I really do love this super cool magick system, and I am glad that we got to learn more about Aketo’s family, Eva’s powers, and the Tribe. They are wanderers with a sort of direction. Most of A Queen of Gilded Horns was Eva and her crew figuring out what to do next. Then again, second books have to delve into the consequences of the actions in the first.

This sequel definitely moves at a slower pace than A River of Royal Blood. When I finished reading A Queen of Gilded Horns, one of the first thoughts was that I enjoyed this book, and that I didn’t really have to force myself to finish it. SPOILERS FOR A RIVER OF ROYAL BLOOD IN THIS REVIEW!Īnother warning: there will be spoilers to A River of Royal Blood in this review!! If you haven’t read the first book and want to, now is a great time to skip over this section and avoid spoilers 🙂

*Note: I received an e-ARC of this title from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Overall, I would recommend A River of Royal Blood! It was an enjoyable read full of magick, sisters, and hidden secrets.Ĭontent Warnings: blood, violence (battle context), death, discrimination It was extremely clear that Eva understood the damage they have done to her (especially her mother), but she still struggles with the knowledge that she still loves them. Lastly, it was interesting to see Eva navigate the toxic relationship with her sister and mother. I got the point of them, and they did help with understanding the world of A River of Royal Blood, but at the same time, I was pulled out of the reading experience because I knew that they felt like information dumps. However, sometimes there were sort of long descriptions for world building purposes. I personally loved Eva and Baccha’s mindscape scenes because an image so clearly came to *my* mind. Since I have not read too much high fantasy recently, it was exciting to be back reading about magic and royalty and all that. I found myself pretty submerged in this world and its magick system. The fact that they have to kill each other eventually if they want to claim the throne is there behind their actions (very often the motivator), but is not always the obvious focus. In a way, I appreciated this because I feel like if it were at the forefront for too much of the book, the tension would be gone.

Speaking of these sisters, the sister competition plot line definitely came in-and-out. Okay, first of all, can we talk about this cover? I know that there is a new one now, but the old cover with Isa and Eva on it is SO COOl 😍 (also their dresses 👀). Content Warnings: blood, manipulation, violence, racism, self-harm, death of an animal, death of a parent

A river of royal blood 2