~~~~ 4.5 Stars ~~~~

Ok, let's start this off by first going backwards. I was a HUGE fan and absolutely loved Blood Heir to itsy teeny tiny pieces. SO when I say that I feel truly lucky to have been gifted an ARC of its successor, I mean it! I wanted to go into Red Tigress fully cognizant of each and every minute detail from the first book and... I am not (completely) embarrassed to admit that... some tidbits may have slipped through the cracks in my memory. Since the wait between books was lengthy enough for my mushy brain (which, in the interim, was fed a bevy of arguably less awesome reads) to smudge some details... I decided to first revisit Blood Heir, this time I did so auditorily. Hearing that beloved book in another's voice (coupled with my undiagnosed amnesia) felt like I was experiencing the story nearly anew. I still enjoyed it but it was definitely a different experience.

Just like book #1, the characters were the main course in Red Tigress. Although the world building, action and twisty turns were yummy, the characters are what you come to the table for. The cast (secondary included), and the novel as a whole, were a slew of adjectives (that I normally would hit you with but won't) that all convey their beauty and scope coupled with a rich, diverse cast and see??? I'm doing it again.. I can't help myself... I'm a Descriptor junkie... Sorry (not sorry?). Anyway, I just wanted to say that those unnammed adjectives would say "Amazing" and "Robust" in 15 different ways.

One aspect that pulled me in and made sure I stayed fully present was the amount of kismet there was between all of the main characters. It was clever and seamlessly executed... they all just seemed to coalesce (for their own reasons), leading to bonds that seem(ed) ironclad. I also enjoyed getting to know new personas like Kais. There's always room in my heart for a well written, morally ambiguous, sharp edged (marshmallow centered) player on the scene.

With Red Tigress, the pace and action intensity ratcheted up the endorphin production... flinging my emotions about at the most climactic spots... especially during the last quarter of the book... what a ride!

AND then it ended... the ending was a bit cliffy, which is not always a bad thing. There was some resolution BUT, for the most part, most major things were not wrapped up neatly... not a deal breaker though. In fact, where once the characters, and each of their personal journeys, were harmoniously converging, some did so no more and it hurt. It was an unforseen, and (at least en mi casa) unappreciated ending. I'm not going to sugarcoat it... I wished, quite a bit, for another ending but it's a great hook to make sure you're here for book #3. That might sound harsh but I don't mean it to be because Red Tigress is just as good if not better than Blood Heir and really, what more could you want from a sophomore book? I loved Blood Heir and I really enjoyed Red Tigress. That might sound like a demotion in enjoyment levels but I am nearly certain that once I get over that ending... really ruminate, pick it apart and assimilate it... this book's rating will peak.


Overall:

I truly enjoyed this book... ending and all... sort of... ok, I was triggered. I think it's going to take some time to reconcile what I believe should have happened vs the Reality of what did.

Even still, there are so many things to love about this book and more importantly this series. The writing is solid, the world building crisp and lush and the characters... the characters are evocative and are of varying moral hues, just how I like them.

I definitely reccomend this one and think you should give it a shot... ending be damned! At least it didn't go all George R. R. Martin on us... although it was touch and go there for a while!!

~ Enjoy

*** I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***

Blood Heir was one of my favorite reads of 2020, and Red Tigress did not disappoint as my most anticipated sequel of 2021. The story follows Ana, Ramson, and more characters as they continue to fight for the kingdom. While I felt that Ana and Ramson didn't get enough screen time together, the times they were together were the best scenes by far. I ship them so hard and I can't wait to see more of them in the third and final book! The writing in this series is superb, making it so easy for the reader to picture the novel like an epic film. It is so perfectly plotted and most definitely a page-turner. I was so invested in these beloved morally grey characters that whenever someone was in peril I was legitimately stressed out in a way very few books cause me to feel. While I am so thankful I got to read an advance copy, I'm so sad I'll have to wait over a year for the next book!

Ana and Ramson are back in book 2 of this trilogy! So much action, so much going on, and the ending set up book 3 perfectly! This series is such a great story for those who especially love blood magic, constant action, fights, battles, sword play, and more! I find that Ana is growing to understand what it means to be a leader for her country, Ramson is also learning that love is a sacrifice, but will he risk all for love? These characters are great together and I'm loving Linn and all her winds! Edge of your seat reading, right here!

It was a very good book. I loved it I love the characters and the journey they go through. Very well written.

I was looking forward to this book and had hoped it would pick up more and give me some solid story, but alas, throughout this book things seemed to wane. I'm not sure if there was always supposed to be a trilogy or a duology, but it had some good moments and incredible cliffhanger, but seemed also a little stretched thin with story to some degree. It was an ok read, not a favorite, but hopeful for the last book to pull it all together.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Amelie When Zhao's debut novel Blood Heir was always going to be a hard act to follow. The book faced online controversy and had its release date pushed back by five months, but ultimately turned out to be one of the best YA fantasies of 2019.  Now, following a coronavirus pandemic-related publication delay, its sequel, Red Tigress has arrived with little of the fanfare that surrounded the first novel in this trilogy.

Joke's on everyone that's still sleeping on this series though - Red Tigress is as good as its predecessor, an action-packed follow-up that raises new questions, introduces new characters, and sees the exiled Princess Anastacya Mikhailov wrestle with complicated questions about her own identity and why she wants to reclaim her throne.

Full review coming to Culturess in March.

”Monsters make the most powerful weapon in the arsenal.”

Finally, we’re reunited with our favorite blood princess and silver-tongued con man!

This book follows Ana’s journey to find her footing within the complex political world of Cyrilia. While Ana would sought allies to support her mission in regaining the throne, she also gained beloved friends as well as fearsome (and unexpected) enemies along the way.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the dual POV-telling of this book, which I usually struggle to get through in most cases. Each POV added something transparently useful to the plot, and that kept me thoroughly engaged while reading. Overall, the story flowed very well, and I easily finished the book in one sitting.

I found one character to be particularly interesting, likely because of the resemblance she bears to Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender. She has such potential to become an immensely complex character in the final book! Additionally, I think our newly-found adversary (as indicated by the ending) is a fascinating one, and I’m intrigued to see where that path leads to.

I typically find the romance aspect in a book to be my favorite— and this book let me down slightly in that regard. There were crumbs of emotions given to us in this novel, but it was nowhere near the magnitude I was hoping for. I wasn’t a particular fan of where things left off between Ana and Ramson here, but I'm hopeful this will pick up in book 3!

This book set up many necessary plot lines to be seen to fruition in the last book, and I can’t wait to see how things wrap up!

I enjoyed this, but not as much as Blood Heir. I don’t really know what else to say from here. Here’s to hoping that the third installment is better!

I really enjoyed this book. I found the pacing to be better than the first book. The new places and characters were well done. There was also great character development for the characters from the first book and I really enjoyed the way they explored more of their magic. The magic system was my favorite aspect of the first book and I enjoyed learning more about it in this book and the new aspects that were introduced. After reading this book I am so excited for the third book and seeing how the trilogy ends.

Characters are well written. The plot was throughout. My attention was maintained throughout most of the novel. I enjoyed this sequel.

The start of Red Tigress drew me right in, but despite a strong sophomore start, the rest of the book felt somewhat circular and rushed. Ana undergoes a really fascinating moral dilemma at the start that I thought would define her journey in this second installment, but she seemed to lose sight of that rather quickly when the story sweeps her group away to the faraway shores of Bregon. I anticipated a more Ramson-focused book, which I was thrilled about because his intricate backstory and motivations in book one made him such an irresistibly well-written protagonist in book one. But it almost felt like the backstory lost steam and the discoveries and exploration of his background fell a bit flat. The new characters introduced held the possibility of depth that our protagonists already have woven in, but it just didn't feel like we could quite connect with them by the end of book two. Linn was the saving grace of this book for me- her journey with Kais felt more organic than Ana and Ramson's interactions in Red Tigress, which just felt like a rehash mostly of their book one antics with little progression. That's not to say watching the cast interact wasn't enjoyable, but it just didn't dig as deep and strike as true as the first book. Red Tigress definitely felt like a <i>book two</i>, an intermission of sorts on Ana's journey, and I look forward to things hopefully picking up in book three, which I anticipate eagerly.

My full review will be posted on Goodreads and tumblr 2 weeks before the publication date.

This is the way the second book in a series should be done! The pacing was even and picked up at the perfect moments, the action and storyline was more intense and it was hard for me to stop reading after certain scenes. I was shocked quite a few times and the cliffhanger was brutal in the best possible way!

I'm ready for book 3 and I totally need more Ransom in my life!

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an ARC!

Wow. This book was really good! I really enjoyed it. It was action packed and had some things I didn't see coming at all.

I cannot wait for the 3rd book!

This was a fantastic follow up to Blood Heir, one of my favorite books I read early in the year. January feels like a million years ago at this point.

I loved being back with Ana, Ramson and Linn. Even though because of how this year has gone, I don't remember as much as I liked from that first book at first, after a couple chapters I was able to dive back into things.

The stakes felt higher in this book than in the first, and there was a higher urgency to things. I loved seeing Ana become more in-tune with her power and become less afraid to use it as she gains control.

This is series is becoming a fast favorite, and I can't wait to read what's coming next.

Red Tigress was great sequel to Blood Heir, which was one of my favorite reads of last year! Unlike a lot of second books in trilogies, the plot Red Tigress didn't drag at all. Instead, the world we were introduced to in Blood Heir expands as Ana and Ramson travel to Bregon, Ramson's home country to regain Ana's throne. Ramson has much more time as the POV character in this book, and I got to learn a lot more about his past, which I really liked. Linn, the wind Affinite introduced at the end of Blood Heir, also gets her own POV chapters, and while I felt pretty neutral about her in Blood Heir, I loved her by the end of Red Tigress.
This is such an incredible and underrated series, and I highly recommend this retelling of Anastasia.

I have received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was a wild ride. I liked that the plot was not predictable and that it took a different turn than I originally thought it would, it makes the book seem more realistic especially with the circumstances that these characters are in. I would have liked to see more characters communicating more or have some more quiet moments in between all the action in this book, but I understand the reason for not having it because they are in the middle of a war. I also wished that the characters would stop being in different places, but I understand they all bring important roles to the table and that they are there to help, which I appreciate and enjoy seeing. I'm excited yet nervous for what the next one brings!

Sophomore slump it is.

“Red Tigress” walks through a world that is burning as Ana works to obtain allies for the coming fight to reclaim her place on the throne but with enemies around every corner and the thirst for power affecting all she finds herself gearing up a fight long before the ultimate battle.

It’s never good when you end a book with a shrug but alas here we are.

My biggest issue is that the characters, once so alive and full of personality and substance suddenly became one dimensional and despite supposedly carrying the narrative they felt like they stuck to the background and never really left a definitive mark on the story. The villains were menacing but remained off screen giving the spotlight to a lesser evil that had a handful of scenes that could have made themselves an actual threat but I was too busy counting how many times they used the same term to incite fear than to actually feel that emotion.

The plot itself is rather week and drawn out almost feeling like it was an attempt at a different story altogether that was thrown into this to fill the gaps needed to make it to a book 3 which is never fun as a reader. I feel like it could have worked if we again focused more on the relationships and the crossroads they faced at this obstacle but instead the plot and the characters kept back for no real reason?

Not going to lie as a huge fan of Blood Heir I’m more than a little disappointed at this addition to the series and while I’m aware of the criticism the first book had I wonder if that’s why this book feels so watered down but I might just be reaching.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

Ship ahoy! Finally my wait is over! I loved the first installment so much and I truly missed adorable and irresistible Ramson Quicktongue ! I wouldn’t imagine the second installment could be so much better! But it is! Actually it is marvelous and earned my blazing, sizzling, bloody, threatening, action packed five gazillion stars!

The first book ended with a cliffhanger promising us the real adventure just begins and it was just a warming session before something exciting and action packed comes out!

Ana Mikhailov’s true identity has been come to the light. She’s the only surviving member of royal family of Cyrilia and now vindictive soldiers who are loyal to Morganya are out to torture the non- affinities without serving justice properly to work for Morganya’s new established world order.

Ana should be teamed up with Ransom one more time to navigate the dangerous world of her homeland but Ransom conducts his own vengeance plan and he keeps this important information from her. They should cross the Whitewaves to reach the stone fronts of Bregon!

But the thing they don’t know is something darker is about to rise and threat their existence: something more powerful, dangerous, vindictive they can barely fight against or survive!

This new adventure was more heart throbbing, exciting with more mind games and twists gave me so much stomach churning and WTH moments! My heart is still pumping so fast! I feel so exhausted after ultra adrenaline rush! The final cliffhanger made me scream so hard: I WANT THE THIRD BOOK ASAP! I TRULY NEED IT!

Yes, give me more Ransom Quicktongue adventures pleaseeeee!!!

Sooo many many many thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children’s / Delacorte Press for sharing this amazing arc copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
You made my entire month!

I couldn’t get into this one as much as the first book but the writing was awesome! The world was just as good too!

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

I was waiting for an exciting YA Fantasy novel and I think I found it in Red Tigress. The history of the royal family and Ana being the only lone survivor with nothing and no one by her side has to rely on herself not only to survive but to save everyone from not only from the wrath of Morganya but the rise of the dark lord in all his glory. Ana mission to find allies and establish and army, she must go through Whitewaves at the risk of the unknown what's beyond the river. This book was so thrilling to the max that my heart was racing the entire time and have read blood heir, I was skeptical to see if this book would be just as good and it was better. I can't wait to share this book with our teen book club and await the release of the next installment of the series.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.