Series: Godblind #3 (See my review for Darksoul here!)
Release Date: September 5th 2019
Publisher: HarperVoyager
Pages: 508
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: I bought a copy of this in my local bookshop
Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis

Rilporin has fallen and Corvus, King of the Mireces, reigns over an occupied land. The raiders and their dark religion have conquered, but victory came at a terrible price – the death of a god – and sparks of resistance glimmer on all sides.

In the south, Mace gathers the survivors of Rilpor’s armies. Among the fierce tribes of Krike, Crys and Dom search for allies and for the truth of what binds them to the Gods of Light. And in the royal palace itself, Tara – once a soldier, now a slave – hopes to ignite a rebellion.

But time is against them. A child will soon be born with the power to return the Dark Lady from death, and the long-prophesied final battle for the future of Rilpor and Mireces, of humans and gods, is near.

Review

Bloodchild is the third and final instalment in Anna Stephens’ dark and brutal Godblind trilogy. Picking up straight after the events of Darksoul, the story follows our group of protagonists as they fight for supremacy. But Rilpor’s army is severely depleted, the Dark Lady is gone and Rilirin is soon to have her child that is integral to the Mireces plans – who will survive?

Godblind and Darksoul both made it to my favourite books of the year lists so going into this I was pretty prepared for it to be epic and unputdownable. The stakes in Bloodchild are even higher – the story is dark, brutal and addictive. Stephens has such an incredible writing style that I didn’t want to look away from this book for a second. Bloodchild follows the same characters as the previous books and we are treated to multiple POVs as we see each character attempt to survive and win the war. There are so many characters I’ve grown to love over the three books – Crys, Tara and Rilirin to name but a few and I loved seeing them in the last part of this epic tale.

Rounding up such a massive story is pretty difficult but Stephens does an incredible job. The ending was spectacular, not only was it fast paced and gripping but it was heart breaking too. One of the things I love most about this series is the way you get to know and love characters from both sides of the war – those fighting for the Red Gods and those for the Light. It’s a fascinating and compelling tale and if you love Grimdark fantasy this is a series to get reading immediately – you won’t be disappointed.