Bloodguard

This was absolutely action packed. Set in a magical world with elves, trolls, and all manner of monsters, Leif a mortal man, in close to earning Bloodguard status after years of being a gladiator. Maeve, the princess, needs a husband to assume her throne. There are many twists and turns in the story and lots of intrigue and backstabbing that keep the story moving. There’s violence and gore - think Game of Thrones level. And while not super spice, it is open door and has a few scenes.I couldn’t go hard one the five stars due to the modern language and euphemisms that could get jarring at times. Some more character development could also be used, but overall, this was such a great change from the usual Romantasy genre and is absolutely worth the read.

I picked this book up the day it was released after waiting what seems like forever for it and it did not disappoint! I truly enjoyed the way the Author wrote the story with enough character building to help us love (or hate) the characters but also a good amount of world building to feel fully connected to the world so we are not only rooting for our characters to succeed based off our connection to them but our connection and desire to see them make this world they are in a better place. I found myself fully connected to each and every one of the characters in the book no matter how small a roll they played it was all important for the story to truly come together.

I got this book for my wife as a surprise after noticing she was looking at it on the computer, she was very excited and it is a beautiful looking book. She is very excited to read it!

2.75 - It started really strong but felt like is was 200 pages too long. I felt like things got added near the end that seemed messy and not fully fleshed out.

Bloodguard has everything: the excitement of gladiator battles mixed with magic users, mythical creatures, a fight for the throne and of course, a beautiful romance. A Must Read for any Romantacy reader!Leith of Grey went to the City of Arrow to fight in the arena to earn money to send home to his mother and little sisters. He also fights for the chance to become Bloodguard. Once upon a time, the Bloodguard were the elite generals of the Arrow army, it now referred to a gladiator who survives 100 battles and has not only won their freedom and a title of royalty and great wealth. When we begin this story, Leith has survived 97 battles and has already been given his first of four tattoos which will eventually be his ticket to providing his struggling family with a life of leisure and plenty. Everything he does has been for them. But there have been so few who have lasted long enough to be given the title of Bloodguard and he knows that the next few battles will be the hardest to survive.Maeve of Iamond is next in line for the throne. Her grandmother is dead, supposedly killed by her Papa but Maeve will never believe that. With her father arrested for her grandmother's murder, Maeve needs only to marry before her 21st birthday to claim her birthright. But as the days tick by towards her birthday, Maeve if finding it harder and harder to find an acceptable royal candidate. Her uncle has been holding the title of High Lord since her grandmother's death and it seems that Vitor has closed the borders to the City, keeping out any potential grooms. Vitor wants Maeve to choose his son, the self-titled General, Soro, who unfortunately is a sadistic SOB who wants to go to war with...well, everyone to show the greatness of Arrow. Marrying Soro would be the worst thing to happen to Arrow, and honestly, to Maeve herself as she suspects that Vitor and Soro would subjugate her and rule in her stead, doing nothing for the betterment of her people. So Maeve comes up with her own plan when she sees Leith fighting in the arena. If she can help him become the Bloodguard, he will be titled royalty and she can marry him in order to take her throne. It's a good plan, Maeve just has to make sure Leith lives to fulfill it.There is so much to love about this story. As far as excitement, we have Leith and the other gladiators battling to the death in the arena, and it is not just gladiator against gladiator. Like the Romans threw in lions, here we have mythical creatures. Leith might be human in this story, but after 97 wins, he knows how to battle an opponent, be they elves, trolls, dwarves or mages, but what happens when you are suddenly looking at a dragon across the sand? We also have a less bloody battle for the throne. While there might be a less blood, there is ultimately more strategy needed. Once Maeve makes her decision to marry Leith, she needs to balance on a knife's edge keeping Vitor and Soro believing they have outmaneuvered her or else, Soro, who is in charge of the games, will make sure that Leith doesn't survive to become Bloodguard.What I liked best about Maeve is that she doesn't just take care of her people from afar. Maeve is an elf, which means she heals quickly, yet she has made it her mission to learn the art of healing with magical herbs. She goes into the poorer sections of her city and heals her people as well as the people immigrating into the city from the even poorer or ravaged areas around the city. This is important as she uses that magic to heal Leith. Because Maeve and her family sponsors Leith, Maeve takes him home between the fights and helps him heal from his wounds. This little nugget give our author carte blanche to make Leith's battles even bloodier and more insane, as once his body is ravaged, Maeve can help him heal up before the next fight. One of my favorite scenes in the book involves Maeve healing some particularly nasty wounds and being very relatable in the icky-ness of it all. That has to be a rule, right? Thou shall not hurl on thy patient?Cecy Robson has a gift for making even the most trivial character lovable.Of course, Maeve and Leith's plan on a mutually beneficial marriage turns to true affection and eventually love, making Bloodguard a Must Read story for any Romantacy lover.

I remember reading the blurb for this one and thinking, hum, gladiators, this could be interesting, and oh, was it interesting.There were parts of this book I loved and parts that fascinated me, others just baffled me but it worked (sharks and eels iykyk) and I loved it.Maeve is one of those characters that makes me giggle one moment and say oh dear lord the next and it's amazing.Leith, besides being this intense gladiator, is a character who cares about his family and his friends and about righting wrongs in a world that is full of them.Together, they're electric and unstoppable; reading this story is one twist after another, filled with so much depth and world-building that I felt like I was there at times.I may just need to add books with Gladiators to my list of favorite genres after reading this book.