BLOODY ROSE by Nicholas Eames – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames
Series: The Band #2
Published by Orbit on August 28 2018
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 508
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

The nitty-gritty: Full of humor, emotion and plenty of thrilling fight scenes, Bloody Rose is a worthy sequel that you don’t want to miss.

Tam pulled a strand of windblown hair from her eyes. “Aren’t all druins immortal?” Tam asked.

“Essentially, yes,” said Freecloud. The coin in his hand vanished with a flick of his wrist. “It’s too bad so many of us are pricks.”

Bloody Rose was one of my most highly anticipated books of 2018, and I’m happy to say it delivered on every level possible, and then some. Eames completely avoids the “sophomore slump” that plagues many a sequel, so fans of Kings of the Wyld will have no trouble finding just as much to love this time around.

The story introduces a new set of characters, but I was thrilled to see some old favorites from the last book make appearances as well. Bloody Rose focuses on a mercenary band called Fable, headed by none other than Rose, the daughter of Gabe from Kings of the Wyld—you might remember that Gabe’s quest was to rescue Rose, who was trapped in the city of Castia as a horde of monsters surrounded them. Now Rose is famous in her own right, having made a name for herself by slaying all manner of nasty beasts throughout the Heartwyld. When the story begins, she and her bandmates—Freecloud the druin, Cura the summoner, and Brune the shaman—are searching for a new bard, a musician/storyteller who travels with the band and records their adventures for posterity. Young Tam Hashford is yearning to leave her small village and see the world, and her opportunity comes when she’s asked to audition for the position of Fable’s bard.

Tam makes the band, although her father isn’t happy about letting her go, having watched his wife—Tam’s mother—die at the hands of a monster. But Tam is thrilled, and quickly settles into her new role as bard while getting to know her bandmates. A huge army of monsters called the Brumal Horde is gathering, and most bands have left to join the fight to stop them. But Bloody Rose has taken on a job in Diremarch and refuses to join the other mercenaries. But like most good stories, things don’t always go as planned, and this one is no exception.

Bloody Rose is told from Tam’s point of view, but this story isn’t really about Tam. She is the bard, after all, so we get to see everything that happens from her third person POV. But she does become an integral part of the band, like a beloved adopted sister, and I absolutely loved the relationships among all the band members. Cura and Rose both teach her hand-to-hand combat and how to fight with weapons, so eventually Tam becomes much more than a simple storyteller. But Bloody Rose is clearly the star of the show, and I loved every scene she was in. Rose, like many of the characters, has a tragic past that she’s trying to overcome, and many of her decisions and actions are a result of that past. One of my favorite parts of the story is the romantic relationship between Rose and Freecloud, and there were some deeply emotional moments between them that made me catch my breath. This is ultimately a story about relationships, between lovers, parents and children, friends and colleagues, even enemies.

As for some of the other characters, I loved Cura, who is able to call forth the creatures that are tattooed on her body whenever she needs them in battle (although it takes a terrible toll on her). Freecloud is a druin, a misunderstood creature with long rabbit ears, and it is thought that he is the last living creature of his kind. The band’s manager, a satyr named Roderick, gave the story some welcome comic relief, and near the end of the book we meet a gollum/construct character named Orbison (another music reference!) who l just didn’t get enough of.

Eames has a true gift for worldbuilding, and I can only imagine him sitting at his computer, gleefully creating such a magnificent and varied world. Bloody Rose is packed with all manner of creatures, a glorious menagerie of monsters who are fleshed out with backstories and mythologies, and I almost needed a glossary to keep them all straight. Even the weapons have names and histories, and each is told in loving detail. In keeping with the “bard” theme, there are stories within stories within stories in this book, like Russian nesting dolls. And it never felt overdone, although it easily could have been.

Once again, Eames’ writing simply shines. His comedic timing is right on point, and there were so many funny moments that I spent a great deal of time laughing out loud. In case you haven’t caught on yet, the author equates “mercenary bands” with “rock bands,” and so there were lots of musical references that made me chuckle. Although I did notice a few groan-worthy puns (seriously, dick jokes??), and a couple of times he breaks out of his traditional fantasy style and throws in some modern lines that felt a bit out of place (“She hoped traffic wasn’t too bad on the way out of town”), but it was all in good fun.

My only complaint about this book is that it didn’t have a clear story arc like Kings of the Wyld did. For the first half of the story, Fable sort of meanders from place to place, and it isn’t until about the halfway point that a clear goal emerges. Eames gives Fable plenty of opportunities to fight in various arenas, as well as surprise encounters on the road, but I had to laugh when one of the characters says, after yet another day of doing the same thing, “What a waste of fucking time.” Luckily the second half finds the band focused on the real evil and things get serious, fast.

And the ending! Not only is there a surprise twist at the end, but it’s an emotion-packed one that left me with tears in my eyes. Technically this book can be read as a standalone, but I’d recommend starting with Kings of the Wyld, simply because you’ll miss many of the references in this book. I’m sort of sad that I’ve finished Bloody Rose, knowing that the next book in the series is at least a year away, and I seriously cannot wait to see what adventures Eames has in store for his characters next.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.