love this sneak peak!

cannot wait to read the whole book one time! A River of Royal Blood is one to look out for!

Despite this book having a great concept, this preview was too confusing for me. I don't know if I'll pick up the actual book yet since I still hope it will get clearer, but I honestly didn't know what was going on. It felt like a lot of info was being dumped, yet not enough info to actually understand it.

I have heard great things about the full book though, so I might still give it a chance!

I'm very conflicted about this story. The premise is an interesting one: A country run by women, where the heirs need to fight and kill their sisters to become the queen. And to add to the intrigue, everyone has magic but the main character - Eva - has a magic so rare that she can't find anyone to teach her how to use it. Which means that her older sister will almost defiantly kill her and assume the throne. Like I said, it's a very interesting premise, but there is some ineffable quality of the story that is making my response to it very lackluster. I didn't really feel a strong connection with the characters, for one. Honestly, I am really struggling to understand WHY I feel very lukewarm about this story, but I was kind of glad when the sample I received ended.

I both listened to and read A River of Royal Blood in just over a day, it is fierce and powerful, full of action, magic and with a storyline that kept me riveted. Eva is the younger sister to Isa, both princesses of Myre and both gifted with magic. Eva, though, is the first in over a century to be gifted with the magic of blood and marrow, a deadly and powerful magic but Eva is afraid of this magic and of what it can do. Eva and Isa are Rival Heirs, meaning they will have to fight to the death for their seat on the throne. As the girls grow older, they grow more distant. Eva travels to her fathers to learn more about her magic while Isa stays with their mother, the Queen, at court. Isa is everything that Eva is not; skilled with her magic, strong and self-assured and has won the favor of the court along with the love of their mother, something that Eva has never felt. 

Eva is not alone though. She has many supporters both old and new; Falun and Anali who’ve been with her most of her life, guarding her and offering friendship and Baccha, the Lord of the Hunt, teaching her the art of blood magic and Prince Aketo Jahmar, a Khimaer who is Eva’s love interest. 

There’s a whole wonderful world built within this fantasy; one of magical beings with rich history and political intrigue and strife. A complicated relationship between sisters and a wholly dysfunctional family relationship. I would’ve really liked to get a peek in to Isa’s world a little more, what happened to her while she and Eva were separated and just a little introspect into her feelings. There are snippets of her expressions, etc … but to have to fight your sister to the death, heck, anyone to the death, would have some serious emotional side effects and she and Eva were close as children. So, I’m feeling a bit conflicted on this. Aside from this, I found ARORB to be an exciting debut and I’m looking forward to continuing this story with A Queen of Gilded Horns.

Wow, this was intense and magical. I can't wait to read the rest of this book. This just made me want to read more.

This is an interesting story, the world building seems thorough and I really love the revamp the publisher did with cover, it feels more in tune with the story.

Purchased this YA/middle grade novel for my middle school library.  Superb character development, elegant world building, and compelling plotting.

*I was sent by the publisher and Netgalley a sampler for a honest review* First of all this is a prologue and two chapters which does not give much information but it gives me enough to be interested into wanting to read the rest of the book when the paperback comes out in February! It was a great intro and an intriguing start! 
Thanks again for the free sampler of the book!

It often takes me a while to get into a new book, but after a short prologue and two chapters I already want to read the rest of Eva's story and have ordered myself a full copy of the book.

If I hadn't already had an idea of what to expect from this story from the blurb, I feel like the prologue would have left me confused but intrigued enough to keep going.  Like many fantasy books, the prologue is in third person following a character who is not our protagonist (in fact, it is set at the time of her birth).  Once we get to chapter one we meet Eva, princess of the queendom of Myre, and discover that thanks to the rival heir tradition, she will have to fight her sister Isadore to the death for the right to rule.

Like many fantasy novels, the first couple of chapters are very exposition heavy.  I found some of this a little clunky in the sampler, but having read these same chapters in the final published version they have been cleaned up and read more smoothly.  I look forward to reading the rest of the book and seeing where Eva's story goes from here.

Also, how gorgeous is that new cover?  Just beautiful.

This sample was very intriguing sample of the story, and I am very interested in reading the whole book. Eva seems like a normal girl who’s just trying to keep her head down and survive. But her position in the Royal family and her sister make that impossible. Which sounds like a great story to read.

Thank you to Netgallery and Penguin Group for this sneak peak ARC of this book before publication in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I love the idea of rival sisters competing for themselves, but to compete for their lives is so exhilarating. Eva and her older sister Isa have an age old tradition to fight each other to the death to win the crown and this sneak peak shows part of the rivalry that Eva and Isa feel. Eva has no interest in this royal fight and just wants to leave and do something for herself. The sneak peak made me excited and interested to see who the winner would be. 

The author created an everlasting curiosity in me as to who would win. Eva is kind of like the underdog and her sister the favourite to win,  The beginning of the book has intrigued me and made me wonder about these two characters even after putting this book down. I also loved the descriptive nature of the book as the author described the palace and the throne room in such exhilarating detail that I felt that I was a part of the story.

Very excited to read the full thing.

This may be weird, but I love kingdoms where the throne is something that people battle over, so when I saw that this was that, but between two sisters, I was immediately intrigued.

The prologue actually doesn't follow our main characters, however I do think that this was a bit disappointing, and I'm not sure if I would buy a copy for myself. The writing style feels stiff and not too descriptive, this meant that I felt disconnected from the characters and what was happening to them. I can't comment on characters or plot since I didn't get to read too much, but I do see the potential to be an entertaining and engaging read. The concept was exactly the type of fantasy books I love, however, based on this sneak peak, the execution may not be for me.

Thank you NetGalley & Penguin Books for the chance to read this sneak peek!

The concept of this novel is what sparked my attention; 2 sisters who have to battle it out for the throne? Makes you feel like your sibling squabbles are just that much... smaller. 

It took awhile for me to really grasp what was going on in this novel, the introduction chapter sometimes tends to throw me off but once we dive into chapter 1 it's pretty easy to follow from there.

36 pages was not enough to satisfy me, I didn't know this book was already out so that was a nice surprise to find out! I don't have to wait for it to be released! I admit I do like the new cover versus the older one.

I can't wait to dive into more of this title!

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the sneak peek of this novel, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

I’m already gripped tbh within this novel, it’s written so beautifully. It’s also incredibly detailed and picturesque, I struggle sometimes with being able to picture the scene in a book but I didn’t have any problems with this excerpt. 

I also love the concept of rival heirs in this book. The idea that siblings have to fight one another with the magick they were blessed with (or not so) at birth and one has to kill the other to essentially win the throne. It really gives a twist on the usual monarchy trope often found in books of this kind. I feel immersed already, I just want to know what happens next!! 

I honestly can’t wait to get my hands on the full copy upon its release!!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a sneak peek of 'A River of Royal Blood' in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start by saying that the cover is gorgeous! I found the premise of this book very interesting and am super excited to learn more about this magical world. It was a little slow at the beginning, but it got better after the start.

I'm looking forward to reading the full book once it releases!
4 STARS

This book recently got repackaged with a new cover, which I greatly prefer to the original cover, which I have on my shelf currently. This sample was brief and just included the first few chapters, but it left me wanting to read more of Eva's story! I'm so excited to pick up my copy and read it and then buy the new cover to match the sequel!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC of the prologue in exchange for an honest review of, A River of Royal Blood, by Amanda Joy.

The cover immediately grabbed my attention and I was instantly engaged from the first page. After the birth of the princess,  there was quite a bit of an information dump. However, the story was quite intriguing and the characters bold enough for my curiosity to be piqued. 

I am definitely going to be finishing this book upon its publication and am excited to see which sister prevails and if Evalina comes to control and utilize her magick.

The book begins with the Harkening of a princess, Eva. Then it goes forward in time until she is sixteen. every night she sneeks out of the palace and joins the commoner in the city. By day she mostly stays in her room, unwilling to gather with the court and to bear up with her older sister Isa. And one day when she is summoned to the court room to report the her mother. That day she decides that she is done.

This book is amazing and extremely well written. All of the characters came to life. The storyline and the details.....Wow!!!! I litterally don't have anything bad to say about it!!! Everyone who likes Sarah J. Maas's books, this is for you, and for those who don't It's still great!!!

A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy

9780525518600


36 Pages (sneak peek)
Publisher: Penguin Group
Release Date: February 16, 2021

Fiction, Teens, Young Adult, Mystical, Magic, North African Fantasy

Evalina Grace Kileen, is a princess born with the magick of marrow and blood, the most fearful of magicks. She and Falun, a friend and soldier, sneak out of the palace to go to an illegal market and enjoy some dancing. After a raid by the City guards, Eva and Falun are presented to the Queen to face the consequences. 

In the Queendom, it is required that the Queen’s daughters fight to the death to become the true heir to the throne. Eva’s sister Isadore has powerful magic which leaves Eva at a disadvantage since she does not know how to wield her own magic.

This was just a sneak peek into the book. The writing style is good and the story flows at a steady pace. It is written in first person point of view and from what I read; the characters are developing as the story proceeds. I enjoyed reading this sample and look forward to reading the full book when it is released in February 2021.

The cover was enough to get me to pick up this book the quick synopsis had an interesting concept but was lacked a strong punch. If I found this in a book store it wouldn’t be the first book I’d buy. However, I do think the prologue did a phenomenal job at gauging the reader. The mystery the prolonged provided is what pushed me to want to keep reading and the initial introduction to this world is what had me wanting to read more.  This leaves me excited for the rest of the book!!!