Author picture

Alexis Calder

Author of Kingdom of Blood and Salt

27 Works 122 Members 10 Reviews

Series

Works by Alexis Calder

Tagged

Common Knowledge

There is no Common Knowledge data for this author yet. You can help.

Members

Reviews

So far this seems like it's yet another completely generic secret wolf-shifter finds pack and super ulta bffs. That part reads like the kind of middle-grade/YA story that tries to teach basic friendship paired with extreme insta-lust which makes for a very uncomfortable mix.
The friendship part is written in this extremely awkward "let's spell out in words that we are now best friends after we knew each other for not even a day like 6-year-olds on the playground" way.
It's bizarre really.
The author tries to create a strong but vulnerable MC but the result is far from what she probably imagined.
The MC is immature, insecure, and completely at the mercy of her own volatile emotions.
She recognizes these flaws in herself but this doesn't enable her to grow beyond them or give her the strength to withstand these childish impulses.

If you want to read yet another story where the MC is completely driven by base emotions and twisted in knots around some sort of classic deep, fated insta-love, then this is probably a good book for you.

I don't dislike many of these tropes in general but I want them with a bit more depth and an interesting MC. Many authors nowadays seem to confuse being contrary with being strong and this is a classic example of a character that never actually exerts any agency and always ultimately gives way.
I think the main problem here is that all the opportunities the MC has to actually demonstrate spine would make the plot fall apart. So she can never actually do anything that shows her strength and everyone just kind of has to pretend she is strong to even be slightly believable. But my bullshit radar is just way too sensitive for this stuff. This is not to say the plot is any good either. It makes no sense, and not in a mysterious way. It's just bad and illogical.
… (more)
 
Flagged
omission | 1 other review | Oct 19, 2023 |
3.5 stars

When a book compares itself to Sarah J. Maas, I don't expect it be a knockoff version of a beloved series. Unfortunately, there were too many similarities for me to overlook. The main character's name is Ryvin and he controls - wait for it - shadows and darkness. He's intent on "saving" the princess at every turn, despite her being unwilling to see what's right in front of her face. Ryvin repeatedly told her he wasn't the enemy, yet she refused to believe him until it was too late. The one thing she stayed mad about wasn't even within his control.

This book also markets itself as an enemies-to-lovers, but it was more of a one-sided hateship. Ryvin never appeared to have any negative feelings towards Ara. She only hates him because of where he comes from and because of things she clearly doesn't understand. Her unwavering faith in her family and friends ended up hurting her more than anyone from Ryvin's delegation did.

Another similarity to A Court of Thorns and Roses were the sisters Ara would do ANYTHING to protect. She would sacrifice her life, choose to live with "monsters," and debase herself if it meant they didn't have to suffer even for a moment. Sound familiar? I wish the relationship between her and her older sister had been expanded on, but none of the secondary characters really developed over the course of this book. I think a few of them had the potential to be more. I even think Ryvin having his own POV would have helped.

Kingdom of Blood & Salt is a quick read with a lot of action. Ara's life is constantly in danger, Ryvin is always there to save the day, and we see our main character struggle with a singular issue for 300+ pages. I'm not even going to touch on how awful the queen was to her stepdaughter, or how that all seemed to just disappear during the last 5 pages of the book. Their "solution" made me roll my eyes.

Honestly, I think this book would have been better if Ara had teamed up with Ryvin when she realized things weren't as they seemed in her city. I wish she'd used her brain and acknowledged that what was being asked of her was wrong and tried to do something about it. I also think her sisters being more involved would have made this a better story, too.

The sex scenes were decent, but nothing to really swoon over. Ara yells at him and claims she doesn't want him (every single time), and then they end up "fitting together perfectly" and having a magical time. There were also some grammatical errors and inconsistencies, but hopefully my copy wasn't a finalized version.

I didn't hate Kingdom of Blood & Salt, but I do think it could have been better. I kept reading in the hopes it would, so there was something there even if it didn't really work for me in the end. It's also a really big turn off when a book is too similar to what it's comparing itself to. (This one also used the term asteri and had a character named Magda.) (★★★⋆☆)

Blog | Instagram | Amazon
… (more)
½
 
Flagged
doyoudogear | 1 other review | Jun 9, 2023 |
With dragons being kept at bay by a wall and a treaty in place with a Fae King, Arthos is the last human city. Ara, our female lead, is the illegitimate daughter of the king and has been training most of her life to join her aunt Katerina at the wall. That is until the Fae King's delegation comes to collect the human tributes from the kingdom. Ara is tasked with entertaining the delegation including Ambassador Ryvin. She has no desire to do any sort of entertaining of Ryvin and she wants him to stay far, far away from her as possible, but her father wants her to keep him busy while they search for other ways to get rid of the delegation.

Ara really annoyed me as a character. She never seems to grow in character and only grows more annoying throughout the entire story. I tried on numerous occasions to connect with her throughout the story and I could not. I could find anything I liked about her. She claims to want to protect her people, but we see that she finally takes off those rose-colored glasses and sees that the city is much worse off than she realized. It takes Ryvin to show her that her family does not seem to care at all for their people.

Another thing about Ara that annoyed me is the way she treats Ryvin. He is nothing but kind to her. Never says anything horrible about her and yet she calls him all sorts of names until the sun. She doesn't try to get to know him and does not even bother to spend time with him. It's only when her father asks she "entertains" him that she does.

The only redemption she has is the way she loves her sisters. She will do anything to protect them and that shows even toward the end of the book. You see that she loves them and although she does question their love, she believes in them.

Ryvin is the Ambassador of the Fae King. His powers come from the dark and shadows. From Ara's view, he is the bad guy. He has come to take the hundred human tributes back with him and yet he does not do anyone harm. He saves Ara a few times and yet, she still treats him horribly. I could not understand what he saw in her at all. I don't understand why he continued to bother to pursue her.

This book is the first in a series. Currently, this one I am still struggling to decide its rating. There were some hits to this book and then there was a miss - the female lead. This book has potential and I am excited to see how the next book connects and explains some things. I would like to know more about Ryvin and I hope we do.
… (more)
 
Flagged
Revengelyne | 1 other review | Apr 29, 2023 |
Finally the solution to the magic thief and the time magic.
Still nice easy reading.
 
Flagged
Wolkenfels | Feb 25, 2023 |

Statistics

Works
27
Members
122
Popularity
#163,289
Rating
½ 3.6
Reviews
10
ISBNs
10

Charts & Graphs