Series: Blood Heir #3
Release Date: March 3rd 2022
Publisher: HarperVoyager
Pages: 496
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4.25/5 stars

Synopsis

The Red Tigress, Ana Mikhailov, has returned to Cyrilia, but the country she once called home has fallen under a dark rule. Across the land, the Empress Morganya is tightening her grip on Affinites and non-Affinites alike. Ana dealt a blow to the Empress when she and her allies turned back Morganya’s troops in Bregon, but she couldn’t stop Morganya from gaining possession of the last remaining Bregonian siphon: a dangerous new weapon with the power to steal Affinities.

Ana’s forces are scattered, and her tenuous alliance with the Cyrilian rebel group, the Red Cloaks, is becoming more frayed by the day. What’s worse, she’s lost her Affinity to blood and without it, Ana barely knows who she is anymore–or if she has the strength to defeat Morganya.

Morganya’s reign of terror is close to crushing the nation Ana was born to rule. And now Ana will finally face the sinister empress, but will she survive? Will anyone? And will her Empire welcome her back to the throne, or turn her out to survive on her own.

The Affinites and Non-Affinites of Cyrilia will determine Ana’s future, if Morganya doesn’t kill her first.

Review

Crimson Reign is the third and final installment in Amelie Wen Zhao’s heart pounding Blood Heir trilogy. Continuing where things left off in Red Tigress, Ana has returned to Cyrilia, fresh from fighting back Morgana’s troops in Bregon. Morgana is determined to solidify her rule and spread fear through Ana’s country. With her troops scattered is she strong enough to stop her?

The Blood Heir trilogy is a brilliant example of a compelling YA fantasy series. There’s something for everyone and each book in the series has gone from strength to strength. Crimson Reign is probably my favourite of the trilogy and Zhao does a brilliant job of rounding things off and bringing the story to a satisfying conclusion.

Like the previous installments, Crimson Reign is pretty fast-paced and I raced through it. The world is really intriguing and I love seeing the different affinite abilities. There is of course plenty of action and battle scenes and there were more than a few moments I was on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed Zhao’s writing style and I’m really looking forward to reading more from this author.

My favourite thing about this series has to be the characters. If you like plenty of banter between your main characters this series has you covered. Ana is a compelling protagonist, trying to make the right decisions for her people. Ramson very much steals the show but I also really liked Linn and the rather terrifying Sorsha. Crimson Reign is a highly addictive fantasy tale and if you’ve read the first two books in this series then this is definitely a must-read. If you haven’t picked up Blood Heir yet this is the perfect series to binge read.