Ikenna is one of only a few women and the sole Black pledge to the elite Praetorian Guard, the most revered soldiers who serve the Republic of Mareen. It had always been her dream to become a Praetorian so she could follow in the footsteps of her famed warrior grandfather. But after her grandfather is murdered -- most likely at the hands of a Praetorian assassian -- when Ikenna finally has the chance to join the squad it isn’t to serve the Republic; she’s there to take them down from the inside. But in order to join their ranks and maintain the access she needs for her investigation into her grandfather's murder, Ikenna must first survive a series of deadly trials to determine which of the pledges are worthy of the Praetorian mantle.

One of the best parts of The Blood Trials is its refusal to shy away from the brutality of this world and the trials. Davenport holds no punches when it comes to violence, trauma, and killing off characters, but each of these horrors and hardships is well-earned and the book does a good job of exploring their long-lasting impact on Ikenna. However, while Ikenna is largely a compelling character, she spends far too large a portion of the story stubbornly clinging to one theory when it’s blatantly obvious to readers that she’s on the wrong track, making for a rather frustrating read. Once Ikenna finally changes tactics, the depth and intrigue of the story immediately increases, and the climax of the novel goes to several unexpected places and concludes with a game-changing cliffhanger.

The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport is an adult imperial war fantasy , the beginning of a series and the debut novel for Davenport. Taking the view of the lead character Kenna, we follow the first year 'Praetorians', an elite Warrior class gain their rank through Trials while Kenna investigates a crime committed against her family.

The book can start off a bit sluggishly or hard to follow, but Davenport shoves us right into the middle of the action and chooses to insert the background using exposition, not allowing the enormity of her world to be swallowed up. Any pacing issues or info dummps tend to be resolved around 1/3rd of the book, around which time her environment is much better set up and we can move through any awkward bits.

The main character is unapologetically flawed, which I adore. There is definitely character growth with room for more. I didn't feel as if this was too large of a divide between plot *or* character driven , I felt it was a very good balance of both to fit many readers. This is a fictional , earth-like world in which magic, race, technology and class all play an integral part. While the fictional races of this world lack the historical content of an urban-fantasy based Earth world, many of the parallels faced by black characters and real-life racism and corporatism, and nepotism all play a big part in this society. I feel as if this was done seamlessly.

For those who want to avoid a book wherein real-life analogues for oppression take place, they may want to read the trigger warnings, though they are all clearly stated and the synopsis should by no scare anyone off who was already interested. This is a fantastic book and my only criticisms relate to pacing and have already been stated. There is sex, violence and adult themes that would personally make this book closer to adult fantasy or new adult, for those who may see younger characters and think of it as a cleaner young adult fantasy. I would definitely recommend this book.

First of all, I must note that this is a review of the unedited arc of The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport. Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This debut from N. E. Davenport follows a young black woman, Ikenna, who is reeling from the sudden loss of her last family member, her Grandfather. When she discovers he was murdered by members of the Mareenean Tribunal, she vows revenge. To seek the truth, Ikenna joins the deadly trials to become a Praetorian, an elite guild of warriors with lethal skills and enhancing biochips. Along the way, she is faced with horrible displays of racism and sexism. I really wanted to love this book because I was excited by the idea, but I felt that the character development, plot, and world-building fell flat.

The character development for Ikenna and other side characters such as Reed and Zayne feels two-dimensional. I wish I felt more of an emotional connection with the characters, but I never really understood them. Something I think could improve this is by adding flashbacks to important memories for Ikenna with her grandfather and other characters. One thing that did bother me was Ikenna referring to herself as a bi**h in a negative way. I think there are other ways to express how she is feeling without deeming her.

If I’m being honest I think the plot was a bit predictable. I never questioned what the outcome would be. The very nature of the trials makes me expect most people to die (except for those with political power). There was never any suspense or big reveal. There was the one scene towards the end that did shock me, but the aftermath was subdued when it could have held greater emotion.

Something else I think could be improved is world-building. I think Ikenna’s surroundings and the settings she visits could be described in greater detail. I want to know about the types of food they eat, what their clothing looks like, what animals live there, what the climate is like, are there specific traditions important in Mareen, etc.

I know this story has great potential, it just needs some more edits to make it sparkle. I look forward to reading the finished copy when it comes out.

I really, really enjoyed this book. I was at about chapter 6 when I felt it could be a gunner for my favorite of the year. Ikenna Amari is a fierce character and I loved everything about her. The side characters were also really great and likable - even Caiman, who was at first an a**hole. This book felt like a mesh of THE HUNGER GAMES, the DIVERGENT series, and sprinkled with some STAR WARS themes. But my favorite themes were the conversations about racism, sexism, and privilege which is a lot of what those other series glossed over, The author centers on a character who has darker skin than her comrades, who deals with not only racism but the sexism and misogynoir comments made towards her. Some complaints I've seen online were that the pace was too fast but I thought it was perfect. I wasn't ever confused or lost with the world-building either. I have already pre-ordered this book and can't wait to read the second one. Fantastic book.

This was truly amazing I cannot believe this is Davenport's first book. I found a few minor grammar errors but this plot was done so well. I loved how each character got fully developed (specifically the friendships in the book). Additionally, as a Black individual this story had the right amount of racial struggle. Sometimes I read books that overdue it, but I think readers will both love and learn from this story. Excited for it's release and the next book! I plan to promote in April!

The copy of The Blood Trials I received for review was an un-edited ARC, which feels particularly worth emphasizing. The overall summary of my feelings about The Blood Trials can be distilled into the following -- the premise is super cool but the book itself felt like a work-in-progress.

The Blood Trials is part murder mystery, political intrigue, and violent tournament. The story follows Ikenna who signs up to endure the contest to become a Praetorian, the most elite soldiers, as a means of investigating the murder of her grandfather. The prominence of the various elements of The Blood Trials ebbs and flows over the course of the story. There would be periods where I would wonder if Ikenna forget about her search for answers as there hadn't been so much of a mention of the mystery for huge chunks of the story.

Ikenna is a tough-as-nails, loyal protagonist. Watching her grow through her interpersonal relationships with her friends and Praetorian competitors was really satisfying. She is a protagonist who makes mistakes but isn’t afraid to grapple with them in an attempt to do better next time. Ikenna endures a lot of racism and sexism over the course of the story but never wavers in her conviction that she deserves to be a Praetorian. Through her character development, we see how predominantly white institutions impact people of color, which added a powerful emotional component to Ikenna's quest for belonging and answers about her grandfather.

That said, Ikenna felt all over the place as the narrative voice of this story. Her internal dialogue often swung from logical to filled with rage in ways that could be hard to follow. These mood swings were conveyed through telling, rather than showing, which made them seem almost performative on Ikenna's part in a way that didn't make sense. There’s also a lot of internal narrating, which often popped up in the middle of a scene that otherwise had a lot of action going on. Ikenna’s musings usually restated information that the reader had already been told numerous times while completely ignoring obvious questions or further areas of investigation.

The Blood Trials felt like 2 books smushed together rather than one cohesive whole. The first portion of The Blood Trials focused heavily on Ikenna’s time competing for a place among the Praetorians and a bit of her investigation into the murder of her grandfather. The last 30% of the story was a big shift from the remainder of the book and also seemed a lot less polished.

I found the world-building really frustrating. The world of Iludu sounds beyond intriguing. Some people have gifts that are legacies of special talents bestowed by the gods before the gods were banished. This is a world with a long history of war that it seemed like the reader was supposed to be familiar with but was never explained in a comprehensive way. The first portion of the book swung from huge passages filled with info-dumping to situations where explanation would’ve been helpful but was notably absent. The synopsis of The Blood Trials explains the situation in Mareen better than the book itself, which about sums up my frustration with how world-building is handled in the book.

The Blood Trials has an interesting concept and a lot of potential. I think some of my issues with the book are probably due to the fact that this ARC seemed more on the un-edited side.

Ikenna is the daughter of the Legatus of Mareen, and she has just found out that her grandfather was killed. And Ikenna has a secret, she has the blood gift of Mareen’s enemies that she must keep secret. Ikenna wants revenge and joins the trails for the Praetorians, so she can find out who killed her grandfather.

This is a really captivating read. Ikenna combats both racism and misogyny and this book tackles these topics matter-of-factly, emphasizing the importance of the families that you find and build in friendships. There’s the built-in suspense because the trials are the central aspect of the book, and there is also some steamy romance.

The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport
“Blood is my gift. And blood is what they’ll get if anyone gets in my godsdamned way.”
~~~~
I would first like to thank N. E. Davenport, NetGalley, and HarperCollins Publishers for allowing me access to this eARC.

I will admit this book had a slow start and it did take some time to grab my attention, but once I really started getting into the main character; I refused to put this book down! The thrills and adrenaline rushes really come for a person in this book full blast!
There are topics (violence, blood, war, racism,etc) in the book that may be graphic to some readers so please use caution if they upset or trigger you. The topics are extremely well done. Davenport’s topics are eye opening and correlate with what many POC/BIPOC are experiencing in today’s culture.
A POC female who’s blood-gifted and she’s seeking revenge for her murdered war-hero grandfather, while facing off an entire republic and dealing with assholes every step of the way. I loved it, absolutely couldn’t get enough of it.
This doulogy from N. E. Davenport is one you absolutely truly DO NOT want to sleep on. Pre Order this book today, do not wait! Go! NOW!

I really enjoyed this book…the characters were well described and portrayed really well. The plot kept me reading..and very invested..this will definitely be a story I will be telling people about:

Gosh, this book is phenomenal! The Blood Trials is an intense fantasy melding political machinations and magic with a side of a murder mystery. It also touches on misogyny, racism, and other ways the patriarchy and patriarchal communities perpetrate harm.

Ikenna is nineteen and her grandfather, who was her father figure, died suddenly three months ago. In that time she has been getting drunk, getting into fights, and shirking her education in her grief. The night before commencement she learns that her grandfather was murdered and is told the main suspect is Reed, who will be one of the Praetorians overseeing her class’s attempt to become Praetorians. She had originally intended to not pledge Praetorian after the death of her grandfather, but at that news she realizes becoming Praetorian is the only way she’ll have the protection and political backing to seek her vengeance. What follows is intense trials where she and her classmates consistently face death in order to become elite soldiers of the Republic.

This was such a phenomenal read and I couldn’t stand putting it down for long stretches of time because I needed to know who killed Verne and see who would survive the trials. I loved the way politics and magic and history of the world were so intricately woven into the story, and the ways history was revealed in context of story rather than dumping information (not that I’m adverse to info-dumping, but do want to note that that is not how information is relayed in The Blood Trials). I also loved how Ikenna challenged the misogyny and racism of the Republic while trying to get to a place where she could bring about changes.

This book was all around a fantastic read that I got absolutely sucked into and recommend wholeheartedly for those who love fantasies with plenty of political maneuvering and intense fights and attempts of survival.

This was a utterly captivating book, the main character had to be one of my favorites in the world. This book executed the frustrating and horrible parts of racism and sexism. Many times I thought I would explode from anger about how everyone treated her! I need the next book!!! N.E Davenport thank you for this book and I loved it!!

3.5 stars tbh

The Blood Trials is an ambitious debut that follows badass (and lowkey unhinged) protagonist Ikenna Amari as she goes through the violent and often fatal initiation into the most elite group of warriors in the republic of Mareen. Ikenna faces a lot of discrimination as a mixed-race girl in an elitist and male-dominated society, and I think she is by far my favorite part of this book. Ikenna is a very flawed and interesting protagonist: She's impulsive, brash, rude and she is unapologetic in her rudeness. She cowers for no one, no matter their rank, gender, or position. she literally doesn't give a shit, she'll square up if you come incorrect. She's also passionate about doing the right thing, she is determined to see her beloved country be better despite how little love she gets from them in return. Other than the interesting characters, Davenport also managed to create a detailed and interesting world. The book delves into their histories, cultural practices, and norms e.t.c.

Now onto things I didn't like: the pacing!!. Wow, the pacing for this book is all over the place. The pacing is truly what is holding this book back from being a 4 or 5 star read for me because I genuinely LOVE Ikenna with all my heart. The first like 50% of the book is so incredibly slow and repetitive, it's actually a miracle I didn't give up before the trials even started. And then the book really picks up the last like 40% and becomes hard to put down. I don't know how much of the pacing issues are due to the fact that this is the unedited e-arc but I really hope the first half gets some trimming.

That being said, Blood Trials is an insanely ambitious SFF debut and I will definitely be waiting excitedly for my sweet feral child Ikenna to come back to me in the 2nd book. Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins publishing for this unedited ver of the e-arc. I need book 2 NOAWWW!
CW: graphic sexual content, gore, violence, character death

In N.E. Davenport's debut novel, The Blood Trials, we find the republic of Mareen, where misogyny, racism, and classism abound. Enter Ikenna Amari, granddaughter of the late Grand Legatus. She's an initiate for the deadly and elite military force and the recipient of relentless prejudice due to her mixed heritage. But all of these things pale in comparison to her real worries. Ikenna is hiding a rare gift for the blood magic Mareen had eradicated from their land after a gruesome war with a bloodthirsty "Blood Emperor." When she discovers that her grandfather was murdered, she throws herself into dangerous trials that will lead her closer to those responsible, even though it means putting herself at risk of being discovered.

Ikenna is the best kind of protagonist because she is realistically flawed. She's impulsive, blinded by her grief, and a hilarious smart-mouth. But at the end of the day, she's a good person full of love and empathy. She wants to believe that the nation she loves can become a better place, even when they keep proving her wrong. Her kindness and morals fuel her strength and resolve.

On top of the fully fleshed characters, the world-building is unbelievable. The author has built entire complex nations with strengths, weaknesses, traditions, beliefs, and fully formed histories. The rich history adds depth to each character, fueling their choices and influencing how they interact.

Because of the layers and layers of complexity, when the history is being explained, it can slow down the novel. A lot of time is spent detailing how the world came to be as it is, and while those details are vital to the story, it makes the story drag on longer than feels necessary. It also throws the pacing off. It seems as if The Blood Trials is one and a half books in one. It could have ended about 75% of the way through with a natural conclusion and set-up for the next installment.

With all this said, I rate it four out of five stars. Davenport took high-stakes, competitive sci-fi elements like The Hunger Games Saga and transformed it into a unique fantasy novel. Then she took it even further, adding issues we face in the real world. Ikenna not only has to face down monsters and bloodthirsty warlords, but she has to do it while battling the prejudice of those around her.

Lastly, let's talk content warnings. There is graphic sexuality, gruesome violence, and horrific deaths. Because of this, I recommend it only for those 18+. The Blood Trials is an incredible read for fans of cross-genre sci-fi and fantasy who don't mind a little death and destruction. I need the next installment immediately, please and thank you.

This book was absolutely incredible! Definitely up there with my favorite books of the year so far. Davenport was able to create a unique story filled with overcoming racial prejudices, love, loss, betrayal, political intrigue, brutality, and even some steaminess. The book doesn't release until April and I'm already needing the sequel.
This book was provided as an early release ebook through NetGalley and the publisher HarperCollins. All opinions stated are entirely my own.

A really interesting blend of sci-fi and fantasy set in a world that feels futuristic, but is still stuck with sins of the past like misogyny and racism. There's a lot of world building front loaded into the story, but once the action and plot take over it's an enjoyable ride with a kick ass main character.

The Blood Trials
by N. E. Davenport
Review

The Blood Trials takes place on the fictional planet of Iludu, a world of divinely gifted powers and technological advances, where the gods once roamed freely and dreadful, before they were cast out; where wars are fought over the choice to revere the gods and what they left behind or to destroy and forget it all.

In the futuristic and militaristic Republic of Mareen, the choice was made to eradicate all traces of the gods and the people the gods blessed. It is in this place we meet our main character, Ikenna, a cadet, thrown off of her path by a deep and terrible grief caused by the death of her grandfather, the only parental figure in her life. She’s lashing out at everything, especially herself in her grief, not even sure of the path she was training for years to take is the one for her, when she learns that her grandfather was murdered by unknown higher ups for an unknown reason.

Immediately, she knows what she has to do. Vengeance.

Blood for blood.

But in order to get close to her goal, she first has to survive The Praetorian Trials, basically a six week post-graduate training in which they’ll have to complete challenging and deadly tasks in order to prove themselves it for Praetorians, the deadliest, most highly trained, most skilled of Mareenian soldiers.

This story had a bit of a hard time drawing me in initially, but by the end I was looking forward to see how book two, of this duology, would build of the exciting premise of the final chapter, and what would become of our vengeful, blood gifted Praetorian and her truly ragtag group of friends!

So, I ended up giving this 3.5 stars!

The story itself has a lot of potential! I really wanted to be obsessed with it! It has a lot of the tropes I like, I really love stories about gods, set in a advanced society like this one, blending sci-fi and fantasy and the main character, Ikenna, was so fierce, strong, commanding and a mess, so I’m a little bummed out that I can’t say that I loved it from beginning to end.

Part of that is my own hang up. I have a hard time connecting to grieving characters who act out self destructively (a completely reasonable and normal reaction to loss), and Ikenna who had a great secret, a secret that could lead to her being killed and having everything her grandfather hoped for her being lost, was being so reckless, something that she was conscious of and regretted.

Another aspect which kept me from immersing myself into the story was the racism targeted at the main character, who is half-Khanaian, a dark skinned race of people who have a tenuous peace and trade treaty with Mareen, after the latter tried, in the past to subjugate and make slaves of them. Now, I’m not against racism being used in a story, it’s just both boring, and unrealistic in an advanced society, in my opinion. So is misogyny. So many stories in this genre use these things as plot devices, but they’re a bit exhausting. I don’t like that we can imagine a person making a weapon out of her blood, but a world without those things is impossible to fathom. But that’s just my personal preference.

Ikenna has someone she is deeply suspicious of, and believes is likely to be involved in the MURDER of her grandfather, and yet, after a fight (with another person) in which she is seriously harmed, and merely a patch job done on her, she and this character, have sex. It seemed out of character for both of the people involved. I was giving it a pass because I thought it held a greater significance in terms of the plot than it turned out having. So in retrospect it seemed a bit gratuitous. Yes, there’s always been a bit of tension between them, and it’s not unreasonable for them to like each other, but this wasn’t the context in which I felt that this would have happened in. (I actually ship them together so bad and I want more moments of them, with as much romantic elements as the two of them can manage which, sadly, wouldn’t be much, to be honest)

Now for the things I liked :

1. World building, this is what saved the story for me, I’m fascinated by the setting and the presence of gods and this strange link Ikenna has to it. Like, what is the actual story, aside from finding out who killed her grandfather, stopping a war and remaining alive through it all? During the trials we got to read about all types of fearful mythical creatures and I hope to see more of that in the second novel.

2. How much butt Ikenna kicked — it was a lot and it was glorious, which is to say that I really enjoyed all of the fight scenes, even though a lot of them ended in Ikenna scraping by the hair of her chin!

3. The cover! Is absolutely glorious! The moons in the background? Her hair? The fearsome expression on her face? The weapons in both hands? And the wolverine-esque blood spikes? Heck yes!

4. Found family, loss, betrayal. Ikenna goes through it in this story, but what I like seeing where the bonds she had, her friendships. So when the ending came around, and she felt so completely and utterly alone, to have her found family be there with her, was really nice!

All in all, this is a mixed bag for me, there are things I really enjoyed, things that pulled me out of the story and things that make me excited for book two!

Would I read this again?
Yes, I would like to read this story again in it’s final form.

Would I recommend this story?
In the end, yes, I would recommend it. Especially if you like books that have a lot of world building or where the main character has a link to a god or where they are total kick-butt, battle mages!

CW: Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Character Death

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyage for providing me with an ARC of The Blood Trials to read and review.

Adored this. Such a great entrance into the fantasy genre, full of everything we'd expect from an epic story: badass females, an exciting world, and a plot that is not yet unraveled. Cannot wait for more!

A big thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyage for providing me with an unedited E-ARC of The Blood Trials to read and review. I do have a lot to say, so here we go:


There are many strong points of this story that I really liked such as the interesting story and world-building, a strong woman of color as the main character dealing with racism and proving herself despite it, and a very vivid sex scene (that I was NOT prepared for but still enjoyed though I don't think was necessary). Also, I really loved the cover which I thought was gorgeous and really enticing and made me want to read the book even more than the blurb alone.

However, though I'm very happy I finished this book, I have to say that the first half was SO hard to get through.
The constant repetitive introspection of the main character was SO hard to get over, I get that she was obsessing over what happened to her grandfather but I don't get why the reader had to read over and over the same information we were given at the start. Not only, but there are major info-dumps and an excessive amount of details placed on the weapons that the characters use that I really didn't enjoy or care reading about.

There were also major grammatical errors and plot holes that I really hope they fix since I got an unedited version (such as a Comm Unit going "missing" when Kenna goes to snoop around Chanse's and Reed's room that she clearly had on her when she left Chanse's room).

There were parts where the story lulled to a near-complete stop and then suddenly we had an action scene, and again and again. I really hope that this problem is fixed in the completed and edited version because it is a very nice story and I really like Kenna as a character, but the potential the story has isn't coming out just yet.

Though I liked this part as I stated above (once I adjusted to it) I was not prepared for the sex scene that was presented to me so suddenly and I think the book could have done without it altogether. I started the book thinking it was a YA novel and there was nothing in the description to make me believe any differently, so this threw me off kilt a bit. Thus, if you're reading this, know that it's more of a New Adult (NA) story than it is YA.

I also wish there was more of an introduction to Enoch than there actually was, because his and his family's appearance in the story towards the end, made it feel like a new/different story. As if book 1 was supposed to end at the end of the Praetorian training and book 2 were to start where she is an actual Praetorian, but that would leave the reader with too many unanswered questions which would do the book more harm than good, so that wouldn't work. Thus a better introduction to Enoch's importance to the story and weaving his existence/importance throughout the first half of the book would make that starch difference feel a little less jarring.


It was during the second part of the story that the action stops lulling as much and it gets really interesting to read and I found myself really wishing it didn't end when it did. The storyline gets much more adrenaline-inducing and interesting to follow and the characters' personalities really come out.

I do look forward to reading book 2 despite this version I've read so far only being "ok." And I'm giving it a 3-star review because the last 35% of the book was good and I felt that it sort of made up for the first 65% of it being so slow if you can get through it. I want to read book 2 but I definitely think that it needs some serious work in the first 65% of the book.


Once the book is published, I intend to read it again to see if there were any edits made so I can update my review to be correct to the current version of the book.