Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

When I read the first line: The Inheritance Games gets the royal treatment, I was all in! The Inheritance Games was my favorite book the year it came out! I loved Ruby as a protagonist and how the story unfolded from her being a maid to the next Queen of this fantasy kingdom. Similar to Inheritance Games (IG) the patriarch of this family has named a relatively nobody as his heir, skipping over his 4 other children. I enjoyed the process of the characters trying wade through the king's reasons and uncovering the mystery of who Ruby is. With alliances, murder attempts, secrets, conspiracies, and romance Ms. Hart did a great job if keeping me engaged through the story. I definitely appreciated that we got all the answers by the end so it can be a book to be enjoyed on it's own even if she does decide to continue it as a series.

The book ended up being very predictable, down to the revelations of Ruby's parentage and her sort-of love triangle. For the most part, the story reads like any other YA fantasy set in a royal setting, without the magical elements. There are a few twists in the end that made the story more compelling. However, the story is tied up neatly without too many complex feelings. Overall, I thought the story was okay, though pretty formulaic.

I loved this and flew through it. The main character Ruby is very likable and easy to root for. Her friendships were well written and a great addition to the story line. I loved that her experience as a maid helped her throughout the book in discovering why she was named heir.

Some things are a little predictable- her parentage and the way the kinda love triangle was going to end but the journey to those answers was still fun. While I also was able to figure out the bad guy, I didn’t see the other twist after coming so that was a nice surprise.

This is a definite recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

This the first book in a long time that I absolutely could not put down. I read through the night until I finished. There was no way I could wait to find out what happened next. Riveting from the first sentence. I will seek out more from this author.

I really enjoyed Red as Royal Blood. Both the characters and the slowly building romance were well done. Plus, who doesn't want to become royalty?

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book. My review is voluntarily given, and my opinions are my own.

I loved this book so much that I read it through in just one sitting. Very thankful to have already been done with work when I started the book; that's always the worst. The plot is amazing, and all of the characters are well thought out and developed. Some books the side characters are so flat, that even if they are in half of the book, you can barely remember their name. Here, there are tons of different servants, guards, royals, advisors, etc. You can remember and keep each one straight because each and every one of them is an individual. Even if they don't have much to do with the story, they all are unique and shine for that scene.

All smut is very fade to grey, for those who check reviews for smut level.

Loved this and would definitely recommend it to anyone.

I will say normally I can guess the plot twists but in this one I honestly didn’t see at least all of them coming. If you are looking for a romantasy with mystery and a love triangle this is perfect for you! And thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read early!

Red as Royal Blood by Elizabeth Hart is a story about royal intrigue and jockeying to get power or at least close to power. The book revolves around a maid named Ruby, an orphan who spent her growing up years in the palace of a fictional kingdom. Not fictional are the ways characters play their parts.

The story starts with the royal family trying to overcome the shock of their brother and son, the heir to the throne, who dies by either falling or jumping from a high tower. When the king suddenly dies of an unknown illness, Ruby, the maid, is surprisingly named as the next monarch. Everyone, except the royal son Cedric who witnessed the signing of the edict, is shocked by this turn of events. No one is more confused than Ruby herself. Because she was a maid, she knows her way around the palace and she goes to the library where she notices something about one of the books that she had not seen before. There is a notch missing and she uncovers a box that holds some cryptic information from the king about why he named her monarch. She still does not understand why, but the king says if she is reading the note, he was murdered. He charges her with figuring out who killed him.

Ruby realizes she must take the crown and avenger his death. What ensues is nothing short of chaos. Ruby faces danger and she can trust no one.

It is a suspenseful read which speaks to the worst as well as the best in people everywhere. There is something for everyone in the book.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the prepublication copy to read and review.

This story was not one I normally pick up to read, however it had me hooked from the beginning. I truly enjoyed the character development and the shocking secrets each of them shared. Ruby is a kitchen maid who is chosen to be queen….but why? She’s not a person of any importance and there is not a real reason for her to be chosen by the king. The story is well paced and enjoyable. Just enough romance to keep it interesting but not so much as to overwhelm the story entirely.

This was a great young adult mystery. I loved following Ruby as she transitioned from maid to queen and worked to solve the king’s murder. I really liked this book’s cast of characters as well as the story’s twists and turns. This book had some elements that reminded me of The Inheritance Games which I really enjoyed as well.

Thank you to @epicreads for the gifted copy.

This book was amazing! If you loved the inheritance games, royal intrigue, plot twists and more you need this book!

This was a fun romantic mystery, but I felt confused as to the setting/time period. It feels historical at times but then more modern language is thrown in there. Also the first half of the romance is a bit irritating as it's with one of the brothers and felt like a waste compared to the second half with the OTHER brother. I was more intrigued by the mystery and background between her birth/parentage.

3.5 stars. This was decent—it was entertaining, about a maid who's chosen to be the king's heir, even though he has four children he could have named heir. The maid, Ruby, suspects the king was murdered and has to solve that mystery, while avoiding being murdered herself. So it was exciting, but it did lack the spark of a little something extra I was looking for. Maybe what took me out of the story was the slang: the characters spoke as if they lived in 2025 America, not some fantasy kingdom.

Ruby is a maid in the Kings castle. When the King suddenly dies, everyone expects his son Asher to be named successor. But nope, Ruby is. Turns out the King may not have died by natural causes and he thinks only Ruby can solve the mystery. There is a very slight love triangle with the younger prince Rowan, but romance takes a backstory in this. Mains don't even kiss till 82%.
It's a quick read. You get right into the mystery. It's predictable, but that doesn't take away from the fun. I would have liked more details- character description, the world, backstory of anyone not Ruby. Asher was really under developed for a MMC and it's not explained if he likes Ruby before she is the heir or what. I needed more here. But overall it's an easy quick read.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

'Red as Royal Blood' was so well-written, and the mystery so full of twists, that it lived rent-free in my mind overnight after reading, and I dived back in for a re-read immediately the next day. The slow-burn sweet romance played out exceptionally well, and it was so much fun to read everything again while knowing the ending.

Ruby, our narrating main character, is so likeable and clever, and easy to root for. Everyone is shocked when the King suddenly dies and it's revealed that a kitchen maid with no family history was made heir. The eldest living Prince seems full of rage and suspects there is more to Ruby's identity or relationship with the late King. His charming younger brother has been her secret friend and chess partner, and is baffled by this turn of events. The youngest Prince seems out-of-sorts and in a daze. Their mother alternates between ignoring Ruby and throwing daggers at her with her eyes. And the court advisors throw one thing after another at her. And yet, Ruby unravels the mystery of the King's murder and manages to keep her head.

Why would the maid for the Royal family be heir to the royal throne when the King mysteriously dies instead of his own children? This book provided lots of intrigue, mystery, turns and twists. I really enjoyed the book and am looking forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Red as Royal Blood but not as much as I had hoped I would. I do think the comp to Inheritance Games is accurate, but it's missing some of the magic. Would have loved to actually have more riddles and solve them alongside the MC! The plot absolutely races in this, and there's no break in action to put it down. Ends up being a very fast, one sitting read. I enjoyed my time with the plot, but not as much with the characters. There wasn't a lot of depth that could happen with a short book and fast moving plot, so I never felt connected to any of them, or understood their life long relationships to each other. It definitely reads on the younger side of YA in terms of writing style and predictability. Or maybe the foreshadowing was a little too heavy handed. Overall, I enjoyed my time well enough while reading, but it won't rank as a favorite or particularly memorable.

⭐️4.5 STARS⭐️

A MASTERPIECE OF A BOOK. The writing was so finished that you, as the reader, are just sucked into the story. The characters are invigorating and lively and multifaceted. The mystery is so interesting, you’re unable to put it down.

The quality of writing that Hart puts forth in this book makes it one that you won’t regret reading. I’m so obsessed with Ruby, and I hope we see her in future reads!

Splitting the difference on this one and awarding it 3***.

Plot is fast paced from the onset. The reader is propelled to ascertain the identity of who killed the king? what led to the beloved, heirs' death? innocent or something nefarious afoot? As the plot progress, the reader reexamines what they learn and then attempts to fit this new knowledge into what they know.

Character development is underdeveloped. Other than witnessing the second son from afar, what was their 'before' relationship. Pining from afar? And, if so, then why antagonistic? Wasn't sure if the author was going for an enemies to lovers or 'he's been the periphery with so many redeeming traits that circumstances lead me to notice him?' As a result, feel that the FMC 's friendship with Sara was the only interesting relationship in the novel.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

#RedasRoyalBlood #NetGalley

Wow, I really enjoyed this one and I absolutely flew through it. This is the second book I’ve read recently where a king is murdered and it is up to the main character to figure out why.

I really like murder mysteries and the backdrop of a fantasy world made this one a little different. It’s very fantasy light as there is no magic, but the book is set in a different world.

The main character Ruby was easy to root for. She has truly come from nothing and is thrust into a totally different environment. She doesn’t know who to trust and of course there is a whole host of suspects.

I really enjoyed the romance as well. I liked all of their interactions and they had some pretty good chemistry.

I also really appreciated that this was a standalone fantasy! (Pretty much a unicorn in the book world!) Everything was wrapped up neatly and I found the ending to be satisfying.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast read with an easy writing style and I had a lot of fun with it. I’m impressed that this was a debut!