Charlie Anders's Reviews > The Queen of Blood

I was up late finishing this book because I just could not stop. This book has been my happy place for the past several days. The worldbuilding and unique system of magic are just brilliantly put together, and this is a good example of a first book in a series that ends with a definite conclusion -- no cliffhanger -- but still leaves you desperate to find out what happens next. Daleina and Ven are both terrific protagonists, heroic but complex and not perfect by any means, and Durst expertly springs some surprises along the way without ever making you feel like she's cheating the reader. And Queen of Blood manages to ask some really interesting questions about what makes you a good ruler, versus what makes somebody a hero -- and there's a new, darker version of the "Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" conundrum, which doesn't have an easy answer at all. Massively recommended.