What do you think?
Rate this book
Blood Destiny #6
Blood Queen
"Thousands of Copper Ra'Ak fought throughout Veshtul, killing many as they lashed out, or crushing others as they crawled along. Screaming Comesuli ran before them, desperate to escape the deadly creatures. In the distance, Dragon's roar sounded as he fought off one of the monsters. Three other Dragons fought beside him; I saw them as they charged their prey—a Black Dragon, a Silver Dragon and a Gold Dragon. Others were fighting Ra'Ak as well; a Black Gryphon fought alongside a huge Snow Leopard. Giant birds swept the sky, screaming in anger as Ra'Ak leapt at them, attempting to sink rows of deadly teeth into feathered flesh."
Lissa has been transported 300 years into the future, to save the High Demon world and the Saa Thalarr. But what she doesn't understand is that they aren't the only things she is meant to protect. The balance—and survival of all worlds rests in her hands.
Lissa has been transported 300 years into the future, to save the High Demon world and the Saa Thalarr. But what she doesn't understand is that they aren't the only things she is meant to protect. The balance—and survival of all worlds rests in her hands.
263 pages
First published December 12, 2011
64 people are currently reading
287 people want to read
About the author
Connie Suttle
76 books809 followersConnie Suttle lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three cats.
Connie holds an MFA in Fine Art (film production and animation) and taught courses at the university level before moving on to bookstore management. Nowadays, if she isn't writing or editing, she's dreaming up her next book.
Connie holds an MFA in Fine Art (film production and animation) and taught courses at the university level before moving on to bookstore management. Nowadays, if she isn't writing or editing, she's dreaming up her next book.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
January 24, 2012
I think I might be psychotic, because while I really couldn't put this one down, I don't think it was a very good book. It really felt like the author threw everything but the kitchen sink in here. We have time travel (which I like), science fiction (which I like), urban fantasy ( which I like) and Anita Blakish everyone in the world wants to have sex with me (which I don't particularly like). Too much happening all at once. I felt like this should have been the end of the series, but I understand 3 more books are scheduled. Not sure I need to read them.
January 8, 2012
Blood Queen, the sixth book in the Blood Destiny series by Connie Suttle, is by far my favorite book in the series. The whole series to date has set the stage for what happens now, and believe me, this one won’t disappoint you!
The story picks up where Blood Royal left off, with Lissa’s father, Griffin, begging for her help in defeating an army of evil 300 years in the future, and on a distant planet. Although Lissa is exhausted from her recent encounter with Xenides and his rogue army of vampires, she feels compelled to agree to Griffin’s plea. Before she could have any second thoughts, she finds herself transported into the future and amid a raging battle against thousands of Ra’Ak. Her sudden appearance ignites a blast of destruction as she quickly engages the enemy, providing some much needed assistance to the group of Saa Thalarr who found themselves on the brink of exhaustion and collapse before her arrival.
Throughout the series, Lissa has proven to be incredibly resilient in her ability to overcome emotional and physical abuse, intentional or not, directed toward her by most of the close relationships in her life. In Blood Queen, Lissa evolves into a whole being, one no longer intimidated by anyone or anything. Her moral values are uncompromised, tempered by her compassion for the downtrodden and an abundance of love that fuels her capacity for understanding and forgiveness; even at her own expense.
At once powerful beyond anyone’s conception, yet emotionally still healing, she forges new relationships while mending old ones. And the most gratifying part of all this is that the people in her life who were the source of her pain and suffering for so long finally see the error of their ways. They begin to not only treat her with the respect and dignity she deserves, but surround her with the sincere love and acceptance she needs to finally understand her worth and place in the universe.
The story arc is very satisfying, with action sequences that rival anything in the previous books. But the meat of the novel is in the growth of its characters, especially Lissa. Lissa, a diminutive, unassuming being with a heart open to those whom she loves, which makes her as vulnerable to their character flaws as to her own. Yet that vulnerability is the bedrock of strength from which springs her ironclad understanding of right and wrong. That unbending moral compass can have only one result; Lissa’s inevitable ascension to her rightful station in the universe; Blood Queen.
The story picks up where Blood Royal left off, with Lissa’s father, Griffin, begging for her help in defeating an army of evil 300 years in the future, and on a distant planet. Although Lissa is exhausted from her recent encounter with Xenides and his rogue army of vampires, she feels compelled to agree to Griffin’s plea. Before she could have any second thoughts, she finds herself transported into the future and amid a raging battle against thousands of Ra’Ak. Her sudden appearance ignites a blast of destruction as she quickly engages the enemy, providing some much needed assistance to the group of Saa Thalarr who found themselves on the brink of exhaustion and collapse before her arrival.
Throughout the series, Lissa has proven to be incredibly resilient in her ability to overcome emotional and physical abuse, intentional or not, directed toward her by most of the close relationships in her life. In Blood Queen, Lissa evolves into a whole being, one no longer intimidated by anyone or anything. Her moral values are uncompromised, tempered by her compassion for the downtrodden and an abundance of love that fuels her capacity for understanding and forgiveness; even at her own expense.
At once powerful beyond anyone’s conception, yet emotionally still healing, she forges new relationships while mending old ones. And the most gratifying part of all this is that the people in her life who were the source of her pain and suffering for so long finally see the error of their ways. They begin to not only treat her with the respect and dignity she deserves, but surround her with the sincere love and acceptance she needs to finally understand her worth and place in the universe.
The story arc is very satisfying, with action sequences that rival anything in the previous books. But the meat of the novel is in the growth of its characters, especially Lissa. Lissa, a diminutive, unassuming being with a heart open to those whom she loves, which makes her as vulnerable to their character flaws as to her own. Yet that vulnerability is the bedrock of strength from which springs her ironclad understanding of right and wrong. That unbending moral compass can have only one result; Lissa’s inevitable ascension to her rightful station in the universe; Blood Queen.
June 20, 2013
Oy vey, even Connie is finding ways to get around naming the masses of people on stage in some scenes. "Merrill, Wlodek, Tony, Gavin, and the rest". " . . . and all mine". "All my mates and . . " We get more and more "all of the . . .". Fine by me! If they had numbers and titles instead of names it would suit me just fine. "Werewolf chief #2, vampire enforcer #3 and 4 Larentii walked into a bar . ."
I would pay good money for a copy of the wall chart she uses to keep everyone organized. Connie, does Cafe Press do posters? If you did a Kickstarter I'd chip in. I want a laminated wall poster and itty bitty post-it squares and arrows so I could map relationships. Is that too much to ask?
Oh, is this supposed to be s review? I can't just now, sorry. I loved it and am halfway through the next. The Ra'Ak are fussing again and I've got to fly
I would pay good money for a copy of the wall chart she uses to keep everyone organized. Connie, does Cafe Press do posters? If you did a Kickstarter I'd chip in. I want a laminated wall poster and itty bitty post-it squares and arrows so I could map relationships. Is that too much to ask?
Oh, is this supposed to be s review? I can't just now, sorry. I loved it and am halfway through the next. The Ra'Ak are fussing again and I've got to fly
November 30, 2020
Thank goodness! I didn’t know what to think after the way the last book ended!
There are a LOT of characters to remember. And planets in which these characters come from.
I am enjoying it but some of the names could be a little easier to remember if I am being honest.
"Merrill, Wlodek, Tony, Gavin, and the rest" – this straight from the book as you can see there are a lot and even the author is find ways around naming them all. |
I think I would like chart of everyone and how they are connected that would make things a little easier.
The ending has me wondering.
I also think all the new mates Lissa has are interesting in their own right and now that Gavin and the other remember her. I like him better he isn’t as jealous or mad all the time.
Again I am loving the narration.
There are a LOT of characters to remember. And planets in which these characters come from.
I am enjoying it but some of the names could be a little easier to remember if I am being honest.
"Merrill, Wlodek, Tony, Gavin, and the rest" – this straight from the book as you can see there are a lot and even the author is find ways around naming them all. |
I think I would like chart of everyone and how they are connected that would make things a little easier.
The ending has me wondering.
I also think all the new mates Lissa has are interesting in their own right and now that Gavin and the other remember her. I like him better he isn’t as jealous or mad all the time.
Again I am loving the narration.
July 9, 2020
I really liked this series, but this last book threw in a bunch of new and unnecessary characters, resolved issues a little too easily, and didn't have the same heart as the other books. It's like she rushed to wrap everything up and ended up flat. It also reads like a final book, but we'll see since she has sequels listed...
July 19, 2016
Oh dear gods this book is awful. I mean, really awful.
Now I’ve read a lot of awful books lately – usually because they’ve had some social justice fails that are inexcusable like the House of Night series and the Shifters series. So very inexcusable
This is not the case with this book (don’t get me wrong, it’s not exactly stellar on that front), this is terrible because it reads like it was written by a 10 year old. It has that level of complexity
This has been the problem with this series for a while now, I’ve complained before about the utter simplicity of the world setting, especially as they’ve expanded too many alien creatures and worlds. I’ve also complained at the utterly simplistic lack of conflict in the conflict with such terribly un-nuanced abilities like being able to “smell” evil (and, of course, the evil being so very very very evil and lacking in nuance or development that you can just kill them). This is the tone of this book. The evil is evil and you just have to kill it (it has no reason to be evil. It’s just evil). It has no subtlety, no difficulty in identification. It’s just evil.
This book takes this whole child-like simplicity and takes it tenfold further.
Firstly there’s Lissa, Supreme Queen of Mary Sues. Oh dear gods she is. And this Sue-ishness is the core of why everything in this book is simple to the point of boring. There are no challenges, none at all. There can’t be. Lissa has super powers, powers that completely eclipse everyone and everything. We open this book with a desperate struggle where the forces of good (and their amazing super powers) are being completely overwhelmed until Lissa arrives and destroys nearly the entire army by herself. There are creatures that are literally destroying entire planets which Lissa completely wipes out in her free time between dinner dates. And the closing scenes of this book involve Lissa pulling off completely unexplained god-like feats with no damn explanation at all. She just ZAP decides the bad guys can no longer have their powers – and lo, entire species across the galaxy are fundamentally changed in terms of magic, physical abilities and lifespan.
Where she gets these powers? I don’t know. And it doesn’t even matter – it’s just a ridiculous over the top tool. Even if you could justify your protagonist having these powers, it’d still be a bad idea because it destroys any kind of tension in the plot. Sure we generally expect the protagonist to win, and the genre is full of protagonists who have awesome powers who we know will win in the end – but when Anita Blake pulls another load of super powers from her vagina, there’s at least an attempt to present the conflict as an actual conflict with the suggestion that Anita COULD lose, that there’s an actual fight
Not in this book. Lissa shows up. The enemy dies. There’s no conflict here. Lissa shows up. Super powers happen. Enemy dies. This isn’t conflict – stepping on an ant has more conflict than this. And it’s boring
Well, of course she’ll have interpersonal conflicts, right? Nope. She is Queen of Sues. Everyone loves her. Everyone. I’m not kidding here. Not one person doesn’t adore her. Half the cast wants to marry her, the other half wants to be her parents or family. They love her. All of them. Unreservedly, without the tiniest shred of criticism or seeing any flaws or issues with her. She is universally adored from the very second when people meet her. And it’s boring. You can’t have a story that looks at character relationships or development when everyone starts as fawning fanboys. She even gets a 21 gun salute from the President even though no-one can publicly explain what she’s actually done. Can you imagine that meeting? “We need a 21 gun salute for this lady with no last name or legal identity for doing stuff I can’t talk about!”
But there’s more gross simplicity: the world building. This is something, again, I’ve complained about before – with Lissa happily jetting about alien worlds and finding them… not even remotely alien. Again, Lissa would find more culture shock and difficulty navigating if she went to modern day China or Argentina or Norway. These alien worlds simply have no alien elements. These alien beings are largely just human with shiny powers
This is compounded this book with time travel which, again, pretty much fails to imagine how Earth would change 300 years in the future. And it shows how little thought has gone into it – Lissa buys a map for crying out loud! Sure it’s an electronic map but the fact it appears on a screen doesn’t change that maps are nearly extinct now! People have “tiny communication devices” like mobile phones – but even a brief look at trends would see our mobile phones have been getting bigger because we expect them to do way way way more things than communicate. It’s just so lazy! It’s just lacking anything resembling imagination or development. Look at the way the world has changed in the last 300 years! It’s mind boggling so little will change
So what about the plot?
Read More
Now I’ve read a lot of awful books lately – usually because they’ve had some social justice fails that are inexcusable like the House of Night series and the Shifters series. So very inexcusable
This is not the case with this book (don’t get me wrong, it’s not exactly stellar on that front), this is terrible because it reads like it was written by a 10 year old. It has that level of complexity
This has been the problem with this series for a while now, I’ve complained before about the utter simplicity of the world setting, especially as they’ve expanded too many alien creatures and worlds. I’ve also complained at the utterly simplistic lack of conflict in the conflict with such terribly un-nuanced abilities like being able to “smell” evil (and, of course, the evil being so very very very evil and lacking in nuance or development that you can just kill them). This is the tone of this book. The evil is evil and you just have to kill it (it has no reason to be evil. It’s just evil). It has no subtlety, no difficulty in identification. It’s just evil.
This book takes this whole child-like simplicity and takes it tenfold further.
Firstly there’s Lissa, Supreme Queen of Mary Sues. Oh dear gods she is. And this Sue-ishness is the core of why everything in this book is simple to the point of boring. There are no challenges, none at all. There can’t be. Lissa has super powers, powers that completely eclipse everyone and everything. We open this book with a desperate struggle where the forces of good (and their amazing super powers) are being completely overwhelmed until Lissa arrives and destroys nearly the entire army by herself. There are creatures that are literally destroying entire planets which Lissa completely wipes out in her free time between dinner dates. And the closing scenes of this book involve Lissa pulling off completely unexplained god-like feats with no damn explanation at all. She just ZAP decides the bad guys can no longer have their powers – and lo, entire species across the galaxy are fundamentally changed in terms of magic, physical abilities and lifespan.
Where she gets these powers? I don’t know. And it doesn’t even matter – it’s just a ridiculous over the top tool. Even if you could justify your protagonist having these powers, it’d still be a bad idea because it destroys any kind of tension in the plot. Sure we generally expect the protagonist to win, and the genre is full of protagonists who have awesome powers who we know will win in the end – but when Anita Blake pulls another load of super powers from her vagina, there’s at least an attempt to present the conflict as an actual conflict with the suggestion that Anita COULD lose, that there’s an actual fight
Not in this book. Lissa shows up. The enemy dies. There’s no conflict here. Lissa shows up. Super powers happen. Enemy dies. This isn’t conflict – stepping on an ant has more conflict than this. And it’s boring
Well, of course she’ll have interpersonal conflicts, right? Nope. She is Queen of Sues. Everyone loves her. Everyone. I’m not kidding here. Not one person doesn’t adore her. Half the cast wants to marry her, the other half wants to be her parents or family. They love her. All of them. Unreservedly, without the tiniest shred of criticism or seeing any flaws or issues with her. She is universally adored from the very second when people meet her. And it’s boring. You can’t have a story that looks at character relationships or development when everyone starts as fawning fanboys. She even gets a 21 gun salute from the President even though no-one can publicly explain what she’s actually done. Can you imagine that meeting? “We need a 21 gun salute for this lady with no last name or legal identity for doing stuff I can’t talk about!”
But there’s more gross simplicity: the world building. This is something, again, I’ve complained about before – with Lissa happily jetting about alien worlds and finding them… not even remotely alien. Again, Lissa would find more culture shock and difficulty navigating if she went to modern day China or Argentina or Norway. These alien worlds simply have no alien elements. These alien beings are largely just human with shiny powers
This is compounded this book with time travel which, again, pretty much fails to imagine how Earth would change 300 years in the future. And it shows how little thought has gone into it – Lissa buys a map for crying out loud! Sure it’s an electronic map but the fact it appears on a screen doesn’t change that maps are nearly extinct now! People have “tiny communication devices” like mobile phones – but even a brief look at trends would see our mobile phones have been getting bigger because we expect them to do way way way more things than communicate. It’s just so lazy! It’s just lacking anything resembling imagination or development. Look at the way the world has changed in the last 300 years! It’s mind boggling so little will change
So what about the plot?
Read More
June 5, 2017
This series is just like Reah's and had I read Lissa's series first I'd have said that about Reah's series. It's basically the same cut out but the insides are changed. So it's good, but I feel like I've been there done that, which is a bit disappointing because I was looking for a different series/person. They are fairly the same, Reah and Lissa. They both have their trials and tribulations in similar ways, their reactions are similar, both like to cook. Still I was bummed with where this book went. Griffin took Lissa to help somewhere, and then everything changed. I'm still super bummed about hearing about . I did enjoy this series I just really wish it wasn't fade to black. This series needs that extra step to make it slightly better. The relationship aspect of the story is weak in terms of depth. And sometimes Lissa or someone will allude to something but won't explain what their thought was so I get confused easily. This happens quite a bit through out the series. Still I read it, like it and enjoy it.
November 23, 2018
this is more like a two star book for me but it kept be curious so added a star. I loved this first book, them it just went downhill. This series made me more angry the more I read. Way too many love interests and she is so wishy washy about her feelings she doesn't act like a 48 yr old women, more like a 16yr. There were too many aholes and she just was like , " oh well I forgive you"
June 4, 2020
Notes:
Concepts are cool. I wish it was fleshed out to be more than a rough summary.
Concepts are cool. I wish it was fleshed out to be more than a rough summary.
November 10, 2023
3.5 Stars
Overall Rating ★★★★
Plot ★★★★
Humor ★★★
Characters & Character Development ★★★
Narration ★★★★
Story: It seriously bothered me in the beginning how Lissa was treated. Well only mostly with the hair incident. I was glad that once she was off that planet, most people were just trying to be there for her, make things up to her and make her happy. I was glad that so many people were still around. I'm also glad that she's able to do what she wants in this book without people hovering all the time.
However, I wasn't really happy that Gavin was. Honestly, he was always a jerk in this series. The only reason she agreed to be engaged to him was that he was the lesser of evils. It annoyed me that they kept acting like it was a real marriage. He admitted in the book before that he loved her because other men want her and she’s so beautiful. They literally have nothing in common and he can’t even say what he likes or loves about her. I don't understand what Lissa sees in him either other than he's handsome. He has tried to control everything in her life and tried to change her as a person. He's domineering and never wants her to handle anything. And now that he's forgotten her in this book, Gavin is even more of an asshole and wanted to kill her. I can't stand weak characters. After she remembers him again, she just takes him back regardless of them not being right for one another before. So frustrating!!!
Narration: Traci Odom. She's alright but she's sometimes pitchy with some of the men like Wlodek & Merrill. She also doesn't put the right emotional tone into some of the characters.
Overall Rating ★★★★
Plot ★★★★
Humor ★★★
Characters & Character Development ★★★
Narration ★★★★
Story: It seriously bothered me in the beginning how Lissa was treated. Well only mostly with the hair incident. I was glad that once she was off that planet, most people were just trying to be there for her, make things up to her and make her happy. I was glad that so many people were still around. I'm also glad that she's able to do what she wants in this book without people hovering all the time.
However, I wasn't really happy that Gavin was. Honestly, he was always a jerk in this series. The only reason she agreed to be engaged to him was that he was the lesser of evils. It annoyed me that they kept acting like it was a real marriage. He admitted in the book before that he loved her because other men want her and she’s so beautiful. They literally have nothing in common and he can’t even say what he likes or loves about her. I don't understand what Lissa sees in him either other than he's handsome. He has tried to control everything in her life and tried to change her as a person. He's domineering and never wants her to handle anything. And now that he's forgotten her in this book, Gavin is even more of an asshole and wanted to kill her. I can't stand weak characters. After she remembers him again, she just takes him back regardless of them not being right for one another before. So frustrating!!!
Narration: Traci Odom. She's alright but she's sometimes pitchy with some of the men like Wlodek & Merrill. She also doesn't put the right emotional tone into some of the characters.
April 8, 2012
I just LOVED the first 3 books in the series, liked the next 2. Now I'm bored.
At the end of Blood Royal, Lissa freely sacrificed her own life to save the universe. Now she's been reborn. That should give a lot more depth to the character, and the author could have done so many things with that !
Connie Suttle chose a convenient amnesia and an immediate return to full memory and powers. Not a smart move I think. OK a higher instance granted Lissa the miracle of resurrection ! But it would have interested me a lot more if she had emerged impaired in some way. Any way !
Memory loss : she could have forgotten some things about her husband Don and felt guilt. Or take more time to mist. Or become left-handed. Or lost her clear sense of morality, and teetered on the edge of the dark side (that one's a classic after all). Even loosing her ability to eat solid food might have been fun. For us I mean. Fancy the poor gal having to hide drinking from the comesuli ?
What I would have loved : if she had had to find out all over again about beeing a vampire, pieced the truth bit by bit. Or anything but what was written !
I might read the next installment in the series but I'm not even sure, I'm soooo disapointed right now !
At the end of Blood Royal, Lissa freely sacrificed her own life to save the universe. Now she's been reborn. That should give a lot more depth to the character, and the author could have done so many things with that !
Connie Suttle chose a convenient amnesia and an immediate return to full memory and powers. Not a smart move I think. OK a higher instance granted Lissa the miracle of resurrection ! But it would have interested me a lot more if she had emerged impaired in some way. Any way !
Memory loss : she could have forgotten some things about her husband Don and felt guilt. Or take more time to mist. Or become left-handed. Or lost her clear sense of morality, and teetered on the edge of the dark side (that one's a classic after all). Even loosing her ability to eat solid food might have been fun. For us I mean. Fancy the poor gal having to hide drinking from the comesuli ?
What I would have loved : if she had had to find out all over again about beeing a vampire, pieced the truth bit by bit. Or anything but what was written !
I might read the next installment in the series but I'm not even sure, I'm soooo disapointed right now !
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
January 14, 2014I am 50% into the book.. these are my thoughts so far.
But i guess..
Only time will tell..
The final 50%
Sometimes i wondered
And i decided
What a very odd book.
But i guess..
Only time will tell..
The final 50%
Sometimes i wondered
And i decided
What a very odd book.
November 22, 2018
Lissa has been taken 300 years into the future, and everyone thinks she's dead. She saved the High Demon world, and now everyone she loves either forgot her, or died many years ago.
But, Lissa will do everything she can to get back to how she was, even if she does battle with being depressed, anger, and a whole lot of hurt.
This book totally changed this series around. Not only was it horrible sad as well as terrifying, it was also very awesome.
I loved that it changed the series so much. She not only has new and old love interests, she's finding out what she's truly destined for, and what she will have to do now.
This book was very good, and I look forward to more in this series.
But, Lissa will do everything she can to get back to how she was, even if she does battle with being depressed, anger, and a whole lot of hurt.
This book totally changed this series around. Not only was it horrible sad as well as terrifying, it was also very awesome.
I loved that it changed the series so much. She not only has new and old love interests, she's finding out what she's truly destined for, and what she will have to do now.
This book was very good, and I look forward to more in this series.
December 28, 2011
Here there be spoilers
I've read all the Connie Suttle "blood" books to date. In fact I finished the last release just this weekend. But, I didn't find book 6 as well thought out as the others. It seemed as if the author was in a hurry to close things up so she could start the next story arch. Things started going a little left of center back when suddenly the protagonist (Lissa) is not just a vampire, but a vampire with alien blood and then ... O-O. Don't get me wrong, I like the books but I think I'd like them better with more character development, fewer crises, and a bit more reasonable plot line.
I've read all the Connie Suttle "blood" books to date. In fact I finished the last release just this weekend. But, I didn't find book 6 as well thought out as the others. It seemed as if the author was in a hurry to close things up so she could start the next story arch. Things started going a little left of center back when suddenly the protagonist (Lissa) is not just a vampire, but a vampire with alien blood and then ... O-O. Don't get me wrong, I like the books but I think I'd like them better with more character development, fewer crises, and a bit more reasonable plot line.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2025
WOW! Didn't see that coming at all!!! Wonderful book in a wonderful series by a wonderful author and person!! Definitely leaves you wanting more, MoRe, MORE!!!! This book also explains a lot from the previous books that wasn't made totally clear in them. There are still a LOT of questions that haven't been answered, but there's still more books to come!!! Congratulations Connie on another fantastic book!!!! Thanks for all you do!!!!!!
December 16, 2011
All I can say is WOW! I was a little worried for a bit that the series was ending but saw that there are more on the way...Whew. I think I almost cried when Connergan was revealed. I like the reincarnation idea, but I really got confused trying to remember all those names. You meet a lot of new people and its overwhelming. All in all it was fantastic and I anxiously wait for the next one.
January 26, 2012
Gah! No more for me. I really couldn't get to grips with this one (shades of LKH), and I can't be bothered to review it. I skimmed most of the end just to get there.
January 9, 2019
MAJOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT:
Wow. There are no words to describe how much I loved this book. It gave everything I wanted, while also giving me things I had no idea I wanted until they happened. If I didn't know any better, I would have sworn this was the final book in the series because it was just that perfect. If I could give it more stars, I definitely would.
After about 5-10% of the book, I had a little bit of a culture shock. This book takes place 300 years in the future and took some time to get used to. While I knew that Lissa had multiple mates, I thought that at least some of them would be the males from her past. I was so wrong. The guys I thought she would end up with, had mates in the future and some even had kids which left me reeling a little bit. Lissa actually mated quite a few of their kids. It hurt a little, hearing about some of the characters I loved. Winkler for example; I cried when I found out that he had died. I am so going to miss him. There were many other shocks but in a way, I was glad for them because they made the story so much better.
Lissa is phenomenal. She goes through SO much and every time I think she has reached a breaking point, she gets up, and fights harder. It is unbelievable how much compassion and bravery she has. She had been controlled, put down, heartbroken, and betrayed by some of the people she loves most which is so hard to read. Every time I think she is getting to a good place, she is betrayed or someone she loves dies. I honestly have no idea how someone could go through what she has and come out stronger in the end. I am so happy that she has found males that worship her and love her as much as her mates do. I hope she finds true happiness with them because she deserves it.
We got introduced to a ton of new characters and some of them ended up being mated to Lissa. I'm not going to go into every one of them because there are way too many, but I will say that I love them all and I was really happy that they ended up mated to her. The only exception, of course, is Gavin. I still feel the same about him but I have just accepted that he will always be in the picture for Lissa. I will mention Connegar. When he called Lissa "little rose" I cried so much. I am so happy that René was reincarnated and got to be one of Lissa's mates. From what I have been told, there are more mates yet to come and all I an say is bring them! I will welcome them with open arms.
I didn't think I could hate someone as much as I hated Gavin, but I was wrong. I hate Merrill. As soon as I found out he killed the mate bond between him and Lissa, I lost all feeling or connection I had with him. There is NO excuse for what he did and the excuse he gave, was completely selfish. He wanted another girl, so he took a mate away from Lissa. That is one of those things that you can't forgive. It is unbelievable that he even asked for it. I have no words for how deep my dislike for him goes now. I actually believe that is the deepest betrayal of Lissa to date and I don't think Merrill deserves forgiveness because of it.
I could go on and on about everything I loved about this book, but I would be here forever. I obviously loved this book and I will definitely be continuing the series. I can't wait to read the next installment!
Wow. There are no words to describe how much I loved this book. It gave everything I wanted, while also giving me things I had no idea I wanted until they happened. If I didn't know any better, I would have sworn this was the final book in the series because it was just that perfect. If I could give it more stars, I definitely would.
After about 5-10% of the book, I had a little bit of a culture shock. This book takes place 300 years in the future and took some time to get used to. While I knew that Lissa had multiple mates, I thought that at least some of them would be the males from her past. I was so wrong. The guys I thought she would end up with, had mates in the future and some even had kids which left me reeling a little bit. Lissa actually mated quite a few of their kids. It hurt a little, hearing about some of the characters I loved. Winkler for example; I cried when I found out that he had died. I am so going to miss him. There were many other shocks but in a way, I was glad for them because they made the story so much better.
Lissa is phenomenal. She goes through SO much and every time I think she has reached a breaking point, she gets up, and fights harder. It is unbelievable how much compassion and bravery she has. She had been controlled, put down, heartbroken, and betrayed by some of the people she loves most which is so hard to read. Every time I think she is getting to a good place, she is betrayed or someone she loves dies. I honestly have no idea how someone could go through what she has and come out stronger in the end. I am so happy that she has found males that worship her and love her as much as her mates do. I hope she finds true happiness with them because she deserves it.
We got introduced to a ton of new characters and some of them ended up being mated to Lissa. I'm not going to go into every one of them because there are way too many, but I will say that I love them all and I was really happy that they ended up mated to her. The only exception, of course, is Gavin. I still feel the same about him but I have just accepted that he will always be in the picture for Lissa. I will mention Connegar. When he called Lissa "little rose" I cried so much. I am so happy that René was reincarnated and got to be one of Lissa's mates. From what I have been told, there are more mates yet to come and all I an say is bring them! I will welcome them with open arms.
I didn't think I could hate someone as much as I hated Gavin, but I was wrong. I hate Merrill. As soon as I found out he killed the mate bond between him and Lissa, I lost all feeling or connection I had with him. There is NO excuse for what he did and the excuse he gave, was completely selfish. He wanted another girl, so he took a mate away from Lissa. That is one of those things that you can't forgive. It is unbelievable that he even asked for it. I have no words for how deep my dislike for him goes now. I actually believe that is the deepest betrayal of Lissa to date and I don't think Merrill deserves forgiveness because of it.
I could go on and on about everything I loved about this book, but I would be here forever. I obviously loved this book and I will definitely be continuing the series. I can't wait to read the next installment!
April 7, 2018
Well that wasn't weird, in the slightest :-) To be honest I was confused a lot in the first half of this book. The new setting, coupled with all the new names and volumes of mates had me struggling to remember who was who. I felt like it was just all a bit too much to take in. Not the concept, more of the info dump all in one go. However once I got over that I was over joyed to find that Lissa took some control over her life and set about it inner way - only to then find she has to save the world again. I quake at the thought of what sacrifice she might have to live (or die) through again as sacrifice for peace. Still, I am reading almost obsessively and find myself completely gripped, the whole world and Lissa have me sucked in. I was in tears at a couple of points, especially at the introduction of Connegar, perhaps one of my favourites. Now that i am on board with the complete change in series feel, from gritty urban fantasy to mind bending universe travel fun of strange alien nations, I am looking forward to the next.
December 11, 2019
Heavenssss this book sucks!! I'ts like Anita Blake only the dumb version. What is with all the kissing? I do not need to be reminded repeatedly that she he they WHOEVER ..THINKS. Every blue moon its ", I think." Like okay we get it, that's the signature line. My GOD it is soo annoying! She dies comes back her dad is full of crap..everybody is full of crap!
Why is she still a pushover?
Why is she still cringing every time money is mentioned. Goodness she is sooo annoying. I am so mad I can't put this stupid book down...I am so determined to see it through but trust me it is so not worth it. Something told me to just stop after book 5.
Why is she still a pushover?
Why is she still cringing every time money is mentioned. Goodness she is sooo annoying. I am so mad I can't put this stupid book down...I am so determined to see it through but trust me it is so not worth it. Something told me to just stop after book 5.
March 6, 2018
Yep, I cried. Twice. A scene concerning Winkler. And a scene about Rene. Still not crazy about being off-planet. Although there is some interesting ideas imagined for 300 years in the future... also slightly reminds me of the Anita Blake series by LKH.
August 23, 2021
Great continuation of the story
Lisa's story goes in an unexpected direction in this book, and her horizons are broadened substantially. A poignant tear-jerker in some spots, and a lovely feel good story in others. Highly recommended!
Lisa's story goes in an unexpected direction in this book, and her horizons are broadened substantially. A poignant tear-jerker in some spots, and a lovely feel good story in others. Highly recommended!
February 11, 2017
This series is starting to get a bit complicated with the time travel, aliens, million mates and so many new characters with strange names that I just cant keep track anymore.
July 29, 2018
Great series!
January 8, 2017
4 Stars
March 3, 2013
First and foremost, if you are just finding this series, do not start with this novel. Far too much has happened in the previous five for this one to make any sense and it is highly unlikely you would find this one very enjoyable as a standalone. It would be best to go to the first one, Blood Wager, and begin from there. For everyone else, I will do my best to not reveal any spoilers in this review.
Blood Queen begins right after the final scene in Blood Royal. Lissa is taken by her father, Griffin, to the planet Kifirin three hundred years into the future where a battle is taking place. She sees that many of the Comesuli are dying and those defending the planet are heavily outnumbered against their enemies. As is her nature, she jumps right into the battle against the Ra'Ak taking them down as fast she can, but still many are dying since she can't reach them all at once. The outcome of that battle reveals devastating losses and shapes the course of events that happen after.
I won't go any further. To say any more will spoil the book. Unfortunately I saw some of the other reviews prior to reading Blood Queen and realized a few gave away far more than I had wanted to know. It took away a lot of the suspense I would have otherwise felt. So I'm going to do my best to not do that to others. I will say this, it was a very intense beginning and you really wonder how things go from that point forward. The rest of the novel pretty much involves dealing with the fallout from that opening battle and succeeding events that change the way life on many planets goes on.
Something should also be said about Lissa's love life. Prior to this novel, you could already see it coming that she would not be a one-man kind of girl. In this one that becomes even more obvious since many more come out of the woodwork. She is rather reluctant to deal with so much attention, but can't exactly get around it since the M'Fiyahs make that rather difficult. She does learn some surprising details on how they come about that were not known before, along with some other important parts of her past that have shaped who she is. There is an increase of her powers that some will find difficult to believe, but I think they were necessary for the role she has to play. It didn't bother me, but some may find that aspect hard to believe.
I will say overall that this novel is intense and particularly emotional toward the beginning. If you have read all the previous books, this is not one you want to miss. There are a lot of the pieces of the puzzle that finally get revealed and many questions answered. The one unfortunate thing is that the number of characters in this one, even with the author having reduced them during revisions, is still staggering. Nearly everyone that has been seen in the previous books is either seen or mentioned, along with many new ones. It got rather confusing for me, I will admit. I began to wish I had jotted down a list of characters while reading the series just so I could refer to it for this one (and add all the new guys and gals to keep them straight). Despite this, you can muddle your way through it and still enjoy the story. There are a few typos here and there as well, but those weren't too distracting so they didn't bother me much. I still loved every minute of reading this novel and craved more after it was over. Though I'm not sure where it could go from here.
I must say this series has become one of my favorites for the paranormal genre, and I guess you could say sci-fi romance. It doesn't get too heavy on the sex scenes but does give a taste. Every character seems to have their own unique flavor. There is no other story-line like this making it really stand out from all the rest. I think the heroine, Lissa, is amazing and likeable. Someone you can really relate to in a lot of ways. The men in the book aren't anything to sneeze at either! So if you are on the fence about picking up this latest book, I would say go for it. I'm not sorry I did and will look forward to future work by this author. Blood Queen turned out to be another intense book, like its predecessors, that will leave the reader turning the pages to find out what happens next!
Blood Queen begins right after the final scene in Blood Royal. Lissa is taken by her father, Griffin, to the planet Kifirin three hundred years into the future where a battle is taking place. She sees that many of the Comesuli are dying and those defending the planet are heavily outnumbered against their enemies. As is her nature, she jumps right into the battle against the Ra'Ak taking them down as fast she can, but still many are dying since she can't reach them all at once. The outcome of that battle reveals devastating losses and shapes the course of events that happen after.
I won't go any further. To say any more will spoil the book. Unfortunately I saw some of the other reviews prior to reading Blood Queen and realized a few gave away far more than I had wanted to know. It took away a lot of the suspense I would have otherwise felt. So I'm going to do my best to not do that to others. I will say this, it was a very intense beginning and you really wonder how things go from that point forward. The rest of the novel pretty much involves dealing with the fallout from that opening battle and succeeding events that change the way life on many planets goes on.
Something should also be said about Lissa's love life. Prior to this novel, you could already see it coming that she would not be a one-man kind of girl. In this one that becomes even more obvious since many more come out of the woodwork. She is rather reluctant to deal with so much attention, but can't exactly get around it since the M'Fiyahs make that rather difficult. She does learn some surprising details on how they come about that were not known before, along with some other important parts of her past that have shaped who she is. There is an increase of her powers that some will find difficult to believe, but I think they were necessary for the role she has to play. It didn't bother me, but some may find that aspect hard to believe.
I will say overall that this novel is intense and particularly emotional toward the beginning. If you have read all the previous books, this is not one you want to miss. There are a lot of the pieces of the puzzle that finally get revealed and many questions answered. The one unfortunate thing is that the number of characters in this one, even with the author having reduced them during revisions, is still staggering. Nearly everyone that has been seen in the previous books is either seen or mentioned, along with many new ones. It got rather confusing for me, I will admit. I began to wish I had jotted down a list of characters while reading the series just so I could refer to it for this one (and add all the new guys and gals to keep them straight). Despite this, you can muddle your way through it and still enjoy the story. There are a few typos here and there as well, but those weren't too distracting so they didn't bother me much. I still loved every minute of reading this novel and craved more after it was over. Though I'm not sure where it could go from here.
I must say this series has become one of my favorites for the paranormal genre, and I guess you could say sci-fi romance. It doesn't get too heavy on the sex scenes but does give a taste. Every character seems to have their own unique flavor. There is no other story-line like this making it really stand out from all the rest. I think the heroine, Lissa, is amazing and likeable. Someone you can really relate to in a lot of ways. The men in the book aren't anything to sneeze at either! So if you are on the fence about picking up this latest book, I would say go for it. I'm not sorry I did and will look forward to future work by this author. Blood Queen turned out to be another intense book, like its predecessors, that will leave the reader turning the pages to find out what happens next!
July 11, 2020
book 5 really grated on me but I thought I would give the next book another chance before writing off the series. This storyline took an unexpected turn but it carries on from book 5. There are a lot of new names and details that crop up in this book which makes it abit of a juggle to remember all the details.
January 12, 2016
Here we go! I'm experiencing some conflicting emotions over this book, Blood Queen. It is Book 6 in the Blood Destiny series, so I should have been holding on tight to something, anything... but like a fool I went in totally unprepared. I am really sad about what Lissa had missed by jumping 300 hundred years into the future and being forced to stay there. However, the journey while she was there was completely worth the sorrow.
Lissa is a Vampire Queen, which is very rare for her species on earth. Although this is a very rare gift for the vampire community to possess, they had ignored that fact and treated Lissa like a stupid child. Lissa had to endure being confined with a surrogate sire whom babysat her, and she had to ask permission before doing anything. Along with her living conditions, Wlodek, the head of the Vampire Council had married Lissa to Gavin without her consent or even her being present! So in book 5, Blood Royal, when Lissa was just finally getting to the point where she was going to be announced to the vampire council as a Queen, and start being treated with the respect she deserved, she was plucked out of time and whisked away by her true father Griffin!
Lissa had just defeated a great enemy to the vampires, along with his army, and was tired to say the least! Right after that, when everyone is still at the scene standing in shock, her father Griffin comes to her asking for her help. Of course Lissa agreed to go, but without any warning as to what she was helping with, or where or when. She never even had the time to say goodbye to Gavin or anyone else. Once Lissa was in full battle, her future was set in stone and there was no turning back. My heart sank and I cried. I didn't know what was to become of Lissa in this future other world, but it didn't seem like a bright one to me at the time. From here on out in the book, I was taken on a new journey with Lissa, new friends, loves, and final acceptance towards the people in her past. This book was really eye opening with Lissa's struggle for forgiveness, and the inner strength she possessed that allowed her to go on in this new life that was chosen for her. Now the fact that Lissa ended up with multiple mates, and having lots of sex going on had nothing to do with my enjoyment of the book, but it sure did kick it up a notch in the entertainment factor!
Blood Queen did give me the feel that this was the final chapter for Lissa, however there are three more books in the series. I am very anxious to find out what else is in store for me in Lissa's new world.
***Join Paranormaly Yours Book Club on Facebook this week for an up close and personal Q & A with Author Connie Suttle!***
Narrator Review
Traci Odom continues to remain the voice of Lissa in the Blood Destiny Series. Anyone who has been following my reviews knows I love Traci! She has tremendous vocal talent, with her multiple accents, tones, and most of all her story telling abilities! I rate Traci's narration on this book with 5 Fangs. Great job Traci, and I look forward to listening to you again in Blood Rebellion, Book 7!
Lissa is a Vampire Queen, which is very rare for her species on earth. Although this is a very rare gift for the vampire community to possess, they had ignored that fact and treated Lissa like a stupid child. Lissa had to endure being confined with a surrogate sire whom babysat her, and she had to ask permission before doing anything. Along with her living conditions, Wlodek, the head of the Vampire Council had married Lissa to Gavin without her consent or even her being present! So in book 5, Blood Royal, when Lissa was just finally getting to the point where she was going to be announced to the vampire council as a Queen, and start being treated with the respect she deserved, she was plucked out of time and whisked away by her true father Griffin!
Lissa had just defeated a great enemy to the vampires, along with his army, and was tired to say the least! Right after that, when everyone is still at the scene standing in shock, her father Griffin comes to her asking for her help. Of course Lissa agreed to go, but without any warning as to what she was helping with, or where or when. She never even had the time to say goodbye to Gavin or anyone else. Once Lissa was in full battle, her future was set in stone and there was no turning back. My heart sank and I cried. I didn't know what was to become of Lissa in this future other world, but it didn't seem like a bright one to me at the time. From here on out in the book, I was taken on a new journey with Lissa, new friends, loves, and final acceptance towards the people in her past. This book was really eye opening with Lissa's struggle for forgiveness, and the inner strength she possessed that allowed her to go on in this new life that was chosen for her. Now the fact that Lissa ended up with multiple mates, and having lots of sex going on had nothing to do with my enjoyment of the book, but it sure did kick it up a notch in the entertainment factor!
Blood Queen did give me the feel that this was the final chapter for Lissa, however there are three more books in the series. I am very anxious to find out what else is in store for me in Lissa's new world.
***Join Paranormaly Yours Book Club on Facebook this week for an up close and personal Q & A with Author Connie Suttle!***
Narrator Review
Traci Odom continues to remain the voice of Lissa in the Blood Destiny Series. Anyone who has been following my reviews knows I love Traci! She has tremendous vocal talent, with her multiple accents, tones, and most of all her story telling abilities! I rate Traci's narration on this book with 5 Fangs. Great job Traci, and I look forward to listening to you again in Blood Rebellion, Book 7!
April 9, 2020
A LOT happpens in this sixth novel in the Blood Destiny series by Connie Suttle, and most of it has to do with Lissa making her own choices and then learning to live with the results/ consequences/ ramifications of those choices.
The novel kicks off with Griffin taking Lissa 400 years into the future and dropping her off on Kifirin where thousands of copper Ra'Ak have joined forces with rogue High Demons to take over Kifirin and the rule of the Dark Realm. Lissa has to choose first whether to fight at all and then ultimately whether to give her last ounce of energy to defeat them. We all can figure out what she chooses. After some assistance by an unseen hand, Lissa is given another chance to live, but that chance is on the road to emotional turmoil because the memory of her has been removed from all whom she cared. Lissa ultimately has to figure out what she wants to do with this new life and whom she wants standing beside her while she does it.
Overall, the plot is compelling and keeps me reading.
The challenges Lissa faces and her ascension to power are well-thought out and presented logically, if a little cryptically at times. As usual, though, there are bits that I do not like. The relationships between Lissa and those in her Inner Circle are not well developed, and Lissa still hasn't learned any boundaries. So it seems like she's just hooking up with everyone at a moment's notice, and even when she doesn't want to or is emotionally ambivalent. Not a great message to send to readers about how to think about polyamory/ multiple mates, if that's supposed to be a socially acceptable thing, which some of the dialogue seems to convey.
There's also the continuing issue of identical speech patterns between characters from different countries, planets, races and cultures that continues to bug me, as well as some inconsistencies in information (e.g., someone gets mindspeech that dinner is ready, but when they arrive at the house several paragraphs later, Lissa helps cook the meal. If dinner was ready, as you would expect if someone says "so and so says dinner is ready," there would be nothing for Lissa to cook.)
Despite it's issues, I still love this series because it is ridiculously creative and complex, and I will continue to read and re-read whenever I'm in between other books.
The novel kicks off with Griffin taking Lissa 400 years into the future and dropping her off on Kifirin where thousands of copper Ra'Ak have joined forces with rogue High Demons to take over Kifirin and the rule of the Dark Realm. Lissa has to choose first whether to fight at all and then ultimately whether to give her last ounce of energy to defeat them. We all can figure out what she chooses. After some assistance by an unseen hand, Lissa is given another chance to live, but that chance is on the road to emotional turmoil because the memory of her has been removed from all whom she cared. Lissa ultimately has to figure out what she wants to do with this new life and whom she wants standing beside her while she does it.
Overall, the plot is compelling and keeps me reading.
The challenges Lissa faces and her ascension to power are well-thought out and presented logically, if a little cryptically at times. As usual, though, there are bits that I do not like. The relationships between Lissa and those in her Inner Circle are not well developed, and Lissa still hasn't learned any boundaries. So it seems like she's just hooking up with everyone at a moment's notice, and even when she doesn't want to or is emotionally ambivalent. Not a great message to send to readers about how to think about polyamory/ multiple mates, if that's supposed to be a socially acceptable thing, which some of the dialogue seems to convey.
There's also the continuing issue of identical speech patterns between characters from different countries, planets, races and cultures that continues to bug me, as well as some inconsistencies in information (e.g., someone gets mindspeech that dinner is ready, but when they arrive at the house several paragraphs later, Lissa helps cook the meal. If dinner was ready, as you would expect if someone says "so and so says dinner is ready," there would be nothing for Lissa to cook.)
Despite it's issues, I still love this series because it is ridiculously creative and complex, and I will continue to read and re-read whenever I'm in between other books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews