Blood Beneath the Snow is a fun and twisty debut romantasy by Alexandra Kennington (4.25/5 stars)

Blood Beneath the Snow is a fun and twisty debut romantasy by Alexandra Kennington.

Revna’s parents consider her to be their biggest disappointment, as she is the only royal family member without a magical ability. To save the lives of her closest friends, who are also non-magical, she is determined to enter The Bloodshed Trials, a battle royale between all of the royal siblings to determine who will ascend the throne. But once she turns down her arranged marriage and commits to fighting, she is kidnapped by the entity known as the Hellbringer, the general of her country’s biggest enemy.

First things first, This cover is phenomenal. The artists did a phenomenal job putting it together!

I really appreciate an author who lists CWs in a note at the beginning of the book. IMO more authors should do this. I also really appreciate how queer this book is! Our main characters Revna and the Hellbringer are both bisexual, and there are a few other queer, transgender, and asexual side characters.

This book has so many twists and turns, and I was legitimately at the edge of my seat most of the time while I was reading. There’s also a good amount of betrayal. There are some parts where the pacing slowed down, but there was still tension. I liked Revna’s character growth across the book, though she still has a long way to go in the final book in the duology.

I caught the vibe throughout, but the author confirms in her acknowledgements that this is Reylo, so if that’s your thing you should definitely read this. It also feels very Norse. I really had fun reading this and I absolutely inhaled it. I’m very excited for the second book in the duology and I look forward to what this author may write in the future!

I received a complimentary review copy from NetGalley and Ace Books. All opinions contained herein are my own.

Tropes in this book include: only one bed, kidnapping, forced proximity, morally grey MMC, masked MMC, fight to the death, secret identities

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