C.G. Drews's Reviews > Blood of Elves

Did I pick this up expressly because I saw the Netflix show and wanted more? Why yes, yes I am. Aka me and like 3898 other people are doing this (the reservations at my local library is hilariously long), but it actually makes me happy. TV show adaptions of books DO inspire people to go read the original source material! But I definitely enjoyed this more because I'd seen the show. I had all the actors in my heads for the characters and could totally imagine the humour and interactions. 😂Also this basically picks up where the show left off. I assume S1 of the show is taken from The Last Wish, which I didn't know to read first!! So I read this one first!! Because it says book 1 but apparently really isn't!! Thx so much for that!!

Also this fantasy is old but it made me so happy how inclusive it was? It was refreshingly (shockingly) not gross to women, it talked about menstruation for freaking once, and more pivotal female characters than men. Everyone turning to soft dough in the face of Ciri and the need to love and protect her was basically the best thing ever. Geralt is PUTTY IN HER HANDS. Also Ciri is this feral defiant child who wants to be a Witcher. Yennefer and Jaskier chat for a while and Jaskier legit goes "Oh I thought you only liked me as much as you like DEATH" because he still is an endearing pets. Yennefer and Geralt avoid each other because Unresolved Sexual Tension.

I'm just sitting here, softly with mouth agape, realising adult fantasy CAN INDEED last a whole book without being monstrous offensive to women. (Wait, brb, need to go beat some other fantasy books over the head with this one.)

The style was mostly dialogue; like maybe 70% of this book is pure dialogue. I would've liked more depth to the whole thing, the world and the characters particularly. And it didn't really have a typical plot arc. The ending was more like "leading up to the next episode" instead of rising to a climax and exploding into a finale. I feel like we fell into the ending? But I assume the climax encompasses the series as a whole. Which I INTEND TO FIND OUT. I SHALL READ MORE. So not my typical favourite style to read? But I did enjoy it.

So basically, if you love the Witcher on Netflix, do read this. So much extra content and small quiet moments to laugh. As well as you learn more about the Witchers order. I know there's also a game, but my TBR just pterodactyl screamed at me. I shall go back to my books, my reading. 😌