The Bleeding Throne

The Blood Tournaments #3

by Daniela A. Mera

Where magic, romance, and The Hunger Games meet.
"The worst part is that I had expected this to end like some ludicrous fairytale. Fairytales were wishful nightmares incarnate."

With half of the Blood Tournament competitors dead, the stakes for marriage were higher than ever, and Carmen was barely holding on. What she had seen in the volcano carved deep scars inside of her.

In a world where blood was everything, the Chancellor forced Carmen to marry in order to preserve her legendary magic. Fractured trust soured the match, alongside the instruction to produce an heir to her new estate within a year.

When the next year's tournament arrived, and Carmen was still childless, she was ready for hell to pay.

However, the punishment was worse than she could have anticipated. A new round of bombings and raids swept across Arrebol. With the threat of civil war looming, Carmen woke up. She was no longer the emaciated, shell-shocked young woman who had faded into society. She was a warrior, willing to fight to the death for a better world.

Be captivated by Carmen's story as it intertwines with classic themes of social status and courage to survive against all odds. This is perfect for fantasy romance fans looking for just the right amount of steam and their next slow-burn couple.

This series is upper YA/NA and will have moderate steam as the series progresses. There are some instances of violence, language, and mature situations. Recommended for ages sixteen and up.

“Daniela A. Mera has created a unique dystopian world where blood magic reigns, Elites are forced into arranged marriages, and no one can be trusted. Fantasy and dystopia meld together seamlessly in this first installment of The Blood Tournaments. It's a must-read!” - Elayna R. Gallea, author of Book 1 of the Binding Chronicles

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Young Adult

362 pages, Hardcover

Published August 19, 2023

About the author

Daniela A. Mera was born into a royal Fae family in Scotland. She was a free spirit who loved traveling and cloud watching while laying velvet-soft grass. When she came of age, her mother forced her to travel to Las Vegas in order to kill a dragon and conquer a neighboring kingdom.

The dragon turned out to be a man, whom she fell wildly in love with. The couple ran away to the gentle hills of Mexico where Daniela ate lots of tacos and fruits the size of her head.

Something along those lines, anyway.

She writes whimsical tales full of lore all around the world, full of emotionally available men and women who run the world. She can be found listening to sappy romance ballads while writing scenes meant to emotionally damage her readers.

When not writing, Daniela can be found doing yoga and playing video games. Join her newsletter for freebies at: www.danielaamera.com

Reviews

[Nims · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was....

The book needed editing like serious editing cause why were multiple paragraphs duplicated? The errors, the grammar, i should not be noting that much spag, maybe it was just my kindle version?

I just didn't enjoy it but 3 stars for Antonio and him alone. It was meh for me but i know it will be great for others. I just didn't care and that sucks. It was all over the place and Carmen frustrated the life out of me. I do like the authors writing tho so that's a good thing i guess.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the story is good the book itself is riddle with errors. There are spelling mistakes, missing words, sentences that just cut off, and quotation marks that have no purpose.
Whoever edited this book should be fired it looks like a first draft.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed Carmen's journey through this series, but I so badly wish that there had been more. More details, more of the history and lore of the world, more book! Trilogies are great and all, but I worry that the publishing industry has forgotten that there are numbers after 3, and that telling a story well is the true goal.

The first two thirds of the book focus heavily on Carmen's emotional journey, and the final third seems to house the majority of the plot. I would have loved to see the big heavy scenes of the third portion receive more attention - major world changes happen in this portion, and our main cast run from one thing to the next as if it has little effect on them. This world and this story had so much potential, and I feel like it was only half realized.

What I was thrilled with was the very end - YA stories involving a revolution so often have a gutsy young person, raised in unfortunate circumstances, who knows the terrors of the society and at the end finds themself thrust into a position of power. It seems the logical end for a protagonist, until you remember that this person is 1) a child or very young adult, and has been through something incredibly traumatic - they need time to heal please! and 2) has very little experience to guide them in a leadership role, suddenly being the Queen would be incredibly stressful for an ex-farmer turned rebel!

So you can imagine how pleased I am with Carmen's actually logical choice of what to do with her life, which is simply to find somewhere she can live it.

[Amber Gransinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book for free as an arc copy from the author.

I rarely ever give a book a 1 star review but in this case I feel it is necessary.

Update: bumping this up to two stars as apparently all errors have been fixed in final draft. I still stand by my review of the overall book content and my enjoyment of it.

Like the two books in the series before this one it was riddled with errors. Spelling errors, grammatical errors, words missing from sentences, extra words duplicated in sentences, sometimes paragraphs would also be duplicated.

I feel sorry for the author because her editor has done her an incredible disservice. This editor needs to be fired.

My other beef with this book was that phrases and sentences would be often repeated, I felt like we were just chasing our tails and going around in circles for half the book having the same conversations and repetition. How many times did Carmen need to mention how she wanted Antonio but felt betrayed? It was like 50 plus times?

The book felt all over the place and was just a total mess. Carmen somehow learned to hone her powers in like 2 minutes? Unrealistic. Some things in the book didn’t make sense. Lore was not explained well. Carmen’s character was poorly written imo.

Just an example of how bad the editing is “someone relaxed inside of me” I think you meant something?!? Ugh.

[Darian - Books With A Chance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things definitely took an interesting turn in this one with the Queen, although evil, I did like her character. I wish we could have seen more of her magic and a better understanding of her history. There was mentioning of wanting to kill her sister, I’m not sure if I missed it or if it wasn’t in the book of where this sister was.
The first half of the book, I wasn’t a fan of Carmen. She didn’t grow much as a character but I was glad to see when she actually got up to strengthen her body and when she finally stopped fighting with Antonio. I did enjoy the happy ending for everyone.

[Mya Elizabeth Hill]

DNF….

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 of The Blood Tournaments, The Deadliest Game (The Blood Tournaments #2):, left us with a wyvern erupting out of a volcano in a monumental way. The bombastic destruction of Mt. La Dama and the dragon's escape causing aftermath of sorrow and annihilation. Not only that, we discovered that the Wyvern was a secondary form for the Queen of Air and Shadow. Book 3, starts with the Queen's reveal and the following conversation she had declaring war on Carmen.

So, not only is Carmen feeling guilt for the death and maiming of so many competitors in the Blood Tournaments, she's injured and traumatized, on top of being blamed for the obliteration of so many young souls. All while scrambling to figure out this new nemesis' motivations.

This is mainly what The Bleeding Throne focuses on. How Carmen feels following Book 2's events and how she slowly learns to cope. Daniela A. Mera does an exceptional job of breaking down Carmen's emotions and reactions, mainly anger and hurt. Carmen's trauma feels believable. How she reacts about her leg, her situation and how she lashes out often at Antonio when she has no other outlet of managing her pain. Antonio's point of view is even given, showing that he's only human too and unsure on how to help her without running away. The plot is very character driven for these reasons.

Everything else comes secondary. This is why I feel The Bleeding Throne could have been made longer or split into several books of its own and couldn't give it a complete 5 stars. Encounters with the Queen are quick, easy to miss the more subtle factors in conversations she has. After her epic arrival, I felt she deserved more. She needs a book of her own, honestly. The Chanciller became more of an annoying inconvenience, rather than the evil bastard he was set up to be. Antonio sort of also feels like he is pushed to the side unrightfully so after fighting so hard for Carmen before. There is even a whole cult that worships Carmen's bloodline that is glanced over. All these needed more time and development.

Where I will give the story credit is it does tie Carmen's story together. She has to learn that she can't solve everything. Life is constantly changing and she has to learn to adapt or be swallowed up whole.

The world that Daniela A. Mera is setting up with this series is sublime, her writing layered and fascinating. Even though this one isn't my favorite, I still enjoyed it and look do forward to her future works.

[Fedythereader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so incredibly much to the amazing author for sharing an ARC copy of this book with me !!!

Trigger Warnings: general description of violence, panic attacks

“Antonio. Always Antonio. Omnipresent, powerful, wealthy Antonio taking care of things from the shadows.”

“To love so deeply, only to end in blood and sorrow.”

“You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Please don’t cry.”

As with the Divinity Chronicles, this series caught my heart in a way I was not expecting and now that it is over … I don’t know what to do with myself. Getting through Carmen’s journey as she found out who she was and what kind of powers she could wield and master and whom she could trust with her heart … it was an overwhelming adventure made of magic, secrets, pain, powers, tournaments and love. There was not one second I did not love about this book. There was not one chapter I did not feel like crying because of how conflicted I felt on whether to keep going, to figure out more, or stop because I did not want it to end.
The way both Carmen and Antonio were dealing with what was happening in their crazy, sudden marriage and their lives was so good to read. And I deeply loved the way the author gave us an insight into what it felt like to feel trapped in decisions you don’t want to make but trying and make the best out of a terrible situation anyway!!
Antonio Castillas Morales still and always will have my whole heart, no one will take it from him. The way he cares and the way he loves … there is something so utterly and completely broken and healing in the way he would do anything in his power to help Carmen that gets me every time he says something!!
I loved how in this book all the answered we could have had about their story, their past and their heritage was answered and I loved that more side characters were involved in the story and it’s development.
This book was exactly as I wanted their story to end and I am so so grateful to the author for letting it happen the way it did !!!

"Step away from my wife,"

"Sometimes, we must dwell in shadows to seek the light,"

“There was a distinct pleasure about being called his.”

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
Thank you to Equality Book Tours and the author for an eARC of this book. This does not influence my opinion.

This was great conclusion to the Blood Tournaments trilogy.
I started to like the main characters again and loved that we got to know so much history and world building, it was very interesting and seemed well thought through.
Sadly, most of the side characters felt very flat and the main characters kept contradicting themselves in their actions and words/thoughts, not just related to trauma. Due to that, I often felt like I was missing information and plot points. Still, the plot was easy to follow and understand.
Carmen’s journey of healing (trauma) was portrayed very realistically, which of course often made the character frustrating as she kept lashing out at her loved ones and being a hypocrite, at least in the beginning. I am also happy to report that we do not get a “magic cures all” storyline here. Carmen’s journey to healing physically may have been sped up by magic, but all her struggles with getting used to her missing limb and using her prosthetic were portrayed realistically (as far as I can tell), slowly and influenced her a lot over the course of the book.
Ultimately, I would say, her healing journey was the main plot of this book, the fight for her freedom (for lack of a better spoiler-free description) being secondary.
The book did surprise me with some of its twists, not because I didn’t expect them at all, but because I expected them later in the book. Of course, this opened up the plot for other twists and turns, which I really liked.
All in all a great read.

[Tempest Reign · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 🌶🌶🌶

This story destroyed me, but in the best possible way! I cried, raged, cried, laughed, cried, and loved.

I felt so much for Carmen struggling to survive after the trauma she endured in book 2, all on top of her forced marriage, plus threats by the government, an evil fae queen and fanatics. Her character growth and healing were beautiful, and I was so happy when her friendships were re-kindled and she found herself.

Antonio will always have my heart; he's everything Carmen needs, and I love how he would do anything for her. When he told Carmen he loved her for the first time, I burst into tears, and I'm teary thinking about it now!

The ending wasn't exactly what I expected, but it fit the characters perfectly, and I loved how the book finished. I can't believe this is the end, but I know Carmen and Antonio will keep living in my head for years to come.

꧁..........◇..........꧂

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞: fated mates, found family, wyverns, dystopian vibes, fantasy romance, slow burn to mild spice, dual POV, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and an FMC who overcomes it all to live her happily ever after

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝: Lynette Noni's The Prison Healer, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, or Carissa Broadbent's Daughter of No Worlds
꧁..........◇..........꧂


💢 𝙏𝙒𝙨: violence, death, grief, mental illness (depression & anxiety), care post-amputation, imprisonment, consensual sexual scenes (low detail, open door)

☆I recieved an ARC of this book from the author. All thoughts are my own honest opinions.☆

[Beth’s Book Collection · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the final book in this trilogy. This ending to Carmen’s story was as hard hitting as the other books in this series, not letting up until the very end which I felt suited the series and the characters perfectly.

I just want to say that the characters are so well written throughout this series, but this especially shines through in this book. You have Carmen with her intense internal turmoil and sense of guilt followed by her determination and fight to carry on. Then there’s the Queen of Air and Shadow who so easily causes a great sense of unease whenever she is present in conversations. Providing half truths that only to annoy and frustrate while we are trying to gain an insight to the bigger picture.

The relationship between Carmen and Antonio has its difficulties but moments between just the two of them provide small bursts of calm in the storm that is this book where the steaks are higher than ever in a world filled with death and turmoil.

I received an ARC copy of this book and can confirm that this is my honest review.

[Jade C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really enthralled with this series in the beginning. It had a great plot and lore for the first two books, and the tension and angst between Antonio and Carmen reminded me of my old wattpad days. But coming into book three, I figured this book would go out with a bang, but instead it went out with a sizzle. There's two separate conflicts happening in this book, the Queen of Air and Shadow and also Gálvez. I feel like there needed to be another book to give each of these conflicts their time to shine and be properly written about or just focused on one and gave it more details. I understand that this book is marketed towards YA / teens but it felt rushed. The plot did not move smoothly.

As others mentioned, there's an abundance of grammatical errors in this book, which distracts from the already lacking plot.

I enjoyed this series being bilingual. I also loved the developing relationship between Antonio and Carmen.

All and all this series had so much potential and it fell flat. I don't really feel enticed to see what else comes out of this world which is sad but I'm off the hype.

[Liz Fully Booked · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bleeding Throne is the exciting conclusion to the Blood Tournaments series.

I have to admit, Carmen was driving me bonkers with her emotions all over the place. So it was good to see her finally come to terms with her feelings for Antonio and give in, instead of constantly fighting them.

There is a lot of action in this book, with the Queen trying to eradicate the Elites, and Carmen and Antonio trying to stop her and the Fanaticos. You’ll have to read to find out what happens.

Great ending to a great series. I enjoyed this very much and look forward to reading more of Daniela Mera’s work!

I received an advance reader copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bre - justbookvibes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped bring everything full circle with the story created with the first two books. You really get to see Carmen’s emotional journey as she deals with everything that has happened to her. She really grows as a character. I still love Antonio! He is so sweet and really tries his best, even if sometimes he gets it wrong. This book really tells a story about survival, love, friendship, and self-growth with some magic and political intrigue interwoven throughout the story.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Kristy Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Expect to be surprised. Roll with it!


It definitely has less action, and more emotional turmoil. I wasn't expecting the change so for a third of the book I wasn't sure how to feel about it. Then I determined it truly was fitting, and don't we all dislike when we know pretty much exactly how a story is going to go?! I love that she stepped off the path of predictability, throwing all her readers a curve ball. The story IS solid. Overall it is very good!

[Charity King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for an arc!

I was so glad to finally see Carmen give in to LOVE! It was so refreshing to finally see her allow herself to fully love Antonio, Magda, and other friends she met along the way.


The last 20% dragged a bit, but it was a great end to the trilogy. There were no loose ends or unanswered questions!

[Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series was everything. I loved it so much. A badass heroine. A tortured older man. Blood magic. Enemies to lovers. Betrayal. Plot twists. I could go on and on.

I was sad it was over. The ending was done so well!! It was done a bit differently than most chosen one tropes, and I really loved the author for this. I don't want to spoil it, so you'll just have to read for yourself!

[Radhika · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series started off semi-ok, but by the time we get to book 3, it was just trying to do too much. I feel like the author threw in faes, wyverns, and all these other elements, etc. because they've been in popular fantasy books recently, but they just felt out of place in this. Trilogies in fantasy books seems to be a trend, but I'm just not sure it was necessary...

[Elizabeth Holzworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book in the trilogy was the best. The second book and this one had promise but the plot felt rushed and jumbled in places. It’s as if the author had too many ideas but not enough time to flesh them all out. Overall I liked the ending but I finished this series feeling like it could have been so much more than it was.

[lainey - laineysbooknook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m honestly so sad this book is over :( the whole concept of the series is amazing and so unique in my opinion. And the found family is something I treasure. ❤️ I didn’t go into this series thinking much other than having a fun series to read but I absolutely fell in love with the world and had to read the entire series! Next up is the Enduar Seires!!

[Emmeline Everdeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the ending. It fit perfectly for who Carmen truly was.
Definitely a fun series if you are looking for a good book to read after finishing Hunger games or Divergent. If your enjoy dystopian world building you will be pleased with the development in this series and the potential for more in-depth exploration is high!

[Marianne Antonichuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so loved this I have to admit this book was jam packed but you learn so much and you see where the author was going in this book this was a wild ride reading the books and I would do it again they are so worth the read again this author did such a wonderful job on these books truly amazing

[kailee hopkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay it’s more like 3.5. it was for sure the best book of the series. HOWEVER there were too many spelling mistakes and issues with editing

[Belinda Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

After an exciting book 1, I needed to know how the story progressed. The second book was a bit all over the place but this book brought the story to a satisfying end.

I enjoyed watching Carmen work through all the trauma and come out victorious. She was wishy-washy with everything at the beginning but it got better. There was a lot happening in this book that felt s​udden.

I enjoyed watching the story unfold from Antonio’s POV which gave us more insight about him. It felt like so much was crammed into the story to end it but this was better then leaving it open ended.

[Meg Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review: (some minor spoilers if you haven't read the first two books) Like book 2, book 3 picks up right where we left off at the of the last book which I always appreciate. Carmen is forced to marry Antonio and expected to produce an heir within a year. The pressures are mounting and the surprise visitor at the end of book 2 is prominent in this book. Carmen is still recovering from her serious injury and her loneliness is palpable. I appreciated how she was able to find her strength, find a better understanding of her magic and really come into her own by the end of the book. I was a bit disappointed by her lack of insight into Antonio's feelings for her and by her frequent self-deprecation. I always love when female MC's are badasses and know it. Be proud girl! You are a warrior! I am very glad I finished out the series and I enjoyed the ending but this one fell a little flat for me and was my least favorite of the three books. Overall, an enjoyable story throughout the three books.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was good, but pretty anticlimactic for a series ending. It really could have been finished in book 2. Other than that, I did enjoy learning more about Carmen's backstory and what happened to her family. I wish there was more information about the queen.