After all the controversy I was really glad this book became available again as it deserves a chance.

That being said, personally this wasn't a favourite of mine. The 'lost princess must reclaim her throne while dealing with her unusual magic' plot line is so incredibly generic in YA at this point, and I struggled to find the motivation to continue with the story at multiple points. The magic is an interesting concept, but seemed very much made up on the fly - there was no real understanding given of what possible Affinities there were, and it seemed as though there were several powers that were held back as unknown mostly to shock the reader. I really disliked the incredibly generic bad-boy companion/love interest, and I found the character of May to be a direct analogue of Rue in The Hunger Games, there to create sympathy and not really be a character in her own right.

I did appreciate that the author was trying to bring issues of people trafficking to the fore, but I thought that at times this was handled a little ham-fistedly. Ana's realisation that her empire is built on the backs of trafficked people is excruciatingly slow, and spelled out in the most basic language for the reader to the point that I found it slightly condescending. You can show a character learning something without putting the exact words of her realisation on the page every time - especially when it's something as simple as 'people trafficking is wrong'. We know that. It's stating the obvious, and it's repetitive, which cheapened the impact for me because I ended up getting bored of reading it.

I think this will suit those who loved Wicked Saints and the Grisha trilogy/Six of Crows duology - they have similar wintry/Russian vibes and attempts at grey morality. Personally, I hated both of those, so I can at least say I liked this better, but it's just not one that worked for me.

The writing was so good, and the story was an incredible page turner. I was so scared of another book with a cliffhanger because I've started so many dang series that end on them, and while it is open ended because of the second book, it isn't the death cliffhanger sentence that I loathe! And I'll be ready for book two when it comes!

Before going into this I was intrigued by the premise but didn’t really know much of what I was getting into. But the opening scenes in this book really are action packed and I loved the introduction so much! The introduction of the characters of Ana and Ramson was intriguing and gripping and was what initially grabbed my attention, even if some of the dialogue was a little cheesy. In my opinion the relationship dynamic between them is the driving force behind this book.

The lore is very interesting and I enjoyed the idea behind the magic system, although at times I felt as though some things weren’t explained clearly enough. I think that the action and world building were the best written parts and the atmosphere is incredible, I loved how the author made the setting feel so real, I honestly felt the cold while reading.

The first half of the book was my favourite and in my opinion felt stronger than the latter half.
The second half was more predictable to me and had similar vibes to other fantasy and dystopian novels I’ve read... revolution... overthrowing the evil... you get the idea.
If you’re reading for character charisma and atmospheric world building you will live for this. Although for me the plot lacked a little in some areas and was definitely one of the weaker parts. Which wasn’t exactly a problem, but personally it just made the book feel as though something was missing.
I wanted more in terms of romance development, which is odd for a fantasy novel for me, usually I like when there isn’t much but I feel like this book needed a little extra swoon if you know what I mean. I think it could’ve added a little more flavour to the slower areas in the middle.

Overall this was a solid read and I’d definitely recommend giving it a try!

Rating: 3 Stars

For almost a year, crown princess Ana Mikhailov has lived in exile and seeks to find the man who has haunted her dreams since the night he murdered her father, the King of the Cyrillian Empire. It was easily framed that Ana murdered the King because Ana is a rare blood affinite – with the ability to control the blood running through anyone’s veins.
In order to find her father’s murderer and prove her innocence, Ana turns to Ransom Quicktongue: a disgraced criminal who’s seeking a way back in to the underground ranks of Alaric Kerlan’s criminal network. When Ana and Ramson come face to face, their fates are tied more than they know and they find they can’t pull off their schemes without one another’s begrudging help.

Blood Heir’s opening chapter left me speechless. Quite frankly, this is one of the best beginnings to any fantasy story I read in 2019.

The story unfolds through the alternating perspectives of Ana and Ramson, and was brilliantly executed by the author. When it comes to fantasy stories and canon ships, I’ve found YA author’s can be quick to dismiss portraying the guy’s perspective, so not only do I applaud Zhao for illustrating the different dimensions of Ramson’s character so well, I applaud her for including the guy’s voice in the first place.

Zhao wasn’t afraid to show you the nasty side of these characters, especially Ramson in the earlier chapters. I loved this. It made me love the characters even more, because they were made bare and open to the reader, in all their good and bad.

I immediately took to Ramson, which I don’t think was avoidable (at least to me) because he reads like he’s got a Han Solo/Harrison Ford vibe going on, which I totally digged, due to how endearing he was.

Ana is a likeable female lead, who regrettably does cause a great deal of frustration. She’s brash and naive, which very rarely if ever works in the favour of the main character. Luckily, Ana is also compassionate and very powerful, to the point where it almost makes overlooking her shortcomings possible. I really hope Ana develops more between now and the sequel, because I’d really love to love her, like I loved Ransom, rather than settling for just liking her.

My biggest qualm with this book is there is quite a striking similarity to Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse and Kaz Brekker’s story in Six of Crows, in relation to Ransom’s character and the book’s magic system (i.e. affinites that control blood, wind, fire etc.)
So I do feel Blood Heir suffers from a lack of originality when compared to recent YA series, but Blood Heir’s charismatic characters heavily compensate for this.

The other issue I encountered was repetitive prose… but this is a tricky one to comment on.
Prior to this book’s publication, there was a lot of controversy on how the topic of slavery was written. The long story short is: the author actually pulled this book from publication to apparently make edits/revisions in response to the controversy, before eventually publishing it. I don’t know what changes were made by the end, so I’m only commenting on the actual book published.

So, the point of all that information is: I think this has possibly been to the detriment of the quality of the book. Through Ana’s character, the reader continuously reads about how wrong slavery is. Initially, it’s fine, because it’s stating the obvious and outlining the problem within this fictional world, and it’s alright the next time too, as it feels like Ana’s eyes are being opened and she’s growing into her saviour role. But by the latter parts of the book... it just feels like an insult to the intelligence of the reader. We know slavery is wrong - I don’t need Ana repeatedly telling me so. It got to the point where it felt like the author was screaming this message to the reader through Ana, rather than it actually being Ana’s voice.

And this is how it’s tricky: is this simply repetitive writing? Or is it the author trying to pacify critics by continuously ramming a message down the reader’s throat, at the expense of the quality of the plot? If I had to pick, I’d say it was the latter (because there wasn’t much repetition in the book beyond the topic of slavery). But I don’t think I can confidently answer which one it is. So I’ll err on the side of “looking past it” but I couldn’t not mention this, as it really did disrupt the pace and my enjoyment of the overall book.

Blood Heir is very atmospherical. For the first time in a while, I actually used the book’s map because of how immersed I was. The snowy wintry unforgiving woods, the picturesque villages... I was transported to another world. It’s truly one of the most effective cold climate reads I’ve read because of how clearly it was illustrated.

Regardless of any issues, I was excited at the thought of jumping back into this story whenever I had to stop. I looked forward to continuing it, which really says it as it is on how much I enjoyed reading it.
The climax of this book had me dropping my kindle in a huff of frustration whilst I stared into space wondering why the author would inflict such inconvenience and pain on me. But the conclusion refuelled me with its brilliance, and I’m ready for more. Blood Heir is a decent debut that has really enjoyable characters, a good writing style and has left my brain whirling and buzzing for the sequel.
I do recommend it, especially if you want something akin to the Grishaverse or another 2019 debut, Wicked Saints.

*Thank you kindly to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC, in exchange for this honest review

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Before starting this book I saw some of the reviews and the drama around it being published and then not and I will be honest I ignored most of it because it was from people who hadn't read the book and were actually commenting on other people's thoughts. That is a very dangerous game of whispers, were the message becomes completely distorted from the original intention.

Aside from this, let's talk about the actual book.

A semi-retelling of the Anastasia story but with powers, I found this book to be a breath of fresh air after a recent book slog, before I knew it in my first sitting I had finished 20% of the book. The book had a changing POV however I didn't see this as too much of an issue, it's always good to see both sides.

I did find that Ana seemed to be very childlike in her quick, rash decisions and motives were based purely on emotions despite having more seasoned people around her advising her. It did get frustrating that she would constantly just rush in and mess up what they were trying to achieve each time, and at the end say how she had grown when in fact she hadn't from the beginning of the book.

Ramson had a similar arc in that his motives and actions didn't really change until he decided he had the hots for her and then changed his entire personality. I had no issue with this but it was less gradual so seemed a bit sudden towards the end of the book despite being constantly told that how good a person he used to be but wasn't really.

Despite all of this, I did enjoy the book however I am not sure I would search out the sequel when/if it is released. I didn't find myself really wanting to know what they were going to do next.

I really quite enjoyed Blood Heir. It doesn't do an awful lot new in terms of the YA fantasy genre, but the world building is nicely done and Ana is both convincing and appreciably morally grey. We need more of that in YA; there's been a recent glut of black-and-white thinking, crusader-type heroines and the world just isn't like that. Given the controversy over this one, I say we need more Ana!

I absolutely adored this book - I got a sampler at YALC 2019 and knew I needed to get a hold of this and read it because the sampler managed to suck me in with only a few chapters.
I admit, I sometimes did want to scream at some of he characters decisions, but I think that's what makes a great book, that you get connected and actually worry about what happens to them.
The ending blew me away and left me wanting more, I think this is going to be a spectacular series and I can't wait to see where it goes.

A really exciting retelling of the Anastasia story set in a magical alternative world. It had me gripped from the beginning and I can't wait for the next one in the series. Like Romanov by Nadine Brandes this takes the Anastasia myth and turns it into something new and interesting and spellbinding.

Blood Heir is a retelling of the Anastasia story but set within a fantasy world. The action takes place mainly within the Cyrilian Empire where non magic humans live alongside Affinites who have a magical affinity connected to the elements e.g. water or fire. But Affinites are not valued for their skills and talents – instead they are feared, hated and enslaved.
The main character is Anastacya Mikhailov, the crown princess, who herself is an affinite – but her rare affinity is with blood and she has been kept a secret by her family for years. When she is framed for the murder of her father she escapes the city walls and frees an imprisoned conman Ramson Quicktounge to help her find the man truly responsible for the Emperor’s murder. Ramson has his own motives for helping Anastacya and both of them have reasons to mistrust each other but they may be the only hope for each other and the empire….
This was full of action from the very first page, with twists and turns all the way through. The world building was absolutely perfect and the characters were so fascinating – they were complex and imperfect and I loved having the perspectives of both Ana and Ramson. It was fascinating to see how Ana reacted to the world outside the palace walls and her slow realisation of what the Empire was truly like and the enslavement of its people. I was so pleased to finally be able to read this book after it was initially pulled from publication and I am glad the author felt able to publish her book as its amazing and I will definitely be buying a copy for my school library .
Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book.

It's impossible to talk about Blood Heir without first acknowledging the route this book took to publication - originally scheduled to be published at the beginning of 2019, the book was delayed after numerous ARC readers identified significant sensitivity issues with an aspect of the plot and characters. Blood Heir deals in some depth with the concept of indenture, with marginalised characters in the place where the book is set at high risk of being forced to sign work contracts which leave them effectively in slavery. In original ARCs, the story's depictions of race provoked strong concerns about how the story came across in the context of historic Black slavery in the USA. In response, author Amelie Wen Zhao delayed the book, revisited in the context of her original intent - to explore concepts of indenture with real-world parallels in Asian countries - and has now released the book, as of late November, satisfied that it did so. Having never read the original ARC, I don't know how much changed before publication, and I should be clear that I'm white and, as a non-American, less likely to pick up cues that would read "chattel slavery" to US audiences - so I'm not going make claims about whether Blood Heir is now "fixed", other than to note I didn't pick up anything other than the author's intended parallels in my own reading. However, from where I stand it feels like Blood Heir's delayed, revised publication is an example of sensitivity reading going right, albeit late in the process and therefore more loudly and messily than might have occurred if concerns had been raised earlier. People were right to raise concerns. Zhao was right to listen and use those concerns to revisit her intended, ownvoices, message. I hope and suspect the book is stronger for it.

Anyway, onto the actual review! Blood Heir is the story of Anastacia Mikaylov, Crown princess of Cyrilla, now on the run after being accused of the murder of her father. Unfortunately for Ana, being found covered in blood at the Emperor's deathbed does make it tricky to argue against a murder charge - but in her defence, Ana is a Blood affinite, born with the rare and extremely creepy ability to manipulate the blood within people's bodies. Ana has kept her talent secret and suppressed for many years - as it caused the very gory public deaths of several innocent bystanders when it manifested, this seems like a good idea, though it's accomplished through some really unfortunate and traumatic methods - and her actions at her father's deathbed were an attempt to heal him of poison. Now, Ana is attempting to hunt down the alchemist who did cause her father's death, the only man with a lead on that is one Ramson Silvertongue, a criminal mastermind who happens to be inconveniently locked up in a high security prison after a job gone wrong.

Blood Heir opens with that prison break, which throws Ana and Ramson into an uneasy alliance - Ana to find the alchemist, and Ramson to track down and get revenge on the crime lord who screwed him over to land him in prison in the first place. Because Ramson is also a point of view character, his motivations don't remain particularly mysterious for long, although Zhao does a good job of having the pair keep secrets from each other and ensuring that the audience is reminded of what each knows about the other and the importance of the secrets they are holding back without it becoming contrived or convoluted. There's also a lot of flashbacks, with Ramson's past in particular requiring some quite long scenes to establish where he came from and what pushed him into the life he's currently leading. Again, these are balanced pretty well, with the information in them deepening our understanding of Ramson's character without excusing his less savoury decisions. Ana and Ramson are pretty immediately established to have a slow burn thing going on, and its well handled - again, having Ramson's point of view helps a lot with that, as it helps to humanise him and make him more sympathetic to the reader while also maintaining some of that mysterious bad-boy attraction to him for Ana.

Much of Blood Heir is concerned with Ana's self-discovery, as both a potential leader and as an Affinite. When it comes to the latter, Blood Heir doesn't give Ana a pass on her privilege, pushing her to grapple with the fact that her past may have led to its own trauma, but her status also put her out of reach of the slavery and corruption which is a reality for the vast majority of Affinites (nitpicky readers will wonder why she only starts having these revelations nearly a year after escaping the palace and going on the run, but that's not really the point). The trigger to these discoveries are the numerous Affinites we meet on her journey, from May, the character she has bonded most closely with during her exile, who is an Earth Affinite, to the Yaegers - who are, I guess, "Affinite Affinites" and can dampen the talents of others, to those with other talents and agendas who we meet later on and who seem poised to play a much greater role in the sequels. Despite the particularities of her talent, and the fact that it is twice established she is only really able to use it for creepy restraints and murder, Ana's emotional journey takes a more straightforward "self acceptance" tack than I'd have expected, though I don't think her particular state of mind at the end of the book is likely to carry through a full trilogy (assuming that's what this is) without significantly more growth. What is harder to ignore is the lack of much growth or independent agency for most of these other Affinites, although there are a few cool characters who I hope will have an opportunity to develop further in later books. Blood Heir is, of course, very far from the only book with "privileged but "special" character discovers discrimination exists for "special" people without privilege", and it certainly doesn't place Ana in any sort of saviour or leadership role for the people who share her marginalisations - they've already got their own mechanisms for organising, and indeed the scene which caused the initial blow-up is actually very much about Ana coming into contact with their external agenda. If you're tired of this trope, Blood Heir is not going to make it new and refreshing for you, but it's not done badly by any means.


Blood Heir is definitely positioned as the start of a series and there's not much resolution to be had in its closing pages - without giving too much away, Ana and Ramson end up going "... ok, well, let's try a new tactic for that," in the last couple of pages and riding off into the sunset while giving each other meaningful glances then glancing away because slow burn. I know I shouldn't label things "trends" based on two separate anecdotal experiences, but given that I only just read Joan He's Descendent of the Crane, which closes its courtly intrigue in a not-dissimilar state, I wasn't in the best mood for books-without-endings this time around (in fact, I kept up with the naive "how are they going to resolve this in 20 pages... now 15... 10..." until the bitter end). Luckily, Blood Heir is strong enough on its own merits that I'm intrigued to see where the next one goes, and despite some of its more formulaic aspects it's still a worthwhile addition to the YA fantasy shelf.

I enjoyed this, especially the fantastical elements that were added to this tale. But overall, I was expecting more.

Blood Heir is an outstanding fantasy with phenomenal world-building. It's a modern Anastasia retelling with the added twist of magic. There is a nice amount of diversity throughout. This is a young adult story, but it could easily crossover into adult fantasy territory. The plot and characters are much more complex. Highly recommended to readers looking for a fresh fantasy story or those who enjoy the Anastasia legend.

I don't know if it was just me but I found it a little difficult to get into but I'm very glad I stuck with it. Set in a fantastic fantasy world, I loved exploring it with the characters.

I know there's a lot of....talk about this book, but I'm going to give my honest opinion on what I read and keep in mind I may not be the best person to go for critiquing of this as I'm limited to my own experiences and privilege in certain areas.

I thought this was actually a super enjoyable read, I felt that Ramson and Ana had great banter, and more than that, I felt like Ana went through a lot of character development.

We start off with this scared young woman, a princess without a kingdom in a lot of ways, afraid of herself and what she could do more than anything else. Why? Because not only is she has what they call an affinity but a blood infinity, capable of great and terrible things.

Still, she intends to bring her father's murderer to justice, to win back her own right to be a Princess and live in the palace and there's a very long road to get there.

Lovely, dark, and gritty, I enjoyed it immensely.

I really liked the book, whizzing through it while sick.

From talking to others, the writing seems to be pretty hit or miss – like marmite. I liked it, and thought the style fitted the world really well. It was so clean and sharp, with the odd nice description sprinkled in. It carried the narrative along nicely, which was snappily paced.

It was told through Ana and Ramson’s POVs – with between a 2:1 and 3:1 in Ana’s favour. I liked that they both had a say in the story. Not only because there’d be a massive chunk missing without Ramson, all the scheming in the background, but it meant they could both have substantial arcs, and I do love a good shady con-man turned reluctant hero because they’re shown a better way.

However, there was a single chapter near the end in Linn’s POV. It was very odd as she was a relatively new character and this was the only time someone else had narrated.

It’s a pretty typical Russian-inspired world – snowy and with Russian-approximated words sprinkled within. So yeah, there isn’t much to the world building, but the cold, wintry setting fit the cold late November well – better than its original spring publication date would have. As a backdrop, it works very well.

Ana’s affinity is pretty gruesome, but also very useful for getting her out of her many scrapes. However, it did mean that it wasn’t that clear why the Affinites are indentured. They have such powerful magic, and yet are trapped in this system. The arrival of the Yaeger later on really helped fill in this gap – though I’m still not convinced it completely explains why they’re trapped.

I admit, I’m a sucker for a slightly morally dubious love interest that’s redeemed by the goodness of the main female character (Flyn Rider is best Disney Prince, fight me) so this was allll my catnip going in. Powerful, dangerous magic, con artist love interest, royalty and betrayal. It’s like someone took my favourite things, shook them up in a bucket, and this book came out.

So, bias definitely at play here, but I also thought this was a cleverly constructed story, with lots of twists and turns. It also manages to keep the extremely powerful Ana constantly on the back foot and vulnerable, despite her abilities being totally badass, which is quite a feat.

It was a nail biting read - there were a few moments where I honestly thought things were going to end badly for certain characters. None of the characters feel safe, and because of the nature of the bad guy, you really feel that anything could happen.

Between all the fighting and surviving, there manages to be time for just enough romance to give the story a softer side. It’s not out and out a romance story, but it promises to be a satisfying slow burn over the trilogy - another thing I really love.

So, if you have similar tastes to me, definitely pick this one up! It’s a brilliantly dark fantasy adventure, with engaging characters and a rollercoaster of a plot. I will definitely be getting book 2.

Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy of this book!

WOW okay this book was amazing. I whizzed through it. The characters were three dimensional and well thought out. ADORED the Russian influence. The world building was exquisite, the perfect balance of being explained so we understand it, yet held back enough so that it didn't interrupt the story. The story itself was *chef's kiss*. Honestly, there were unexpected turns everywhere, and I almost cried on the tube at a certain moment!!! I need the next book immediately even though this one has only just come out!!! How do I even gush about this story without spoiling anything?

This is a rare 5 stars.

What an absolutely phenomenal start to a series! I, for one, am so glad that Blood Heir is finally published. For good reason! Reading this, aware of the controversy surrounding it, hasnt deterred me in the slightest. It was gripping, captivating, exciting and every bit adventurous. A Delishously catchy, plot twisting story. It really had me going after just a few chapters in. The characters are interesting to read as they battle their inner demons and that grey area of good/evil Amèlie has stitched into her writing. I really cant wait to read the next installment.

IN SUMMARY: BLOOD HEIR is an exceptional debut with brilliant writing that is marred by slow, plodding pacing and a reluctance to branch away from typical YA tropes.

MY THOUGHTS:

Having very recently read SIX OF CROWS, the premise of BLOOD HEIR immediately popped out to me as similar to Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse. And that's fine if BLOOD HEIR can put its own spin on things. But it's not nearly as good. BLOOD HEIR plods along. I couldn't read more than a chapter a day to start with, and it only got mildly interesting nearer the last third, which is why it took me so long to read. This book is so slow, and though the prose is lovely, it tends to dither on outlandish metaphors than move swiftly on to the next paragraph.

And it could've at least had the courtesy to travel along with a unique cast, but honestly, the characters felt so tropey. Runaway princess who thinks herself monstrous. Brooding, snarky con man that hides a deeper soul. Scorned rebels and slimy crime lords and dastardly wicked parental figures who pretend to have the greater good in mind. They weren't even written badly; in fact, I'd say the character development arcs were well done and felt believable from beginning to end. Yet I just didn't care for them. I'd seen them done before.

For all its great execution that is exceptional for a debut, BLOOD HEIR has a generic feel; samey read-it-all-before in other YA, and though it definitely has its merits, ultimately I think this book was Not For Me.

WILL I READ ON? Not likely.

Synopsis: A retelling of Anastasia or rather then Anastasia Romanov story/myth/legend.
When young crown princess Anastacya Mikhailov is framed as her father's murderer, she must go on a journey across the Cyrilian Empire to find his real killer and bring him to justice. Having lived all her life behind palace walls and hiding her secret; a deadly affinity to blood Ana has no idea where to start, what she finds outside is a Cyrilia different to the one she has known, one full of corruption, and conspiracy and the only man who can help her get to the centre is a half villain Ramson Quicktongue. One time crime lord, now imprisoned. Ramson has plans of his own for Ana, although he might have just met his match.

Review: my goodness this was BORING. I hate to start of a review with such a sentence, especially for a book I had anticipated for so long. I was among those many others really disappointed by the postponement of Amélie's book after the early reviews came in less than favourable. I'd be incredibly interested to see if what was removed was what gave the story any kind of purpose, pace or actual plot. This one just plodded along at a miserable pace. I didn't feel the urge to pick it up, I had no interest in what happened next and once this review (which I've also put off for about 4 days) is done, I will have no interest in this book anymore at all. Harsh. But true. The affinity stuff which makes up the magic system in the book just felt like a rip off of the Grishaverse as did several other elements which I can't mention here without giving spoilers, but you'll know what I mean when you get to it. I found the characters really 2 dimensional and didn't care about either of them or what their next moves, history etc might be. Ana was a cry baby and Ramson a poor man's Kaz Brekker. The ending was predictable. I'm sorry that I can't find even a single good thing to say about this book.