3.5 stars 🌟

This is late but hey I really think it's a good read!
The world having so many mythology/supernatural creatures that we usually see and new ones was very refreshing. The use of the rivalry trope between the sisters that was pushed into play by tradition, parents and power hungry nobles was a great plot point of the book and written well because eg were always set up this way.

Very enjoyable fantasy read and I would recommend this to my book club. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this ARC!

A sibling rivalry like nothing you’ve ever read before. Joy weaves a dark yet delicate treatise on race, heritage and power whilst never losing that addictive ‘just one more chapter’ allure. I devoured it one sitting!

A River of Royal Blood is at times incredibly diverse, but also very derivative. If you are craving a dark tale of sisters duking it out to the death, then you may want to adjust your expectations as Joy never quite delivers on the bloody premise.

This was an interesting extract. I'm intrigued to see where this book is going and where the storyline is going.

Humans, Fae, Vampires, and Chimera?
Chimera definitely not what one would typically consider to round out the list but it made for a very interesting and gorgeous side characters. It is a world I am way more interested in,

This book feels really fast paced and I inhaled it in one sitting and when I had to pause it, I was devastated because I didn't want to step away from this book. Because I was so wrapped up in Eva's world and growth.

I will say that this book ends in one of the steepest Cliff Hanger's I have ever encountered. I have a stack of other books to jump on, but I think I may have to dive into the sequel immediately.

I love seeing different cultures and how everything is brought together. The battle between the sisters and the discovery of what is going behind the scenes and how she decided to react.

Magic, Fantasy, Romance, and Fae, you are in for a treat with this gem!! This is an amazing book and comes highly recommenced not only by me, a Middle School Teacher, but my 13 year old!!

It feels a bit silly reviewing a sneak peek of a book - just the prologue and two chapters - but here goes. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and I'll definitely seek out the completed novel. (Dang it, the marketing works!) It's hard to gauge the rest of the story as the first two chapters were a bit of an info-dump - lots of information about the heroine's family and a good deal of world-building - but I'm intrigued by what I read and am looking forward to getting my hands on the book.

A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy
In a kingdom where all princesses are designated Rival Heirs that must kill each other to have the strongest assume the throne, the heirs this generation are Eva, a princess with magic so rare there has been no one who uses it in generations and Isa, her big sister who has the favor of the Court, skilled in magic and has her mother’s love.
But Eva isn’t alone.
Thank you to Netgallery and Penguin Group for this sneak peak ARC of this book before publication in exchange for an honest review.
To be honest, this was a 2-2.5 star book. It may have been because this was a sampler instead of the whole book.

While I was only able to read an expert, this book looks and sounds amazing. I can’t wait to dive further into this wonderful royal world!

love this sneak peak!

cannot wait to read the whole book one time! A River of Royal Blood is one to look out for!

Despite this book having a great concept, this preview was too confusing for me. I don't know if I'll pick up the actual book yet since I still hope it will get clearer, but I honestly didn't know what was going on. It felt like a lot of info was being dumped, yet not enough info to actually understand it.

I have heard great things about the full book though, so I might still give it a chance!

I'm very conflicted about this story. The premise is an interesting one: A country run by women, where the heirs need to fight and kill their sisters to become the queen. And to add to the intrigue, everyone has magic but the main character - Eva - has a magic so rare that she can't find anyone to teach her how to use it. Which means that her older sister will almost defiantly kill her and assume the throne. Like I said, it's a very interesting premise, but there is some ineffable quality of the story that is making my response to it very lackluster. I didn't really feel a strong connection with the characters, for one. Honestly, I am really struggling to understand WHY I feel very lukewarm about this story, but I was kind of glad when the sample I received ended.

I both listened to and read A River of Royal Blood in just over a day, it is fierce and powerful, full of action, magic and with a storyline that kept me riveted. Eva is the younger sister to Isa, both princesses of Myre and both gifted with magic. Eva, though, is the first in over a century to be gifted with the magic of blood and marrow, a deadly and powerful magic but Eva is afraid of this magic and of what it can do. Eva and Isa are Rival Heirs, meaning they will have to fight to the death for their seat on the throne. As the girls grow older, they grow more distant. Eva travels to her fathers to learn more about her magic while Isa stays with their mother, the Queen, at court. Isa is everything that Eva is not; skilled with her magic, strong and self-assured and has won the favor of the court along with the love of their mother, something that Eva has never felt.

Eva is not alone though. She has many supporters both old and new; Falun and Anali who’ve been with her most of her life, guarding her and offering friendship and Baccha, the Lord of the Hunt, teaching her the art of blood magic and Prince Aketo Jahmar, a Khimaer who is Eva’s love interest.

There’s a whole wonderful world built within this fantasy; one of magical beings with rich history and political intrigue and strife. A complicated relationship between sisters and a wholly dysfunctional family relationship. I would’ve really liked to get a peek in to Isa’s world a little more, what happened to her while she and Eva were separated and just a little introspect into her feelings. There are snippets of her expressions, etc … but to have to fight your sister to the death, heck, anyone to the death, would have some serious emotional side effects and she and Eva were close as children. So, I’m feeling a bit conflicted on this. Aside from this, I found ARORB to be an exciting debut and I’m looking forward to continuing this story with A Queen of Gilded Horns.

Purchased this YA/middle grade novel for my middle school library. Superb character development, elegant world building, and compelling plotting.

*I was sent by the publisher and Netgalley a sampler for a honest review* First of all this is a prologue and two chapters which does not give much information but it gives me enough to be interested into wanting to read the rest of the book when the paperback comes out in February! It was a great intro and an intriguing start!
Thanks again for the free sampler of the book!

It often takes me a while to get into a new book, but after a short prologue and two chapters I already want to read the rest of Eva's story and have ordered myself a full copy of the book.

If I hadn't already had an idea of what to expect from this story from the blurb, I feel like the prologue would have left me confused but intrigued enough to keep going. Like many fantasy books, the prologue is in third person following a character who is not our protagonist (in fact, it is set at the time of her birth). Once we get to chapter one we meet Eva, princess of the queendom of Myre, and discover that thanks to the rival heir tradition, she will have to fight her sister Isadore to the death for the right to rule.

Like many fantasy novels, the first couple of chapters are very exposition heavy. I found some of this a little clunky in the sampler, but having read these same chapters in the final published version they have been cleaned up and read more smoothly. I look forward to reading the rest of the book and seeing where Eva's story goes from here.

Also, how gorgeous is that new cover? Just beautiful.

This sample was very intriguing sample of the story, and I am very interested in reading the whole book. Eva seems like a normal girl who’s just trying to keep her head down and survive. But her position in the Royal family and her sister make that impossible. Which sounds like a great story to read.

Thank you to Netgallery and Penguin Group for this sneak peak ARC of this book before publication in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I love the idea of rival sisters competing for themselves, but to compete for their lives is so exhilarating. Eva and her older sister Isa have an age old tradition to fight each other to the death to win the crown and this sneak peak shows part of the rivalry that Eva and Isa feel. Eva has no interest in this royal fight and just wants to leave and do something for herself. The sneak peak made me excited and interested to see who the winner would be.

The author created an everlasting curiosity in me as to who would win. Eva is kind of like the underdog and her sister the favourite to win, The beginning of the book has intrigued me and made me wonder about these two characters even after putting this book down. I also loved the descriptive nature of the book as the author described the palace and the throne room in such exhilarating detail that I felt that I was a part of the story.

Very excited to read the full thing.