Noooooo no no no no it can't end like that!!! I need Book 2 right now!

This book was so good!! I am fully invested in this story. Layla was such an amazing FMC. She was strong, a bit dark, and didn't take sh** from anyone.

The MMC, Rune, starts off strong and dominant, but quickly becomes Layla's follower almost, trailing her around and doing what she says. The occasional dirty talk was good, but a smidge more spice would have been good to back it up.

I cannot wait for the next book!

I…….. how do I even begin with this book?

Okay let’s start with a thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing to allowing me to read a copy for review. I really appreciate it.

………I hate the ending. Is this a standalone??? I will be so upset if it is. Im still here just wondering what even just happened????

Okay let’s start off with it being 3.5 stars for me. It was kind of slow, and it was near the end that it really started to pick up. The story is basically about a royal who became queen after her parents passed away, and she kinda got a bit on the aggressive side for those who treated their children badly, so she became known as the blood queen.

I thought it was a little more on the predictable side, but I didn’t see the twists in the end happening. Like. Brandt??? Another royal? Did not see coming. I knew he was the bad guy, but I couldn’t predict to what extent.

The spicy scenes were fun, I’m not much of a spice reader so there were some scenes I skimmed over because i just wasn’t up to reading them. I think this might be my first spicy fantasy, so I really don’t know what a good spicy scene is supposed to look like.

I don’t know if this counts as high fantasy, but it wasn’t too intimidating as a read. I do want to build up to reading high fantasy books though.

All in all, I’m glad I got to read this book, it was a worthwhile read and I really really really hope the author publishes a book stating what happens next because I am not happy with that ending.

I really like the premise of this book, but I felt that it fell a bit flat for me. I didn’t really click with the writing style, but I enjoyed the characters and the dialogue. I really wanted to enjoy this but I think it just wasn’t for me in the end.

Blood Queen by Caitlin Denman was not for me. I DNF'd at 60% and even that was a struggle to get through.

Layla's parents died 5 years ago, murdered in their beds. No one knows how it happened and Layla has been plagued ever since, refusing to take on full responsibility of the throne. Instead her parent's advisor, Brandt, helps Layla run her kingdom, while she takes care of threats behind the scenes. How does she take care of them? Murder, of course. The one her citizens saw, spur of the moment to save a girl, is the one she is known for, giving her the title of Blood Queen. A title she hates, despite her extracurriculars.

Layla is set to meet her betrothed, a prince from a nearby kingdom. She needs one night of fun first, one free from her responsibility. Too bad that was a huge mistake, one her trusty soul shard, a crow who carries a piece of her with him, warned her against. Now, Layla must rescue her kingdom from a drug that's taken over, get to know her future husband, and discover that which was hidden under her own nose.

Two words accurately describe this book for me: repetitive and inconsistent. Descriptions of things like soul shards or the color of Layla's hair were laid out multiple times and overexplained. Interactions between the characters did not feel natural and it felt like personalities would switch from scene to scene. A lot of things just felt out of place as well, with Layla's inner monologue often feeling like a disjointed 16 year old, unsure of herself, rather than a woman of almost 30.

1.5/5 stars: The idea of the story is there, and it has potential to be good but needs a lot of work. This would be good for people looking for a quick fantasy read with moderate spice and an enemy to lover trope.

CW: drug use, sexual content, death, violence, child abuse

Thank you to NetGalley, Caitlin Denman, and the publisher for providing an eARC. The opinions within this review are my own.

3.5 stars on SG, rounded up to 4 stars on GR.

The premise is what really grabbed my attention as who doesn’t love blood thirsty queens in a fantasy setting? Layla sounded like an interesting FMC and I can say that she definitely lives up to it!

We meet Layla five years after her parents’ death on the eve of her betrothal’s arrival. She wants one last passionate night with a stranger, but things certainly get turned upside down very quickly when the next day it turns out that the very man she enjoyed the night with is actually her betrothed. I absolutely loved the immediate conflict this created, although I do feel like the pure hatred was a bit of an overreaction at times throughout the story.

I enjoyed that the magic system is interesting and different from typical fantasy books in that only royalty (ones born into, not married into) has access to powers and has power/soul shards which show as animal companions like Layla’s crow, Keir. I really liked this touch as it’s very different to other books I’ve read and I think it lends itself to potential exploration later in the series.

Unfortunately, I did find a lot of the plot and twists very predictable. That being said, this didn’t stop me from enjoying the book, though I would have enjoyed a twist I didn’t see coming. Parts of the story were quite forgettable sadly due to this and the pacing certainly felt very rushed at the end of the book which always frustrates me as a reader. Although I definitely saw it coming, I appreciated the twist at the end and the cliff-hanger certainly left me reeling. I’m excited to pick up the sequel once it’s out as the story really does intrigue me.

Blood Queen is book one in Caitlin Denman’s new fantasy series. I had the privilege of reading Blood Queen as an eARC, so thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for providing me with this copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review!

What I loved:
- This was action packed! I love a FMC who knows what she’s doing. It was so exciting to watch her take on her battles!
- Rune. That’s it, that’s the bullet point. 🥵
- The whole cast of characters was exciting and fleshed out. I especially loved Keir and Marv!
- The idea of soul shards was so cool to me. This was a fun and fresh take on magic!
- Layla’s perspective was so interesting. Her overall arc was captivating and kept me on the edge of my seat!

What I didn’t love:
- The pacing was a little off for me at times, but it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.
- Some of the characterization didn’t make sense to me, like Rune being clumsy in the dungeon scene while also being a super skilled warrior. But there were not a ton of instances of this, so this is a minor point.

Overall, I am rating Blood Queen 4.5 out of 5 stars! I would recommend this to fans of TOG, An Heir Comes to Rise, Song of the Marked, and Court of Dragons.

4.5 on StoryGraph, 4 on GR & NG

I really, really enjoyed Blood Queen, and I’m looking forward to the next book, but I have a very big problem with the writing. I spent the entirety of the book trying to figure out what, exactly, the author has against complete sentences. The sentence fragments were killing me! There were also so, so many editorial errors, particularly with misplaced, misused, or just plain missing punctuation. The verb tenses often didn’t agree, sometimes within the same sentence! I actually pondered a couple of times if perhaps the sentence fragments happened because the author did not use the correct tense. The only reason this book was 3 stars for me is because I truly enjoyed the plot and I’m excited to see what happens next. If I had found the plot to be lackluster at all, this would’ve been a 1-star for me, purely based on the grammatical and editorial mistakes. If you’re publishing a book, do better.

I received an advance review copy of Blood Queen, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this book.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. The writing was easy to read and allowed for an immersive experience, and the story held my attention. I liked seeing Layla progress from being a sheltered queen who allowed others to rule her kingdom to understanding what was happening in her kingdom. However, there were also some things that I did not like about the book. I felt like the book's first half had good pacing, but the last 50% was very fast-paced and could have been slowed down to provide more detail and let the characters work things out more in their relationship. I also wish some parts of it included Rune's POV to understand some of his thoughts because the way his personality seemed to flip sometimes made it hard to tell if I liked him. I look forward to picking up the next book in this series to see how the cliffhanger resolves itself and how Layla and Rune's relationship progresses. Thank you, NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this darker fantasy romance. The setting was immersive and I liked the way author wrote. My only complaint and why I couldn’t rate this 5 stars was the fmc. She was incredibly childish and came across significantly younger than her almost 30 years.

4/5⭐️.Really enjoyed this book and cant wait to see what the author has in store. The world building was a bit hard to get into but all of sudden the book was very action packed and was easy from there. I really liked the FMC and the spice was 10/10.

Ebook provided by NetGalley for my review.

DNF at 57% - this was pretty bad. It needs editing, the syntax, sentence structure, and grammar made this seem unprofessional. Sentences were short, choppy, and repetitive. The main character had no consistent logic or even motivations for her different choices. The characters and the writing were immature and needed development. There also didn’t seem to be any plot or pacing, just bouncing to “Brandt betrayed me! No Rune betrayed me!” back and forth, over and over again.

Having just completed Caitlin Denman's 'Blood Queen,' I'm left utterly mesmerized by its brilliance. The portrayal of the female protagonist aligns seamlessly with the evocative title, delivering a character whose depth and journey resonate powerfully throughout. The adeptly crafted prologue serves as an indispensable compass, guiding readers through the intricacies of her narrative and elucidating the path to her acquisition of the 'Blood Queen' mantle.

Denman's storytelling prowess is evident in the book's impeccable execution and flawlessly structured narrative. Her craftsmanship sets a high standard, undoubtedly paving the way for triumphs in her future literary ventures. A resounding 5/5, this masterpiece deserves a broad audience eager to immerse themselves in its allure. #bloodqueenbook #NetGalley

This one was just okay for me, and I give it around 2.5 stars. The premise was what grabbed my attention, because it had everything I love in fantasy, but it wasn't anything special for me. The plot seemed to jump around, and I found certain sections were rushed, while others were too drawn out. I also had trouble finding the main characters likeable at times, especially Layla. She was close to 30, but her naivety made her seem a lot younger.

I did like how the book started off fast paced, because sometimes fantasy reads are slow to take off. This made me think I was really going to like it, but then found myself dragging a bit to finish it. There is potential for a good story, and with that cliffhanger it does make me want to read the next one. So I'm not giving up, and here's hoping I like the next one better.

Thank you NetGalley and Victoria Editing for the ARC!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

Somewhere between 2.5 - 3 stars. I think the biggest thing I struggled with is I didn't really like the two main characters. (Keir and Betsy were great though.) They were kind of toxic together. Most of their interactions were one of the Fs and there wasn't much character development. Sometimes Rune felt like two totally different people?

Felt like there were a lot of random parts and it just kind of jumped around plot wise. Also Layla really couldn't figure out who the bad guy was??? I understand a good cliffhanger but this one just felt abrupt.

2.5-3 stars.

I liked how quickly the book started -with only the necessary backstory to catch you up to date. I was immediately suspicious of Brandt, and I loved Keirs character and personality (I want a cheeky bird friend).

I was excited to have a FMC who was a decent age (28 instead of 18-19) but Layla ended up being so naive at times I wish she was younger as it would let me excuse the constant internal debate of "no it can't be Brandt, he helped raise me" even after he tried to seduce her (ew).

The love/lust between the main characters just didn't feel natural to me, I think it was just too much indecisiveness on Laylas part and Runes conflicting attitude (you don't try to kill someone you supposedly love even if you think they are capable of murdering your friends). It was just a bit too "insta love" for me.

The book had all the right plot ideas, but I just felt it could have been written slightly better. It felt like it was rushed or overthought in places. There was a lot of repetition, for example about her red hair being distinctive or about what soul shards are. It only really needed to be described fully once and then could've been mentioned in passing later on instead of a full breakdown each time. It ended on a cliffhanger, but I don't know if I will continue reading the series as this book fell short for me.

I can’t finish this. This book has so much misogyny in it that I am worried for the author. Her opinions on sex work, the not so subtle slut shaming and “dominant man in bed” at the start are just some of it. I love some degradation and dominance in books but this isn’t giving that.The first sex scene feels like its going to end in abuse, he’s being ‘dominant’ but in a way that makes me think this author has never read about or experience safe BDSM practices. Everyone, including Rune, also slut shame Layla for sleeping with Rune prior to them meeting each other, when she’s the queen rather than the night before when she’s disguised. But no one has any issue with him sleeping with her the day before they meet.

I want to go slightly more in depth on my issues with the way sex work and sex workers are described and discussed in this book. I have studied this heavily as part of my criminology degree. She talks about the women “selling their bodies” due to addiction and trying to eradicate the profession through social welfare programmes (painting her as some kind of saint or something, a common theme in this book). Both these ideas are very wrong. Sex work may sometimes be a result of trafficking but not generally. It is a real and chosen profession done by many, not just women. While there are issues with sex work and treatment of sex workers many of these are actually due to the criminalisation and stigmatisation of it! This view of sex work is incredibly misogynistic, basically saying that all sex workers are brainwashed and not listening to the people doing sex work who almost entirely disagree. If you have heard of TERFs there are also SWERFs, none of which are actually feminists but this gives you an idea of how gross this view is.

I also have a problem with the inconsistency in the characters. Layla, the blood queen, and Rune are both so different from page to page and when you compare their actions to their words. This is trying so hard to paint the queen as a gracious and kind leader, like moving the servants to guest quarters that are fancy rather than the cold servant ones. But it’s so inconsistent with how she talks about everything else that it just feels false. She’s also meant to be 28 but reads as early 20s at most.

There was very little about this book that is good, maybe there is more later on but I will not be finding out.

I really enjoyed the writing style with the world building and characters. I'm curious to see how book 2 will go because Layla and Rune have this hot/cold relationship while Layla is having her personal growth moment. I like the mystery throughout, and the pieces left for you to put together are easy enough. I want more for this book and from this book. I need more complexity in their relationship and the personalities to be more clear. I feel like his morally gray past and her past are a great base for redemption in book 2. There's so much good that she has done that no one knows about. I also like these side characters and I hope they are fleshed out more.

This book was enjoyable and an easy read. It had a good amount of spice, but I feel like the character's desires vs relationship needs more. I hope book 2 will shape it more.

If you like romantasy, slight mystery, bossy-bossy, arranged marriage, and familiars, you would like this.

2.5 Stars

Blood Queen follows Layla, a young queen with special magic and fighting skills. Layla is set to be married to the prince of a neighboring nation to strengthen her country's political alliances- but turns out she's already met AND slept with him, thinking him just to be a merchant passing through town. With a lot of people vying for her attention and allegiance, which side will she end up choosing: her trusted advisor or her mysterious new husband-to-be?

This book had everything I thought I would want in a book: vigilante assassin queen, brooding "touch her and die" prince and love interest, palace social and political intrigue, talking animals. But somehow, this did not fully work for me. The stakes never felt that high in a warranted manner, and our 28 year old queen frequently felt like a 15 year old princess to me. I could see the bones of a really good story in here, and I was able to pick up the pieces of foreshadowing quite easily, so I may still be interested in seeking out the sequel since we did leave off on quite a cliffhanger.


Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! Blood Queen came out Tuesday, November 14.

I tore through this book and was left wanting more. The book in the series features Layla who is a fierce woman who kicks absolute butt. Rune is the mysterious, dark brooding man everyone secretly longs for. Their banter had me laughing and I can't wait to see more of it. The cliffhanger at the end had me gaping and I can't wait to read what happens next.

This has the foundation to be a great story, but it is lacking in the delivery. I liked the two main characters, but they were not memorable and I did not feel a connection to them. Their relationship was interesting and it definitely seemed like they had a love/hate relationship. I would have loved to read Rune’s POV in the moments where he and Layla were at odds. The plot was interesting, but it was a bit predictable and the main battle felt rushed. All in all it was an okay read and I would like to see where the next book goes.

*A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*