The Blood Gift: 2 (Blood Gift Duology)

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But I could've ignored that, because I didn't have very high expectations for her anyway. However, I couldn't ignore all the issues I had with the writing. He blows me a kiss from the chair. “Nope. This gig will get too dark and depressing otherwise. Gotta hold on to joy some kind of way, girl.” Someone please explain how we got here!?!?!? Because you can't tell me that NE Davenport fit all of that into one book. It just aint no way. At first I didn't see what everyone was talking about regarding the pacing because the book was going smoothly. Then all hell broke loose.

He catches me around my waist and skims featherlight fingers up my spine. I shiver again, and this time whatever swagger I think I’ve got gets smashed to pieces because I don’t even care about my reaction anymore other than to press my body closer against him, remembering that I was formerly horny, and pray to the gods that if he did read my message, he’s game, even if that’s not the reason he turned up. That won’t end well,” I advise savagely. “Tell her I said if she tries anything foul, she’ll need the lilies. You too. So will every single one of her people with the misfortune of being in the vicinity when she angers me. Afterward, I’ll level her whole, precious organization. I guarantee it’s a job I and my squad here can easily get done. So, make sure you impress on Edryssa it’s wisest to play nice.” He lifts gold eyes to meet mine. “It’s about the increased bounty Edryssa mentioned. I put out feelers to gather details on when it was upped and compile a list of fresh teams looking to claim it. You won’t like one of the answers I’ve obtained.” He grimaces and passes me an odd look that I’d describe as gentle if it were between anybody other than him and me. It’s wholly unnerving when I have no clue what he’s referring to.He adamantly shakes his head. “It isn’t. You’ve been through a lot of misery and trauma in a very short amount of time. I know Praetorians with years under their belt who’d be in worse shape after everything with Verne, the Tribunal, and then Khanai, not to mention the brutality of the trials on top of it all, which you had no time to really recover from. All things considered, you’re doing pretty well. And you were the one who got us out of the keep and saved our squad from execution, so there’s that too.” She bends toward me, her lips stopping a hairsbreadth from my left ear. “I think you underestimate yourself. Verne didn’t foresee holding so much sway over the rest of the world and its workings when he first sought to thwart the Blood Emperor either. Yet, after he succeeded, that is precisely what happened. All of Iludu, save the Accacian Empire, worshipped him and lauded him and were ripe to hand him anything he requested. Especially if he couched it as being for the good of the Minor Continent and for the sake of holding off any renewed war by the Blood Emperor. Let’s say you are more successful than even he was and you actually manage to kill Nkosi this time around. You’ll be a goddess among men to the whole of the Minor Continent, perhaps even Accacia. It’ll submit to whatever you ask of it, and then you will be able to give me what I seek.”

Plot-wise, this is a complete departure from book one, which makes sense considering where we left off. There's no mystery left. Ikenna and her team are hellbent on getting rid of the corruption within Mareen. Before they can do that, they need to take care of the Blood Emperor, who is once more terrorizing the planet. It's a very straightforward plot of "how are we going to defeat the bad guys", but it's fairly fast-paced and overall entertaining enough. And I mostly liked the characters. But a lot of this doesn't feel like it's the end of a series. This is reinforced by the end of the book, which basically implies there's a whole new story waiting to happen. Things are set up by the author that never get any payoff. For example, the book starts off with Ikenna trying to broker an alliance with someone on the wrong side of the law. She demands soldiers and weapons, only she doesn't really do much with either of them afterwards, or with the alliance in general. There's maybe one or two off-hand mentions, and that's it, which makes me wonder why the author bothered to include it at all. It also leans a lot more fantasy than science fiction compared to The Blood Trials. We shouldn’t be here at all,” Reed says curtly. In typical Reed fashion, he holds himself soldier-stiff as he strides onto the veranda and butts into a convo that didn’t previously include him. That shuts him up. For now. I swear the gods specifically crafted Caiman to get under my skin—even when we’re in a truce and aligned to the same side. Incidentally, these are also the exhaustive reasons why she’s a woman who I need to, regrettably, sorely have a chat with.I shrug. “Every one of my kin is already dead, so that threat lands nowhere. And there’s no way in hell the Lady of the City could have my head. Your boss isn’t that good.” I trade my stun blaster for a gun housing UV bullets. I stoop and press the barrel to his temple. “I’ll ask again, but then there won’t be a third time. Edryssa? I want a meet?”