I was given an ARC of Blood Heir in exchange for an honest review.

I began reading this book just as problematic content regarding a slave auction was surfaced on Twitter and wanted to make that known (other folks can speak more to the specifics of the issues with representation). Since then, the author has chosen to pull the book back and remove the content in question.

That said, what I made it through so far definitely has potential. I don't want this book to fizzle, because Amélie took action to do the right thing, and, otherwise, the story and writing was quite immersive. The setting was breathtakingly detailed, and the characters were complex and interesting.

I did not finish reading, as the book will now change - and I am hopeful and excited to see what Amélie does to make her story even stronger.

Since this book is no longer getting published, I will not read and review it. I do hope this releases in a new version some day, as it sounds like a very interesting concept overall. I am definitely more than willing to give this book and the author another chance, once some work has been done on it. Thanks for the opportunity to review.

Due to the recent decision not to publish for the time being, I won't read or review this book. The premise sounds amazing and I really hope the author comes back to it after any potentially problematic elements have been addressed. I look forward to seeing an edited version of this book in the future. Thank you for the opportunity to review it, anyway.

Thank you for the early copy.

DNF

I made it about 30% into the novel. I've decided not to continue with the ARC because of all of the controversy surrounding it that came out recently. I'd rather wait and see the rewritten novel.

Maybe more of a 2.5 if I'm feeling generous, I was interested in the book because I'm always hooked by a retelling, and I was excited for morally grey characters and lots of magical explortion. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with the characters and I found myself skimming parts of the strory. I just wasn't as engaged as I wanted to be. None of the characters stood out - they didn't feel real, just kinda there. Like I said, I wanted to love this, but I ended up feeling underwhelmed.

I was interested in this book because of the Anastasia retelling and the magical elements. As this book has been recalled by the author and the publisher, hopefully for reworking considering the numerous elements that are problematic throughout, it wouldn't be prudent to review it in its current state.

I really wanted to like this book. The cover is gorgeous, the premise sounds great, and I love a good Anastasia retelling. Plus, Anastasia has magical powers? Sign. Me. Up.

Unfortunately, to say this story disappointed me is putting it mildly. There are so many problematic parts, that I don't even know where to start. Overall, it seemed like maybe there was a good story hidden in there somewhere. However, the pacing was erratic, the characters were one dimensional and served more as props for the MC than anything else, and the writing itself just needed... work. The writing itself seemed unpolished, and it seems like the version of the book I read still needs a lot more editing. Many words and phrases are repeated to the point where they are not stylistic, but are simply dragged out and tedious.

One of the main things that irked me about this book was how every character that the MC crossed paths with seemed to give her some profound words of knowledge and then sent her on her way. Although I'm all for side characters dropping insight bombs, it seemed that EVERY SINGLE SIDE CHARACTER that was introduced in the story was a wise old crone (in the form of an actual wise old crone, or a child, or a solder...). This screamed "trying way too hard" to me, and simply made me fail to believe in the characters. It got to the point where I was rolling my eyes each time a new character spouted off words of wisdom.

Another thing about the characters, is that they all seemed serve as props for our 2 MCs. No character really stood on his/her own, even when they supposedly were important to the story and to the MC. They remained one dimensional because they only seemed to be introduced as props.

Speaking of this, let's get to a really problematic scene in the story. I'm talking about the whole Katniss/Rue scene at the slave auction. Oh, sorry, I meant to say Ana/May. Yeah, that entire scene was lifted from Hunger Games, let's be real. Small black child dies in the arms of the white MC, while the MC sings a song that she taught the small black child? Come on. We've seen this before, both in a book and on the big screen. I cringed the entire time I read this. And did I mention the SLAVE AUCTION? Where a BLACK CHILD is killed?

Let's talk about diversity for a minute. I know the book is written by a WOC. As a WOC myself, I was excited to read this, and I love to support POC authors, especially women. But that doesn't mean all POC get a pass when their books are problematic. And this book was problematic. As another reviewer has mentioned, all diverse characters were used as props or were evil, so...? How is this truly introducing diversity and accurate and/or positive representation into the story, as the author claimed in her foreword to want to do?

A few other things, since it has been talked about in other spaces- Yes, this book seemed to lift from many other books. Hunger Games, as described above. Also, Six of Crows (Windwraith? Your heart is a compass? Really?) and Harry Potter to name two.

Lastly, the entire magic system was never explained. At no point did we get a clear description of what kinds of Affinities existed, and so each time a new one was introduced, it seemed almost as if the author was just producing a brand new magical being that served a purpose there and then, but which had not really been thought of before that moment. There was no clear explanation of what the differences were between Affinities. There are Flesh Affinities that look just like Blood Affinities... But we're never told what the difference actually is.

As excited as I am about the book, it has come to my attention that the premise itself is inherently racist based on the fact that book is set in a world where "oppression is blind to skin color." I cannot, in good conscience, support such a premise and hope that perhaps the publisher & author will take the incredibly valid criticism floating around on the internet into account and work those into edits.

Amélie Wen Zhao did an amazing job creating a fantasy world. Right from the getgo, there was action and trouble. Maybe love interest, betrayal, death in this fast paced read. Well developed characters with interesting back stories and some characters I'm hoping to have the opportunity to get to know more.

This book was received as an ARC from Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was hooked in from the very beginning to the very end. This book reminded me of Red Queen series and a lot of the His Fair Assassin series because of the drama and fantasy wars between two kingdoms. I also LOVED the fact that with all this fantasy it tied in with a murder mystery of who really murdered the emperor and then even more suspenseful when the main heroine Anastacya daughter of the emperor is framed for the murder because she is the heir to the throne and the kingdom's most powerful woman. Every page I read was a surprise and just when you thought you understood the book, a new direction is taken. This book will leave you with edge of your seat excitement.

We will definitely consider adding this book to our YFantasy colllection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS. THIS WAS SO GOOD.

I had high expectations going into this one. The book met them in some ways, and exceeded them in others. This comparison is overused and not always apt, but it is in this case: Blood Heir was kind of like a Russian Game of Thrones.

I’m going to give a quick plot summary now, before I start rambling on about the pure awesomeness of the characters.

Anastacya Mikhailov is the Crown Princess of Cyrilia, a snowy Russian-type place (what with how common Slavic-inspired fantasies are, you know what I mean). She has the power to control people’s blood, a very rare Affinity which has already gotten her in trouble. First, a decade ago, she accidentally killed eight innocent people; now, she’s being accused of murdering her father, even though she knows he was poisoned. She saw the poisoner fleeing just as she was arrested.

On the run and with no other options, she’s forced to make a bargain with the imprisoned crime lord Ramson Quicktongue. She’ll free him from prison and help him get revenge against the ones who betrayed him: in return, he’ll help her find her father’s killer. Thus begins an uneasy alliance – but there’s a lot more to Ramson than he’s letting on.

To complicate things, they’re on a time limit. Ana’s brother Emperor Luka is wasting away, and she desperately needs to see him. She’s also just discovered that the very core of her great Empire is rotten. Affinities everywhere are being bought and sold, auctioned off like commodities… but these downtrodden people won’t accept that for long.

Okay, now that you’ve had your plot summary, let me rave about the characters.

Ana was a perfect mixture of strong and naïve. Naïve because: she literally grew up as the Crown Princess! She’s never really had to learn to control her impulses, or suspect people’s motives, or think as cunningly as a criminal. As a princess she had the luxury of being imperious and straightforward. So while at first I rolled my eyes at her behaviour, and how stupid it seemed, I remembered how different this all was to her upbringing and I found that I actually sympathised with her. Yes, she was still a bit on the stupid and trusting side sometimes – like, why would you leave all your secret papers out on the table for the conman to see?! – but she got a bit better as the book progressed.

My favourite thing about her was how unexpected she could be sometimes. In the first ten pages, she first behaves naively and I was ready to spend the rest of this review moaning about her. Then she killed five people without a shred of remorse and I realised I’d underestimated her. Your average YA heroine struggles to kill even people who are actively trying to kill her. Ana wasn’t like that: she has a vengeful streak which is delightfully relatable.

RANSOM, YOU ARE BLOODY BRILLIANT. The book is told in dual third-person perspective, and I actually loved the chapters in his POV. You can physically see him changing over the course of the book – how he goes from self-interested, and mostly heartless, to remembering his more human side. Slowly we delved into his past and saw what had shaped him to be the man he was in the novel. His change of personality was done very slowly, and very believably – in fact, I’m stunned at how well-handled it was.

There is no romance. This is perhaps unexpected. But yes – while Ana and Ramson softened towards each other over this very long book, they’re both too proud and damaged right now to have even considered being in a relationship with each other. Even I, the perennial romance-novel addict, am satisfied with where Zhao left them. When they do get together, they’re going to be a f*cking power couple.

Note on Pacing

At nearly 500 pages, this is one hell of a long YA book. I thought it was a good length – we got a very self-contained story, got to know the characters well, and it ended in the perfect place between ‘horrible cliff-hanger’ and ‘this is it, why should I bother with the next book.’ In general, Zhao handled the pacing well, keeping a sustained interest. However, there were moments – especially in the first half of the book – where the narrative slowed down and it felt a bit like wading through mud. Luckily I was interested enough to keep going. This issue improved massively in the second half, too.

Why did I knock a star off?

✴️ Firstly, the worldbuilding. It was vague, incorporeal, and abounded with clichés. Yes, we know the Cyrilian Empire is basically Russia. There was also Bregonia and the Kemeiran Isles, but the information given about these countries was basically nonexistent. I had no clear idea of the geography or history of this world; it all came down to ‘Country that looks like Russia where all the action happens’ and ‘Random other places.’ There were a couple of cool bits of mythology, like the icewolf spirits which are formed out of thin air and snow, but that’s about it.

✴️ In one place, the book relied way too much on coincidence. It was only one place, but it stuck out to me majorly, because NONE OF THE REST OF THE STORY would have happened if Ana hadn’t been stumbling down a street at precisely the right time.

✴️ This isn’t really an issue with the story, more with the blurb. I haven’t included it, but there’s a line where it says oppression is blind to skin colour . Absolutely nothing in this book is about skin colour. Ana is described as ‘olive-skinned’, Ramson is basically pale-skinned as are most of the other characters, and for most people this element isn’t even mentioned. It’s a weird blurb line with zero relevance to the story.

✴️ This is the second Anastasia retelling I’ve read this year (the first was Jessica Khoury’s Last of Her Name). This had far fewer similarities to the Anastasia tale – beyond Ana’s name and the Russian-inspired setting, there wasn’t really anything to tie it to the original. I personally didn’t mind this much, but don’t go into it expecting much in that area.

Overall

Blood Heir is a long, very satisfying read . I’m delighted by the characters – especially Ramson – and I’m just going to say this: Zhao has a little bit of G RR Martin in her. The world needs more fleshing out, but I’m hoping that’ll come in the sequel – which I’m highly anticipating! READ THIS BOOK.

A dark retelling version of Anastasia? I'm all in! I've read one other Anastasia retelling, Heart of Iron, which was totally different than this one but both were awesome!

Ana was my baby monster—she could do some pretty amazing things with other people's blood! We get another POV besides her, Ramson, and oh boy, this young gent had a mind full of things—betrayals, a dark past, a dark heart with a hint of light hidden in it. I loved him!!! And the scenes with him and Ana own my life!

The writing was so good, and the story was an incredible page turner. I was so scared of another book with a cliffhanger because I've started so many dang series that end on them, and while it is open ended because of the second book, it isn't the death cliffhanger sentence that I loathe! And I'll be ready for book two when it comes! Can I also just state that the freaking cover artist deserves a metal for the beautiful cover!

Amelie Wen Zhao spins a enthralling and captivating imaginative fantasy with richly detailed and wonderfully complex worldbuilding with its strong Russian flavour and elements. In the Cyrillian empire, affinites are hated and enslaved with their wide ranging abilities to control the world. Crown Princess, Anastascya Mikailov has a particular affinity to blood. Her father, the Emperor, is murdered and she has been set up as his killer.. She is not the type of woman to take this lying down as she sets out to find the real killer. However, she is to find more than she could have possibly imagined with a deadly conspiracy and enemies everywhere. She is going to need help as she turns to the corrupt crime lord, Ramson Quicktongue, a man with his own agenda.. This is a beautifully written and plotted novel, full of horror and darkness, well constructed and flawed characters, and an engaging narrative. Many thanks to Delacorte Press for an ARC.

THIS WAS FUCKING DELIGHTFUL. Everything I have ever wanted in an Anastasia fantasy retelling with such wonderful twists and deviations and a fresh feel for YA fantasy & I am basically squealing over how pretty & lovely & gorgeous this was. Ana was the best kind of flawed and determined and reckless heroine & Ramson was positively swoonworthy & the rest of the cast made me cry/gasp/delight/seethe in equal measures (I kind of ship Linn and the Hound oops oh well). May is a precious flower and must be protected at all costs. LUKA I have no words.

I cried over all the heart wrenching scenes & fistpumped at every romantic overture and honestly, is the next book out yet because IDEK if I can handle the wait.

READ THIS. Immediately.

This lovely book was full of darkness, death, despair, and backstabbing. It also entertwined with hope, compassion, love, grace, and plot twists!! Beautifully written! The world building rolls off the page in elegance. This title swept me up in a glorious world filled with magic, and wonder. Cruelty, and vengeance. The author keeps you on your toes by grabbing that fine line, and walking it beautifully!! Bravo!! It's hard to find a gem like this now! Thank you!

“The Ana of a year who would have valued honor and faced her enemies head-on. But then, she supposed, in a world of con men, crime lords, and cutthroats, there was no honor and there were no rules to the game. You only played to win.”

If I could rate this a million stars I would. Blood Heir is, without a doubt, one of the best books of 2019 and it’s only the end of January. Utterly fantastic and enchanting, with a spellbinding story that hits you full force from page one. Not to mention that this is THE best retelling of Anastasia I’ve ever read. I cannot believe that this book is from a debut author!

One of the main reasons why I loved this so much was because of the characters. The story itself is wonderfully captivating and original but it’s the characters and their actions that pull you in. I myself am a huge fan of morally gray characters and Blood Heir has a treasure trove of them. No one is inherently good or evil. They all have personal reasons for their actions and the thing is, you can sympathize with each and every one of them (except, perhaps, Kerlan. Dude is the worst!) because they truly believe that what they’re doing is right and you can understand their motives. No one in this book is perfect and that’s what makes Blood Heir perfect on its own. I truly loved Ana and Ramson and their dynamic. May broke my heart into tiny little pieces and I would die for her. I am SO excited to get to know Linn more, too. She’s brilliant. It should also be noted that no one in this book annoyed me. At all.

The romance — while you knew it was going to happen eventually — was not the main focal point of the book and I appreciate that so much. This is Ana’s story and hers alone and not once does the plot become secondary to the romance. I adore her relationship with Ramson and, wow, is it definitely a slow burn. Whew. I need book two just for that!

There are so many more things I could say but I don’t want to spoil anyone. If you enjoy a brilliantly diverse fantasy with fleshed out, morally gray characters and a slow burn romance to end all slow burn romance, you NEED to pick up Blood Heir.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of And I Darken, The Cruel Prince and Grishaverse.

“We are all heroes in our own eyes, and monsters in the eyes of those who are different.”

I received this book from netgalley in exchange for a review. This was a pretty good book. Very enjoyable even if was predictable at times! But Ana is wonderful! I also really enjoy the world. Very magical, but dark at the same time! I will be looking forward to owning a copy!

This book was phenomenal, easily one of my favorites this year. I honestly loved everything about it ( even though the cover was not my favorite). There were a few times I noticed where words/sentences sort of repeated themselves the editors probably should have caught that, but truly a lovely book!

I want to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read Blood Heir in less than 24 hours upon receiving it. I have always held near and dear to my heart the rise of the anti-heroine and I felt that Ana was created to be exactly that. A character that is so confused in what she was told she was meant to be, she felt doomed to a monstrous life. I think that mentality and that struggle and sense of self is so incredibly complex that I think every person can relate to it. Are we who we are based on what society has deemed us to be or our choices?

The plot was extremely fast and did very little in lulling for rest (although at times, I wish there would have been more time allotted for less action). I believe the journey was entertaining enough, but at many points in the plot, I noticed the physical rigors that Ana and Ramson were put through were simply not sustainable and pulled me from the story quite often. I know the more struggle the better, but in this case, I felt there was too much. My past life in the medical field could not let that part go.

I was so very interested in seeing Ana's personal arc throughout the story, as we opened up to a girl who thought herself to be a monster and in a way, seemed to embrace it (albeit reluctantly). But I was disappointed to find that who she was on page 1 continued to stagnate past the middle and into the ending. Ana's mentality rarely veered from the opening image and I felt that her character growth could have been solidified into a stronger arc. That being said, I did feel that Ana was more thoughtfully fleshed out than Ramson, a point of view that I felt was entirely unnecessary to the book. The way the plot was set up, I felt almost robbed of the large reveal Ana discovers about his character because as the reader, we already knew this information in the very beginning. There was potential for an extremely strong turning point that fell flat because the reader was already provided with half the information. Ramson, as conniving and quick as he may have been, to me, needed to have built some trust with Ana. It was exhausting to not have some sort of relationship grow between them, even at the end, when Ana still threatened to kill him. It was all very tiring. I suspected him to be a strong romance lead, but there was no chemistry on the page.

Ramson did have his shining moments, and I will say, the most touching part of the novel for me was the tragic bond Ramson had with a childhood friend.

All that being said, with Blood Heir's merits in plot and moments of suspense, I could not get past my immense disappointment in the world itself and portrayal of diversity. I am always wary of worlds inspired by other countries and cultures that are not native to the author, especially when the story leans so heavily on the story of Anastasia and Russia. I felt the world was lazy at best in respect to the rich Russian culture it took from, leaving it a generic glittering landscape that I wish someone along the line, whether an editor or sensitivity reader or agent, had looked at it a little harder and said, "You know what? We have more work we need to do here." From the misuse of the language, to the lack of substantial research into the history and culture of another country, to the questionable scenes regarding people of color--all of this was truly what really let me down in this story. To me, the respect of culture and language in worldbuilding and representation of diverse voices is everything. I found it extremely troubling that the only people of color in this world were the Affinites and did not feel the portrayal of the thinly veiled indenturement-in-place-for-slavery was a smart plot choice. While I recognize the attempt Zhao was making in bringing to light the unjust nature of Cyrilia towards Affinites, I felt this particular route was poor in taste, especially when the issue was promptly forgotten in the plot as Ana focuses more on reuniting with her brother. This, again, all goes back to worldbuilding and creating a richer, more thoughtful world.

The idea behind this book was completely amazing and living in a world where people have these powers and our main character is possibly the strongest of them all. From the first pager, this book immediately jumps into the action and we meet our two main characters. This was definitely a fun and interesting read.