The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport

Good morning, everyone! Today I am super excited to be part of the Random Things blog tour for N. E. Davenport's debut, The Blood Trials, book one in the Blood Gift duology!

Ikenna is used to being an outsider. Her dark skin makes her a target for racism and her family legacy means she's almost constantly being scrutinized and compared to her war hero grandfather. Then there's the blood gift she has to keep secret from everyone around her. 

After his death, Kenna decides to take a year off rather than pledge as a Praetorian. It had always been the plan to pledge immediately after graduation. She and her grandfather had trained for it all her life. But dealing with his death has left her uncertain about her future. 

That is until she learns that her grandfather's death may not have been from natural causes after all. Now, driven by a determination to hunt down his killer, Kenna has thrown herself into the Praetorian Trials. But considering who her suspects are, it means an already deadly challenge—making it into the elite Praetorian forces—are even more dangerous than ever for Kenna. 

I don't think my little description here can adequately do this book justice, but I really have to try, because I love this book and want to scream it from the rooftops!

First off, I absolutely adore the blending of science fiction and fantasy! Davenport's book has all the modern tech of sci fi and the mythology and magic of fantasy, melded perfectly into one binge-worthy tome!

And then there's the world building! Oh, man! Kenna lives in a post war world. To sum it up, there were essentially two (or three, really) factions: one that had blood magic and wanted total domination and one that wanted nothing more to do with the gods and obviously didn't want to be controlled by the Blood Emperor. (And not to overcomplicate things, but there was a third portion who kind of just didn't want to be controlled by either.) And that's a super simplistic summation of a much more complex story!

Kenna's grandfather is the war hero who overthrew the Blood Emperor, bringing peace. But it's precarious. Especially now that her grandfather is dead. 

In a society that's broken up into different "jobs" Praetorians are elite and revered soldiers. And Kenna wants to be one of them. 

Like I said, a VERY simplistic summation of the book, but hopefully you get the gist. 

The Blood Trials clocks in at almost 450 pages, but honestly, I read through more than half in one sitting (partially thanks to really nice weather—and got sunburnt as a result!). So that should tell you something about the pacing: it's literally lightning fast! Driven by a plot that's packed with action, suspense, and a little bit of steaminess as well :)

Finally, there are the characters! Kenna is fabulous! She's layered and complex. She's grieving and she's angry—for so many justifiable reasons. She's also got a strong core friend group to lean on, when she gets over herself and allows herself to. 

This is just the first book, so of course there are a lot of questions left as yet unanswered. Which means I am seriously chomping at the bit to get my hands on book two next year!

If you love strong female characters, truly amazing world building, and cross-genre page-turners, you need to read The Blood Trials!