Title: Of the Blood

Author: Cameo Renae

Pub. Date: May 15, 2020

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

One malicious prince. Two rival kingdoms. And an innocent girl caught in the crossfire.

With a dark tapestry of secrets, lies, and murder unraveling around her, Calla must learn to embrace the power roiling through her veins, or be snuffed out by the strangling fist of a malevolent darkness.

This will be a spoiler free review. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Why isn’t book 2 out yet?

I read this in one night, could not put it down.

I will say that I was a little skeptical at first and thought that maybe I wasn’t going to be a fan of the writing style. I don’t really know what made me a little wary at first, but I was quickly hooked and didn’t put the book down until the sun had already started to rise.

I don’t usually start with negatives – that seems like a strong word – but here we are.

I have two little complaints – the first being the pacing. While I enjoyed the book, I felt like it was way too fast. Too much happened, too quickly. It kind of felt like this was two books, smashed into one. I think there would have been so much potential to flesh out and really build this world up. I got From Blood and Ash, ACOTAR vibes from this book and it just kind of sucks that so much happened in this first book. I would have liked it to be a tad slower, and not have so many massive time jumps when Calla is basically dying – okay, sorry, that’s maybe a bit spoiler-y, but there are these massive time gaps that progress the timeline, without anything really happening.

The second complaint is about Calla – liked her overall. But I didn’t quite get her character. She starts off as this shy, quite girl and then become someone who openly flaunts her sexuality. Not that, that’s a problem, but paired with the fact that she just turned 18 at the start of the book, preferred staying in and reading over parties and going, and wore a purity ring, it just seemed like a weird fast progression. Obviously, her character grows and changed during the course of the book, but she kind of goes from this preacher’s daughter stereotype, to the complete opposite. Maybe having more insight into her life prior to it going crazy or making her a little more outgoing in the beginning would have felt more cohesive.

She’s very much The Chosen One and it’s kind of glaringly obvious. The one other thing that I thoroughly enjoyed but didn’t quite understand (other than it’s very Chosen One-esque) the number of beyond attractive men in her life, who all have a thing for her. Every dude this girl comes across is instantly attracted and trying to get with her, and they’re all chiseled as hell.

Y’all I don’t get it. Actually, the more I think about it, the more annoyed I get. So, while I enjoyed Calla on an entertainment, engrossed in the story level, as a character, I have some serious issues with her.

Now, with all that being said, this book is still very much a fantastic read and I’m dying for the next one. I cannot wait to see what happens next. There’s magic, drama, tension, torture, trauma, Vampires and other fantastical beasties. Ruined kingdoms and long journey’s through a forest, friendship, humor, romance – there really is everything in this book and it makes for a really engaging read that you end up not wanting to put down. I haven’t stopped thinking about the book since I finished it, despite the few issues I have with it. And with the Love Interest, there’s one clear contender, but damn if I don’t have weakness for pirates. Jfc, Sebastian Salloway, I wish he were real. I really do have a weakness for scoundrel pirates. I could read a whole series about him and his exploits.

The world that the author created came to life in my mind. I was a little surprised at the sort of modern day feel I got from the beginning, but I enjoyed it. I could easily envision the characters and the different locations. I’m really excited to see Incendia in the next book and all these new locations that are bound to be introduced. I’m curious to see who else Calla runs into and what new man falls for her. Maybe she’ll get back to Trystan, who knows. I’m dying to find out, and I wish that the whole series was currently out for me to binge. I would totally ignore my TBR for this series.

This book comes out in 3 days, so make sure you pick it up and dive in.