My rating: 3 of 5 stars
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.
As with the review of Bloodmark, I must state my dislike of the writing style and the use of the word but. If I could take this word from Ms. Whittet’s vocabulary, the book would have been more enjoyable.
I also wasn’t fond of the fact that by the first 15% of the book, I could tell what was going to happen and who would come out the winner and who the evil characters were.
I did like that Ashling tried to attempt to give Brychan, who was my choice from the beginning to win her hand, a fighting chance.
I also liked the addition of the character Shikobah and what she stood for and what she was. I was glad to see a little more personalization of King Porr, though the relationship description with her mother, was exaggerated and annoying. I believe a mother-daughter relationship is a sacred thing, but Ashling and her mother’s relationship was beyond normal.
I am looking forward to seeing how this ends and hope there will be a few surprises though I’m not optimistic.
Thank you, NetGalley, Aurora, and Wise Ink Creative Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.
Amanda's Book Nook 