Book Review
Title: We are Blood and Thunder
Author: Kesia Lupo
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Rating: *****
Review: I picked up We are Blood and Thunder knowing little to nothing about it, but the cover was intriguing. The opening was interesting as we are introduced to the world of Valorian and Duke’s forest. We learn that mages are common in this world and they are categorized by the colour of their magic, we are introduced to Lena who is a cryptling due to unusual black mark on her cheek and her master Vigo is a cryptling because he is a cripple, cryptling are kept below ground in the dark and have to wear a veil when above ground so they can’t be seen. We see Lena’s life before and after the storm cloud, the storm cloud is rumoured to have been created by magic, so the Justice outlawed magic and mages are often sentenced to death. The year before Lena comes of age, she is sentenced to death for being a mage and while Vigo gives his life to buy her time as she has to escape into the toxic atmosphere of Duke’s forest. It is there she encounters Constance for the first time, who is an open mage, and this seems to be the beginning of an unlikely adventure for the girls.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we are also introduced to Constance who crosses paths with Lena while she is attempting to get back into the city. While she does manage to do this, she is immediately suspected of being a mage but her being the Duke’s daughter manages to save her from further investigation for the time being. Constance, unlike Lena, seems prepared to challenge the current authority, but I have a feeling that this is only going to get her into more trouble. It seems I was right about Constance wanting to challenge the Justice for control of the kingdom, but it isn’t going to be easy as she is hiding many secrets of her own. We also follow Lena who meets Emris; a huntsman charged with finding wayward mages and taking them to the City of Kings where they can learn about magic and the Gods and are provided with a way of controlling their magic. It is here we learn what Constance is running from, it appears that she stole something valuable for another magician; Lord Chatham.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, we learn more about our character’s backgrounds and we uncover some interesting things that might come into play later on. We learn that once Constance and Emris were a couple but the crimes she committed and her journey back to Duke’s forest has driven them apart. Constance is trying to free Duke’s forest from the storm cloud and the powerful mages hiding right under everyone’s noses. Meanwhile, Emris teaches Lena about the temples and the Gods they serve and how she will go through trials in order to see which temple suit her magic and skill set best. However, I am wondering how Lena and Constance’s storylines are going to overlap, will Lena help Constance in getting rid of the storm cloud or will she end up hindering Constance’s plan.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Lena testing has begun, and she is nothing Emris or the First Huntsman has seen before. When she goes through her vision, she sees the storm cloud which is strange which might mean that Lena is tied to the storm cloud in some way and Constance won’t be able to get rid of it without her. In the meantime, Lena is bonded to the Temple of Faul, the temple Emris serves until she can be tested further. Constance’s storyline does take a dramatic turn when she is going to be arrested for the supposed murder of her father, forcing her to reveal that she is a mage, but she also gets Dr. Thorn to reveal his powers as well. She manages to turn the tables on them and gain the upper hand landing both Dr. Thorn and the Justice in prison with Constance being named the new head of power now that her father is dead. The tension seems to be ramping up greatly and I can wait to see how the two storylines are going to collide and what it means for the characters.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, things inside Duke’s Forest are going well as more mysterious things seem to be happening but Constance is given a warning from Dr Thorn, that the Justice has magical weapons at his disposal and Constance believes that this is the work of Lord Chatham but she manages to dispel the chaos building in the city but swearing that she will eradicate the storm cloud in two days which seems impossible as Constance is no closer to unravelling the magic of the storm that she was when she arrived. However, Lena is faring a little better as she is learning to call upon and control her magic. She and Emris are also getting closer when she witnesses what a Radical looks like and what Chaos can actually do to a mage for the first time and with her second testing scheduled for two days’ time, this are really heating up.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, things start coming together. With Constance locked up in the dungeons, there isn’t much she can do but she does reach out to Emris for help. We learn that Emris like Constance is actually bonded to the Temple of Mythias, the temple that breeds liars and assassins, and Lena is the final piece of the puzzle. It turns out that Lena gained her powers from the butterfly which had once belongs to Constance’s mother and it used to contain the heart of the storm spell which is now Lena’s. Lena and Emris have to go the Duke’s Forest in order to rescue Constance and get rid of the storm cloud once and for all but I have a feeling that the cost to dispel the storm might be higher than any of them knows right now.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, there is so much that happens to all of the characters that I can’t go into detail about without giving away some major spoilers. All I will say is the amount of political intrigue and how the characters multiple storylines overlap, I personally felt this would have been better as a duology to flesh out certain points better and allow the character’s relationships to develop further.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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