The Empire of Sagrada is built on blood and conquest. When the heir passes away, and the half-blood Princess Rosa is declared heir, she's convinced she'll be the one to change it. But her father declares her hand and throne will be the trophies of a violent and bloody tournament of gladiatorial fights and blood magic. Desperate to control her future, Rosa picks Rey, a trans swordsman from a faraway colony who has their own desperate desire for freedom and a life of peace with his partner, Teo. Haunted by a violent past and traumatic history, they will all find themselves trapped in the destructive spectacle of the games and everything they hide.

I was only very vaguely familiar with the conquest of the Philippines by Spain and never expected an anti-imperialist fantasy to make me fascinated by it, but the characters and their situation breathe on the page and pulled me in. The fantasy elements elevate the stakes and distract from the very real savagery that took place to get the message across beautifully. Every character plays a very important role and had me rooting and crying for them.

The art is good, although I'm not a big fan of the characters looking like little kids. Yes, they're young, but there are panels when they look like 8-year-olds. Maybe it's a ploy to hit emotions harder that I don't understand. It's not the best, and the only critique I have.

I'm looking forward to following this series and seeing where the magic that Cat Aquino and Dominique Duran are weaving will take us next.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for the chance to discover a new series!