Book Review: Blood Queen by Karolina Wilde
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Burner Kindle!
Blood Queen by Karolina Wilde
ARC Review: Thank you to Karolina Wilde for the ARC!
Release Date: January 31, 2026
Series: The Trials of Death and Honor #2
Genres: Adult // Fantasy, Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 🌶️(Explicit Open Door)
Quick Thoughts: Blood Queen had me in a chokehold….I literally finished it in less than 24 hours. This book picks up where the first book leaves off and features new characters, shocking betrayals, and deadly trials. Though it’s not perfect, it is the perfect fast-paced romantasy for quick escapism.
-
These are the list of trigger warnings listed in the front of the book.
Trauma
Grief
Violence/Death
Light torture
Toxic relationship dynamics
Gaslighting
Manipulation
Dubious consent
Use of sex as a means of control or manipulation
-
Political intrigue/Politics between kingdoms
Found family
Multi-POV
Deadly trials
Betrayals
Forbidden relationships
What is Blood Queen about?
Vengeance is within my grasp. If I can survive the trials.
After six brutal months of training, I’ve earned my place in the lethal Order of Ezkai, the first human in history to do so. The Ezkai General himself had plans for me, and I was ready to climb the ranks until I had the power to end King Francis’ life.
Then the General is assassinated.
Chaos consumes the Order.
A new leader must rise, and the only way to claim the title is to survive the deadly trials.
One victor. Everyone else dies.
An unlikely ally offers me a path to the throne, and I know what I have to do.
Win the trials.
Take the power.
Use it to destroy my enemies.
But nothing in Ekios is ever simple.
The man I love has entered the trials, too.
And in the end, only one of us will walk away.
Blood Queen is a dark, seductive romantasy sequel to Vicious Princess, perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, Throne of Glass, and From Blood and Ash, where deadly trials, ruthless ambition, and forbidden passion collide.
Blood Queen Review
Note: This is the second book in the Trials of Death and Honor series, so this review may contain spoilers for the first book in the series, Vicious Princess. If you’re new to this series start with my review of the first book here.
Karolina Wilde is quickly becoming one of my go-to authors when I need to dissociate from the world. The way this book had me in a chokehold….I literally finished it in less than 24 hours.
Blood Queen picks up where Vicious Princess leaves off after our FMC Phoenix passes her training to join an elite fae military force. After reading the first book and the Blood Queen synopsis, I was fully prepared for a story I've read 100 times before. I was pleasantly surprised with where the plot went and was excited to explore more of the politics, social hierarchy, and social problems in our setting.
Characters
We have a small cast of new side characters that added an interesting side quest, a surprising found family, and a new goofy, flirty MMC Jax to the mix. If you like Carrion from Quicksilver, you'll probably be a fan of Jax. I could not get enough of him and can't wait to see more of him in future books.
There was also plenty of character growth for the main characters. The trials focused on mental strength and forced Phoenix to confront hard questions about her mission for vengeance and what she wants for herself outside of revenge. Watching her wrestle with those answers and admit her truth made for really satisfying character growth.
The romance takes a backseat in this story due to Daegel's character arc taking a wild, unexpected turn. I won't say too much because everyone deserves to unravel that story on their own, but I didn't mind the lack of romance.
What I didn’t like
So this book was a lot of fun, however, there are a few issues I kept going back to that took me out of the story.
The lengths Phoenix was willing to go for revenge were strange and unbelievable – like why compete to essentially become the leader of the Fae land as a human transplant who has only been living there for a very short period of time? This story arc is also at odds with what we know about the world from the previous book. The Fae don't really trust humans (which was made crystal clear in the first book), so we're supposed to believe that they'd let one become ruler? This concern is brought up in conversation early in the book, but I don't feel like the problem is actually addressed or resolved. I get it's fantasy and sometimes you just have to shrug and keep reading, but this part of the plot would have been more believable if there were more scenes of Phoenix convincing others to stand behind her despite her humanness.
So, should you read Blood Queen?
Anyways, I love this series and I'm definitely going to read the next one when it comes out. Definitely recommend it if you want a story with a hero who fights for justice, an unexpected and unlikely found family, or shocking betrayals.
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
Blood Queen FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
-
Yes, Blood Queen is the second book in The Trials of Death and Honor series. The third book, Lost Prince, is slated to be released in June 2026.
-
Blood Queen by Karolina Wilde is a 4 🌶️ or explicity open door. That means readers are present for spice scenes and they are told in explicit detail.
-
The spicy chapters in Blood Queen by Karolina Wilde are:
Chapter 1
Chapter 11
Chapter 37
Chapter 53 (Dubious Consent)