Series: The Queens of Renthia
Release Date: September 20th, 2016
Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . .
But the spirits that reside within this land want to rid it of all humans. One woman stands between these malevolent spirits and the end of humankind: the queen. She alone has the magical power to prevent the spirits from destroying every man, woman, and child. But queens are still just human, and no matter how strong or good, the threat of danger always looms.
With the position so precarious, young women are chosen to train as heirs. Daleina, a seemingly quiet academy student, is under no illusions as to her claim to the throne, but simply wants to right the wrongs that have befallen the land. Ven, a disgraced champion, has spent his exile secretly fighting against the growing number of spirit attacks.
Joining forces, these daring partners embark on a treacherous quest to find the source of the spirits’ restlessness—a journey that will test their courage and trust, and force them to stand against both enemies and friends to save their land . . . before it’s bathed in blood.
• BIPOC side characters
• Matriarchal community
• Murder
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The Queen of Blood was quite a surprise. It’s a fantasy novel with a sprinkle of romance. One of the most straightforward tools authors have at their disposal is the use of perspective and when to change it–which POV contributes to the story the most? Durst definitely knew how to cleverly use the alternating perspectives in The Queen of Blood to maximize the impact of her story.
The main character of The Queen of Blood is Daleina. We follow her on her journey from a 10-year-old girl whose power manifested just after witnessing the massacre of her village at the hands of the Spirits; she was only able to save her family members. To a teenage girl whose sole purpose is developing her abilities to the maximum so she can help protect her kingdom. One of the reasons The Queen of Blood was so good was because the plot didn’t follow the conventional story that is associated with books with similar titles, like “The Queen of ____” or “The ____ Queen.” Daleina is by no means a “special snowflake.” Not to say that I don’t appreciate those kinds of characters, but the special snowflakes usually possess innate power. They are the best at everything… or they’re “normal” (the author tries to differentiate their character from the drove of “special snowflakes”). However, everyone still loves them, and they are somehow able to accomplish unbelievable tasks without the skill to back them up.
Durst successfully accomplishes rejecting the “special snowflake” stereotype while making Daleina’s achievements realistic. From the very beginning, the reader is told and shown that while Daleina possesses the ability to control the Spirits, she is by no means the best. Bluntly put, her power is even suggested to be sub-par. What makes Daleina such a fantastic character is that she works so hard. She acknowledges early on that she’s not the best, but Daleina doesn’t give up; she never gives up, even when people tell her she should.
Another unique trait of The Queen of Blood was the many female friendships. The only people who can control the spirits are female, so all of Daleina’s friends (and most of her teachers) at the Academy are female. It was refreshing having Daleina form tight bonds with her peers, where the foundation of the relationship wasn’t built on boys. There were jealousies, but they were normal, and quickly resolved; no petty teen-girl drama!
Durst’s world-building was also fantastic. I loved reading about Daleina’s kingdom and how villages were formed within these giant trees. It was amazing the level of detail Durst used in her books and made The Queen of Blood quite a page-turner. The complexity of the relationships in the novel was also quite realistic; they followed the theme of love versus duty. Also, the characters that are “bad” are not depicted as absolutely evil. There are many moments where you second guess your assumptions about each character. Durst does an excellent job demonstrating how no person is inherently “good” or “evil”; everyone has moments where they operate in shades of gray.
My only big complaint about The Queen of Blood was Champion Ven’s character. Going into the book, I assumed Ven was Daleina’s love interest, which was weird since later on in the book Daleina is a teenager, and Ven is probably in his later 30s. But, then it’s revealed they are not each other’s love interests; Ven plays the role of confidante, advisor, and older brother to Daleina. I ended up really enjoying their relationship. However, my issue with Ven was how naive he was; it didn’t make much sense given his profession and age. Especially since he always mentioned how jaded he was. Durst, later on, explains his naivety, but I still rest my case; he really shouldn’t have been that naive. The ending to me was also kind of a cop-out, plot-wise.
Durst incorporated an apt amount of foreshadowing with the title; it can refer to more than one person (I know, very ambiguous, but I’m trying to keep this review spoiler-free). If you’re a fan of the fantasy genre, I highly suggest picking up The Queen of Blood, the world-building is seriously fantastic, and Daleina is a character that even the most jaded fantasy reader can love.
Preview The Queen of Blood on Amazon Kindle
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