A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy

Hey guys!
I an attempt to finally read all the amazing books from subscription boxes that keep piling up there, I recently picked up A River of Royal Blood. Let’s see how that turned out!

A River of Royal Blood on Goodreads

The Plot (according to Goodreads):

Sixteen-year-old Eva is a princess, born with the magick of marrow and blood–a dark and terrible magick that hasn’t been seen for generations in the vibrant but fractured country of Myre. Its last known practitioner was Queen Raina, who toppled the native khimaer royalty and massacred thousands, including her own sister, eight generations ago, thus beginning the Rival Heir tradition. Living in Raina’s long and dark shadow, Eva must now face her older sister, Isa, in a battle to the death if she hopes to ascend to the Ivory Throne–because in the Queendom of Myre only the strongest, most ruthless rulers survive.

When Eva is attacked by an assassin just weeks before the battle with her sister, she discovers there is more to the attempt on her life than meets the eye–and it isn’t just her sister who wants to see her dead. As tensions escalate, Eva is forced to turn to a fey instructor of mythic proportions and a mysterious and handsome khimaer prince for help in growing her magick into something to fear. Because despite the love she still has for her sister, Eva will have to choose: Isa’s death or her own.

The Rating:

I had a bit of trouble really getting into this book. I wasn’t hooked from the begging and it took me a while to actually be intrigued by the story. For some reason, I kept putting it down after a chapter or two in favor of some other book. I don’t even know why! It’s not that it was bad or anything, I just wasn’t really drawn in at first.

That being said, after about 1/3 of the novel, I did get excited. The world-building is rather interesting and I was curious to find out more. I still have many questions that demand to be answered though!

While the story is surprising and intriguing enough, I was so annoyed that -again – we have to suffer for a 100% unnecessary love story that doesn’t even do anything to further the plot. Let’s be real here, that book would have worked just as well with them being friends or whatever.
Why, oh why, does every YA book need to have some sort of love story, no matter how flimsy the plot of it?

I do, however, appreciate the plot twists that come our way. You couldn’t tell how this thing would end, so after some initial difficulties, I couldn’t put the book down. Obviously, there is going to be a sequel, as most of the questions I have are still unanswered and the world-building – although interesting enough – could really use another round of information.

My feelings on this one are a bit mixed. The general story was entertaining enough and the world-building quite fascinating. But there isn’t enough information at times and I got really annoyed that I had to suffer through an unnecessary love story. Despite a slow start, I enjoyed the book well enough, but it’s not among the best novels I got in a subscription box.

Did you read this book? Let me know in the comments what you think!

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