Book Review: King's Blood by Jill Williamson

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Title: King's Blood

Author: Jill Williamson

Series: The Kinsman Chronicles #2

Genre: Fantasy

Audience: Adult

ABOUT THE BOOK

Jill Williamson's Fantasy Saga Continues!

In the second volume of Jill Williamson's Kinsman Chronicles, a remnant has escaped the destruction of the Five Realms and now lives on several hundred ships adrift at sea. As a flock, they sail north into the unknown in hopes of finding land that might become their new home.

As the king's illness worsens, Sar Wilek takes authority over the expedition and struggles to rule the disjointed people, while assassination attempts, vicious serpents, and dark magic endanger his life.

One prophecy has come to pass, but another looms dauntingly in the future. Who is this Deliverer? And if the Magonians have him, what might that mean for the realm of Armania?

~ MY REVIEW ~

**5 stars**

King's Blood releases into the world, as epic and complex as book one in THE KINSMAN CHRONICLES by Jill Williamson. I can't tell you how excited I was for this book—to return to the amazing characters and incredible fantasy world. Holding this enormous, thick, beautiful novel in my hands at last was like, ah, perfection! *grins*

But oh, my heart is bleeding ...

Brothers Wilek and Trevn, and all the other survivors of the Five Woes, have taken to the seas. They live day by day upon ships, searching for land while evading attacks from those who wish evil upon the royal family.

This book is thick, and the story has such depth, so it took me awhile to get through it. But I loved every moment of it! It was so delightful to return to its pages. As I read King's Blood in the quietness of night, I fell into the tale, feeling as though I were walking about the ships with Wilek ... laughing at Trevn and Mielle ... slightly freaked out over Charlon and all her crazy schemes. I don't know—it just swept me away.

I must say, I've come to quite love Lady Zeorah. Her story with Charlon ... heart-wrenching! I think I cried. Charlon, you better have taken something away from that wretched situation! Turn to Arman! Hinck, the spy, was interesting to read about. I was very nervous for him at times! Oh, and the prophetess! She continues to intrigue me.

Wilek and Trevn are, of course, my two favorites when it comes to the POV characters. And I adore Lady Zeorah and Mielle (though I don't believe the story is ever told from their point of view). The two romances blossomed so sweetly! Ah, I loved those bits so much! Wilek and Trevn's romantic relationships differed from each other, but they were both so uniquely beautiful. I especially adore Trevn and Mielle together. ^_^ Just can't say enough about those two romances. *wink*

Which brings me to my bleeding heart!! Not to give away spoilers, but that ending tore at my heart. Peoples, it brought tears to my eyes. Ultimately beautiful, but oh so hurtful.

King's Blood brings not just a few shocks and tragedies.

It was definitely fun to see similarities between this book and the BLOOD OF KINGS series by Jill Williamson. Since King's Folly and King's Blood's characters are the ancestors of the characters from the BLOOD OF KINGS series, we start to see familiar things pop up in this book, such as bloodvoicing, a gift to those of royal blood. Anyway, it was very neat, and I look forward to reading more!

I also loved how this whole tale mirrors the account of Noah and the flood from The Bible; or the Israelites being led out of Egypt, looking for a new land; or even the early settlers of America. Loved it!

Jill Williamson does such an amazing job with her descriptions. You can picture everything; the details sweep you away into this captivating world. And speaking of worlds, Mrs. Williamson also does fantastic world building! And crafts incredible, complex, interesting, real characters! Eep! I have not read many novels that tug me into their pages like these ones.

So many things happened! Personally, and in the big scope of things. Some happenings thrilled me ... other incidents horrified. Still more broke my heart. But overall, I can say King's Blood was an epic fantasy—a thrilling journey from beginning to end. I can hardly wait for the third book to make its way to my hands! (At least a cover, please? *winks*)

As a cautionary note, King's Blood is definitely for an adult audience. There are a few mature elements, though tastefully done. A fair amount of violence and gruesomeness throughout the book.

The biggest thing would be that the villains wield dark magic, sometimes doing spells and whatnot. Most of the time Jill Williamson doesn't detail this too much. The good people have a range of gifts, given to them by Arman (the one true deity in this fantasy world—represents God), one of them being bloodvoicing. There are also "root children", who have special abilities. All of it felt in its right context to me (there is a clear line between "light" and "darkness") but if you are uncomfortable with fantasy magic, this may not be a book for you.

I received a copy of King's Blood from Bethany House Publishers.