Kenna Amari is up against it. She has to complete gruelling and brutal Praetorian trials so she can join her Grandfather’s old cohort of elite soldiers, so she can discover who killed him. The trials might kill her, her Grandfather’s assassin might be after her as well, and she has to hide a god-given blood-gift or she’ll be killed for that, too.

A whirlwind of corrupt military and political machinations, racist aggressions and friendships being tested with secrets and betrayals, this book simply overflows with story. The world-building is intricate and complex, blending fantasy gods and powers with science fiction technology. The characters—especially protagonist Kenna—are rich with depth.

This is not a book for the feint of heart. There is graphic, descriptive violence and injury, as well pseudo-cannibalism. The gratuitous violence is pretty integral to the world-building because it demonstrates the brutality of the military structures and the society at large, and lots of elements are geared towards making the violence possible - for example, the [new recruits] are injected with a serum that lets them heal quickly from serious injury. But it’s disturbingly detailed and takes up considerable chunks of the prose, so be prepared.

There were times that the characters’ speech was slightly stilted because they often did a lot of explaining and inserting context for the sake of the reader that people wouldn’t do when really talking. It wasn’t enough to bother me but sometimes it pulled me out of the story a little.

I felt like the romantic arc (which I loved—it’s a (sometimes spicy) enemies-to-lovers) really stalled in the last third of the book, when Kenna had to deal with a lot of other things, so I hope the sequel picks it up again quickly.

3,5* upped to 4
I loved Ikenna and think there's a lot of potential in this story but somehow it felt rushed and a bit confusing at times.
Ikenna is a strong and powerful characters but her inner monologue are bit repetitive.
The said there's a fascinating world building and the author deals with some very serious topics like misogyny and racism.
A dark fantasy with sci-fi elements, an interesting work by this author.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I started reading this just before I went to bed thinking I’d do a few pages and then nod off. Slowly but surely I kept seeing it getting brighter and brighter and I couldn’t put the book down. I literally had to force myself to stop at about 6am so I could get about an hour or two of sleep.

This was such a thrilling ride of a book and I throughly enjoyed it. There is a lot of action, there is strife and angst, lots of violence and just general badasssery. The author also touches on a lot of sensitive topics - racism, colourism, misogyny - and handles them deftly so it doesn’t feel like she’s banging your head with it.

Flip side, I had a few issues with the plot. Some things I could see a mile away - others completely threw me for a spin. The ending? 🤯. I also had issues with Ikenna our MC - she’s all fire with no brains or rational thought. I was hoping for more character development but I guess that will come in Book 2. The “adults” also make some questionable shortsighted decisions. For all that they are war generals they don’t seem to fully grasp the concept of strategy.

I would say this is definitely more NA than YA both in terms of content and style of writing. In spite of the cons - I really loved reading this and cannot wait for book 2.

Can you really trust your friends? Are your enemies who they appear to be?
This is a dark fantasy/Sci Fi debut novel with strong echoes of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising series due to the Roman inferences. Ikenna is a young black girl trying to survive in a hugely racist and misogynistic society. She is training to become an elite warrior, one of the Praetorians as that will enable her to try and solve her grandfather’s murder.
The training regime is brutal and there are some very disturbing sequences involving extreme violence and very ugly deaths. Ikenna has strange gifts which enable her to survive the treatment that she receives however, she has to keep this gift secret as it is shared by the enemies of their republic which would make her one of the enemy. She is a strong willed character who is driven by her need for revenge and she never backs down from any challenge. There are other interesting characters too especially those who you aren’t sure which side they are on.
The book is told as a first person narrative which means that you don’t get a huge amount of world building at the start but are dumped straight into the action. I found the story difficult to get into at the start but it gradually pulled me in and it ended up being a book that I enjoyed
The author has created an intriguing world and I really enjoyed the later parts of the book where our view of the world was expanded. The plot twists involving characters and the political situation kept me interested.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for my ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I'm going to start this review off by saying that this is NOT a YA book but definitely adult, and the book goes to some pretty dark places accordingly.

We follow Ikenna as she undertakes the Praetorian trials, a brutal initiation at the academy that trains the elite soldiers of Mareen. Her goal: to find out which of the Praetorian guards murdered her grandfather, and who commanded it. Statistically, only a quarter of the participants survive the full trials, something that quickly becomes clear. Yes, a lot of characters will die. No, your favourites aren't guaranteed safe. Be prepared for a lot of blood and chaos.

The story is action-packed, and most of it focuses on the trials and how Ikenna deals with them. We quickly find out that Mareen has a racist attitude towards her because of her heritage and the colour of her skin, and this racism is also found among the Praetorians. She is often singled out and treated unfairly, but she never lets it get her down. If we're talking about strong female characters, Ikenna can kick major ass. Her stubborn refusal to go down without a fight was my favourite part about her.

Unfortunately, she's also extremely hot-headed, and clearly not a fan of logical thinking. She easily suspects people of being involved with her grandfather's death without a single shred of proof, and then sets about plotting their demise. Innocent until proven guilty is not something she knows. I found this pretty frustrating to read about, and kept wanting to shake some sense into her so she'd stop being so rash and foolish. I do think this was intentional and just part of who she is as a character though. I wish this hadn't been written in first person POV; that would've probably frustrated me less. There's some uneven writing here and there, specifically phrases that didn't make much sense and subsequently pulled me out of the story. We also get a minor romantic subplot; I didn't really buy into their chemistry, but I am intrigued by Reed as a character.

The last part of the book suddenly speeds up and gets even more hectic. I did really like where the plot ended up going because it's something I wasn't expecting, so I look forward to the sequel.

If you have been looking for an amazing adult sci-fi fantasy novel with a vibrant strong Black female lead, then this is the book you need to read!

While grieving after the death of her beloved grandfather, Ikenna learns that he was murdered. Seeking revenge she enters the Praetorian Trials in the hopes of uncovering the people behind the murder. The more she gets close to the Praetorians the more she has to hide, for if they discover her forbidden secrets, she will be marked for death.

These trials are dark and not for the faint at heart, there is violence, blood, death, gore, backstabbing, political intrigue, racism, misogyny and more. I was really impressed that when these things happen whilst it was shocking, it never felt forced or added in just for a dramatic impact. The plot was incredibly impressive and fast paced, exactly what you want in SFF!

The book is full of a bunch of interesting characters and it all starts with Ikenna who is head strong, impulsive and laser focused on getting her revenge. At times, all of her jumping to conclusions really got on my nerves and was quite frustrating but that didn’t stop my enjoyment and when we discover her secret magic abilities, it adds a whole new amazing dynamic to this wild action packed story. Ikenna has such a fun group of friends (and enemies) around her, who all have fully fleshed personalities and make you root for them (or not) throughout these trials. And the budding romance, yes! Give me more!

This world is one that I want to explore further, I wish this series was more than a duology but I absolutely cannot wait to read the next book! This is a fantastic debut for Davenport.

A powerful first book, twisted around deceit and death, and focused on the struggle minorities have to go thought to be seen and heard.
Very ready to read the next book!

Ikenna is done. After the death of her grandfather, she is angry and feels like she's burning from the inside out, something that is only made worse when she finds out her grandfather was murdered. To find his killer, she must train to become a Praetorian, an elite warrior. The trials are deadly, with only a quarter of the applicants surviving, but Ikenna has a secret weapon, something she has had to hide her whole life for fear of death. Through the trials she will face racism, misogyny as well as classism, but Ikenna has the strength, especially if it helps her find out who murdered her grandfather. But not everything is as it seems, and before long Ikenna may have to realise that those closest to us aren't always our friends, especially if she is to get out of the trials alive.

The Blood Trials is one hell of a brutal book, and 100% not for the faint of heart so definitely beware before going in & be sure to read any trigger warnings. Davenport writes an incredibly realistic world, with equally real characters. The story is told from Ikenna's POV and she is a character I instantly liked. She doesn't take any bullshit, has one hell of a temper and is more likely to kill someone than ask questions, but when you realise the weight on her shoulders, not only from looking for her grandfathers killer, but having to prove all the people wrong who think she is the wrong colour, the wrong sex, you completely understand her behaviour. She can be a bit blinkered to things around her, but once she starts to question what she's been told, she is quick to put the pieces together to work out who she can really trust. You can't help but want her to succeed and I most definitely enjoyed following her on this traumatic and brutal journey.

Davenport also graces us with one epic cast of side characters. With this being quite political as well as brutal we have, not only Ikenna's friends, her fellow trialist's & the Praetorian's who are training them, but members of the ruling council and Royalty from other countries. There's a lot... but I never really struggled to keep everyone apart in their head. They're all given their own personality, their own purpose to the story and, though some play a larger part than others, they all help further Ikenna's story. My favourites had to be Reed, the Praetorian who takes an interest in Ikenna from the start. Never quite sure if she can trust him, Ikenna tends to keep him at arms length, until she doesn't. As well as Selene and Zayne, Ikenna's best friends, and the two people she relies on throughout the trial.

With the blend of sci-fi and fantasy, Davenport creates a unique and intriguing world. There are plenty of slower sections where Ikenna is internally thinking about the politics or the lore of her world and I thrived for those parts. We learn about the war that made her grandfather a hero, as well as the current political climate, which certainly adds to the tension of the story. On top of this we have Ikenna's gift. She has plenty of questions, where it came from, what she can do with it, but mostly she is terrified of what would happen if people find out. Davenport uses both of these as plot devices to add to the tension and the mystery of the overall story. But by far my favourite parts of the story were the action scenes. The training to become a praetorian puts them all through their paces and I really enjoyed the physicality of the scenes and how Davenports writing style brought them to life.

When I say this book is brutal I want you all to realise that I am not over-reacting at all. There are graphically written scenes where people are blown to bits, ripped apart by creatures, eaten, as well as just the regular brutality our characters have to go through in the praetorian trials. The blood and gore may be a little too much for some people, but for me it just made the story that much more realistic as well as making me empathise with Ikenna more. Not only is she going through these torturous trials but she's going through them having to deal with racism, misogyny, as well as people wanting to kill her for being there. She's angry, and rightfully so, but Davenport makes sure that through her we get angry as well.

There is a romance arc through the book and, don't shoot me, it felt a little too insta lusty for me. Like Ikenna went from thinking this person murdered her grandfather to banging him within the space of a few pages, and while I'm all for people making terrible decisions, it just felt a little too rushed and pushed for me. That being said, I did love seeing their relationship develop and I adored how the author didn't have them sleep together and then instantly fall in love. They know they like each other, but also don't 100% trust each other and it just made it feel that much more realistic.

The Blood Trials is the perfect book for readers who like their character's filled with faults, epic world-building, intriguing magic systems and who aren't afraid of a little blood and gore. The story ends on one epic cliffhanger and I am eager anticipating finding out what Davenport has in store for us next.

5 Stars

Wow. This BLEW ME AWAY. What a book! I was so excited to read this one and still it smashed my expectations to smithereens!

The Blood Trials is a scifi/fantasy mix which is based around a lead female called Ikenna who has blood magic but due to persecution, has to hide it from everyone. The storyline is based around Ikenna trying to find the murderers of her Grandfather and the truly terrifying trials she has to face to become a Pretorian (a top soldier of her country Mareen).
This is not a YA book! Despite the cover looking YA, this is most definitely an adult book as it is filled with violence, some rather grotesque scenes and also sex scenes. It is a vicious storyline with a hotheaded and fierce female lead who does not back down when it comes to the brutality! There were a few scenes I found rather nauseating as they were nearly too gruesome to read. The twists and turns were amazing and I was gripped from start to finish. The worldbuilding is also epic and I quickly felt immersed in this new world filled with all sorts of magic and technology!

Ikenna, our lead female is incredible. She reminds me of Mia Corvere as she is not afraid of violence, murder or fighting for what she believes in. She is SUCH a strong character and I can't wait for more readers to get to know her. She is one of these characters that is morally grey but you can't help but love her. The side characters were brilliant and I can't wait to get to know more in the next book. Especially the lead male Reid who is so intriguing and rather sexy too! He is a bit of a mix between Four from Divergent and Warden from The Bone Season.

The writing is incredible. The vocabulary is excellent and the writing style is both eloquent and enthralling. It is lyrical and poetic at times and yet harsh and shocking at others.
The only issue I had was that with my ARC ebook, there wasn't a world map and it would have really helped to have one. So fingers crossed there is one in the finished book!

As you can see, I adored this vicious debut and think N.E. Davenport is a genius! I cannot wait for the next book or any books she releases. I could not recommend this book more! Go preorder!!

P.s. There are a ton of trigger warnings I could list but basically if you are triggered by violence, gruesome scenes or racism/sexism, then this book won't be for you.

Please note that I was gifted this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

“If for nothing else, then as a grand fuckyou to those who want to see us exterminated for no other reason than how we look and the heritage we bear. I’ve worked too hard for the same bigoted shit that took my grandfather from me to take my goals from me too.”

CW: Racism, misogyny, violence, death, torture, cannibalism, death of family, death of friends, graphic sex scene

The Blood Trials was an interesting, dark science fiction/fantasy book that explores the effect of race and gender in politics. It was, however, pretty difficult to read.
This was one of those books that, when I read it, I enjoyed it, but it did take a lot for me to want to settle down and read it. The chapters were long, not much happened, and the content was honestly kind of bleak. I had to be in the right headspace to read it.
This book, I feel, was sold to me as a darker The Hunger Games. I can kind of see that. The actual content of the Trials was dark - intensely so (featuring cannibalism, graphic gore etc) - with a competition where death was around every corner. However, in the same breath, I don’t think there was really a lot at state. The book was constantly telling us the volume of people competing in the Trials, but we only ever saw the same few. It didn’t feel like there was ever a real threat to the main characters, I knew they’d get through.
Even so, I did enjoy the Trials as a main plot component. It did give the plot a reason to move forward, and a reason for me to keep reading.
The last third did feel a little out-of-sorts with the rest of it. We were introduced to characters, who had been mentioned in passing before, but who were now treated as major characters. The plot also completely veered away from the Trials, which I’d assumed would be the focus of the entire book. The last third felt like it belonged to the next book - but, I would imagine, a whole book that focused on the final third would have felt like an unnecessary book, so it’s difficult to call. It’s also not to say I didn’t enjoy the politics/plot towards the end, but that I was surprised by the turn it took.
Like with the number of competitors in the Trials, I don’t think I ever fully grasped the vastness of the world. There were so many things that could have been interesting, like the lore and the history, but it felt like we were only told about the parts that the author thought important - for example, we didn’t really get to see the cultures, but there were odd passages were weapons were described in huge detail.
I didn’t really vibe with Ikenna. Although I think she was an extremely motivated, fierce character, her determination sometimes felt frustrating. Her internal monologue was kind of repetitive, and I honestly wish she’d sometimes turned to someone else for help or even just to talk. Her friendships didn’t feel genuine because she trusted no one, so we didn’t see any of those friendships, we were just told they were there.
Having said all that, I will probably still read the sequel. The end of the book held promise for what else could come and I’m willing to give it another shot.

5 stars!

ARC REVIEW

This book wasn’t what I was expecting! It was fun, intriguing, at times scary and just such a fantastic read.

Ikenna is such a fierce character. Set in a sci-fi world, we start off with a fight where Ikenna has a racist encounter at a bar. I thought this was such a great opening scene, because our main character is constantly dealing with racism and bigotry throughout the book, and this scene really sticks in your head. She is not one to back down, and with supportive friends, I quickly found myself rooting for her. It made me so angry how she was constantly discriminated against for not only her skin colour, but also for her heritage after her grandfather passes away. The inherent racism and misogyny in this society made my blood boil. But Ikenna stood her ground. She almost became desensitised to these experiences, and it was heartbreaking to read about each time.

The plot follows Ikenna as she tries to get to the bottom of the mystery of how her grandfather died. With people everywhere constantly targeting her life, she becomes much more vigilant and this was seen in her decision making as the book progressed. She signs up to become a Praetorian, which will give her enough power to investigate his murder. But to do so, she needs to pass the blood trials, where she can lose her life, while trying to keep her blood gift magic a secret... Loyalties are tested, and alliances are formed...

And wow the blood trials were gruesome. There is so much death and chaos. The military academy vibes were immaculate, and I enjoyed the different challenges. The ending has me gasping for more, because so much happened. The political intrigue makes up a huge chunk of the book, and I can’t wait for more!!

After her grandfather's death, Ikenna goes off the rails, skipping training, drinking, fighting. But when she discovers her grandfather was assassinated by the Republic of Mareen, the very Republic he had dedicated his life to protect, Ikenna finds new focus. Pledging herself to the Praetorian Trials, Ikenna must undergo the most brutal training to get close to the truth. The Trials could kill her before she gets answers, but Ikenna has a secret that she and her grandfather had worked for years to hide; magic runs through her veins, magic the Republic wants irradicating. Ikenna must work smart and keep a lid on her temper if she wants to keep her secrets and find out the truth behind her grandfather's death.
From the start, The Blood Trial pulls no punches. Within the first chapter, Ikenna faces prejudice on all sides because she is a Black woman. This unflinching approach to racism and sexism continues throughout as the ruling families of Mareen are all white, and Ikenna's people were subjugated because they had a different skin colour and magic. No matter how many times Ikenna proves herself on the Praetorian Trials, it will never be enough, even when she has passed them.
The fighting scenes are vivid and octane-fuelled, matching the story's pace. There's barely time to catch your breath before the next thing hits Ikenna, and she reacts. And reactive is the best way to describe Ikenna. She rarely thinks before she acts, and her actions have deadly consequences. There is a high kill count, and no one is safe.
However, Ikenna's explosive nature became a little weary for me after a while, and her introspection, while she rampages at her injustices, grew repetitive as the book continued. It took a long time for this magical super soldier's character to mature, and even then, I didn't feel it matched her experiences.
I also found an issue with continuity. Without going into detail because I hate spoilers, there is an intense sex scene that, once it is over, is barely referenced again despite the characters constantly in each other's company. The scene represents a significant shift in alliances within the story, and I felt it should have had a more lasting impact than it did. Another example is the introduction of an important character in the final quarter of the book without any previous mention. However, this is a personal thing, so other readers may not even notice it.
Those personal preferences aside, The Blood Trials is an exciting older YA novel. It seamlessly combines sci-fi and fantasy elements and shines a light on the racism and sexism Black women face every day. The Blood Trials is not a story to be missed, and I will be on the look for the second half of this exciting duology.

Ikenna is the Granddaughter of a war hero and intends to join the elite Praetorian soldiers to follow in his footsteps. But she faces sexism and racism if she wants to manage it - and that's even without her peers knowing about the blood magic that she keeps a secret so the Republic doesn't sentence her to death.

This adventure fantasy is a gripping and engaging read. The world building is phenomenal and the characters are brilliantly realised. I devoured this book and have already started recommending it to everybody I know. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Okay I was SO not the audience for this book.

First of all, something I need to say because I didn’t know and was NOT ready for was that this was very very very much NOT YA! Maybe I should have known that from the swearing from page one, or how dark parts of this book got or how the themes of racism and sexism were prominent or… yeah I get the point maybe I should have known earlier. But I was still SHOOK from the unexpected, unwanted sex scene!
A scene that, like the rest of the book was not written well. This was just a lot of Ikenna monologues and boa,ing he world for her problems. Fair enough, she got a bad lot in life, but the whinnnning! Honestly, it overshadowed so much I would barley notice if the cool blood magic element was taken away…

And circling back to the bad writing… this READ like a YA. Yes, the themes weren’t but everything else was!?

Not the book for me.

The Blood Trials is an apt name for this book. Brutal and bloody in the best way, this one doesn’t hold its punches. Think Red Rising and you might have an idea of how that goes.

The book opens with a bar fight and that gives you a sense of how it’ll continue. We follow Ikenna Amari as she joins the Praetorians for a chance to investigate and avenge her grandfather’s murder. Ikenna is headstrong and impulsive and, even as you wince over some of her decisions, a character you can’t help but root for.

This is a book that throws you straight into the action. It doesn’t dwell on worldbuilding as much so, at times, it does feel a bit light touch on that, but if, like me, you’re a fan of action-packed novels over ponderous infodumps, this is the book for you. In part, the lack of focus on the outside world is perhaps indicative of Ikenna’s—for want of a better word—self-centeredness. Ikenna is entirely focused on getting revenge and on herself (as illustrated by a particular scene during the training) and, as you’re in her POV, it makes sense to have less information about everything else. As much as I may have wanted a little more…

What The Blood Trials pulled off well, though, was making you root for a character who, as I said, is pretty selfish. Because why wouldn’t she only care about herself when there are people in her training class who are actively trying to kill her? When she lives in a society that hates her? So it was a kind of self-preservation induced selfishness. As I said, though, there are scenes that make it clear that she’s not always allowed to get away with it. Which was where the good balance came in.

If there were any issues I had, however, it’s that Ikenna seems overpowered in relation to the world she’s in. There are, I think, two specific points here: first, that she has some very useful healing powers. This alone wouldn’t be a problem, but given how brutal this book is and how much rests on that brutality, it kind of lessens the impact it has. Ikenna is, really, never in that much danger, because she’ll always heal pretty much overnight. The second is that she has this power to compel people, and then make them forget she ever did a thing, which seems like it could have resolved a few things quicker than they get resolved. (I mean, if she can compel people and then make them forget it, what’s stopping her from taking over the country? She can make people forget anything she wants, she doesn’t need to hide her power so hard, surely.) It would have made more sense to me if she was struggling to control it, or struggling to strengthen it throughout, so that the ending involves her coming into her power. Instead, she had all of this training and practice with her grandfather, even before the book started. What was stopping Ikenna in her quest for justice was only her prejudices and assumptions, which I suppose is a point you could make. But given the situation at the end of the book, I think she needed more checks on her power throughout than she had (although she did have some).

However, despite this perhaps kind of big sticking point, I had fun reading this book. It was 460+ pages, and yet it flew by. In the end, it’s definitely a book, and an author, to watch out for.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this ARC of ‘The Blood Trials’ in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a really interesting premise, one that had me gripped from the moment I heard about it. The world-building contained a blend of science fiction and fantasy that I really liked, and the book is led by a great strong, female character. But unfortunately, I found this story really difficult to get through.

Whilst the book has some great imagery and explores a lot of themes in depth, I didn’t like the writing. I never got a sense of scale in this world, despite being told about the modern tech and thousands of people participating in the trials, the story felt very contained to the main characters.

With the main character being impulsive and obsessive over what she has to do, I felt the writing being in first person present tense made the internal monologue feel very repetitive and quite frustrating at times, it became more like a stream of consciousness.

The dialogue between the characters often didn’t feel very natural, and when information about the world was being given, it didn’t flow subtly from what was being said before, giving it an awkward and uneven narration that I wanted to skim read.
A really interesting premise, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me.

This cover is one of my favorites so far this year, it's absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, I couldn't connect to the book at all. I found myself skim reading fairly quickly and had no real interest in the plot or characters. Lovely idea, it just wasn't executed in an idea that appealed to me so sadly this one wasn't a good read for me.

THE UNBROKEN meets RED RISING, THE BLOOD TRIALS absolutely exceeded my expectations!

One thing I feel I should mention right off the bat is that this is NOT a YA novel, despite the already multiple shelves of it as such - I went into it expecting it to be Young Adult due to this already proliferate misconception, but there is a lot of blood, guts and gore and there is a sex scene. For the record.

Davenport's worldbuilding and writing marks her as another author to add to my roster of auto-buys, and the setup for book 2 already has me so excited for '23!

Once you are hooked, you will not put this book down! so many twists and turns. Fantasy book of the year with this one!!!

Bring on book two!!!

Any book that mentions magic and rebellion I know that I will love and this was no exception. I couldnt put it down it was enthralling and so well written. I liked the characters, the worldbuilding and the storyline. I really enjoyed it.