After the action packed and wonderfully immersive The Blood Trials, I knew I had to read The Blood Gift. And Davenport does not let go! This is everything I wanted and more! Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
After discovering the depth of betrayal, treachery, and violence perpetrated against her by Mareen’s Tribunal Council and exposing her illegal blood-gift to save her Praetorian squad, Ikenna becomes a fugitive with a colossal bounty on her head.
Yet, somehow, that’s the least of her worries.
Her grandfather’s longtime allies refuse to offer help, and the Blood Emperor’s Warlord is tracking her. She’s also struggling to control the enormous power she was granted by the Goddess of Blood Rites…and come to terms with the promises she made to get such power.
Amidst all of this, the Blood Emperor wages a full-scale invasion against Mareen and leaves a trail of decimated cities, war crimes, and untold death in his wake. As the horrors increase, Ikenna and her team realize they must assassinate the Blood Emperor and quickly end the war. But the price to do so is steep and has planet-shattering consequences.
The price to do nothing, though, is annihilation.
War has erupted. Alliances are fracturing. And Ikenna is torn between her loyalties, her desires for revenge, and the power threatening to consume her. With the world aflame, only one thing is certain: blood will be spilled.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The Blood Gift is a story about friendship and rebellion. It’s about trying to right scales that have been imbalanced for too long. To fight against a system that has stood for so long, that has kept the same people in power time and time again, is a monumental undertaking. We can think it’s time for something new, but Ikenna has to figure out not only how to make – or break – alliances, but where she wants to be at the end of it all.
Suffice it to say, on the political and larger world conflicts, The Blood Gift delivers. We are forced to question, with Ikenna, about what would make this world better. How could we figure out how to succeed in this system or to break it. On a character level, Ikenna has to figure out who she is. With her powers, what kind of person is Ikenna when some of the people and forces holding her back have eased up?
(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)
The Blood Gift never allows us to relax. Davenport introduces new wrenches, betrayals, and conflicts to the mix. Reluctant rulers, power moves, and interventions. It is practically nonstop action which forces Ikenna to figure out if she has what it takes to survive. While the ending wrapped up a bit hastily, I enjoyed this explosive series ender. Find The Blood Gift on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.