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Healers of Meligna #5
Blood War
USA Today Bestseller, K. J. Colt, brings you the brand new and 5th installment in the unique Healers of Meligna series. [Book #6 will be released 2018.]
The war continues. Deep weariness stretches friendships and alliances. Conquering Juxon City was only the beginning; amongst civil unrest and the looming, bloody battle for Meligna, Adenine's inexperience as queen brings failures.
The Bivinians yearn to return home. Senyans refuse to declare loyalty to their new queen. And each day, the twins of her womb grow; a revelation of their parentage could bring Arcania to ruins.
Somehow, Adenine must pull together the snapping threads of her life if she is to hold on to the crown and save her people and all Arcania from the tyranny of the Queens--even as a new threat rears its ugly head on the horizon.
The war continues. Deep weariness stretches friendships and alliances. Conquering Juxon City was only the beginning; amongst civil unrest and the looming, bloody battle for Meligna, Adenine's inexperience as queen brings failures.
The Bivinians yearn to return home. Senyans refuse to declare loyalty to their new queen. And each day, the twins of her womb grow; a revelation of their parentage could bring Arcania to ruins.
Somehow, Adenine must pull together the snapping threads of her life if she is to hold on to the crown and save her people and all Arcania from the tyranny of the Queens--even as a new threat rears its ugly head on the horizon.
**In loving memory of Tom Shutt, who edited the entire Healers of Meligna series, and who died soon after finishing the edits for this book. You will be sorely missed.
- GenresFantasy
419 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 15, 2017
25 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
K.J. Colt
20 books100 followersU.S.A Today Bestselling author Kylie J. Colt writes fantasy with a psychological twist. By threading common psychological pathologies such as anxiety, depression and mood disorders, into her storytelling she creates deeper, more dynamic characters.
Located on the sunny Gold Coast of Australia, she has been writing for three years. Her favourite writers are Kristin Cashore, Robin Hobb, Trudi Canavan and Maria V. Snyder. She has an honours degree in psychology and counselling, enjoys road trips, gaming (Skyrim / Civilisation / Assassin's Creed / Bioshock / Banished), music festivals (electronica), playing pool, meditation, yoga, bushwalking, and gobbles up anything fantasy-related. Her favourite shows include Game of Thrones, Homeland, Dark Mirror, Downton Abbey, X-Files, House of Cards, Hannibal, Trueblood, IT Crowd and anything created by Hayao Miyazaki.
Located on the sunny Gold Coast of Australia, she has been writing for three years. Her favourite writers are Kristin Cashore, Robin Hobb, Trudi Canavan and Maria V. Snyder. She has an honours degree in psychology and counselling, enjoys road trips, gaming (Skyrim / Civilisation / Assassin's Creed / Bioshock / Banished), music festivals (electronica), playing pool, meditation, yoga, bushwalking, and gobbles up anything fantasy-related. Her favourite shows include Game of Thrones, Homeland, Dark Mirror, Downton Abbey, X-Files, House of Cards, Hannibal, Trueblood, IT Crowd and anything created by Hayao Miyazaki.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 19, 2019
Young, 15-year-old Adenine is now Empress, married to a man she does not love and in love with a man she must keep secret. She's soon to be Queen of Senya although disliked by many of the people. Though she's no longer a healer she is soon to be the mother of twins, but who's the father? While she has taken back the castle she has not defeated the queens. She's determined to defeat them and take back Meligna while saving as many lives as she can. But nothing is simple. She has to earn the trust of all the people, the Senyans, Bivinians, Ruxdorians and convince them to trust each other. Meanwhile she keeps her pregnancy a secret as long as she can. How will she balance her new duties and responsibilities and plan a war at the same time? Who will stick with her?
This was hard for me to rate because I'm a fan of K.J. Colt but I have to be honest. I read the first in this series when it was new, when Colt was a new author and really respected her efforts as a writer. I still do. The first two books in this series really piqued my interest however I was disappointed when it started to feel like it was taking more of a commercial turn, at least from my perspective. When she introduced this love triangle between Eiridan and Nallael I was discouraged because it felt more like an effort to follow what's trending than a natural turn of events. Especially to then say oh Adenine is pregnant and who's baby is she having, could it be his, or his, or both! She lost me there when there's so much other content to chase and follow. But I've stuck with it because I still think overall this is an interesting story and I'm very interested in seeing how it ends.
That said, a lot of time has passed since I read #4 and started this book, Blood War, #5. Coming back to this series with this installment did not reignite my interest in Adenine. I appreciate her altruism but it's annoying, and sure that's life, annoying characters make up good stories all the time. But I just couldn't get behind her wanting to battle and be some kind of warrior but yet she just has to save EVERYBODY, like literally everybody. It's hard to believe that there's just that much healer blood to go around to save everybody in every battle all the time. Meanwhile she's pregnant with twins and doesn't seem to give a sh** about her pregnancy or her children. How can you not stand to see ANYONE die and yet you run around like you're not even pregnant? It didn't mesh. For me this felt like a disjointed story not a coherent one. Adenine is a queen and a warrior but she's also a mother to be. It was like the story needed to keep up the look of her being this bad ass but also keep up the story line that she's going to birth these children. They didn't come together for me. She barely ate it seemed and yet her children still grew faster because she was a healer and one of them might be? I'm not trying to be a jerk but that feels like opportunistic writing.
In the beginning of this series it was easy to accept that Adenine was a young girl, but now I'm still supposed to go along with the idea that she turns 16 in this book and she's this tough queen, she's pregnant with twins, she has hours and hours of passionate sex when she gets the chance...really, 16? If she had been a little bit older a lot of this would be easier to swallow but that's not the case. I had to be reminded again and again that's she's literally a little girl. The only thing that made it so was because people would comment on it, how young she is. And then there are the people who know she's pregnant and they just can't do anything to make her give a crap about her babies. Everyone is more of an adult, more mature, more wise than she is but they're just powerless against her carelessness. And yet - here's the circle again - she's still this amazing compassionate girl with a big heart who does nothing to ensure she won't harm her unborn children.
Spoiler to follow...
The ending brought me a little more joy and felt more like the type of story I started out reading, what with the introduction of the Takers and their black pegans. The twist with Hawrald was beautiful, loved it, but even before the second part of the twist I was annoyed that she didn't let Hawrald die there in Borrelia, I mean she didn't even fight against saving him like Jemely was demanding she do. She was betrayed by her oldest friend but she just caved without any kind of fight? And yet she's a mother to be, a strong though compassionate queen and empress, a pegan rider...you see I keep coming back to the same circle. Then he does what he does later and it's like yes of course you had to make sure she didn't let him die...sigh... And then there's the whole stabbing the babies thing...wow very dramatic... but then she gets the healer's blood and everything's all perfect, babies are totally fine, back to normal cuz ya know, healer's blood. Really? How convenient. I felt like, what's the point of that scene? To be dramatic? But it fell flat. The Takers brought my interest back but then revealing two completely healthy babies, one is Nallael's and one is Eiridan's burned me as a reader, real bad. Really? How convenient. Rolling and rolling my eyes...they're on the ground, rolling... So these are the reasons this didn't read naturally to me. It was a case of reading a story and knowing you're reading a story.
So if you like Twilight you might like this. If you like love triangles and unbelievable teenage romance you'll like this. If you've read the first two books in this series I don't discourage you from reading the rest but be prepared for things to get a little more commercial and unbelievable. I still look forward to reading the final book in this series because I'd like to see this to the end. I hope K.J. Colt continues to write because she's obviously talented.
This was hard for me to rate because I'm a fan of K.J. Colt but I have to be honest. I read the first in this series when it was new, when Colt was a new author and really respected her efforts as a writer. I still do. The first two books in this series really piqued my interest however I was disappointed when it started to feel like it was taking more of a commercial turn, at least from my perspective. When she introduced this love triangle between Eiridan and Nallael I was discouraged because it felt more like an effort to follow what's trending than a natural turn of events. Especially to then say oh Adenine is pregnant and who's baby is she having, could it be his, or his, or both! She lost me there when there's so much other content to chase and follow. But I've stuck with it because I still think overall this is an interesting story and I'm very interested in seeing how it ends.
That said, a lot of time has passed since I read #4 and started this book, Blood War, #5. Coming back to this series with this installment did not reignite my interest in Adenine. I appreciate her altruism but it's annoying, and sure that's life, annoying characters make up good stories all the time. But I just couldn't get behind her wanting to battle and be some kind of warrior but yet she just has to save EVERYBODY, like literally everybody. It's hard to believe that there's just that much healer blood to go around to save everybody in every battle all the time. Meanwhile she's pregnant with twins and doesn't seem to give a sh** about her pregnancy or her children. How can you not stand to see ANYONE die and yet you run around like you're not even pregnant? It didn't mesh. For me this felt like a disjointed story not a coherent one. Adenine is a queen and a warrior but she's also a mother to be. It was like the story needed to keep up the look of her being this bad ass but also keep up the story line that she's going to birth these children. They didn't come together for me. She barely ate it seemed and yet her children still grew faster because she was a healer and one of them might be? I'm not trying to be a jerk but that feels like opportunistic writing.
In the beginning of this series it was easy to accept that Adenine was a young girl, but now I'm still supposed to go along with the idea that she turns 16 in this book and she's this tough queen, she's pregnant with twins, she has hours and hours of passionate sex when she gets the chance...really, 16? If she had been a little bit older a lot of this would be easier to swallow but that's not the case. I had to be reminded again and again that's she's literally a little girl. The only thing that made it so was because people would comment on it, how young she is. And then there are the people who know she's pregnant and they just can't do anything to make her give a crap about her babies. Everyone is more of an adult, more mature, more wise than she is but they're just powerless against her carelessness. And yet - here's the circle again - she's still this amazing compassionate girl with a big heart who does nothing to ensure she won't harm her unborn children.
Spoiler to follow...
The ending brought me a little more joy and felt more like the type of story I started out reading, what with the introduction of the Takers and their black pegans. The twist with Hawrald was beautiful, loved it, but even before the second part of the twist I was annoyed that she didn't let Hawrald die there in Borrelia, I mean she didn't even fight against saving him like Jemely was demanding she do. She was betrayed by her oldest friend but she just caved without any kind of fight? And yet she's a mother to be, a strong though compassionate queen and empress, a pegan rider...you see I keep coming back to the same circle. Then he does what he does later and it's like yes of course you had to make sure she didn't let him die...sigh... And then there's the whole stabbing the babies thing...wow very dramatic... but then she gets the healer's blood and everything's all perfect, babies are totally fine, back to normal cuz ya know, healer's blood. Really? How convenient. I felt like, what's the point of that scene? To be dramatic? But it fell flat. The Takers brought my interest back but then revealing two completely healthy babies, one is Nallael's and one is Eiridan's burned me as a reader, real bad. Really? How convenient. Rolling and rolling my eyes...they're on the ground, rolling... So these are the reasons this didn't read naturally to me. It was a case of reading a story and knowing you're reading a story.
So if you like Twilight you might like this. If you like love triangles and unbelievable teenage romance you'll like this. If you've read the first two books in this series I don't discourage you from reading the rest but be prepared for things to get a little more commercial and unbelievable. I still look forward to reading the final book in this series because I'd like to see this to the end. I hope K.J. Colt continues to write because she's obviously talented.
May 20, 2017
Great read
Love the complexities of the characters. The author does a wonderful job of developing them into a story, that I had a hard time putting down. The one drawback is that I have to wait for the next book.
Love the complexities of the characters. The author does a wonderful job of developing them into a story, that I had a hard time putting down. The one drawback is that I have to wait for the next book.
May 16, 2019
Blood War (The Healers of Meligna, Book 5) By K.J. Colt is the fifth of the series. A lot of series reach a point where they start stretching almost as though belaboring a point and threatening to be a never-ending story until readers start dropping out from sheer exhaustion. I have it from the highest authority that number six should put end to this series.
Now I just have to figure out if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
From the start we've watch Adenine grow from a seemingly tortured and abused child to something far greater than anyone might ask. And in her journey she certainly hasn't sought this out, well not in the manner that others before her have. We've watched her grow from someone pushed through life by a fate larger than her to someone who has decided to take life by scruff of its neck and give it a good shake before she examines and molds it into something far more acceptable.
And now she's reached the point where she's forced to do what she is most reluctant to do, wage war, because the consequences are beyond control.
This book opens with a scene that for some reason brought to mind Elizabeth Bear's All the Windwracked Stars. Maybe it's the notion of snow and the carnage of war with a contrast of white and blood and similar images. Though All the Windwracked Stars started mostly at the end of a battle, this book is still in the midst of battle; however the images are striking and vivid in both books.
For Adenine this is a tough battle and it is defining a length of dilemma that her own moral values have restricted and confined her. It's the crux of the story. As bodies fall she watches her own people putting arrows into friend and foe alike. This is all about the healing blood and how it has to be delivered to keep those who would otherwise perish from having to die. Her toughest goal though is to keep everyone alive, both friend and foe and in war that could be a fatal agenda and it certainly does not endear her to her own generals.
Just as she has done in previous books K.J. Colt examines some tough moral ground both in positive and negative directions and her main character is standing in the midst of those; challenging our ability to sympathize with her all of the time. It's not just the war--the conflict--but also it's her personal life and decisions, as she marches forward into battle carrying the children of one of her two lovers who are forced together at her side to fight this battle with her.
So with this fantastic beginning it would be a wonder if I mentioned that the story almost drags a bit at the beginning. I think that this is true of the first book in the series also. It's not an entirely bad thing and the first chapters make up for any slowdown in the next few; however there is a stage to set for this story and it takes a bit of time and as usual K.J. Colt manages to goad the reader with a bit of frustration with how Adenine is going about things.
Sometimes Adenine seems like her own worst enemy.
Things work out, but along the way Adenine has a number of lessons to learn and the most critical is one that we keep being remind of throughout and that is that you can't save everyone. However I've a feeling that Adenine is of the mind that she will die trying.
These stories can be read separately and give the reader a satisfyingly complete novel from front to back and usually enough background to keep the reader sane. However I would still advise anyone new to them to read them all.
Adenine is a wonderfully flawed and perfectly human character that constantly has to exceed her limits despite herself and it's difficult not to love her despite all the frustration she manages to put the reader through.
This is a must read for epic fantasy lovers and lovers of well built fantastic worlds.
J.L. Dobias
Now I just have to figure out if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
From the start we've watch Adenine grow from a seemingly tortured and abused child to something far greater than anyone might ask. And in her journey she certainly hasn't sought this out, well not in the manner that others before her have. We've watched her grow from someone pushed through life by a fate larger than her to someone who has decided to take life by scruff of its neck and give it a good shake before she examines and molds it into something far more acceptable.
And now she's reached the point where she's forced to do what she is most reluctant to do, wage war, because the consequences are beyond control.
This book opens with a scene that for some reason brought to mind Elizabeth Bear's All the Windwracked Stars. Maybe it's the notion of snow and the carnage of war with a contrast of white and blood and similar images. Though All the Windwracked Stars started mostly at the end of a battle, this book is still in the midst of battle; however the images are striking and vivid in both books.
For Adenine this is a tough battle and it is defining a length of dilemma that her own moral values have restricted and confined her. It's the crux of the story. As bodies fall she watches her own people putting arrows into friend and foe alike. This is all about the healing blood and how it has to be delivered to keep those who would otherwise perish from having to die. Her toughest goal though is to keep everyone alive, both friend and foe and in war that could be a fatal agenda and it certainly does not endear her to her own generals.
Just as she has done in previous books K.J. Colt examines some tough moral ground both in positive and negative directions and her main character is standing in the midst of those; challenging our ability to sympathize with her all of the time. It's not just the war--the conflict--but also it's her personal life and decisions, as she marches forward into battle carrying the children of one of her two lovers who are forced together at her side to fight this battle with her.
So with this fantastic beginning it would be a wonder if I mentioned that the story almost drags a bit at the beginning. I think that this is true of the first book in the series also. It's not an entirely bad thing and the first chapters make up for any slowdown in the next few; however there is a stage to set for this story and it takes a bit of time and as usual K.J. Colt manages to goad the reader with a bit of frustration with how Adenine is going about things.
Sometimes Adenine seems like her own worst enemy.
Things work out, but along the way Adenine has a number of lessons to learn and the most critical is one that we keep being remind of throughout and that is that you can't save everyone. However I've a feeling that Adenine is of the mind that she will die trying.
These stories can be read separately and give the reader a satisfyingly complete novel from front to back and usually enough background to keep the reader sane. However I would still advise anyone new to them to read them all.
Adenine is a wonderfully flawed and perfectly human character that constantly has to exceed her limits despite herself and it's difficult not to love her despite all the frustration she manages to put the reader through.
This is a must read for epic fantasy lovers and lovers of well built fantastic worlds.
J.L. Dobias
June 23, 2017
Prepare for a fast-paced psychological epic journey that will constantly cause readers to second guess their own values and morals through the trials and tribulations of the key characters in Blood War. It is essential to read the previous books in this series before starting this book. The Healers of Melinga series is definitely for mature audiences only due to the violence and sexual references within these books.
From the first page to the last, Colt captivates her audience in the next installment of the Healers of Melinga series. Colt brilliantly captures the achievements and struggles of her key characters in ways that you can't help but keep reading to see what will come next. Even when your favorite characters experience unspeakable horrors at the hands of the evil Queens of Melinga. Colt is not afraid to push her characters to their limits and will not sacrifice the story just to make things easier for herself as a writer. One of the aspects I appreciate most about Colt is her unwavering dedication to the series when many other authors would shy away from difficult topics. I also love how she jumps right into the battlefield for Juxton City which is precisely where Forbidden Power (book 4) left off with very little time wasted recapping what happened in the previous books. Instead, Colt artfully inlays small memories and reminders along the way to refresh the reader's memories of characters they haven't read about in some time.
Many questions and loose ends are tied between the pages of this book while building the suspense leading up to the final battle between Adenine, her allies, and the Queens of Melinga. The story leading up to the final battle is truly epic and although the story does not end off on a cliffhanger like Forsaken Power did, there is plenty of room for another book in the series or even a spinoff series for some new integral characters introduced in Blood War.
From the first page to the last, Colt captivates her audience in the next installment of the Healers of Melinga series. Colt brilliantly captures the achievements and struggles of her key characters in ways that you can't help but keep reading to see what will come next. Even when your favorite characters experience unspeakable horrors at the hands of the evil Queens of Melinga. Colt is not afraid to push her characters to their limits and will not sacrifice the story just to make things easier for herself as a writer. One of the aspects I appreciate most about Colt is her unwavering dedication to the series when many other authors would shy away from difficult topics. I also love how she jumps right into the battlefield for Juxton City which is precisely where Forbidden Power (book 4) left off with very little time wasted recapping what happened in the previous books. Instead, Colt artfully inlays small memories and reminders along the way to refresh the reader's memories of characters they haven't read about in some time.
Many questions and loose ends are tied between the pages of this book while building the suspense leading up to the final battle between Adenine, her allies, and the Queens of Melinga. The story leading up to the final battle is truly epic and although the story does not end off on a cliffhanger like Forsaken Power did, there is plenty of room for another book in the series or even a spinoff series for some new integral characters introduced in Blood War.
June 18, 2018
Don't waste your time reading this series
This series is just the wet dreams of a sadist who throws every possible gruesome and offensive thing at a young girl, who seem fly can o get home them all in tact.
The plot takes forever and is embellished by useless side stories that just take up space on the page and don't augment the story in any way.
Don't waste you're time.
This series is just the wet dreams of a sadist who throws every possible gruesome and offensive thing at a young girl, who seem fly can o get home them all in tact.
The plot takes forever and is embellished by useless side stories that just take up space on the page and don't augment the story in any way.
Don't waste you're time.
June 3, 2017
Loved this so much! Adenine is maturing and it is very obvious in this book. I couldn't put it down as the suspense was killing me. So many tears and so much excitement in one book. I can't wait to read the next one.
July 31, 2017
Brilliant book
So good didn't want to put it down,kept me enthralled from beginning to end,i just didn't like when the book finished and I have to wait so long for the next book
So good didn't want to put it down,kept me enthralled from beginning to end,i just didn't like when the book finished and I have to wait so long for the next book
January 11, 2021
Good, but I wish there was more ending.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews