The Blood Trials

By: N.E. Davenport

Narrated by: Jeanette Illidge

Blending fantasy and science fiction, N. E. Davenport’s fast-paced, action-packed debut kicks off a duology of loyalty and rebellion, in which a young Black woman must survive deadly trials in a racist and misogynistic society to become an elite warrior.

It’s all about blood.

The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen’s deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.

The blood of the former Legatus, Verne Amari, murdered.

For his granddaughter, Ikenna, the only thing steady in her life was the man who had saved Mareen. The man who had trained her in secret, not just in martial skills, but in harnessing the blood gift that coursed through her.

Who trained her to keep that a secret.

But now there are too many secrets, and with her grandfather assassinated, Ikenna knows two things: that only someone on the Tribunal could have ordered his death, and that only a Praetorian Guard could have carried out that order.

Bent on revenge as much as discovering the truth, Ikenna pledges herself to the Praetorian Trials—a brutal initiation that only a quarter of the aspirants survive. She subjects herself to the racism directed against her half-Khanaian heritage and the misogyny of a society that cherishes progeny over prodigy, all while hiding a power that—if found out—would subject her to execution…or worse. Ikenna is willing to risk it all because she needs to find out who murdered her grandfather…and then she needs to kill them.

Mareen has been at peace for a long time…

Ikenna joining the Praetorians is about to change all that.

Magic and technology converge in the first part of this stunning debut duology, where loyalty to oneself—and one’s blood—is more important than anything.

sooo goood

Loved the characters the twists and turns. The storyline was good and the MC kicked ass. Will definitely read the next!!! 😆😆

Overall AMAZING!

Be warned there was only 1 voice actor but that didn’t take away from the narration pulling you in and the story being soooo captivating.

It’s worth the read! Can’t wait for the 2nd book

Loved it from the beginning

I am beyond excited for book two!!! I love the characters and the story. I am just happy I don’t have to wait too long to find out what happens next.

Quality plot

Overall, I really did like the story. The plot is intriguing and really action- packed. There’s awesome world building and character development. It also definitely satisfies fantasy, romance, and sci-fi readers.

**SPOILERS**


Two things bothered me that made me choose a 4 instead of 5-star rating, however. One, the MC was extremely, and annoyingly, temperamental who constantly jumped to conclusions with no evidence in the first 3/4 of the book. It took her way too long to figure out who the bad and good people were for her to have trained under her supposed shrewd and strategic grandfather her whole life. Two, there was way too much over-explaining. The author dragged out narration which was quite annoying and took away from the flow of the story. I hate to write negative things about books, but feel it’s only fair to future readers to know this going in.

That being said, I truly did thoroughly enjoy the book. I look forward to the next book and hope that Davenport finds her rhythm for an even better sequel.

Reminds me of Divergent

I really enjoyed this book. The vocal performance was great the plot was good. I just couldn't help but think of and see the storyline of Divergent when listening, especially during the entire trial part of the story. Our heroine, Ikenna, is an overly arrogant version of Tris. Reed/Reid is Four. And Chance is Eric. political turmoil, racism and classism,.it's all there. I'm looking forward to listening to book 2.