Reviews with content warning for Blood - Lute

I'm not even really sure what to say, but you should read this book. I just finished it, and I'm not sad exactly, but I just want to cry. It's so chock full of emotion and does the 1st person POV really well.

Content Warnings

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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archaicrobin's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

One of the main problems with this book is that it doesn’t feel like it knows what it’s supposed to be. Is it horror? Is it romance? Is it YA? Is it adult? I don’t know, and obviously neither does the author.

Nina married a lord on this island in the UK where 7 people die every year as a sacrifice to the island itself. Why? Don’t know. How? We also don’t know. The island chooses at random apparently or you can pick your own adventure so to speak and volunteer but only if the island approves. Even the premise is confusing and doesn’t really seem to know the rules. Also this is set in some weird future where there’s a war going on. What does this add to the story? Absolutely nothing!! The war is also never explained, nothing is explained except the tithe itself, and even that is done in a weird flashback sequence that’s poorly written.

Also, this was marketed as an adult debut but the writing, the characters, the plot, the themes, the execution, all of it screamed amateur YA novel. I honestly think the only reason this isn’t listed YA, is because there are two sex scenes in the book, both of which are random and not good.

I did not enjoy this book at all, nothing was done well and I had to force myself to finish it. I wouldn’t really recommend this to anyone because I don’t think there’s much to get out of it on any sense.

Content Warnings