#vela roth

[vinegarce]

Does anyone else read the Blood Mercy series? I’m woefully without fics and fan art having just finished the series as written so far.

Just means I’ll have to do it myself ig

[staciass]

[bmacreadz]

"Blood Mercy" by Vela Roth

"Blood Mercy" is a fantasy novel that promises a slow-burn, steamy romance. It is slow and it is steamy, but it's also cute and sad and interesting.

The reader follows Cassia, who is the human bastard daughter of the King who rules Tenebra - the region of land that sits south of Othros (separated by water) and north of Cordium (or, the Magelands). Right from the start, we realize that Cassia has spent most her life in fear of her father and his court. She has stayed quiet and docile, but has a plan cooking from the very first page. What that plan is - of course, we don't know. And we won't know until at least halfway through the book.

Starting off, there's a lot to unpack and it can get kind of tangled in the mind, if you're like me. The reader is provided all this information that they have to shuffle through all at once to know what's going on and nothing is explained very well in the beginning. The initial chapters are a little daunting, but it starts to clear up midway through if you have the patience.

(There's also a map of the world in the book that helps the reader identify major locations, but doesn't help for the more specific places that are mentioned, like the temples, forests, ruins, etc. AND there's a glossary in the back of the book, which I only realized was there halfway through reading it. It helped a ton, and I'm so glad the author decided to include it.)

Within the first several chapters, we meet Lio - an initiate ambassador from Othros who has traveled to Tenebra with the other members of the Hesperine embassy ("Hesperine" is the name given to the nocturnal people who feed on blood for their life force) to negotiate peace talks with the King and his council (which is the Council of the Free Lords). There's a lot of backstory here about why these negotiations need to take place. Like I mentioned, it can be confusing at first, but it clears up as the story progresses.

Cassia and Lio, fairly early on, form a clandestine friendship of sorts as they maneuver their way through the Summit (which is the name given to the series of talks taking place between the Hesperines and the King and his Council) in their respective roles. Cassia is very limited in what she's allowed to do (by order of the King) and Lio cannot jeopardize his very first diplomatic mission by meeting with Cassia, but alas, she needs whatever answers she's looking for and he just can't stay away from her. Their friendship ultimately evolves into something else, which could expectedly either end very well or very badly for everyone.

"Blood Mercy" is told from both Cassia and Lio's perspective, which was a very good choice by the author. Their lives, perspectives, goals, and feelings are so different from one another. It was nice to see how they responded to each other and the things going on around them through their own thoughts.

Overall, the story was captivating. I enjoyed Cassia and Lio and - because it was more of a slow-burn - I'm glad that the author mainly focused on their interactions. However, despite focusing mainly on the two characters' nighttime rendezvous, Roth still gave the reader a decent picture of each character individually and their day-to-day lives. We learned a lot about the other characters this way, and it worked well.

Now, this is a seven-book series so I don't know if I'll be hanging on through the whole thing. I am not ashamed to admit that I don't have that long of an attention span nor do I desire to read seven books of the same story - especially when they are as long as these ones are. However, I could see myself wanting to read more and eventually maybe reading them all at some point. There was something about this book that makes me glad I read it, though I'm hesitant to get too attached.

The way this story was written kind of set me back a little. The vernacular didn't always make sense and it could get a little cheesy. The dialogue between characters who had known and loved each other didn't always seem familiar or friendly. More than once, the characters spoke to each other as if they were speaking solely to the reader in order to tell a little more of the story, or get a slightly better glimpse into their life, but it didn't flow like you would hope for it to. It seemed forced and a little stale. The friendships here didn't write themselves, if that makes sense? Because of that, I left this book not deeply caring about any of the other characters. Lio and Cassia were the only characters whose conversation seemed to flow without too much effort - thankfully, since their conversations make up about half of the book.

Overall, it was a good story, in my opinion. I definitely liked it. The ending was outrageous, but a phenomenal effort in getting the reader to come back for more. Did it work on this reader? I guess we will see.

[deanncastiel]

2024 DNF #10

Title: Blood Mercy Author: Vela Roth Genre: Romantasy Series: Blood Grace, Book 1

One human. One immortal. Will their alliance save the kingdom, or will their forbidden love be a death sentence? When Cassia seeks out a Hesperine, he could end her mortal life in a heartbeat. But she has no fear of his magic or his fangs. She knows the real monster is the human king, her father. If he finds out she’s bargaining with his enemy, he’ll send her to the executioner. As a Hesperine diplomat, Lio must negotiate with mortals who hate him. Cassia is different, but politics aren't why she captivates the gentle immortal. He wants more than her blood, and if he can’t resist the temptation, he’ll provoke the war he's trying to prevent.

DNF'd at: 72%

Quick thoughts: This started off fine, but then the MCs got together, and it became so fucking boring. I couldn't fathom finishing this one let alone the next seven in the series. The author is very verbose.

[hermit-paula]

Lio and Cassia in Orthros (From Blood Mercy, by Vela Roth).

[itsteiloh]

There are extraordinary occasions when, in our defiance of all we have been told is right, we find something even more precious…something sacred. Sometimes what we have been told we must not want is precisely what we need. Sometimes rebellion leads us home.

Blood Solace (Blood Grace, #2)

[thatwritergirlsblog]

Blood Mercy by Vela Roth | SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

[kyriathanatos]

Have you read the Blood Grace series by Vela Roth? It’s a fantasy series and one of the main goddesses in the religion in that world is named Kyria

WHAT!!! NO I HAVEN'T BUT IM GONNA GO FIND IT NOW

[sagedumortain]

9 people you want to get to know better

i was tagged by @sussoro thank you so much 🌼

last song: not strong enough by boygenius - the whole album, called the record, is absolutely incredible. stunning. amazing. beautiful. i’ve listened to it on repeat so many times.

currently watching: i used to watch many tv shows, but now i mostly watch book videos on youtube or twitch streams, so i don’t really have an answer for this one! 

currently reading: blood solace by vela roth (book two of the blood grace series) - i gave the first book 5 stars and i had to pick up the sequel right away after the ending. fantasy is my favourite genre, and i love fantasy romance ♡

current obsession: video games and particularly the sims 4, fortnite, and the legend of zelda: tears of the kingdom at the moment - i always have a game i’m currently playing, i love video games so much ♡

tagging: whoever wants to answer these!

[mnninter]

IT'S A DATE!

prince vela ( @covenofprince ) said yes to siobhan roth's ( @shivroths ) invitation!

reglas.

le user de quien hizo la invitación deberá comunicarse con la administración para establecer en dónde será la cita y la ambientación de la misma.

la administración creará el canal de discord para la misma y se encargará de compartir dicha información.

como ya se estableció, habrá un mínimo de dos respuestas diarias por personaje. en caso de que eso no se cumpla, se dará unfollow al personaje en incumplimiento.

no podrán hacer mención de la cita en las convos que roleen en el dash hasta que la misma finalice.

ante cualquier duda o consulta, ¡nos pueden escribir!

[wri0thesley]

hi nat! i need to ask if you've read Blood Mercy by Vela Roth? it's fantasy vampires! and fantastic, in-depth world building! and the prose itself is so GOOD!!! i consumed the available books in two weeks and im obsessed—currently waiting for my physical copy to get here so i can read it all over again

ah i haven't anon but i appreciate the recommendation!!! i love vampires and i love fantasy so WHY NOT BOTH.... i have a pile of to-read books much longer than i'd like to admit but WHY NOT ANOTHER!!!

[savvyjournaling]

Just a little update on what hobbies I’ve been immersed in lately:

I haven’t posted in a while, sorry. I’m not super busy or anything but I’ve fallen into a Skyrim-hole and also I recently picked up Blood Gift by Vela Roth as well as finally started watching the first campaign of Critical Role.

In between reading and simultaneously watching Critical Role while gaming, I’ve started world-building and while I’m inspired to do so, I’ve been making little maps and trying to flesh out the history of this make-believe world so I have something to build off of when writing. Even if it doesn’t go anywhere I’m having fun (except on that one day when I spent a lot of time leaning over paper with sharpies and gave myself a major headache, I’ve learned my lesson there).

Plus I work. It’s hard to stick journaling in there too. And I’ve got two birthday parties this weekend, and yet another family vacation coming up that I most likely can’t afford to attend at the beginning of July.

[staciass]

💖💖❤️

[bookwormbeat]

Those who wanted too much were dangerous. Those who appeared not to want anything were much more so.

Blood Mercy (Blood Grace, book 1), Vela Roth

[deanncastiel]

April 2024 Reading Wrap Up

Books Read: 16 Pages Read: 9,262 Words Read: 2,824,638 Books DNF'd: 1 Avg Rating: 4.23

5 ⭐ Reads:

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang*

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

*Reread

Favorite Book:

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez - 4.5 ⭐

A young father and son set out on a road trip, devastated by the death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travel to her ancestral home, where they must confront the terrifying legacy she has bequeathed: a family called the Order that commits unspeakable acts in search of immortality. For Gaspar, the son, this maniacal cult is his destiny. As the Order tries to pull him into their evil, he and his father take flight, attempting to outrun a powerful clan that will do anything to ensure its own survival. But how far will Gaspar’s father go to protect his child? And can anyone escape their fate? Moving back and forth in time, from London in the swinging 1960s to the brutal years of Argentina’s military dictatorship and its turbulent aftermath, Our Share of Night is a novel like no other: a family story, a ghost story, a story of the occult and the supernatural, a book about the complexities of love and longing with queer subplots and themes.

Notable runner-ups:

Masters of Death by Olivie Blake 4.5 ⭐

Least Favorite Book:

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf - 2 ⭐

Plot twist made it worse, I am not meant for these mass market thrillers 🤷🤷🤷

Book(s) DNF'd:

Blood Mercy by Vela Roth - dnf'd @ 72%

Overall thoughts: some really good books but something about the month seemed flat. read farrrrrrrr less than normal (thank you 911) so maybe it was just the lower quantity.

[itsteiloh]

I love you so much I cannot contain it all. I fell in love with you before I even understood what was happening to me, and when I realized what it was, I felt as if all I’d thought impossible was suddenly true. As if all that was wrong could be righted.

Blood Sanctuary: Part Two (Blood Grace, #4)