Author: Beth Revis

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by Sourcebooks Fire. The second half of Beth Revis and Sara Raasch’s Scottish-inspired historical romantasy duology, The Blood Queen is an intense assault of a YA fantasy novel. Picking up the story right where The Crimson Throne’s cliffhanger ending leaves off, this book is a fast-paced fantasy read packed with action, lore, and bringing the conflict of the invading red caps to a dramatic conclusion. Featuring likeable characters, snappy pacing, and strong Scottish folklore, The Blood Queen is a solid YA read only mildly hindered by uneven content between POV’s, pacing that can feel rushed, and a notable lack of historical fiction elements compared to its predecessor. After the dramatic cliffhanger ending of The Crimson Throne, this book resumes the story and rounds out the battle between the red cap forces and the Alyth’s fae connections with both the human and fae worlds at stake. The first book featured a wide array of narrative elements that covered fae and human portal-based worldbuilding, Scottish folklore, and historical fiction elements featuring real historical figures. Given that the villain is only just revealed at The Crimson Throne’s conclusion, this book has a lot…

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by Sourcebooks Fire via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. What if Mary, Queen of the Scots’ tumultuous reign and the surrounding scheming were influenced by the presence fae magic and other Scottish folklore? Sara Raasch and Beth Revis’s collaboration novel The Crimson Throne is an entertaining and straightforward YA romantasy novel as well as a liberally interpreted historical fiction story. Magical fae powers, cursed objects and weapons, historic grand castles and sweeping scenic landscapes, The Crimson Throne has all the right elements for a great fantasy story. Presented from dual perspectives, one a Scottish half-fae guardian of the crown and one an English spy sent to infiltrate said crown’s inner circle, the scene is set for a forbidden romance between two opponents meant to outplay each other with both the Scottish/England Kingdoms and the Fae Kingdom’s future at stake. An important note that is not clearly mentioned on early previews and listing at the time of this review for The Crimson Throne is that this is the first book in a brand new fantasy duology (the ARC received as well as Amazon’s presale store states it’s part of…