What do you think?
Rate this book
We Are Blood and Thunder #1
We Are Blood and Thunder
In a sealed-off city, it begins with a hunt. A young woman, Lena, running for her life, convicted of being a mage and sentenced to death. Her only way to survive is to trust those she has been brought up to fear - those with magic.
On the other side of the locked gates is a masked lady, Constance, determined to find a way back in. She knows only too well how the people of Duke's Forest loathe magic. Years ago she escaped before her powers were discovered. But now she won't hide who she is any longer.
A powerful and terrifying storm cloud unites them. It descends over the dukedom and devastates much in its wake. But this is more than a thunderstorm. This is a spell, and the truth behind why it has been cast is more sinister than anyone can imagine ... Only Lena and Constance hold the key to destroying the spell. Though neither of them realise it, they need each other. They are the blood and they have the thunder within.
On the other side of the locked gates is a masked lady, Constance, determined to find a way back in. She knows only too well how the people of Duke's Forest loathe magic. Years ago she escaped before her powers were discovered. But now she won't hide who she is any longer.
A powerful and terrifying storm cloud unites them. It descends over the dukedom and devastates much in its wake. But this is more than a thunderstorm. This is a spell, and the truth behind why it has been cast is more sinister than anyone can imagine ... Only Lena and Constance hold the key to destroying the spell. Though neither of them realise it, they need each other. They are the blood and they have the thunder within.
448 pages, Paperback
First published April 4, 2019
62 people are currently reading
5655 people want to read
About the author
Kesia Lupo
3 books118 followersKesia Lupo studied History at Oxford University and Creative Writing at Bath Spa. She's currently an associate literary agent with the Bindery Agency.
We Are Blood and Thunder is her debut, a standalone YA fantasy published in the UK in April 2019. We Are Bound by Stars, her second novel, is another standalone story set in the same world and published in July 2020.
Let's Play Murder is a YA horror/thriller set in a VR game - published in April 2023.
We Are Blood and Thunder is her debut, a standalone YA fantasy published in the UK in April 2019. We Are Bound by Stars, her second novel, is another standalone story set in the same world and published in July 2020.
Let's Play Murder is a YA horror/thriller set in a VR game - published in April 2023.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 263 reviews
May 8, 2019
*3 CREATIVE STARS*
“She felt wanted. Calm. Secure in the knowledge she was worth something. Because she had something of worth.”
I’m sad to say that this book left me feeling a bit underwhelmed.
That blurb sounded so good and the setting with the storm cloud definitely was (and don’t get me started on that gorgeous cover!), but I didn’t like any of the character and for me there was a lack of worldbuilding.
It all started off very promising but then kind of fizzled out because I’d already put certain things together from the start so they weren’t that big of a surprise anymore..
“She felt wanted. Calm. Secure in the knowledge she was worth something. Because she had something of worth.”
I’m sad to say that this book left me feeling a bit underwhelmed.
That blurb sounded so good and the setting with the storm cloud definitely was (and don’t get me started on that gorgeous cover!), but I didn’t like any of the character and for me there was a lack of worldbuilding.
It all started off very promising but then kind of fizzled out because I’d already put certain things together from the start so they weren’t that big of a surprise anymore..
February 16, 2019
We Are Blood And Thunder is one of the best YA fantasy novels I’ve read in a while- simple but extraordinarily effective world building, an intelligent and intriguing background and two engaging strong women at the centre of it all.
Lena is a cryptling, living her life in the gloom, one day she makes a discovery that will change her life. Constance is returning to her home, where people survive under a literal cloud, determined to change things. Neither of them know it but they are bound together, their fate inextricably linked.
The writing is beautifully immersive, descriptively wonderful and the plot is adventurous and unexpected. A magical twist and an addictive dark heart seals the deal creating a page turner that you devour in one sitting.
I loved that it was contained, focused and offered a complete story, thoroughly enjoyable from first page to last.
Recommended.
Lena is a cryptling, living her life in the gloom, one day she makes a discovery that will change her life. Constance is returning to her home, where people survive under a literal cloud, determined to change things. Neither of them know it but they are bound together, their fate inextricably linked.
The writing is beautifully immersive, descriptively wonderful and the plot is adventurous and unexpected. A magical twist and an addictive dark heart seals the deal creating a page turner that you devour in one sitting.
I loved that it was contained, focused and offered a complete story, thoroughly enjoyable from first page to last.
Recommended.
Read
April 19, 2019DNF pg. 118
We are Blood and Thunder sounded like a really interesting tale and I was excited to receive an ARC, however, in the end I just couldn't get into it. It just didn't interest me. In what pages I read I didn't connect to either Lena or Constance.
There was also one element that put me off a bit and that was the idea of the cyrptlings. The cryptlings, much like they're names suggests, are responsible for the dead or Ancestors as they call them. They prepare them for burial etc. The issue with this was that the cryptlings are all 'Marked' people. People that are disabled or think differently (which I take to mean neurodivergent), or in Lena's case have a visible birthmark. They are rarely allowed to leave the crypts and if they do they must be covered. There's also no choice in whether or not they are cyrptlings. Lena's mentor tells her that it's an honour because they are closer to the Ancestors, which they revere as gods almost. This practise only takes place in Duke's Forest and a character Lena meets later on does view it with disgust but it still didn't sit well with me.
Now obviously I didn't finish the book so I don't know if it's challenged further on in the story but I also couldn't find any reviews that mentioned it either so I'm not entirely sure. If it does than it could be handled well, however, if not then it's a bit 😕
Content warnings: dead bodies, embalming type procedures including graphic descriptions of organs etc.
*I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are unbiased*
This review and more can be found at https://wildheartreads.wordpress.com/
We are Blood and Thunder sounded like a really interesting tale and I was excited to receive an ARC, however, in the end I just couldn't get into it. It just didn't interest me. In what pages I read I didn't connect to either Lena or Constance.
There was also one element that put me off a bit and that was the idea of the cyrptlings. The cryptlings, much like they're names suggests, are responsible for the dead or Ancestors as they call them. They prepare them for burial etc. The issue with this was that the cryptlings are all 'Marked' people. People that are disabled or think differently (which I take to mean neurodivergent), or in Lena's case have a visible birthmark. They are rarely allowed to leave the crypts and if they do they must be covered. There's also no choice in whether or not they are cyrptlings. Lena's mentor tells her that it's an honour because they are closer to the Ancestors, which they revere as gods almost. This practise only takes place in Duke's Forest and a character Lena meets later on does view it with disgust but it still didn't sit well with me.
Now obviously I didn't finish the book so I don't know if it's challenged further on in the story but I also couldn't find any reviews that mentioned it either so I'm not entirely sure. If it does than it could be handled well, however, if not then it's a bit 😕
Content warnings: dead bodies, embalming type procedures including graphic descriptions of organs etc.
*I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are unbiased*
This review and more can be found at https://wildheartreads.wordpress.com/
April 2, 2019
I’ve rated this 2 ⭐️
The synopsis of this book got me very excited. Two strong female lead characters, a dark, eerie setting and an exciting magic system . Also was recommended to those who love authors such as Leigh Bardugo & Laini Taylor .
But unfortunately it was none of those things.
The characters were all very flat and un-interesting. And I especially hated one of the main female leads, Constance. She was awful.
I just didn’t connect with any characters.
The magic system was rather undeveloped ..and didn’t make sense to me. Parts of the story were rushed and when you think there will be some big revelation or exciting plot twist, it flopped.
The worst thing for me was the insta love. A BIG NO NO! I like a slow burn romance in my books,or at least a good few weeks build up! There was no depth to it. I kind of felt like the author didn’t know how to develop that aspect of a story but decided to throw this weird insta attraction into the mix anyway..? It didn’t work.
There was not much happening up until around page 150-200. I then thought ‘oh here we go, it’s going to get exciting now’. But it didn’t. And this is a 430 page long book. Needless to say I really struggled to get to the end.
There were some battle scenes which were okay, and in my opinion made it slightly more interesting. Emeris was quite sweet but again we discovered literally nothing about him .
It’s all such a shame because the author can write well.
Thank you to the publishers for sending me an arc of this one. I chose to share an honest review.
The synopsis of this book got me very excited. Two strong female lead characters, a dark, eerie setting and an exciting magic system . Also was recommended to those who love authors such as Leigh Bardugo & Laini Taylor .
But unfortunately it was none of those things.
The characters were all very flat and un-interesting. And I especially hated one of the main female leads, Constance. She was awful.
I just didn’t connect with any characters.
The magic system was rather undeveloped ..and didn’t make sense to me. Parts of the story were rushed and when you think there will be some big revelation or exciting plot twist, it flopped.
The worst thing for me was the insta love. A BIG NO NO! I like a slow burn romance in my books,or at least a good few weeks build up! There was no depth to it. I kind of felt like the author didn’t know how to develop that aspect of a story but decided to throw this weird insta attraction into the mix anyway..? It didn’t work.
There was not much happening up until around page 150-200. I then thought ‘oh here we go, it’s going to get exciting now’. But it didn’t. And this is a 430 page long book. Needless to say I really struggled to get to the end.
There were some battle scenes which were okay, and in my opinion made it slightly more interesting. Emeris was quite sweet but again we discovered literally nothing about him .
It’s all such a shame because the author can write well.
Thank you to the publishers for sending me an arc of this one. I chose to share an honest review.
April 5, 2019
We Are Blood & Thunder is a stunning, multifaceted and wonderfully entertaining standalone young adult fantasy debut from a new voice in the genre. So easy to pick up, virtually impossible to put down. I admit that it isn't the most original plot in the world, but there are so many aspects of the book that are to be admired and Ms Lupo manages to avoid most fantasy tropes to her credit. In fact, the author subverts some age-old tropes which was quite refreshing.
The storytelling is great with a plot that is captivating and well thought out, the writing is almost lyrical and flows beautifully from one page to another and each character is complex and multilayered just like us humans. I particularly appreciated the fact that each character was not simply cast as bad or good as they had, like us, a complicated outlook and three-dimensionality.
The plot encompasses many different topics - magic, history, secrets and betrayal. The way it is structured is genius and works to ensure you keep turning those pages. Each chapter alternates back and forth between Lena and Constance's perspectives. I certainly wasn't expecting the plot twist towards the end so it was a welcome surprise. This is a very assured female character-driven debut which fantasy fans will devour just as I did.
Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for an ARC.
The storytelling is great with a plot that is captivating and well thought out, the writing is almost lyrical and flows beautifully from one page to another and each character is complex and multilayered just like us humans. I particularly appreciated the fact that each character was not simply cast as bad or good as they had, like us, a complicated outlook and three-dimensionality.
The plot encompasses many different topics - magic, history, secrets and betrayal. The way it is structured is genius and works to ensure you keep turning those pages. Each chapter alternates back and forth between Lena and Constance's perspectives. I certainly wasn't expecting the plot twist towards the end so it was a welcome surprise. This is a very assured female character-driven debut which fantasy fans will devour just as I did.
Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for an ARC.
April 21, 2019
(A huge thanks to Bloomsbury India for sending me a physical ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.)
It's not often that I come across standalones in the fantasy genre. Somehow fantasy stories seem to flow better as series to accommodate all the worldbuilding and long adventures. When I came across We are Blood and Thunder, I was excited. Because although most of my favourite books seem to be series, I love reading standalones. They tend to be more fast paced than books in series and also the feeling of closure at the end of the book is a nice feeling.
My thoughts on We are Blood and Thunder-
↠ I actually liked that we have alternating PoVs. Generally I'm not a fan because I don't immediately recognize that there has been a change in PoV unless it's mentioned in the Chapter title or something but here I didn't have that problem. Lena and Constance alternate every chapter and though it's not mentioned at the beginning, it's always very clear whose PoV it is just then.
↠ I liked that we have characters whose loyalty and allegiance we can't quite figure out till the end and I really liked that. It added the sense of mystery and uncertainty that I liked.
↠ It had it's tropes yes. But was it still enjoyable? YES. And that makes me happy! It's not everyday that an author can use age old tropes and give them a bit of twist so it's enjoyable and doesn't feel so trope-y.
↠ We have two badass female characters; strong in their own ways. One of them, Lena is unsure about pretty much everything now, mostly herself. And the other, Constamnce is unsure about everything but herself. I really liked the way their paths cross and how somehow they are connected by the magical storm cloud that plagues the Duke's forest.
↠ The magic system was very intersting to learn about. As someone who adores learning about worldbuilding, pantheons and magic systems, this was very satisfying. This was part of the reason I enjoyed Lena's chapters more because she was learning all about the world and magic along with me.
↠ Constance's chapters are more filled with political intrigue, investigations and scheming which too I really liked! But I have to say that the mysterious aura about Constance unnerved me a bit which is crazy cause she's a fictional character but that's just how amazingly the author wrote her that she felt so real.
↠ The writing was so fast paced and flowed so well that I pretty much read the book in one sitting. The fact that if say, Lena's chapter ended in a cliffhanger, I'd have to read Constance's chapter before being able to find what happened made me read everything much faster!
↠ I liked having morally grey characters who were so realistically written. Kudos to the author for having written interesting and engaging secondary characters who definitely didn't just fade into the background but rather almost all of them had important parts to play in the plot.
↠ That being said, I wasn't a huge fan of the romance. It came really close to insta-love for me and felt rushed. I really think the plot would have been just as awesome without the bit of romance in it.
↠ Also while I liked Lena, she was also a bit annoying at times! I did like that she wasn't taking things lying around but sometimes Lena did make me roll my eyes with how she went about with some things.
↠ Constance was an extremely complex character and it was SO hard to figure her out with the way she acted. But I have to say I loved how determined and calculating she was. She was the perfect Slytherin and so well written that I couldn't stop thining about her even after I'd finished the book.
We are Blood and Thunder is a fantastic debut with everything from magic and spells to secrets and betrayal. Would definitely recommend!!
It's not often that I come across standalones in the fantasy genre. Somehow fantasy stories seem to flow better as series to accommodate all the worldbuilding and long adventures. When I came across We are Blood and Thunder, I was excited. Because although most of my favourite books seem to be series, I love reading standalones. They tend to be more fast paced than books in series and also the feeling of closure at the end of the book is a nice feeling.
My thoughts on We are Blood and Thunder-
↠ I actually liked that we have alternating PoVs. Generally I'm not a fan because I don't immediately recognize that there has been a change in PoV unless it's mentioned in the Chapter title or something but here I didn't have that problem. Lena and Constance alternate every chapter and though it's not mentioned at the beginning, it's always very clear whose PoV it is just then.
↠ I liked that we have characters whose loyalty and allegiance we can't quite figure out till the end and I really liked that. It added the sense of mystery and uncertainty that I liked.
↠ It had it's tropes yes. But was it still enjoyable? YES. And that makes me happy! It's not everyday that an author can use age old tropes and give them a bit of twist so it's enjoyable and doesn't feel so trope-y.
↠ We have two badass female characters; strong in their own ways. One of them, Lena is unsure about pretty much everything now, mostly herself. And the other, Constamnce is unsure about everything but herself. I really liked the way their paths cross and how somehow they are connected by the magical storm cloud that plagues the Duke's forest.
“Whenever she held the butterfly, she remembered how she had felt the night she'd found it - or rather, the night it found her. She felt wanted. Calm. Secure in the knowledge she was worth something. Because she had something of worth.”
↠ The magic system was very intersting to learn about. As someone who adores learning about worldbuilding, pantheons and magic systems, this was very satisfying. This was part of the reason I enjoyed Lena's chapters more because she was learning all about the world and magic along with me.
↠ Constance's chapters are more filled with political intrigue, investigations and scheming which too I really liked! But I have to say that the mysterious aura about Constance unnerved me a bit which is crazy cause she's a fictional character but that's just how amazingly the author wrote her that she felt so real.
↠ The writing was so fast paced and flowed so well that I pretty much read the book in one sitting. The fact that if say, Lena's chapter ended in a cliffhanger, I'd have to read Constance's chapter before being able to find what happened made me read everything much faster!
“She who spins the cloud, weaves the storm.”
↠ I liked having morally grey characters who were so realistically written. Kudos to the author for having written interesting and engaging secondary characters who definitely didn't just fade into the background but rather almost all of them had important parts to play in the plot.
↠ That being said, I wasn't a huge fan of the romance. It came really close to insta-love for me and felt rushed. I really think the plot would have been just as awesome without the bit of romance in it.
↠ Also while I liked Lena, she was also a bit annoying at times! I did like that she wasn't taking things lying around but sometimes Lena did make me roll my eyes with how she went about with some things.
↠ Constance was an extremely complex character and it was SO hard to figure her out with the way she acted. But I have to say I loved how determined and calculating she was. She was the perfect Slytherin and so well written that I couldn't stop thining about her even after I'd finished the book.
“Lies are neighbours with the truth. Release your secret truths one by one, carefully, and only to persuade. Treat them like gold”
We are Blood and Thunder is a fantastic debut with everything from magic and spells to secrets and betrayal. Would definitely recommend!!
January 10, 2019
Thank you to Netgalley, Bloomsbury Publishing and Kesia Lupo for my arc of We Are Blood & Thunder.
Oh my word. This was just fantastic. From the very first page, in fact the very first paragraph this book had me hooked!
Hands down the best book I've read so far in 2019. Lena is a cryptling in the city of Duke's Forest, since a storm cloud causing disease arrived several years before, the city has been sealed off from the rest of the world, but now Lena is running for her life and trying to escape the city after being accused of being a mage. Constance meanwhile is trying to get back in. The storm cloud is no ordinary storm cloud, it is a spell and both Lena and Constance hold the key to setting everything to rights.
So why was this book so great? I'm going to break it down...
The Premise - the idea was original, interesting and full of everything I love about a good fantasy novel; it has magic, history, and something creepy and unknown: in this case, the cloud.
The characters - both Lena and Constance were fantastic characters with many layers.
The plot - I liked that this author stayed away from a lot of tropes
The twist - I did not see it coming!!
I liked as well how much grey there was in the book. There were elements of light and dark in all characters and elements of dark that came from light reasons such as the keeping of secrets. It is also one of the best examples of an unreliable first person narrative I've seen in quite a long time.
A fantastic debut from an author I'm keen to see more from!
Oh my word. This was just fantastic. From the very first page, in fact the very first paragraph this book had me hooked!
Hands down the best book I've read so far in 2019. Lena is a cryptling in the city of Duke's Forest, since a storm cloud causing disease arrived several years before, the city has been sealed off from the rest of the world, but now Lena is running for her life and trying to escape the city after being accused of being a mage. Constance meanwhile is trying to get back in. The storm cloud is no ordinary storm cloud, it is a spell and both Lena and Constance hold the key to setting everything to rights.
So why was this book so great? I'm going to break it down...
The Premise - the idea was original, interesting and full of everything I love about a good fantasy novel; it has magic, history, and something creepy and unknown: in this case, the cloud.
The characters - both Lena and Constance were fantastic characters with many layers.
The plot - I liked that this author stayed away from a lot of tropes
The twist - I did not see it coming!!
I liked as well how much grey there was in the book. There were elements of light and dark in all characters and elements of dark that came from light reasons such as the keeping of secrets. It is also one of the best examples of an unreliable first person narrative I've seen in quite a long time.
A fantastic debut from an author I'm keen to see more from!
February 19, 2019
I went into this just expecting a fantasy style YA story about two women whose lives somehow connected. Well I will be blunt and say that from the start it was Lena who grabbed my attention and when the narrative switched to Constance I really wasn’t particularly interested. Now I will freely admit the author won me round and fairly soon I was as interested in what Constance was uncovering as I was the journey that young Lena was undertaking .
This story revolves around magic and whether or not Gods are real but at its heart it’s really a mystery like no other I have read. With a twist I didn’t see coming this was a fascinating read and one I happily recommend with multilayered characters, surprises and a betrayal that still leaves me reeling.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
This story revolves around magic and whether or not Gods are real but at its heart it’s really a mystery like no other I have read. With a twist I didn’t see coming this was a fascinating read and one I happily recommend with multilayered characters, surprises and a betrayal that still leaves me reeling.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
January 8, 2019
Wow!
Sometimes you pick up a book, and it takes you a few chapters to get into it. Sometimes it fails completely.
And sometimes, it grabs you with the very first page and refuses to let go.
We are Blood and Thunder is one of those books.
A story of two women, torn apart by different lands, full of secrets and power and inextricably linked, threads through this wonderful novel on storms and magic and life.
Lena is a cryptling, much akin to the former untouchable caste, who works only with the dead, reviled by the living. By chance and fate, she runs for her life, meeting a woman who is running towards the evils Lena runs from
Their link is forged in desperation, and will have profound effects on all of their lives.
This book is excellent on so many levels. The writing is tight and flows well, the plot woven skilfully like a tapestry - one point leads to another, whilst tugging on the strings of a third, and the characters are just as richly imagined.
I felt for Lena, and for Constance, and whilst the majority of characterisation is placed within these two, I still felt the supplementary characters were strong and fully formed.
What is interesting is this book is totally shades of grey - each of us has a little darkness within them, and light, too. Our enemies can be our sisters, also.
I massively enjoyed this novel, and hope for more from the author - I'd love to know what happens to the characters next.
Highly recommended, especially for readers like me, who love female character driven story.
Sometimes you pick up a book, and it takes you a few chapters to get into it. Sometimes it fails completely.
And sometimes, it grabs you with the very first page and refuses to let go.
We are Blood and Thunder is one of those books.
A story of two women, torn apart by different lands, full of secrets and power and inextricably linked, threads through this wonderful novel on storms and magic and life.
Lena is a cryptling, much akin to the former untouchable caste, who works only with the dead, reviled by the living. By chance and fate, she runs for her life, meeting a woman who is running towards the evils Lena runs from
Their link is forged in desperation, and will have profound effects on all of their lives.
This book is excellent on so many levels. The writing is tight and flows well, the plot woven skilfully like a tapestry - one point leads to another, whilst tugging on the strings of a third, and the characters are just as richly imagined.
I felt for Lena, and for Constance, and whilst the majority of characterisation is placed within these two, I still felt the supplementary characters were strong and fully formed.
What is interesting is this book is totally shades of grey - each of us has a little darkness within them, and light, too. Our enemies can be our sisters, also.
I massively enjoyed this novel, and hope for more from the author - I'd love to know what happens to the characters next.
Highly recommended, especially for readers like me, who love female character driven story.
May 7, 2019
****4 Butterfly Stars****
Enjoyable read with dark tendencies interwoven throughout the story. I enjoyed reading the dual POV between Lena and Constance especially how their lives were so different but woven together as one.
There were a few "over the top" events that happened but overall, the story was good and held my attention throughout!
Enjoyable read with dark tendencies interwoven throughout the story. I enjoyed reading the dual POV between Lena and Constance especially how their lives were so different but woven together as one.
There were a few "over the top" events that happened but overall, the story was good and held my attention throughout!
January 13, 2019
I’d like to thank Bloomsbury Publishing for accepting my request to read this via Net Galley. (This review contains a major spoiler so only read if you’ve read this!!!)
I didn’t think that I would of been chosen to read this book as just by looking at the cover I knew that it was going to be a very popular title that would be getting a lot of attention. I was really excited that I was accepted and I started to read this right away.
Besides the cover drawing me in the story itself is incredible, the writing style is amazing and I love how the author has been quite poetic with her writing and phrases.
I liked how each chapter was from a different character’s point of view, if something was left as a cliff hanger in Lena’s point of view you had to continue and read Constance’s chapter before you could find out what happened which really caused the pages to turn even quicker for me!
The story itself is unlike anything I have ever read before which is always refreshing. I liked how we had two main characters with two different situations, the magic, the metal creatures that came to life, I loved it all.
I certainly didn’t expect the plot twist at the end either! All that time I was reading Constance’s point of view and I didn’t suspect once that she was in fact the person who had cast that spell and it was never her intention to break it but to control it herself all so she could bring her mother back from the dead.
Brilliant writing and I think once this book is published it will be very successful! Thank you again for the pleasure that this book brought to me as I loved every second of it!
I didn’t think that I would of been chosen to read this book as just by looking at the cover I knew that it was going to be a very popular title that would be getting a lot of attention. I was really excited that I was accepted and I started to read this right away.
Besides the cover drawing me in the story itself is incredible, the writing style is amazing and I love how the author has been quite poetic with her writing and phrases.
I liked how each chapter was from a different character’s point of view, if something was left as a cliff hanger in Lena’s point of view you had to continue and read Constance’s chapter before you could find out what happened which really caused the pages to turn even quicker for me!
The story itself is unlike anything I have ever read before which is always refreshing. I liked how we had two main characters with two different situations, the magic, the metal creatures that came to life, I loved it all.
I certainly didn’t expect the plot twist at the end either! All that time I was reading Constance’s point of view and I didn’t suspect once that she was in fact the person who had cast that spell and it was never her intention to break it but to control it herself all so she could bring her mother back from the dead.
Brilliant writing and I think once this book is published it will be very successful! Thank you again for the pleasure that this book brought to me as I loved every second of it!
May 4, 2019
I hadn’t heard anything about this book when Bloomsbury first asked if I’d like a copy, but now I am so bloody glad they did. I absolutely loved this story and was completely hooked from the very first chapter. The cover is stunning and I added so many tabs throughout (which I only do to books I love!)
This story follows two POV’s, Lena and Constance. Throughout the book I couldn’t make my mind up about who was my favourite as each story was so interesting. Though I had a soft spot for Lena’s plot as I LOVE characters learning about their magic so much!
I really loved the world Lupo created, with the two different faiths across the continent, belief in the ancestors or the Gods. I loved the mix of magic as well as mechanical elements, with clockwork insects, mask and limbs. It’s something I wish was explored more, but I have high hopes her next book will do that!
One of my favourite books of 2019!!
This story follows two POV’s, Lena and Constance. Throughout the book I couldn’t make my mind up about who was my favourite as each story was so interesting. Though I had a soft spot for Lena’s plot as I LOVE characters learning about their magic so much!
I really loved the world Lupo created, with the two different faiths across the continent, belief in the ancestors or the Gods. I loved the mix of magic as well as mechanical elements, with clockwork insects, mask and limbs. It’s something I wish was explored more, but I have high hopes her next book will do that!
One of my favourite books of 2019!!
April 4, 2019
A breathtaking and assuredly written debut that offers a fresh take on YA fantasy.
Told in dual narrative by characters Lena and Constance, this is a book which crackles with magic and secrets as Lena and Constance's individual stories become entwined in a doomed, sealed-off city which sits beneath a dangerous enchanted storm.
Told in dual narrative by characters Lena and Constance, this is a book which crackles with magic and secrets as Lena and Constance's individual stories become entwined in a doomed, sealed-off city which sits beneath a dangerous enchanted storm.
June 24, 2019
4/5 ⭐FULL (non-spoiler) REVIEW >>> HERE.
April 30, 2019
Full review to come when I’ve settled my thoughts but knee jerk reaction? I should have DNFd this when I started to get bored a couple of chapters in rather than persevere to the end and I really didn’t like Lena and her chapters which is awkward considering she’s the “hero” *eye roll*
Hey, it's me, ya girl...back with another unpopular opinion. Literally everyone I see talking about this loved it so much, and I was expecting to love it. The synopsis sounded on point, I was so excited to start it and I eagerly dived in...but I was left feeling quite underwhelmed and I kind of wished I'd DNF'd it a couple of chapters in instead of persevering with it to the bitter end. One of my main issues was that I really didn't like Lena, one of our main characters and who's supposed to be, you know...the hero. Awkwaaaaard.
The opening was nice and foreboding and as Lena pocketed the insect I was plagued with the thought "what could possibly go wrong", turns out a lot. We have a nice shoot forward in time after a double dose of foreboding and we're met with the breathless tension of the opening chapter. Unfortunately after that it started to drag horrendously and it was a struggle to get through it. I only managed it because of Constance's chapters, and I resorted to skim reading Lena's. When it didn't drag...it was rushed. Every time I thought something interesting was finally going to happen....it didn't and some of the plot twists just flopped and left me sitting there like "....and?".
The opening page was an extract from a book that gave us a sense of foreboding to start with, but also kicked off the world building. We see what's coming and get an overview of what the people are dealing with, what the storm cloud does, the history of it and how it appeared and progressed and basically how things stand ready for when we shoot forward to the present. The prologue also started to build Lena's corner of the world for us, unfortunately that's all I really have to say about it.
The magic system was interesting in the way that it was described as being the supernatural effect of chaos upon order. Order being the natural state of the physical world. A mage holds chaotic forces inside their body and...it really sounded quite familiar thanks to the Invisible Library series that focuses a lot on Chaos and Order, obviously it's not the same but it did have me in mind of that but not explained as well because it took me a while to get my head around it, the explanation was overly long winded, I thought. I was side eyeing it because of that, but the science or whatever you want to call it were intriguing and we've got magic, gods and goddesses along with magic mechanical devices. However, the magic system is being touted as original and I don't agree. It's an overly complicated version of the regular point and shoot magic to be honest.
The writing did paint a vivid and atmospheric picture of the storm cloud and life under it, with the descriptions and the way the words were woven. Initially I even found it quite cinematic too and I was right there with the characters, but that all died off when the book started to drag to be honest. This is described as being like Leigh Bardugo and Laini Taylor....no. I'm sorry but I don't see how anything from this book, writing, world building, magic, is in any way on par with Leigh Bardugo and Laini Taylor's writing. I don't see the comparison at all, and I actually feel it's a bit of a reach to be honest.
When it comes to the characters we have Lena, a Cryptling who's shunned by the outside world because of the mark on her face hence...Cryptling. Her POV gives us mage training which should have been exciting yet wasn't. Constance is our other POV, she's a mage and the daughter of the Duke. She gives us the inside of the town and the power struggle with the Justice, along with the tension that she'll be found out. Xander is Constance's BFF from before she left and the Swordsmaster so I was expecting a badass but I was just underwhelmed by him. Emris has an interesting job but the plot twist with him wasn't all that shocking, I wasn't that impressed and the only memorable thing about him was that he was our source on mages and how the magic works. The Justice...I was stoked for the power struggle with him, and I loathed him from the start but again...he ended up disappointing me and leaving me underwhelmed and was kind of...stereotypical.
That's all I've got for the positives, now I'd like to talk about the negatives I had with this book in a little bit of depth. First of all, I was confused as to why one of the conditions the people had when they give Constance 2 days to sort out the cloud was that they be allowed to march on the castle...why? For what purpose? To achieve what? Just for the sake of it and to take over as if they can do any better? That entire scene just fell a bit flat for me and I didn't see the point of it at all other than to build up to a nice big battle scene that wouldn't have happened otherwise.
I have to say straight up that I found Constance's POV way more interesting than Lena's and I liked Constance a lot more, I didn't really connect with Lena like I did with Constance and I swiftly lost interest in her. Alongside that...Emris irritated me quite a bit too. I found Lena to be quite bland, she's fled to become the thing she hates...but considering she didn't have all that much vehemence for magic it was just like she kept saying she hated magic and mages for the sake of it and she embraced it all pretty quickly. It was interesting with Emris hinting at what Constance did and was basically chatting s*** about her, casting a different light on her, while Constance didn't have the best things to say about the Temples or at least the city.
The thing is, and this is entirely my opinion and granted I did stop paying 100% full attention to Lena's POV's because I didn't like her and she bored me but I feel like Constance did all the work for this book. She dealt with the Lord Justice, she was looking for the heart of the spell and solutions and trying to placate the people while Lena ran off to learn magic and basically did nothing but practice her magic for a couple of days and not listen to what Emris said. Her connection to the storm cloud wasn't even a surprise because I found it more and more glaringly obvious the more I read. I don't even care that Constance had that twist to her, which by the way....hinted at from the start as she clearly had a darker side and it was hammered home with the scene straight out of Merlin when she makes that crown grab, but like I said, I connected with her more and Lena bored me so I was disappointed by the ending and underwhelmed.
It irked me that Constance was doing all the work towards sorting it, took all the risk and the danger on, and then Emris and Lena swoop in at the last minute, after Emris is finally willing to listen to Constance, to save the day after messing about doing some Yoda training stuff. You lost me. Emris irked me because he was willing to listen to Lena no matter what, but refused to listen to what Constance had to say, why? To draw out some tension and danger? "I've spoken to her at last and I finally understand" he says, as if Constance didn't try to speak to him before but he refused to listen, I cannot even with him and his holier than thou attitude. I put up with like 400 pages of this BS. He'd had a relationship with constance but I guess there's nothing stronger than the power of insta-love, which is another thing this book has by the way. Not a fan of it. I just loved how Emris was against Constance for some of the same things Lena did but when Lena did it, it was okay. Assumedly because there needed to be a love interest for Lena and insta love overcomes all.
This went from a five star book to a three start book pretty quickly, and as I wrote this review I actually lowered it down to a two. It initially started out well, but I fast lost interest as the story dragged. The only thing keeping me reading were Constance's POVs. I couldn't stand Lena, she was useless for the majority of the book, she only does something useful at the end. Right at the end. The most unbelievable part of this book is the belief that Lena could actually control the storm cloud.
I'm just so disappointed because this sounded like it was going to be a great read and it was just so underwhelming and disappointing with plot twists falling flat, the pace never picking up and having to slog through it. Then there was the insta love and the characters that were bland or forgettable and the only one I enjoyed was Constance because of her darker side. I freely admit I could have lost something from the reading experience because I resorted to skim reading Lena's parts to get through them, but they were just so....boring.
I also just need to rant about something real quick....
EDIT: my review is finally here, it's below and writing actually made me drop this from 3 stars to 2.
Hey, it's me, ya girl...back with another unpopular opinion. Literally everyone I see talking about this loved it so much, and I was expecting to love it. The synopsis sounded on point, I was so excited to start it and I eagerly dived in...but I was left feeling quite underwhelmed and I kind of wished I'd DNF'd it a couple of chapters in instead of persevering with it to the bitter end. One of my main issues was that I really didn't like Lena, one of our main characters and who's supposed to be, you know...the hero. Awkwaaaaard.
The opening was nice and foreboding and as Lena pocketed the insect I was plagued with the thought "what could possibly go wrong", turns out a lot. We have a nice shoot forward in time after a double dose of foreboding and we're met with the breathless tension of the opening chapter. Unfortunately after that it started to drag horrendously and it was a struggle to get through it. I only managed it because of Constance's chapters, and I resorted to skim reading Lena's. When it didn't drag...it was rushed. Every time I thought something interesting was finally going to happen....it didn't and some of the plot twists just flopped and left me sitting there like "....and?".
The opening page was an extract from a book that gave us a sense of foreboding to start with, but also kicked off the world building. We see what's coming and get an overview of what the people are dealing with, what the storm cloud does, the history of it and how it appeared and progressed and basically how things stand ready for when we shoot forward to the present. The prologue also started to build Lena's corner of the world for us, unfortunately that's all I really have to say about it.
The magic system was interesting in the way that it was described as being the supernatural effect of chaos upon order. Order being the natural state of the physical world. A mage holds chaotic forces inside their body and...it really sounded quite familiar thanks to the Invisible Library series that focuses a lot on Chaos and Order, obviously it's not the same but it did have me in mind of that but not explained as well because it took me a while to get my head around it, the explanation was overly long winded, I thought. I was side eyeing it because of that, but the science or whatever you want to call it were intriguing and we've got magic, gods and goddesses along with magic mechanical devices. However, the magic system is being touted as original and I don't agree. It's an overly complicated version of the regular point and shoot magic to be honest.
The writing did paint a vivid and atmospheric picture of the storm cloud and life under it, with the descriptions and the way the words were woven. Initially I even found it quite cinematic too and I was right there with the characters, but that all died off when the book started to drag to be honest. This is described as being like Leigh Bardugo and Laini Taylor....no. I'm sorry but I don't see how anything from this book, writing, world building, magic, is in any way on par with Leigh Bardugo and Laini Taylor's writing. I don't see the comparison at all, and I actually feel it's a bit of a reach to be honest.
When it comes to the characters we have Lena, a Cryptling who's shunned by the outside world because of the mark on her face hence...Cryptling. Her POV gives us mage training which should have been exciting yet wasn't. Constance is our other POV, she's a mage and the daughter of the Duke. She gives us the inside of the town and the power struggle with the Justice, along with the tension that she'll be found out. Xander is Constance's BFF from before she left and the Swordsmaster so I was expecting a badass but I was just underwhelmed by him. Emris has an interesting job but the plot twist with him wasn't all that shocking, I wasn't that impressed and the only memorable thing about him was that he was our source on mages and how the magic works. The Justice...I was stoked for the power struggle with him, and I loathed him from the start but again...he ended up disappointing me and leaving me underwhelmed and was kind of...stereotypical.
That's all I've got for the positives, now I'd like to talk about the negatives I had with this book in a little bit of depth. First of all, I was confused as to why one of the conditions the people had when they give Constance 2 days to sort out the cloud was that they be allowed to march on the castle...why? For what purpose? To achieve what? Just for the sake of it and to take over as if they can do any better? That entire scene just fell a bit flat for me and I didn't see the point of it at all other than to build up to a nice big battle scene that wouldn't have happened otherwise.
I have to say straight up that I found Constance's POV way more interesting than Lena's and I liked Constance a lot more, I didn't really connect with Lena like I did with Constance and I swiftly lost interest in her. Alongside that...Emris irritated me quite a bit too. I found Lena to be quite bland, she's fled to become the thing she hates...but considering she didn't have all that much vehemence for magic it was just like she kept saying she hated magic and mages for the sake of it and she embraced it all pretty quickly. It was interesting with Emris hinting at what Constance did and was basically chatting s*** about her, casting a different light on her, while Constance didn't have the best things to say about the Temples or at least the city.
The thing is, and this is entirely my opinion and granted I did stop paying 100% full attention to Lena's POV's because I didn't like her and she bored me but I feel like Constance did all the work for this book. She dealt with the Lord Justice, she was looking for the heart of the spell and solutions and trying to placate the people while Lena ran off to learn magic and basically did nothing but practice her magic for a couple of days and not listen to what Emris said. Her connection to the storm cloud wasn't even a surprise because I found it more and more glaringly obvious the more I read. I don't even care that Constance had that twist to her, which by the way....hinted at from the start as she clearly had a darker side and it was hammered home with the scene straight out of Merlin when she makes that crown grab, but like I said, I connected with her more and Lena bored me so I was disappointed by the ending and underwhelmed.
It irked me that Constance was doing all the work towards sorting it, took all the risk and the danger on, and then Emris and Lena swoop in at the last minute, after Emris is finally willing to listen to Constance, to save the day after messing about doing some Yoda training stuff. You lost me. Emris irked me because he was willing to listen to Lena no matter what, but refused to listen to what Constance had to say, why? To draw out some tension and danger? "I've spoken to her at last and I finally understand" he says, as if Constance didn't try to speak to him before but he refused to listen, I cannot even with him and his holier than thou attitude. I put up with like 400 pages of this BS. He'd had a relationship with constance but I guess there's nothing stronger than the power of insta-love, which is another thing this book has by the way. Not a fan of it. I just loved how Emris was against Constance for some of the same things Lena did but when Lena did it, it was okay. Assumedly because there needed to be a love interest for Lena and insta love overcomes all.
This went from a five star book to a three start book pretty quickly, and as I wrote this review I actually lowered it down to a two. It initially started out well, but I fast lost interest as the story dragged. The only thing keeping me reading were Constance's POVs. I couldn't stand Lena, she was useless for the majority of the book, she only does something useful at the end. Right at the end. The most unbelievable part of this book is the belief that Lena could actually control the storm cloud.
I'm just so disappointed because this sounded like it was going to be a great read and it was just so underwhelming and disappointing with plot twists falling flat, the pace never picking up and having to slog through it. Then there was the insta love and the characters that were bland or forgettable and the only one I enjoyed was Constance because of her darker side. I freely admit I could have lost something from the reading experience because I resorted to skim reading Lena's parts to get through them, but they were just so....boring.
I also just need to rant about something real quick....
April 16, 2019
Thank you so much to Bloomsbury for sending me a free copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.
In the beginning of this book we meet Lena who is running for her life after being convicted of magecraft and is sentenced to death. Lena is an orphan who was raised by Vigo and trained to be a Cryptling - someone who prepares the deceased after death.
We also meet Constance who is the Duke's daughter and Winston's half-sister. Constance is the Heir to the Forest and the rightful Heir to become Duchess if anything should happen to her father. Constance returns miraculously to her father where she finds he's now mad and not who he used to be. She doesn't quite know why he has turned out like this but she has a sneaking suspicion that not everyone at her fathers side is as they seem.
This story is told, therefore, from 2 POV's: Lena's and Constance's. Whilst I enjoyed the premise of this book, and believe me when I say, when I first heard about it I knew I wanted to read it. But for some reason it just fell short for me and here's a few reasons why:- • The first chapter was incredibly long, and it didn't grip me at all. I actually considered DNFing it at the start. In fact, all of the chapters were really long, some of them being around the 20 pages mark. • So many of the paragraphs and sentences started with the word 'She...' I just felt like some of them could of started out differently. • The magic system wasn't original, which is how this was pitched, it was just the generic 'shoot magic from hand' kind of magic and it wasn't complex at all so for me it was a bit of a let down. • Quite a lot seemed to happen in the long chapters but without much explanation. One minute Constance was talking to someone, then the next paragraph, she was waking up. I was left a little confused sometimes. • I really disliked Lena and her chapters. For me Constance had the better chapters and I felt like Lena's were forced and the story would of probably been better without them. • I did a massive eye roll when Lena was given her last name 'Grey'. Considering she also is involved with 'mechanical creatures'. In fact, when they said her name would be 'Grey' I actually said "of course it would be...." I don't know.
That all being said, I did like Emris, he is a huntsman and catches magical criminals, Rogues and Radicals. In this world untrained mages are called Rogues - which Lena is believed to be at the start. Mages undergo a ceremony at the temple called the 'Binding' in which their power is tied to a God, if the Binding is successful then they are no longer considered Rogues as their powers will be able to be under control
. As I said, I really loved the idea of this book, but for me it just fell a bit flat and I found so many things that I didn't like with it. Whilst I didn't predict the ending, I just wasn't left that shocked with it. I expected there to be some big shocker at the end but for me it was just okay.
In the beginning of this book we meet Lena who is running for her life after being convicted of magecraft and is sentenced to death. Lena is an orphan who was raised by Vigo and trained to be a Cryptling - someone who prepares the deceased after death.
We also meet Constance who is the Duke's daughter and Winston's half-sister. Constance is the Heir to the Forest and the rightful Heir to become Duchess if anything should happen to her father. Constance returns miraculously to her father where she finds he's now mad and not who he used to be. She doesn't quite know why he has turned out like this but she has a sneaking suspicion that not everyone at her fathers side is as they seem.
This story is told, therefore, from 2 POV's: Lena's and Constance's. Whilst I enjoyed the premise of this book, and believe me when I say, when I first heard about it I knew I wanted to read it. But for some reason it just fell short for me and here's a few reasons why:- • The first chapter was incredibly long, and it didn't grip me at all. I actually considered DNFing it at the start. In fact, all of the chapters were really long, some of them being around the 20 pages mark. • So many of the paragraphs and sentences started with the word 'She...' I just felt like some of them could of started out differently. • The magic system wasn't original, which is how this was pitched, it was just the generic 'shoot magic from hand' kind of magic and it wasn't complex at all so for me it was a bit of a let down. • Quite a lot seemed to happen in the long chapters but without much explanation. One minute Constance was talking to someone, then the next paragraph, she was waking up. I was left a little confused sometimes. • I really disliked Lena and her chapters. For me Constance had the better chapters and I felt like Lena's were forced and the story would of probably been better without them. • I did a massive eye roll when Lena was given her last name 'Grey'. Considering she also is involved with 'mechanical creatures'. In fact, when they said her name would be 'Grey' I actually said "of course it would be...." I don't know.
That all being said, I did like Emris, he is a huntsman and catches magical criminals, Rogues and Radicals. In this world untrained mages are called Rogues - which Lena is believed to be at the start. Mages undergo a ceremony at the temple called the 'Binding' in which their power is tied to a God, if the Binding is successful then they are no longer considered Rogues as their powers will be able to be under control
. As I said, I really loved the idea of this book, but for me it just fell a bit flat and I found so many things that I didn't like with it. Whilst I didn't predict the ending, I just wasn't left that shocked with it. I expected there to be some big shocker at the end but for me it was just okay.
March 3, 2019
(Gifted) Blog Post: https://museofnyxmares.wordpress.com/...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/museofnyxma...
*I was provided with an ARC by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. All quotes used may be subject to change upon publication.
First of all, I think that the author should be very proud, this was a well thought out and strong debut novel. From the synopsis alone, I knew that We Are Blood And Thunder was going to be a very unique book and so consequently, I didn’t expect to feel so comfortable easing into this world that the author had created. But the writing was so good, that I slipped seamlessly into Lena’s life, already hooked from the first page. The book is split into two viewpoints as we follow Lena – a 17 year old Cryptling and Constance – a 20 something year old mage. In the early parts of the novel, Lena is essentially trapped inside her hometown, Duke’s Forest, as the town is under quarantine, due to the storm cloud, ‘Life was difficult for everyone now: for a year, the city had been under quarantine. Instead of eating sweets in sunny rooms, half the people of the city were dead, rich and poor alike, and the other half lived in fear’. Constance is on the other side of the barrier separating Duke’s Forest from the rest of the world. But then Lena is involved in an incident that calls for the town authority to order her death. With advice from the only person who truly cared for her, echoing in her mind, Lena makes it outside of Duke’s Forest, although she is heavily pursued. Stumbling blindly in the dark of the forest, Lena is approached by a masked figure, Constance, who gives her the means to find her way out. And whilst Lena is hell bent on getting as far away from Duke’s Forest as possible, heading in one direction, Constance is heading in the opposite direction, hell bent on finding a way into Duke’s Forest. And this is where our story truly begins.
Whilst escaping through the forest Lena comes across a stranger, this stranger, Emris, has seen what Lena did to a snake that attacked her and so he thrusts the word ‘Rogue’ at her. He then explains that a Rogue is basically a mage, that has never learnt to properly control their powers or been bonded to one of the 9 gods. Rogues are considered a danger to themselves and others, as they have no boundaries, therefore, Emris is desperate to get Lena to the City of Kings, where she can get all the help that she needs, “It is my duty as a hunstman to bring untrained mages like you to the City of Kings to start your training”. Lena is struggling to think of herself as any type of magical being and these 9 gods are foreign to her, all she knows are the Ancestors that everyone in Duke’s Forest reveres. But she can’t turn back and she doesn’t know what she’ll find going forward and so she follows Emris. After picking and picking at the spell keeping people from entering or exiting Duke’s Forest, Constance finally breaks through. She is shocked, but not surprised to see what’s become of her hometown after she left all those 6 years ago. The shops are no longer bright, the people are hidden away, the vegetation is dying and of course, the storm cloud looms. Just like the outward appearance of Duke’s Forest, things have changed since Constance left. Despite the obstacles that she now has to contend with, Constance came back after all these years for a reason. She’s going to end this storm, one way or another.
As protagonists go, I really liked Lena and Constance. Lena was very easy to like as she had been told her whole life that she didn’t matter as much as everyone else, but she was still hopeful and strong. Being a cryptling meant that she was destined to spend the rest of her life in the dark, attending the dead ancestors, her work was vital, but that doesn’t mean that she’s valued, “Even the people of Duke’s Forest had regarded cryptlings – marked out by their various deformities – with a mixture of disgust and begrudging respect for their duties”. The label ‘marked’, is basically given to anyone who was born different, where Lena had a dark mark on her face, others were disabled, blind or their brains worked differently. Lena’s even forbidden to touch anyone and is not to be gazed upon, only allowed out in the dark or wearing a cowl. Despite everything she’s been told, she still dreams of a life for herself outside Duke’s Forest, although, she now considers herself well and truly trapped as the quarantine means that nobody is going anywhere, especially a little cryptling, “This is my home, Vigo. But it sometimes feels like a prison too”. As Lena starts to train at the temple in the City of Kings, she begins to believe in herself in a way she never did before, this discovery of her powers has given her a new identity as a mage, and all she’s really wanted is to belong. As she spends time at the temple though, it is becoming clear that her powers are unique. And in her search for answers, Lena looks in places that she shouldn’t, that Emris has explicitly warned her about, for there are 13 mages who are not beholden to a god, but to the king himself, “Yes. Lord Chatham and a few others like him claim that they don’t need the gods or the learning of the temples to control their magic”.
Constance was a much more complex character to grasp, as although we had chapters written from her viewpoint, she was often saying one thing and doing another. I think that this is what I found so fascinating about her, because I truly couldn’t figure her out. She was almost distantly good, which might not make much sense, but she would do good things but not because she felt any real emotion to do them. Like, I realised after a while that she was often doing something so that she didn’t have to deal with people’s emotions. She’d have moments where I thought that she truly cared about others, but then she’d go on to do something nice later and then think to herself something along the lines of, I need him on my side. I mostly took this as determination to achieve her task and liked that we had a female protagonist who wasn’t particularly ‘likeable’, almost like Constance herself didn’t care for or have time for us to like her. She was just such an interesting character to me and I’d love to see what other people make of her. When Constance disappeared 6 years ago, she went to the City of Kings and trained at the temple, alongside Emris. Her and Emris’ relationship went beyond friendship, but when she left the City of Kings, she stole things and Emris discovered the most peculiar texts in her room and now he’s been charged with arresting her. Constance knows that he is after her and there are feelings there, but nothing will keep her from her destiny, she even goes as far as to sleep with someone she knows has feelings for her in order to cement him as an ally, she was ruthless in a way that a lot of female characters aren’t always allowed to be, but I loved her for it, ‘She could have lied to him, she supposed. But she didn’t want to – besides, it wasn’t a good idea…the High Priestess had once told her. Build your lies as false bricks into a tower of truth, so that no one can tell them apart‘.
The plot was really good, as I loved how more and more things clicked into place as the novel progressed. I also enjoyed the parallels between Lena and Constance, with Constance going back to her hometown to try and find the heart of the spell and then Lena, leaving in search of her magic and who she was. There were several twists and turns in this book that I didn’t see coming, the biggest reveal did exactly as it was probably meant to do and blew me away. I really liked the world building and characters in this and thought that it was a unique and entertaining read, with great writing. I will say though, that in regards to most of the things I liked, I would’ve just loved a bit more of everything. I would’ve been over the moon to explore all of the characters, the magic and gods, and the City of Kings a bit more. If I’d had a bit more of those things I would’ve given this a full five stars. Having said that, I don’t think that it needed to be any longer than it was, so I’d say that maybe it would have worked as a duology, although I feel like there might be a sequel to this one and I’d be more than eager to visit this world and some of these characters again.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/museofnyxma...
*I was provided with an ARC by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. All quotes used may be subject to change upon publication.
First of all, I think that the author should be very proud, this was a well thought out and strong debut novel. From the synopsis alone, I knew that We Are Blood And Thunder was going to be a very unique book and so consequently, I didn’t expect to feel so comfortable easing into this world that the author had created. But the writing was so good, that I slipped seamlessly into Lena’s life, already hooked from the first page. The book is split into two viewpoints as we follow Lena – a 17 year old Cryptling and Constance – a 20 something year old mage. In the early parts of the novel, Lena is essentially trapped inside her hometown, Duke’s Forest, as the town is under quarantine, due to the storm cloud, ‘Life was difficult for everyone now: for a year, the city had been under quarantine. Instead of eating sweets in sunny rooms, half the people of the city were dead, rich and poor alike, and the other half lived in fear’. Constance is on the other side of the barrier separating Duke’s Forest from the rest of the world. But then Lena is involved in an incident that calls for the town authority to order her death. With advice from the only person who truly cared for her, echoing in her mind, Lena makes it outside of Duke’s Forest, although she is heavily pursued. Stumbling blindly in the dark of the forest, Lena is approached by a masked figure, Constance, who gives her the means to find her way out. And whilst Lena is hell bent on getting as far away from Duke’s Forest as possible, heading in one direction, Constance is heading in the opposite direction, hell bent on finding a way into Duke’s Forest. And this is where our story truly begins.
Whilst escaping through the forest Lena comes across a stranger, this stranger, Emris, has seen what Lena did to a snake that attacked her and so he thrusts the word ‘Rogue’ at her. He then explains that a Rogue is basically a mage, that has never learnt to properly control their powers or been bonded to one of the 9 gods. Rogues are considered a danger to themselves and others, as they have no boundaries, therefore, Emris is desperate to get Lena to the City of Kings, where she can get all the help that she needs, “It is my duty as a hunstman to bring untrained mages like you to the City of Kings to start your training”. Lena is struggling to think of herself as any type of magical being and these 9 gods are foreign to her, all she knows are the Ancestors that everyone in Duke’s Forest reveres. But she can’t turn back and she doesn’t know what she’ll find going forward and so she follows Emris. After picking and picking at the spell keeping people from entering or exiting Duke’s Forest, Constance finally breaks through. She is shocked, but not surprised to see what’s become of her hometown after she left all those 6 years ago. The shops are no longer bright, the people are hidden away, the vegetation is dying and of course, the storm cloud looms. Just like the outward appearance of Duke’s Forest, things have changed since Constance left. Despite the obstacles that she now has to contend with, Constance came back after all these years for a reason. She’s going to end this storm, one way or another.
As protagonists go, I really liked Lena and Constance. Lena was very easy to like as she had been told her whole life that she didn’t matter as much as everyone else, but she was still hopeful and strong. Being a cryptling meant that she was destined to spend the rest of her life in the dark, attending the dead ancestors, her work was vital, but that doesn’t mean that she’s valued, “Even the people of Duke’s Forest had regarded cryptlings – marked out by their various deformities – with a mixture of disgust and begrudging respect for their duties”. The label ‘marked’, is basically given to anyone who was born different, where Lena had a dark mark on her face, others were disabled, blind or their brains worked differently. Lena’s even forbidden to touch anyone and is not to be gazed upon, only allowed out in the dark or wearing a cowl. Despite everything she’s been told, she still dreams of a life for herself outside Duke’s Forest, although, she now considers herself well and truly trapped as the quarantine means that nobody is going anywhere, especially a little cryptling, “This is my home, Vigo. But it sometimes feels like a prison too”. As Lena starts to train at the temple in the City of Kings, she begins to believe in herself in a way she never did before, this discovery of her powers has given her a new identity as a mage, and all she’s really wanted is to belong. As she spends time at the temple though, it is becoming clear that her powers are unique. And in her search for answers, Lena looks in places that she shouldn’t, that Emris has explicitly warned her about, for there are 13 mages who are not beholden to a god, but to the king himself, “Yes. Lord Chatham and a few others like him claim that they don’t need the gods or the learning of the temples to control their magic”.
Constance was a much more complex character to grasp, as although we had chapters written from her viewpoint, she was often saying one thing and doing another. I think that this is what I found so fascinating about her, because I truly couldn’t figure her out. She was almost distantly good, which might not make much sense, but she would do good things but not because she felt any real emotion to do them. Like, I realised after a while that she was often doing something so that she didn’t have to deal with people’s emotions. She’d have moments where I thought that she truly cared about others, but then she’d go on to do something nice later and then think to herself something along the lines of, I need him on my side. I mostly took this as determination to achieve her task and liked that we had a female protagonist who wasn’t particularly ‘likeable’, almost like Constance herself didn’t care for or have time for us to like her. She was just such an interesting character to me and I’d love to see what other people make of her. When Constance disappeared 6 years ago, she went to the City of Kings and trained at the temple, alongside Emris. Her and Emris’ relationship went beyond friendship, but when she left the City of Kings, she stole things and Emris discovered the most peculiar texts in her room and now he’s been charged with arresting her. Constance knows that he is after her and there are feelings there, but nothing will keep her from her destiny, she even goes as far as to sleep with someone she knows has feelings for her in order to cement him as an ally, she was ruthless in a way that a lot of female characters aren’t always allowed to be, but I loved her for it, ‘She could have lied to him, she supposed. But she didn’t want to – besides, it wasn’t a good idea…the High Priestess had once told her. Build your lies as false bricks into a tower of truth, so that no one can tell them apart‘.
The plot was really good, as I loved how more and more things clicked into place as the novel progressed. I also enjoyed the parallels between Lena and Constance, with Constance going back to her hometown to try and find the heart of the spell and then Lena, leaving in search of her magic and who she was. There were several twists and turns in this book that I didn’t see coming, the biggest reveal did exactly as it was probably meant to do and blew me away. I really liked the world building and characters in this and thought that it was a unique and entertaining read, with great writing. I will say though, that in regards to most of the things I liked, I would’ve just loved a bit more of everything. I would’ve been over the moon to explore all of the characters, the magic and gods, and the City of Kings a bit more. If I’d had a bit more of those things I would’ve given this a full five stars. Having said that, I don’t think that it needed to be any longer than it was, so I’d say that maybe it would have worked as a duology, although I feel like there might be a sequel to this one and I’d be more than eager to visit this world and some of these characters again.
March 16, 2019
I loved this, it was a bit slow in the middle but not enough for me to drop any stars. I loved Lena so much, she is a wonderful MC and so interesting and so human. Emris I adored too, this took twists and turns I didn’t see coming and was original and creative. A must read and up there with my favourite read of the year so far. Amazing
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
February 1, 2020
I know my bestie Weereader loved this book so I picked it up as my second book of the year. AGAIN another blinding fantasy. Thick, interesting chapters. I cannot wait for the companion sequel to come out.
This book sparked my love for Mage books after I wrote my own last year..
This book sparked my love for Mage books after I wrote my own last year..
December 29, 2019
Lena Grey is a Cryptling, preparing the deceased for their resting place below the township of Dukes Forest, an isolated community shrouded in a menacing cloudscape of pestilence and destruction. Dukes Forest has been decimated by disease, the Ancestors resting below the township have begun to awaken and as Lena prepares the Duchess for burial, she is accused of being an enchantress and sentenced, her life shall be taken by the ferocious hounds of the Justice. Mages are dangerous and abhorrent, according to the Justice, the authority of Dukes Forest. Lena escapes into the surrounding woodlands and into the unknown.
Lena is a naive and sheltered young woman, an orphan and abandoned by her parents to the underground Cryptling community of the hearing or vision impaired, physically or visibly disabled. An apprentice who prepares the deceased for the afterlife, Lena's only companion is an elderly man who has nurtured the young woman since arriving in Dukes Forest. A Cryptling lives a simple existence without material possessions so when Lena discovers an extraordinary mechanical butterfly within the underground chambers, she begins to imagine a life beyond her veil of darkness.
In an incidental encounter in the forest, Constance discovers Lena escaping capture and guides her towards Emris, a Huntsman and self appointed educator of the the City of Kings. The City of Kings provides refuge to Rogue mages, to control their abilities and pledge their allegiance to one of nine temples throughout the city. Although Emris alludes to being a former lover of Constance, he's enchanted by Lena and abandons all reasoning and purpose to pursue an unknown young woman on her journey.
Constance Rathbone is returning to Dukes Forest, a young woman seeking the essence of the cloudscape incantation threatening to consume her homeland. Upon returning home to reclaim her birthright as Duchess, Constance is confronted with her fathers ailing health and the oppression and cruelty of the Justice. Constance is a mysterious and alluring young woman who is returning home from exile, her father is no longer in governance, the township ravaged by disease and pestilence and her only allies are her brother Winton and childhood companion Lord Irvine, positioned within the guardsmen for the Justice respectfully. Constance is an unreliable narrator, unashamedly boasting of her untruths. Her unexplained absence raising suspicion among her kinfolk, unaware of her abilities and why she has chosen to claim her birthright as heir.
Lena and Constance appear as contrasting characters but their lives are irrevocably entwined as Lena's journey traces the pathway that Constance once paved. It was interesting to compare the similarities between the two morally grey characters. One of my favourite aspects was female independence as neither Lena or Constance depended on male characters as saviours or to define their characters. We Are Blood and Thunder is a wonderful instance of feminist fantasy literature, of independent female characters that celebrate imperfections.
As a standalone debut fantasy novel, We Are Blood and Thunder is beautifully written, intense and captivating.
Lena is a naive and sheltered young woman, an orphan and abandoned by her parents to the underground Cryptling community of the hearing or vision impaired, physically or visibly disabled. An apprentice who prepares the deceased for the afterlife, Lena's only companion is an elderly man who has nurtured the young woman since arriving in Dukes Forest. A Cryptling lives a simple existence without material possessions so when Lena discovers an extraordinary mechanical butterfly within the underground chambers, she begins to imagine a life beyond her veil of darkness.
In an incidental encounter in the forest, Constance discovers Lena escaping capture and guides her towards Emris, a Huntsman and self appointed educator of the the City of Kings. The City of Kings provides refuge to Rogue mages, to control their abilities and pledge their allegiance to one of nine temples throughout the city. Although Emris alludes to being a former lover of Constance, he's enchanted by Lena and abandons all reasoning and purpose to pursue an unknown young woman on her journey.
Constance Rathbone is returning to Dukes Forest, a young woman seeking the essence of the cloudscape incantation threatening to consume her homeland. Upon returning home to reclaim her birthright as Duchess, Constance is confronted with her fathers ailing health and the oppression and cruelty of the Justice. Constance is a mysterious and alluring young woman who is returning home from exile, her father is no longer in governance, the township ravaged by disease and pestilence and her only allies are her brother Winton and childhood companion Lord Irvine, positioned within the guardsmen for the Justice respectfully. Constance is an unreliable narrator, unashamedly boasting of her untruths. Her unexplained absence raising suspicion among her kinfolk, unaware of her abilities and why she has chosen to claim her birthright as heir.
Lena and Constance appear as contrasting characters but their lives are irrevocably entwined as Lena's journey traces the pathway that Constance once paved. It was interesting to compare the similarities between the two morally grey characters. One of my favourite aspects was female independence as neither Lena or Constance depended on male characters as saviours or to define their characters. We Are Blood and Thunder is a wonderful instance of feminist fantasy literature, of independent female characters that celebrate imperfections.
As a standalone debut fantasy novel, We Are Blood and Thunder is beautifully written, intense and captivating.
April 22, 2019
*For more reviews visit JaneKelsey.com*
We are blood and thunder follows Constance and Lena, two female characters at opposite ends, both united by the terrifying storm cloud hovering over the dukedom which has already claimed the lives of many. As conflict climaxes and hidden enemies emerge, Constance and Lena need each other to uncover the secrets and save their people from this deadly spell.
When I saw this novel I knew I wanted to read it because it has all the ingredients that I like: fantasy + female characters + magic + world in peril + some romance. If you’re interested so far, keep on reading this…
The story follows Lena as she is trying to escape the dukedom after she was sentenced to death for being suspected of having magical powers, whilst Constance is trying to find a giphyway back into the city to set some wrongs right and finally become who she was meant to me, not holding back. Initially I enjoyed more of Lena’s perspective and was almost scared to read Constance’s story because political intrigues seem to give me some anxiety (I kid you not!), but I ended up loving the moments with Constance more, and her strong leadership rather than Lena’s who became a little bit too… self-doubting for a while. I’m a bit of a cut-to-the-chase kinda girl and accept-your-fate-damn-it, so these moments when Lena learns a thing or two at the temple I was a bit meh about. Things to pick up so not all is lost and I loved reading from their perspectives, following their stories.
The writing was the true strength of this novel. Kesia has a way with words and it sucked me right in. The descriptions are beautifully written, yet simple enough not to appear overdone and felt natural. This is an author that I will defo be keeping my eyes peeled to see what she will do next because there is great potential. All this being said, I had a few issues with the pacing, the beginning was a bit too slow for me; it picks up the pace midway. Maybe it’s my fault because I am a bit of an impatient reader… I want it and I want it now. Lol. The plot twists were twisty enough for me (obviously not gonna spoil and tell you, buy the book!), but the magical system was kinda confusing for me and I wasn’t very clear on what was going on sometimes and I feel like I wanted just a little bit more.
Overall, I very much ended up enjoying it, as I said it picked up in pacing midway and more things started to happen so I was a lot more hooked in. I dropped a star or so because of the above mentioned, but that’s me and my opinion.
We are blood and thunder follows Constance and Lena, two female characters at opposite ends, both united by the terrifying storm cloud hovering over the dukedom which has already claimed the lives of many. As conflict climaxes and hidden enemies emerge, Constance and Lena need each other to uncover the secrets and save their people from this deadly spell.
When I saw this novel I knew I wanted to read it because it has all the ingredients that I like: fantasy + female characters + magic + world in peril + some romance. If you’re interested so far, keep on reading this…
The story follows Lena as she is trying to escape the dukedom after she was sentenced to death for being suspected of having magical powers, whilst Constance is trying to find a giphyway back into the city to set some wrongs right and finally become who she was meant to me, not holding back. Initially I enjoyed more of Lena’s perspective and was almost scared to read Constance’s story because political intrigues seem to give me some anxiety (I kid you not!), but I ended up loving the moments with Constance more, and her strong leadership rather than Lena’s who became a little bit too… self-doubting for a while. I’m a bit of a cut-to-the-chase kinda girl and accept-your-fate-damn-it, so these moments when Lena learns a thing or two at the temple I was a bit meh about. Things to pick up so not all is lost and I loved reading from their perspectives, following their stories.
The writing was the true strength of this novel. Kesia has a way with words and it sucked me right in. The descriptions are beautifully written, yet simple enough not to appear overdone and felt natural. This is an author that I will defo be keeping my eyes peeled to see what she will do next because there is great potential. All this being said, I had a few issues with the pacing, the beginning was a bit too slow for me; it picks up the pace midway. Maybe it’s my fault because I am a bit of an impatient reader… I want it and I want it now. Lol. The plot twists were twisty enough for me (obviously not gonna spoil and tell you, buy the book!), but the magical system was kinda confusing for me and I wasn’t very clear on what was going on sometimes and I feel like I wanted just a little bit more.
Overall, I very much ended up enjoying it, as I said it picked up in pacing midway and more things started to happen so I was a lot more hooked in. I dropped a star or so because of the above mentioned, but that’s me and my opinion.
June 17, 2019
Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Jayse Smith
We Are Blood and Thunder is a newly released YA fantasy by debut author, Kesia Lupo, centred on two female protagonists, Lena and Constance. The contrasts between each of the characters couldn’t be more apparent. One a cryptling, shunned by society because of a deformity and charged with tending to the dead and the other a noble born woman with a dark hidden secret.
This female-led cast stormed its way into my heart, grabbed me and drew me into a dark world of intrigue and mystery. The cloud that hangs above the city of Duke’s Forest is metaphorical as well as physically present as it swirls and causes all who live there to cut themselves off from the rest of the world for fear the cloud would spread.
This cloud brings pestilence, death, and misery for the people of Duke’s Forest. Coupled with the ominous cloud, the towns law-maker and enforcer, the egomaniac Lord Chatham, plays on the towns folks fears and exacerbates the entire situation resulting in a manhunt. This book literally has it all. Magic, mystery, intrigue, action, and adventure.
I read this book as part of a buddy read (we pick a book and read it simultaneously) on Instagram with three of my wonderful #Bookstagram buddies, Nicky @Cre8ive.Nicky, Nikki @NikkiReads and Roz @SeventyEight.Sundays and I asked them for their opinion on the book and their thoughts are below!
Nicky – @cre8ive_nicky
I absolutely loved We Are Blood and Thunder. I couldn’t get enough of the imaginative and enticing writing. I became deeply invested in one of the main characters, Lena, from the first chapter and I spent the rest of the book rooting for her and eager to see what would become of her. I was also heavily interested in what I considered to be Lena opposite, Constance. These were two distinct characters with their own voices who demanded my attention from the first sentence and I was shocked by the ending.
All the characters in this book were crafted beautifully, from the egomaniacal Lord Chatham to the soft-spoken and handsome Emris. I enjoyed the tantalisingly slow details the writer handed the reader.
The mood and energy from the spooky and sickly Duke’s Forest, to the sun drenched and busy streets of the City of Kings were expertly conveyed and I will definitely make the time to read more of Kesia Lupo’s writing. I thought the mix of medieval and steampunk as a world was really inventive, but what I was really intrigued by was The Holy Council of the Nine Gods. It’s an interesting take on a magic system, and I loved that there was a colour assigned to each discipline of magic. I would have loved to spend more time meandering down the streets of The City of Kings and would have really appreciated more chapters spent watching Lena develop her magic.
Most of all I enjoyed the pace of the story. I was constantly curiously about what was going to happen next and at times could not read the next sentence fast enough. I even went as far as lying to my inlaws and telling them I had stomach problems so I could lock myself in their bathroom and finish the book. I have no shame in admitting that I sat in the empty bathtub and finished my book while they continued their BBQ outside – I had to have answers dammit!
I was taken aback by the last two chapters. While I wasn’t happy with how it ended, I appreciated and even applauded that the writer left me with points to argue with my fellow book lovers.
Nikki – @nikkireads
When it comes to fantasy books there’s two things that are always a must for me: the world building has to be amazing and the characters have to be believable. Both of these things Kesia delivered on. If I didn’t already know that this was Kesia’s YA fantasy debut I would never have thought otherwise. The writing style was so beautifully descriptive and the dialogue between characters was so well done. The writing drew me in from the very first page and made for such an enjoyable reading experience.
In this story we were introduced to two kick ass female main characters whose stories were told through their own points of view. I admired the way in which both Constance and Lena’s vulnerability at times was their greatest strength. The magic system was completely original and unlike anything else I’ve ever come across in YA fantasy. The most enjoyable part of this read for me, aside from everything I’ve already mentioned, was the last third of the book. Throughout the whole story the pace always felt relatively fast, but the last third of the book is when everything tied together perfectly. The plot twists were so unexpected and thinking about it now still blows my mind because I didn’t see any of it coming, at all.
We Are Blood and Thunder was a mysterious, adventurous, and magic filled YA fantasy and I gave it 5 stars. I’m so grateful that I was able to buddy read it with some of my fellow bookworms. Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing for sending me an early copy of this book.
Roz – @seventyeight.sundays
I love this book. The world building and magic system are interesting. The mythology is quite complex and well-thought of. I would’ve loved to know more about the gods and the magic system as I feel like there are more to explore.
The characters are fascinating with their secrets and hidden motive. It took a couple of chapters to get used to the alternating POVs between Constance and Lena, plus there are a lot of side characters and it takes a little bit of time to get to know them. Once you’ve got that down, the story’s pacing is quite good. Lena is definitely my favourite between the two. She is slightly insecure, torn between the safety of the past and the potential of the future. I could relate to some of her inner monologues. I also enjoy the unexpected twists and turns. I did guess a couple of them but there were some I didn’t see coming and it is always fun to be surprised.
I would totally recommend the book to lovers of fantasy, fans of lovely strong female characters as well as steampunk enthusiasts. I kind of got a whiff of steampunk vibes there.
A massive thank you to Nicky, Nikki, and Roz for reading this amazing book with me.
We are Blood and Thunder is Kesia Lupo’s debut book and is available now. Thank you so much to Bloomsbury for the advance copies of the book.
We Are Blood and Thunder is a newly released YA fantasy by debut author, Kesia Lupo, centred on two female protagonists, Lena and Constance. The contrasts between each of the characters couldn’t be more apparent. One a cryptling, shunned by society because of a deformity and charged with tending to the dead and the other a noble born woman with a dark hidden secret.
This female-led cast stormed its way into my heart, grabbed me and drew me into a dark world of intrigue and mystery. The cloud that hangs above the city of Duke’s Forest is metaphorical as well as physically present as it swirls and causes all who live there to cut themselves off from the rest of the world for fear the cloud would spread.
This cloud brings pestilence, death, and misery for the people of Duke’s Forest. Coupled with the ominous cloud, the towns law-maker and enforcer, the egomaniac Lord Chatham, plays on the towns folks fears and exacerbates the entire situation resulting in a manhunt. This book literally has it all. Magic, mystery, intrigue, action, and adventure.
I read this book as part of a buddy read (we pick a book and read it simultaneously) on Instagram with three of my wonderful #Bookstagram buddies, Nicky @Cre8ive.Nicky, Nikki @NikkiReads and Roz @SeventyEight.Sundays and I asked them for their opinion on the book and their thoughts are below!
Nicky – @cre8ive_nicky
I absolutely loved We Are Blood and Thunder. I couldn’t get enough of the imaginative and enticing writing. I became deeply invested in one of the main characters, Lena, from the first chapter and I spent the rest of the book rooting for her and eager to see what would become of her. I was also heavily interested in what I considered to be Lena opposite, Constance. These were two distinct characters with their own voices who demanded my attention from the first sentence and I was shocked by the ending.
All the characters in this book were crafted beautifully, from the egomaniacal Lord Chatham to the soft-spoken and handsome Emris. I enjoyed the tantalisingly slow details the writer handed the reader.
The mood and energy from the spooky and sickly Duke’s Forest, to the sun drenched and busy streets of the City of Kings were expertly conveyed and I will definitely make the time to read more of Kesia Lupo’s writing. I thought the mix of medieval and steampunk as a world was really inventive, but what I was really intrigued by was The Holy Council of the Nine Gods. It’s an interesting take on a magic system, and I loved that there was a colour assigned to each discipline of magic. I would have loved to spend more time meandering down the streets of The City of Kings and would have really appreciated more chapters spent watching Lena develop her magic.
Most of all I enjoyed the pace of the story. I was constantly curiously about what was going to happen next and at times could not read the next sentence fast enough. I even went as far as lying to my inlaws and telling them I had stomach problems so I could lock myself in their bathroom and finish the book. I have no shame in admitting that I sat in the empty bathtub and finished my book while they continued their BBQ outside – I had to have answers dammit!
I was taken aback by the last two chapters. While I wasn’t happy with how it ended, I appreciated and even applauded that the writer left me with points to argue with my fellow book lovers.
Nikki – @nikkireads
When it comes to fantasy books there’s two things that are always a must for me: the world building has to be amazing and the characters have to be believable. Both of these things Kesia delivered on. If I didn’t already know that this was Kesia’s YA fantasy debut I would never have thought otherwise. The writing style was so beautifully descriptive and the dialogue between characters was so well done. The writing drew me in from the very first page and made for such an enjoyable reading experience.
In this story we were introduced to two kick ass female main characters whose stories were told through their own points of view. I admired the way in which both Constance and Lena’s vulnerability at times was their greatest strength. The magic system was completely original and unlike anything else I’ve ever come across in YA fantasy. The most enjoyable part of this read for me, aside from everything I’ve already mentioned, was the last third of the book. Throughout the whole story the pace always felt relatively fast, but the last third of the book is when everything tied together perfectly. The plot twists were so unexpected and thinking about it now still blows my mind because I didn’t see any of it coming, at all.
We Are Blood and Thunder was a mysterious, adventurous, and magic filled YA fantasy and I gave it 5 stars. I’m so grateful that I was able to buddy read it with some of my fellow bookworms. Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing for sending me an early copy of this book.
Roz – @seventyeight.sundays
I love this book. The world building and magic system are interesting. The mythology is quite complex and well-thought of. I would’ve loved to know more about the gods and the magic system as I feel like there are more to explore.
The characters are fascinating with their secrets and hidden motive. It took a couple of chapters to get used to the alternating POVs between Constance and Lena, plus there are a lot of side characters and it takes a little bit of time to get to know them. Once you’ve got that down, the story’s pacing is quite good. Lena is definitely my favourite between the two. She is slightly insecure, torn between the safety of the past and the potential of the future. I could relate to some of her inner monologues. I also enjoy the unexpected twists and turns. I did guess a couple of them but there were some I didn’t see coming and it is always fun to be surprised.
I would totally recommend the book to lovers of fantasy, fans of lovely strong female characters as well as steampunk enthusiasts. I kind of got a whiff of steampunk vibes there.
A massive thank you to Nicky, Nikki, and Roz for reading this amazing book with me.
We are Blood and Thunder is Kesia Lupo’s debut book and is available now. Thank you so much to Bloomsbury for the advance copies of the book.
May 10, 2019
Thankyou to Bloomsbury Publishing for providing me with a copy of We are Blood and Thunder, in exchange for an honest review.
Lena is a cryptling, working in the town's crypts, preparing the dead to be laid to rest. When an incident sees her running for her life, she stumbles across a masked lady in the woods - Constance. As Lena heads to where Constance came from and Constance heads to Lena's town, they'll both have major difficulties to overcome.
This one was a little hard for me to rate - there are some really interesting and unique aspects to the story and the magic was especially intriguing, but the main characters didn't quite draw me in as much as I hoped. There was a lot about the magic that wasn't quite explained, which is ok if the book is the first in a series, but as a standalone it just meant I'll never get answers to the questions I had. There were some truly great battle scenes though and some of the characters got me nicely riled up (as was the intention of those characters!) but I was much more attached to and interested in the secondary characters than the two leads!
The story itself was full of adventure and secrets and it was definitely a page turner. I often found myself holding my breath anxiously, waiting to see what would happen. I also loved the twist at the end!
MY BLOG ~ INSTAGRAM
Lena is a cryptling, working in the town's crypts, preparing the dead to be laid to rest. When an incident sees her running for her life, she stumbles across a masked lady in the woods - Constance. As Lena heads to where Constance came from and Constance heads to Lena's town, they'll both have major difficulties to overcome.
This one was a little hard for me to rate - there are some really interesting and unique aspects to the story and the magic was especially intriguing, but the main characters didn't quite draw me in as much as I hoped. There was a lot about the magic that wasn't quite explained, which is ok if the book is the first in a series, but as a standalone it just meant I'll never get answers to the questions I had. There were some truly great battle scenes though and some of the characters got me nicely riled up (as was the intention of those characters!) but I was much more attached to and interested in the secondary characters than the two leads!
The story itself was full of adventure and secrets and it was definitely a page turner. I often found myself holding my breath anxiously, waiting to see what would happen. I also loved the twist at the end!
MY BLOG ~ INSTAGRAM
Read
August 8, 2021
April 6, 2019
This book took me way longer to finish than I thought it would.
I was expecting to love it. It sounded exactly like my kind of book but unfortunately it didn’t grip me.
It did get interesting sometime after the halfway point but the first half kind of dragged and I didn’t really understand the magic system.
I wasn’t particularly invested in any of the characters until later on in the book either.
However, I do think the plot twist was a good one and I honestly didn’t see it coming so that was one good thing about it!
I was expecting to love it. It sounded exactly like my kind of book but unfortunately it didn’t grip me.
It did get interesting sometime after the halfway point but the first half kind of dragged and I didn’t really understand the magic system.
I wasn’t particularly invested in any of the characters until later on in the book either.
However, I do think the plot twist was a good one and I honestly didn’t see it coming so that was one good thing about it!
January 5, 2021
This review first appeared on my Instagram, @booktineus and was also posted on Happy Indulgence Book Blog.
The Good Things
+ Fantastic YA/NA standalone fantasy debut. (one MC was 17, and the other 23 or so)
+ Super interesting world with a nice side of a cursed town (It's an interesting time to read about pestilence, death, and quarantine haha).
+ Loved the steampunk elements! I was not expecting that so it was a fun surprise.
+ It's addictive! Early on I was so caught up in the story I forgot to take notes! It was so easy to keep turning pages.
+ I loved how the story was told through two storylines. Lena's story had most of the greater world building, where as Constance's storyline dealt more with the direct plot and intrigue.
+ Winton was precious. Loved seeing a bit of a sibling relationship between him and Constance.
+ Interesting magic system and explanation!
+ Powerful ending! I'm mildly in shock writing this review. Easily one of my top reads of 2020.
The Not-So-Good Things
- I feel like this story could have been even better if it was written as a duology. Just to have more time to flesh out the characters and romance.
- Definitely wasn't sold on the romance. There weren't really any scenes where I felt the characters were building toward a romantic relationship. It's like they meet and interact, then suddenly share a kiss near the end. Unfortunately this meant some aspects of the ending didn't pack the emotional punch they should have.
- I expected the temples and gods to have a bigger role than they did. Their different magic and factions are another aspect I would have loved to explore more. It feels like we barely scratched the surface.
- The final act, as good as it was, did end rather abruptly. Right after the big climax we get a tiny bit of epilogue that closes some plot points and then it's over and I'm just left here trying to process all my emotions.
TLDR
This was such a good fantasy standalone debut, I loved so much about the world and the plot. The only thing stopping it from getting 4.5 or 5 stars was some weak romance. It’s definitely left me with a book hangover. Cannot wait to see what Kesia Lupo does in the future.
The Good Things
+ Fantastic YA/NA standalone fantasy debut. (one MC was 17, and the other 23 or so)
+ Super interesting world with a nice side of a cursed town (It's an interesting time to read about pestilence, death, and quarantine haha).
+ Loved the steampunk elements! I was not expecting that so it was a fun surprise.
+ It's addictive! Early on I was so caught up in the story I forgot to take notes! It was so easy to keep turning pages.
+ I loved how the story was told through two storylines. Lena's story had most of the greater world building, where as Constance's storyline dealt more with the direct plot and intrigue.
+ Winton was precious. Loved seeing a bit of a sibling relationship between him and Constance.
+ Interesting magic system and explanation!
+ Powerful ending! I'm mildly in shock writing this review. Easily one of my top reads of 2020.
The Not-So-Good Things
- I feel like this story could have been even better if it was written as a duology. Just to have more time to flesh out the characters and romance.
- Definitely wasn't sold on the romance. There weren't really any scenes where I felt the characters were building toward a romantic relationship. It's like they meet and interact, then suddenly share a kiss near the end. Unfortunately this meant some aspects of the ending didn't pack the emotional punch they should have.
- I expected the temples and gods to have a bigger role than they did. Their different magic and factions are another aspect I would have loved to explore more. It feels like we barely scratched the surface.
- The final act, as good as it was, did end rather abruptly. Right after the big climax we get a tiny bit of epilogue that closes some plot points and then it's over and I'm just left here trying to process all my emotions.
TLDR
This was such a good fantasy standalone debut, I loved so much about the world and the plot. The only thing stopping it from getting 4.5 or 5 stars was some weak romance. It’s definitely left me with a book hangover. Cannot wait to see what Kesia Lupo does in the future.
May 2, 2019
Overall, this book was nice. The storyline was promising but the plot development was a bit slow. It was draggy at some point. I was halfway through the book and I was still wondering when was the story going to get to the point. It took so long for me to reach the part where everything started to be revealed. So in short, I can only say this book was thicker than necessary.
The story was told from two povs. Lena, the girl or the cryptling as she was called in Duke's Forest, and Constance, a mage which was also the Duke's daughter. I think to say that Lena was annoying would be unfair for her because she never knew her origin and she was scared for her life. But when she escaped Duke's Forest and started to expose herself to the possibilities that she might be more than what she was led to believe, she was like oh no no no this is not who I am and what would my dead mentor say about this... that's when she was annoying. Constance held a more interesting character. But her character development took a turn and felt rushed towards the ending. Which made me feel slightly disturbed because I think the author could have revealed the plot twist slowly instead of rushing it all out as the story was about to finish. It leads me back to the plot development. Makes me wonder why it took so long to reveal only to rush the ending.
The story was basically about these two girls. About their origins and the tragedy that was set upon Duke's Forest. One of them was destined to save everyone from the tragedy and I guess you could already guess who it was. They had to fight through so many obstacles and to be honest with you, I was a bit fooled by the characters. Not to say it was totally unpredictable but I wasn't really expecting that kind of revelation. Although the ending was a bit anti-climatic. This is just my opinion though. If you might be reading this, I'm just saying you might have a different reading experience.
As much as I love Emris, I feel like the romance was too rushed so pretty much unnecessary. I didn't really feel the chemistry and no sense of attachment to the characters. I like the book but that's just it.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank Pansing for sending me a copy of We Are Blood and Thunder in exchange for my honest review. You can find it in all good bookstores.
The story was told from two povs. Lena, the girl or the cryptling as she was called in Duke's Forest, and Constance, a mage which was also the Duke's daughter. I think to say that Lena was annoying would be unfair for her because she never knew her origin and she was scared for her life. But when she escaped Duke's Forest and started to expose herself to the possibilities that she might be more than what she was led to believe, she was like oh no no no this is not who I am and what would my dead mentor say about this... that's when she was annoying. Constance held a more interesting character. But her character development took a turn and felt rushed towards the ending. Which made me feel slightly disturbed because I think the author could have revealed the plot twist slowly instead of rushing it all out as the story was about to finish. It leads me back to the plot development. Makes me wonder why it took so long to reveal only to rush the ending.
The story was basically about these two girls. About their origins and the tragedy that was set upon Duke's Forest. One of them was destined to save everyone from the tragedy and I guess you could already guess who it was. They had to fight through so many obstacles and to be honest with you, I was a bit fooled by the characters. Not to say it was totally unpredictable but I wasn't really expecting that kind of revelation. Although the ending was a bit anti-climatic. This is just my opinion though. If you might be reading this, I'm just saying you might have a different reading experience.
As much as I love Emris, I feel like the romance was too rushed so pretty much unnecessary. I didn't really feel the chemistry and no sense of attachment to the characters. I like the book but that's just it.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank Pansing for sending me a copy of We Are Blood and Thunder in exchange for my honest review. You can find it in all good bookstores.
March 20, 2019
Actual Rating 1.5. But really, I don't know if the extra half star is just because I abhorred the last book I read so much.
Unlike the massively plagiarised and poorly written Nocturna, at least We are Blood and Thunder is well written. I mean, it's boring, super predictable, with old-school magic, instalove, and paper thin characters, but at least, at least I could get into the writing style. Maybe this is where the extra half star comes in? Who knows anymore.
I was going to keep going, but I'm now super annoyed after reviewing both these books that I can not be arsed going on.
Recommend: If you like poorly plotted, slow, old style fantasy with like zero character growth, and a bunch of instalove, be my guest.
Age: 14+
Warnings: I can't think of anything off the top of my head. A bit of kissing and death and necromancy, but I can't remember if there was sex or not.
Note: I received this ARC for review purposes
Unlike the massively plagiarised and poorly written Nocturna, at least We are Blood and Thunder is well written. I mean, it's boring, super predictable, with old-school magic, instalove, and paper thin characters, but at least, at least I could get into the writing style. Maybe this is where the extra half star comes in? Who knows anymore.
I was going to keep going, but I'm now super annoyed after reviewing both these books that I can not be arsed going on.
Recommend: If you like poorly plotted, slow, old style fantasy with like zero character growth, and a bunch of instalove, be my guest.
Age: 14+
Warnings: I can't think of anything off the top of my head. A bit of kissing and death and necromancy, but I can't remember if there was sex or not.
Note: I received this ARC for review purposes
August 13, 2019
2.5 stars
Thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This definitely didn't go the way I expected it to from the synopsis, but I ended up enjoying it nonetheless. There's necromancy, magic, dark forests, and cult-like temples, and I enjoyed the way te magic system was built up throughout the novel. Although I didn't connect with many of the characters, that ending really knocked me for six. Game of Thrones eat your heart out.
Thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This definitely didn't go the way I expected it to from the synopsis, but I ended up enjoying it nonetheless. There's necromancy, magic, dark forests, and cult-like temples, and I enjoyed the way te magic system was built up throughout the novel. Although I didn't connect with many of the characters, that ending really knocked me for six. Game of Thrones eat your heart out.
May 3, 2019
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Even though the title made "We are Blood and Thunder" sound like a wild ride, it did not really evoke powerful emotions in me. It's a good thing I still enjoyed the mystery element, magic system, and scheming in this book.
Personally, I preferred Constance's POV chapters because they were more exciting. Lena's POV chapters had some gripping scenes towards the end, but for the first half of the book, I admit that I wished Lena wasn't a POV character. She alternated between boring me and annoying me. As a heroine, I would describe Lena as forgettable. On the other hand, Constance caught my interest, but I was never emotionally invested in her as a character. I was just intrigued by her story.
I'm not even going to discuss the romance because they had no depth, To put it simply, they were just romance for the sake of romance.
The best part of this book was the magic system. I liked the order vs. chaos concept and of course, the idea of mages being assigned to a particular god according to his/her specialties. Oh, and the magical devices here were cool too!
Even though the title made "We are Blood and Thunder" sound like a wild ride, it did not really evoke powerful emotions in me. It's a good thing I still enjoyed the mystery element, magic system, and scheming in this book.
Personally, I preferred Constance's POV chapters because they were more exciting. Lena's POV chapters had some gripping scenes towards the end, but for the first half of the book, I admit that I wished Lena wasn't a POV character. She alternated between boring me and annoying me. As a heroine, I would describe Lena as forgettable. On the other hand, Constance caught my interest, but I was never emotionally invested in her as a character. I was just intrigued by her story.
I'm not even going to discuss the romance because they had no depth, To put it simply, they were just romance for the sake of romance.
The best part of this book was the magic system. I liked the order vs. chaos concept and of course, the idea of mages being assigned to a particular god according to his/her specialties. Oh, and the magical devices here were cool too!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 263 reviews