rebellion leader and getting her pregnant. I mean what are the rules? This kind of thing continues throughout the book. The Nords ride Triffons, flying creatures, but besides some mention of fur, there isn’t a description of what they look like. Do they sharp teeth? Claws? Colour? None of this is done. While I can create a mental picture if an author says dragon, these Triffons are the author’s creation. I don’t know what she envisages. It continues in more aspects of the story. Dramash, the young son of Faroth, the leading resistance fighter, has powers. And a prophecy. That are so ill-defined and revealed so late I was more confused than intrigued, and I can’t see, in the way it’s told, to have been the only one this confused. It doesn’t help either that Dramash is a highly irritating, unbelievable child. Early in the book, in the middle of an earthquake and rebellion attack, he is ‘willingly’ kidnapped by Frea, the evil daughter of the Nord governor and stays with her even when his aunt, Harotha tries to save him, because he really wants to look after the Triffons. Really? He’s about 7. Just came off as unrealistic and made him look like a spoiled selfish brat.
There are a ton of other instances where the story isn’t fleshed out where I was constantly flicking back and forth to see if I had missed something (most times I hadn’t). One of the main characters, ‘The Mongrel’; who helps kick off the Shadari rebellion, is brought in with a history of being a deadly mercenary. You’re not told this history, just that she’s a deadly mercenary. You get no explanation or backstory on the battles she’s fought and won. Just that she’s a badass. Thing is I got confused that I don’t think she actually did anything of note. Really. With the fanfare created around her, she didn’t seem particularly deadly or a supreme strategist. It is revealed she has some secret past linked with the ruling Shadari family, but like the rest of the revelations in this book, comes with no foreshadowing and just dumped in the middle of the book, that you’re surprised but in a bad way. Also, what really turned me off, was the death of a main character. I had to re-read the paragraph about three times, as its not made clear, they were alive l and seemingly fine just a few moments before, then we are told, not shown that they are dead. Now perhaps they aren’t really dead ad will come back in the later books, but after following this person for most of the book, and a pivotal character, to just have pretty much summed up ‘oh they’re dead’ and everything to carry on, really broke any positivity I had left in this book.

It also doesn’t help with the confusing mix of names. Ok, it’s a fantasy, so you aren’t going to get a Richard or a Susan, but the names seem too similar to each other and with many not getting a proper description; I got confused who was who, had to keep checking the character list and never felt a connection with the majority of them.

The writing is alright…mostly. Some parts are decent, but reading this really seemed to drag, not sure if it was just the whole confusing plot thing, or lacklustre writing or at times a mix of both.
From the blurb on the book, I was looking forward to reading this, a fantasy book away from usual dark grimdark fantasy I usually drawn to. While I don’t think it can be classed as a YA fantasy (because there aren’t enough of those) I think it missed something to be classed as a more mature title.
This is the first in a trilogy (how unusual), and after a poor experience reading this, I have doubts that I could be dragged back for the other two. Disappointing. I think the book’s ingredients should have been kept in the cooker for longer.

[Aneta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me completely by surprise, in a very positive way.

While reading it, I had a realisation: this entire book is just her siblings challenging Frea to a fight she doesn't want to have; like playing cat and mouse, except the mouse wants to be caught by the cat and the cat doesn't give a fuck.

I loved the characters! They were easy to root for and shout at, flawed in a realistic way. They make stupid decisions, they fuck up badly, but there's consequences for their actions, too. This isn't one of those series where the characters can get away with everything. No, there's very serious consequences here, and trauma is processed instead of magically healed and forgotten. For example, the main siblings were very much affected by the tragic death of their mother when they were just children, years and years ago and Isa clearly still had ptsd and is afraid to fly on a triffon.

Which brings me to a point I particularly liked, namely: the disabled/chronic illness representation. It's so good! Isa deals with emotional trauma/ptsd and later loses her arm, Meiran is visibly scarred, deals with a debilitating illness and only had one functioning eye, Faroth walks with a limp. All of them are major characters.

The worldbuilding is GREAT, and it's really the little details that count. There are three distinct cultures: the Shadari, the Norlanders (Dead Ones), and the Nomas. Love that Norlanders and the Shadari have different names for the same creature: a triffon and a dereshadi. The Dead Ones are motionless and quiet so Isa notices how changeable human faces are based on Daryan, pays attention to the movements of his lips when he's speaking, because to her kind it's not normal to be in so much movement all the time. Same with sounds which are painful to the Norlanders who communicate in their minds alongside being able to send emotions. Also, Rho was raised in Norland and doesn't understand crying - because Norlanders don't cry - but Isa was raised in the Shadari colony and does cry.

So. Many. "OH FUCK" moments. So many plot twists and reveals. My head was spinning.

Unfortunately, the pacing is very off. Around 30% into this book, it feels like the climax is already there, the pacing is super super fast and intense. And then, it... fizzles out gradually because when something is very intense all the way through it gets tedious fast. The 1st half is easily 5 stars and then things kind of fall apart around the 60% mark. Some events are also just a little bit too convenient. Okay: very convenient. Especially Jachad, it's like he teleports wherever he's needed I swear. Plus, I'm never a fan of the "magical child" storyline, ever, and it was very prominent in this book.

But I still! Loved this book. It's not perfect but I was riveted, and so I recommend it very much.

[Shehreyar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: This is the author's first foray into fantasy--a debut novel. With that in mind, I have to say it was a good one.

Blood's Pride is perhaps the most tumultuous story I have ever had the pleasure of reading. From the first hundred pages to the very end, it is a single, prolonged battle. Loyal men are turned traitors, cowards become heroes, alliances are forged and broken, a great deal of world building is accomplished, and, above all, the characters are each distinguished from the other through a meaningful and well executed look into their pasts, motivations and decisions. All in the midst of battle.

Blood's Pride hosts three primary races. The Norlanders, Shadari and Nomas. The Norlander's are invaders from a distance land, who have conquered the lands of the Shadari and enslaved their people in order to mine for a precious mineral. It is used to forge blades mixed with Norlander blood, which react to commands of the person who's blood is used and significantly increases their skill. The entire conflict is instigated when the Shadari hire a notorious and feared mercenary (Lahlil--the 'Mongrel') to aid them in a rebellion against the Norlanders. Lahlil brings along some help: the son of a god, Jachad Nisharan.

There was a great deal of scene-changing, jumping back and forth between the central characters. Lahlil (the 'Mongrel) is the driving force behind almost everything that happens; she moves the pieces around, all in an attempt to achieve some mysterious aim that isn't revealed until the very end. Then there's Daryan, the last Daimon king the Shadari people. He's a slave, but one who has remained insulated from the outside world by his life amongst the Norlanders. In the beginning, he is portrayed as unfit for leading his people, but he grows with progression of the story, becoming the king his people need. Isa was another intresting character. Initially, she is a die-hard Norlander who 'attempts' to embody what it truly means to be a Norlander. Attempt being the operative word. It's clear from the outset that she doesn't have it in her to be truly cruel, and that sets her on an inevitable collision course with her elder sister, Frea (the antagonist).

There are several other essential characters, but it'll spoil the story if I delve too deeply into that.

There were some pacing issues in the middle due to the non-stop barrage of action scenes. If you have a battle which lasts too long, it tends to lose its shock-value. However, toward the end you see many plot lines converging and the story picks up once again. I think the most powerful aspect of the story was its characters. The world wasn't all that remarkable, but the characters in it were all unique. They had solid, individual identities and they were highly consistent, even when they changed over the course of the story. I liked Lahlil's character the most, even though you see her the least (she's always working from the shadows).

Overall, a 4/5 of 4.5/5. Worth the read.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harotha and her brother Faroth were just children when the Norlanders attacked Shadar. They wanted to precious ore of the region and enslaved the Shadari as servants and miners. Now the Shadari has banded together to hire the Mongrel, a legendary mercenary who just might be able to help them overcome the Norlanders. But she has an agenda of her own.

BLOOD'S PRIDE is the first in a trilogy and that definitely became clear by the time I finished reading - there's no true cliffhanger ending but there are lots of questions remaining by the end of the book.

I came across a great Q&A with the author as I was about halfway through the book and found it interesting that Manieri mentions the fact that the story begins in the middle. There's a prologue about the Norlanders' attack of the Shadar and then the reader is pretty much dropped into the story, swept along and left to glean details about the world and the characters along the way. While it's a better option than the dreaded info dump, it did leave me more than a bit confused throughout the beginning of the book.

The story unfolds around six main characters: Eofar, the governor's son; Harotha, a Shadari whose brother is leading the revolution; Isa, Eofar's youngest sister; Rho, a Norlander soldier whose relationship with his leaders is complicated; Daryan, the Shadari "king"; and Jachad, the King of the Nomas. And of course they've all got secrets that are revealed over the course of the story.

Fortunately, Manieri's tale does move along quickly. In fact, I was surprised at just how fast the pacing was. Sure, we could have spent a little more time with some of the characters, but overall I felt like the story paid off in a pretty great way by the end. Very much worth a little head scratching in the beginning as I tried to wrap my head around what was going on.

The worldbuilding is interesting. We learn that the Norlanders - the Shadari call them Dead Ones - are pale skinned and sensitive to sunlight. Their skin is cold and they "speak" to one another through their minds, which leaves their hearing very sensitive as well. On the other hand, the Shadari have a darker complexion and their touch burns the Norlanders. Their religion doesn't allow for writing or reading (and we do learn why). And then there are the Nomas, a desert tribe whose men and women live separate throughout much of the year. Many of the details about these people and the characters are revealed throughout the story, so some of the complexities aren't clear from the outset of the book. As with many series, it will be interesting to see how the story unfolds and what we continue to learn in the upcoming installments.

[Claire Blind Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book. It was slow paced, the characters were forgettable, there was too much forced mystery to be invested, and (this is a personal thing) the names were too complicated and similar for me to keep up with who was who. Like, Creative names are cool and all but when I'm having to figure out which character is which by context clues, there's a problem.
Another pet peeve of mine is when there's a forced mysteriousness in a book. Like when a character whispers something else to another character, and the whole time we've been getting every aspect of their experience, and all of a sudden we're thrown into the dark on what their conversation was about. Like... that's lazy in my opinion. What's the point? It's frustrating and just bogs down the plot. And there was a good bit of it in this book. There were so many characters that when the narrative took on this "mysterious" aspect, you didn't even remember it when it came to revealing it. So much was left up to the reader to figure out but their never gave enough clues or hints to make it interesting enough to think about or satisfying when they finally revealed what it was.
Also, many of the really interesting characters were shoved into the background and hardly heard from. Jackard? his family? I'd LOVE to hear their story! Prince what's-his-face with puppy dog eyes for pregnant-whatever-her-name-was, couldn't care less. They had a shallow relationship that was barely fleshed out then I have to feel for their final scene? Hardly earned.

All in all, I won't be reading anymore into the series. The world building was good (if a little confusing with how it was described) but all the other elements I originally listed will keep me in the "Never Read Again" section.

Edit***
Also, the little boy (I can't remember his name...) was THE MOST ANNOYING CHARACTER I've read in a long... looooong time. Whenever his life was in danger I was rooting for that blade to fall man. THAT'S not what you want your readers to feel towards a child.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book had me hooked after just a few chapters, and I powered through it, easily reading 100 pages a day and still wanting more. At first, after reading reviews on here, I was a little worried... "complicated names" and "multiple POV" and "POVs are all the same", etc? Please, anyone who wants to read this book, do yourself a big favor and ignore those negative reviews!

Well, Isa, Frea, Eofar - such complex names, I know! Multiple POVs made me worried, I love bonding to a certain character for the whole story... but this is not ONE person's story, this is an entire war covering three 'types' of people. You don't learn about wars in history by following just one man through his battles, no - you get a view of multiple battles and multiple soldiers stand out with stories to tell! That's what happens here, and it blends together marvelously! As for 'can't tell the difference' - it's not like we're seeing through their personalized vision, feeling their unique thoughts. Imagine a movie, say, Avengers. Part of it, we see what Iron Man's up to. Part, we see what Thor's up to. We're not hearing it in first person with their unique thoughts and feelings - we're seeing the action surrounding that character and getting a vague idea of their motivations.

Trust me, it works smoothly and you find yourself coming to care for all of those characters! At first I was sad it didn't focus on just Meiran and Jachi, but now I'm glad - because I'd have missed out on 75% of the story if that was all I heard about!

The world is rich and consistent, the characters are engaging. I love the theme of 'though we can see the future, we can't change it'. Since the POVs change, it's not one of those where you're desperately reading on to see the outcome, because that particular drama comes to a conclusion/pause as the POV changes. Overall, it was great! Not a book I had to rush out and buy a personal copy of, but a book I will remember!

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whew! Ok. So the 3 stars are specifically for the audiobook. Here's why:
While I enjoyed the reader...come to think of it, I probably would have stopped with another reader...this is not the kind of book I can listen to successfully. There's just too much going on, too many similar-sounding names, everyone and everything has at least two separate names and the whole thing was a cluster in my mind. I got lost so many times because I wasn't fully concentrating on the story, I kept getting one person confused with someone else, I couldn't figure out who had lost body parts or why, etc.

I have to say, though, even with all that, I liked this much better than I thought I would because, really, a book called "Blood's Pride" sounds like low-end D&D stuff, especially when you find out the title comes from the name of a sword in the story. I had low expectations as a result but because I loved the woman's face on the cover art, I listened anyway and I'm glad I did.

There were a few things that irritated me such as the mushy, matchy-matchy romances (everyone had to get together with his and her partners even if the relationships didn't last) and the sometimes-melodramatic monologues. I often found myself wondering how much of the story was based in Shakespeare. Other than that and the audiobook being the wrong format for my bewildered brain, though, I felt the story was well-written and mostly engaging.

If I continue with the series, I'm going to have to go back and read this on paper and then continue the series on paper because I'm not sure my mind could handle another three weeks of "Woah, wait, WHAT? How? Who? I don't understand!" *rewind & relisten*