I had seen victims of vampires—humans who were on the cusp of change before their hearts were cut from their bodies and burned. I’d also seen bodies drained of blood, past the point of survival. But I’d never encountered an actual vampire. I took a step away, turning slightly, both to cast him a sullen look and to create distance. Alec—or Killian, as I preferred to call him—was commander of the Royal Guard, having inherited the position when his father, whose name he also shared, passed unexpectedly three years ago. I didn't hate the heroine which was a surprise bcz i usually hate NA heroines bcz they're all like "oh ik everything ill kill everyone" but actually never does it.

IT SEEMED TOO OBVIOUS that Adrian and Isolde had some weird and historical connection. It felt like it was supposed to be this mysterious reveal but to me all the foreshadowing just had me rolling my eyes Nadia’s eyes narrowed on my ruined bodice, and I knew she was connecting the dots—shredded, bloodied dress but no visible wounds. King of Battle and Blood is St. Clair’s first novel with a traditional publisher: Bloom Books, an imprint of Sourcebooks that touts entrepreneurial female authors and purports to “redefine what it means to have a happily ever after”. She self-published the first installment of her popular Hades X Persephone series in 2019. On another note, I am disappointed by the sex scenes in this book. I know a lot of people rave about them in Scarlett’s work, but since reading A Touch of Ruin and now this book, I just can’t help but be reminded that quantity does not equal quality. The sex scenes are repetitive (pull tab, insert in hole, repeat), and I noticed that once again, several serious conversations are happening while the characters are having sex. Look, I will be the first to admit that I am 80% here for the spice, and it doesn’t take much to entertain me—b There is absolutely no chemistry between the characters. All they do is have sex. There is not one meaningful conversation between them.Father had not told me I had to marry. There were no political alliances to create because the Houses were united in their determination to defeat the Blood King…that was until my father decided to submit to him. Now, we’d been ostracized. If I hadn’t made a suitable bride before, I certainly wouldn’t now; though, I had a feeling more kingdoms would soon join my father in his decision to choose the lives of their people over the alternative.

This book seems to be really polarizing, with people either loving or hating it. I didn’t have super high expectations going in, but I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed it. And I’d have to sleep with him…regularly. I cringed, imagining a life of passionless sex and couldn’t do it. No, Commander Killian was not the man for me. I have to say, after reading ATOD from the 3rd person perspective and this book from the 1st person, I think SSC does much better writing in 1st person. While this is not something that will matter to some people, it made a big difference to me because this book is such an improvement from ATOD. Some of the sentences in this book really wowed me. Like "I met him beneath jasmine and kissed him under stars, and we made love in the dark, and that love ended in fire and damned the world" just made me speechless because I think this might be the best sentence in the whole book for me. He’d never said how they were like us—that they could be beautiful, that their touch would inspire an acute desire beyond anything I’d ever experienced. Everything inside me was wound so tight, each breath was a reminder of how desperately I wanted to be touched.I broke every mirror left in the hallway, and when I was finished, I made my way upstairs, to the top of the tower. There, I sank to the ground to rest beneath the red sky of Revekka, and I knew this was the pain that would make me into a monster. (pg. 378)” The Blood King is a monster among men. His name is whispered in fear. His reputation as a ruthless, bloodthirsty monster spans villages. And Isolde isn't excluded from the list. So when the vampire who is demanding surrender from her kingdom, is willing to trade protection of her people in exchange for her as his bride, she accepts. She would do anything for her people. Even walk willingly into the arms of a monster who she's been taught to hate and fear all of her life. He knew there was no need in fighting because they would be demolished if they tried, so he sought a more peaceful approach to save his people – to surrender. His decision had been met with mixed emotion. Some wished to fight rather than succumb to this monster’s reign. Others were uncertain—had my father traded death on the battlefield for another kind? I hate how Isolde de Lara has been demonstrated. She was first introduced as a brown skin woman, who likes sex a lot, can fight ( either defending herself or abusing someone else, cough husband, cough), and get jealous easily but a the same time, demands respect.