Title / Blood of Assassins
Author / R. J. Barker
Publication Date / 2018
Page no. / 434
Series or standalone / book 2 of the Wounded Kingdom series
Overall Star Rating / ★★★
Goodreads synopsis: The assassin Girton Club-foot and his master have returned to Maniyadoc in hope of finding sanctuary, but death, as always, dogs Girton’s heels. The place he knew no longer exists. War rages across Maniyadoc, with three kings claiming the same crown – and one of them is Girton’s old friend Rufra. Girton finds himself hurrying to uncover a plot to murder Rufra on what should be the day of the king’s greatest victory. But while Girton deals with threats inside and outside Rufra’s war encampment, he can’t help wondering if his greatest enemy hides beneath his own skin.
*I recieved a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
This is the second book in the Wounded Kingdom series; the first being Age of Assassins. This was a good continuation of this series, although I did have a few issues with it. I enjoyed the story of this sequel, although I did find at times it was dragging a little. Some of the plot revolves around military elements and battles, which I thought were really well done. For me I thought the battle scenes were some of the most enjoyable scenes to read but they may not be the case for other people. As a whole I enjoyed the story but I didn’t love it as much as I hoped. It wasn’t that it was bad or anything; I just didn’t find it particularly compelling at times and it was quite slow to start. I think it ended quite well though. In terms of the world building I thought it was good. We learn some more about it in this sequel and I think the author did a good job at expanding on what we already learnt in the first book. I think the magic system is an interesting one, although I don’t fully understand it.
The main issue I had with this book was the main character, Girton Club-Foot. I found him to be quite a frustrating protagonist and consequently I didn’t enjoy the narrative as much. He’s five years older in this sequel but he still acts like a young teenager with anger issues. Seriously I wanted to smack some sense into him most of the time. He’s supposed to find out who the killer is in this book but he barely does any investigating and accuses one person mainly due to his own prejudices. I just found him to be a really frustrating character at times. I found the other characters to be well written, although a few were a little lacking in depth. I think the relationship between Girton and Merela is a really interesting one and I enjoyed seeing more of it in this book.
Overall I thought this was a good continuation of this series which is well paced and well written. Sorry that this review is so short but it turns it I didn’t have a lot to say :). The next book in this series, King of Assassins, hasn’t got a release date yet. Have you read this book? I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.
Pippa
thelittlebookowl 