*This book was sent to me by the author to review. I reviewed
Bloodmark back in February and was honoured to read its sequel. Thank you Aurora for sending me this!*
Goodreads Summary
Werewolf princess
Ashling Boru’s eighteenth birthday is only a year away, which means that
she only has twelve months before she is claimed and fulfills her
prophecy to unite the packs and lead her people. Her father decrees that
her four suitors must fight in the Bloodrealms, the werewolves’ ancient
underground fighting world, and the winner will have King Boru’s choice
to win Ashling’s hand. The wolf laws are rigid and barbaric, and
Ashling’s illicit love for Grey, if discovered, will mean his death. But
when Ashling and Grey get trapped in the blood-soaked depths of the
Bloodrealms, they find ancient horrors far greater than Ashling’s
father’s rule.
With betrayal around every corner and old nemeses
set to destroy Ashling, she is more divided than ever between the
destiny she didn’t choose and the love that she did. To make matters
worse, her decision will not only set the course of her future, but the
future of her entire race.
Bloodrealms is the second novel in Whittet’s Bloodmark saga.
My Thoughts
I love these book covers. They are gorgeous in their simplicity and I love the tribal feel to them. They fit so well with the world and the feel of the novels.
I wish I had time to reread Bloodmark before picking up Bloodrealms because it had been almost a year since I read the first one and I didn't remember everything that happened. I remembered the love story and all the main characters, but I didn't remember the entire journey they took or some important events that took place. Some sequels beat you over the head with facts from the previous book(s), but with this one we got almost nothing. I just wish that there was some recap to help readers remember.
I liked the idea of Ashling not having a choice about who she will marry. She is in love with Grey, but her culture doesn't allow her to just be with him. She is to be courted by three other men who will fight to become her husband. The other three men were interesting and so different. Brychan has been in love with her since she was young. He's knows that he's strong and charming. Channing is chivalrous; he's definitely too chivalrous for the free-spirited Ashling. Then there's Eamon who just happens to be the brother of the monster that kidnapped her and tried to claim her as his own. She became close to them, but is still completely drawn to Grey.
When I read Bloodmark I enjoyed the world because it was so different than anything else I had read. This time around I appreciated the world, but the more we learned the less interested I became. I felt like creatures were being created with the sole purpose of destroying the main characters. Books need conflict, but the conflict didn't seem well thought out. It was almost as though things happened because the plot was trapped and things had to progress that way in order for things to make sense. I also had a hard time imagining the Bloodrealms. The world was a little confusing for me. It was terrifying, Aurora succeeded with that, but so immense that I couldn't completely understand it.
I know there's to be a third book in the series and I wont let the few flaws from the second book keep me from reading it.
