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Title: A Heart of Blood and Ashes
Author: Milla Vane
Sub-genre: Fantasy
You know you’re a book reviewer when you constantly think to yourself, man I wish I had a dagger for this picture. If any book were ever well-suited for a dagger, it might be this one. It is banana pants and yowza wrapped up in one fantasy package.
Maddek is the commander of the alliance’s army. He’s also the son of the king and queen of his people (though he is not guaranteed to inherit the throne, he must be chosen as a leader). When both of his parents are murdered by a supposed ally, and their deaths justified by the alliance’s council, Maddek takes matters into his own hands. The best way to get revenge is to kidnap the daughter and future queen of said allies and torture and kill her. Only problem is Yvenne, the future queen, hates her dad maybe even more than Maddek. So the two come together, deciding to marry and seek to overthrow Yvenne’s corrupt dad and brothers. There is all kinds of intense pining (Yvenne is a virgin and can only lose her virginity on the night of the full moon) and crazy fantasy creatures, but in the end, the couple is able to overcome the evil and live happily ever after.
This is the first of Milla Vane’s books that I’ve read and just. Wow. Thirty minutes after Yvenne and Maddek meet, she gives him a hand job. Her hands are covered in her brother’s blood as she just stabbed and killed him. When Maddek finishes, she licks her hands, now covered in blood and semen. If that sounds like too much for you, then maybe skip this book *insert laughing face emoji here*. Yeah, so not for the faint of heart, but I am not the faint of heart and I freaking loved this book. There were definitely some ew moments (like the one above, obvs), but I found the characters and the world to be so compelling that I went along for the ride. Some of the world building got a little overwhelming, but I feel like that happens a lot in the first book of a series. I thought the way the government structures and religion were set up were really interesting, so I was mostly okay with it. Mostly though, I just loved Maddek and Yvenne together and I loved their we got together for revenge but now we’re totes in love story. I am most definitely picking up the next book in this series, so wish me luck!
Overall Rating: 4.5 stars