BBNYA Blog Tour: Sacrifice by Vicky Walklate

Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Length: 238 Pages
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Age Category: Adult
Date Published: 14 June 2021
Amazon: Canada / USA / UK
Goodreads

Blurb

Dragon gods rule the realm, demons lurk in the shadows, and a sorcerer hides a dangerous secret. A war is brewing in Jothesia, and the gods have no idea.

Being selected as human sacrifice to the immortal dragon shifters is supposedly an honor, but rebellious Libby doesn’t see it that way. When the sacrificial ritual goes badly wrong, she finds herself in a reluctant alliance with eldest god Rhetahn. He’s grumpy, cynical, and utterly exasperating …and she can’t get him out of her head.

Rhetahn knows there’s something wrong with this sacrifice, and it’s not just her infuriating stubbornness or the way she makes his jaded heart skip a beat. When terrible misfortune befalls his brothers and renders him powerless, his only choice is to unite with Libby to seek answers.

As they set out on a dangerous quest across the realm, the compelling attraction between them is undeniable, yet doomed. To recover his magic, regain his strength, and prevent the demons from seizing power, Rhetahn needs her blood. He must kill her at the end of their journey, even if it breaks his heart to do so.

But a terrible power lies hidden in Jothesia, one that could destroy everything the gods have built. Libby and Rhetahn’s forbidden relationship may be the realm’s only hope against utter ruin.

Review

I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed Sacrifice. The various races in Jothesia worship a trio of gods, dragon shifters who saved the realm from demons many, many years before. When Libby is chosen as a sacrifice for the shifters, she doesn’t see it as the honour others view it as. But when she is about to be killed, things go wrong, and she escapes with the eldest god Rhetahn. With ground shifter Dax helping them, the pair set out across the realm, Rhetahn determined to finish the ritual when possible. But sacrificing the determined, stubborn Libby soon becomes something he dreads, and he knows the end of the journey will break his heart.

I’m going to start this with the things I disliked. The climax (pun slightly intended) felt a bit weak. The novel was building up towards a confrontation, but took a big turn away from it and gave us something else that wasn’t really even hinted at. A character was introduced here who could have been speculated on earlier, but as it was it felt a bit too out of the blue when it didn’t have to be. The ending felt a bit like a forced cliff-hanger, too, leaving just a bit too much dangling for my taste. I prefer there to be a balance, between some things wrapped up, and some threads left, but this had too much of the latter. It made the book feel like too much of a tease (again, pun intended). Some scenes did drag a touch, and there were chunks that felt like they could have been cut out without losing much.

With that out of the way! The things I really did love – the way the relationship between Libby and Rhetahn developed (why did no one shorten his name to Rhet though?). These two are constantly trying to push each other away, but can’t help the way they’re drawn together, and it works really well. The characterisation of both meant they feel like they fit together, and the best scenes where when they were a confined space together (there’s a few. They’re great).

-The supporting characters. Imaginative, fun, and each with their own clear, distinct role to play. Again, it feels like we don’t quite get enough of that sometimes.

-The journey. There was a lot of thought given to the world itself, the various inhabitants, and the way the characters could move through it. It definitely felt like the kind of world you could revisit with different stories, and I really enjoyed seeing different parts of it.

I had a lot of fun reading Sacrifice, and it definitely had all the elements I really enjoy in Romances. I look forward to reading book #2!

About the Author

Vicky is a romance, fantasy and historical fiction author from Norfolk, UK. Along with Sacrifice, she also published a monster romance novella last year, and her latest book, a Regency mystery with romantic elements, is out now.

When she’s not writing she transforms into a giant bookworm, eagerly devouring books of all kinds, especially romance.

BBNYA

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