Thanks to NetGalley and Alexandra for the ARC!

This book. This book. I couldn’t put it down. Were there things I’d change? Absolutely. Did I devour it anyway? Also yes.

We meet Revna — the royal family’s godforshaken black sheep (honestly, that word was doing a bit too much for me). She’s the only one of her siblings without magic, treated like a useless spare, and expected to marry a prince she doesn’t love. But instead of playing along, she decides to fight back — by entering the Bloodshed Trials where only one sibling can survive and claim the throne. Casual.

Before she can even get that far though, she’s kidnapped by the terrifyingly powerful Hellbringer (yes, that name also threw me off a little). But of course, Hellbringer isn’t quite what he seems, and he might just be Revna’s only shot at surviving — and maybe even winning.

This is a slow-burn romance done right. There’s barely any spice, but surprisingly I didn’t miss it. The tension? Immaculate. It’s classic enemies-to-lovers with that delicious reluctant alliance energy, and every scene between Revna and Søren (yep, Hellbringer has a real name) had me leaning in closer.

There is a part of the book that made me want to scream into a pillow (IYKYK) and I am STILL mad about it. But I’m convinced (/really hope!!) it’s going to be part of a bigger arc — because Revna and Søren? Endgame, surely.

This was bold and brutal. I’ll absolutely be grabbing book two the second I can. Bring it on.

Thankyou to netgalley and Hachette / TeamBKMRK for the early digital copy!

Blood Beneath the Snow was an enjoyable romantasy.
The premise of a powerless heroine fighting to the death against people with powers appealed to me and I was so excited to read it!

I loved the characters, the political intrigue, and the way the cultural differences were portrayed.
I loved that our heroine and our rebels didn’t have magic, yet still fought tooth and claw for what they believed in.
I loved the ruthlessness of Revna’s own family because she’s godforsaken: powerless.
I loved the mystery of Hellbringer, his mask sounded cool, and the art I’ve seen confirms it’s badass.
I loved that the stakes were high: trials to the death.The characters and plot felt well developed and original - the world building was great, if a little slow for me.
The slow burn was fantastic, especially since we didn’t know Hellbringer’s true identity, and still really don’t.

However, the end felt rushed!

The slow burn stopped being slow and went full on romantasy which I wasn’t expecting and it kind of threw me off a bit, I didn’t love it but I didnt hate it.

And the Bloodshed Trials didn’t really feel like trials, it was one ‘trial’ and it didn’t last long.
Revna also became overpowered at the end, Bloodsinger, able to kill people as easily as Hellbringer, and I don’t love that it books.

The whole book says that the godforsaken (no magic) should be treated equally and that Revna has a chance to win the trials and become queen because she’s strong willed and a good fighter, yes she won the trials without magic, but then her magic manifests and she starts one shotting people.

HOWEVER
I can see the direction the story is going in so I am excited to read the next instalments.

I recommend reading this book, it was fun.

I would just like the main character to stay powerless /magicless for once

I enjoyed it. Will read more by this author. Great writing and enjoyable characters. Thank you for the ARC.

This appealed to my inner early 00s fantasy girl, with a rebellion against a ruling caste, trials and spies and political intrigue with a brooding guy to sweep our heroine off her feet. I liked a lot of early world building, and the build up of Revna as a character. She's a bit of a 'not like other girls' that is a common theme in YA fantasy with a backstory that leaves her singled out as someone without powers in a world dominated by magic. This leads her on a journey of training, forming secret alliances and meeting an intriguing character known as the hellbringer that all helped developed her into a well developed character.

Unfortunately I was less taken by the writing style, which needed a lot of finessing. There's a lot of info dumping that took me out of the story, and a lot of telling not showing. Revna also spends a lot of time confined behind four walls, leaving a lot of the action to occured 'off page', slowing the pacing right down. By the end id pretty much lost interest.

Some glimmers of intrigue, but ultimately this failed to really take off and deliver what it promised.

Ravna is a princess but is hated by her family as she shames them by being godforsaken and not god touched. But she accepts this and still fights and stands up for all the godforsaken. The Bloodshed trials are a competition where all the Royal children fight to the death to see who will rule. Just before this can happen, she is kidnapped by the Hellbringer. A superb slow burn romance that only adds to this incredibly original plot that is full of surprises but also left me with lots of questions! A great start to a series.

This book was so fun, I wish the Trials had been longer considering the build up. Though I loved Revna’s character and poor Froden :(.Though I think maybe he's at peace lzy because his Lurae hurt him.


Also think Soren's Lurae means the people he kills live in his head? Cannot wait to read the next. I do hate that Revna went back to using godforsaken/godtouched at the end.

This was a really intriguing read. I loved the characters in this one, along with the plot.

The Hellbringer was such a mysterious character, and we never really got to know him. Even the little bits that we did learn just seemed to make him even more unreachable, in a lot of ways.

Revna had a lot of growth throughout, which was great. I like it when a character can grow and learn.

I enjoyed the plot of this one, and while some bits were predictable, it didn't take away from the overall storyline or the enjoyment of it. I think I can see the direction this is going, but I'm still invested and want to know more.

I would like to see a bit more worldbuilding, in terms of learning more about the Kryllians. We learned very little in this book, and I think it would be nice to see more.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book, the concept and everything sounds amazing and I am so glad there were content warnings hence my 5 star review.
Thank you again for the authors note that covered the trigger warnings so much – it can be a fine line of what content I am okay reading and not.
This book might be one I come back to in a few years when I am more comfortable with the content.

I loved the cold, bleak setting of Blood Beneath the Snow, and the way it explores cultural differences, especially through language. The idea of one nation using "lurae" and "nilurae" while the other uses "godtouched" and "godforsaken" as a way to shape perception and power was such a clever touch - although I do think this could have been explored in greater depth.

Revna’s character arc was one of my favorite parts of the book. She starts off downtrodden and dependent on others, but watching her push herself, train hard, and grow into a formidable force was so satisfying. It’s the kind of character development that feels earned, and I was totally invested in her journey. That said, I did find it a little frustrating how she constantly brushed off some of the Hellbringer’s shadier actions, especially in the beginning. There were moments where I wished she had stood up to him more, or at least questioned his treatment of her a little harder.

That complicated dynamic between them is part of what makes the Hellbringer such an intriguing and impenetrable character. Even as we slowly learn more about him, there’s always a sense that we’re only scratching the surface. He stays unpredictable the whole way through, which kept me on edge and wanting to know more. However, because we got so little from him in the first two-thirds of the book, it did make it difficult to get a read on his true feelings or personality. This meant that some of the later developments felt somewhat jarring and came out of the blue.

The book kicks off with a fast-paced, exciting start that pulls you right in. Then it slows down a bit to really explore the characters, their relationships, and their motivations. The pace builds again towards the ending, and I was caught off guard (in a good way!) by just how dark things got. The ending leaves just the right number of unanswered questions, setting up an intriguing foundation for the next book. I'm very excited to see where the story goes next!

From page one I was fully invested in this story. The action kicks off immediately and I was curious to learn as much as possible about the world.
Set in the Fjordlands which comprises of 3 main countries, I really appreciated the ways in which the differing countries illustrated that all societal norms are an illusion. It was thought provoking to have stereotypes challenged, notably that the religious nation embraced all sexualities whereas the atheist country was homophobic.
The action waned a bit in the middle in favour of building the relationship between the main characters, but after that there was a return to surprising twists and drama with a surprising ending.