Review: Princess of Blood

Princess of Blood
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

There's a new Card in the Mercenary Deck - one Lynx isn't sure if he's happy to see or not. The assassin Toil now wears the Princess of Blood on her jacket and even Lynx would admit she's a woman cloaked in chaos and bloodshed.Their new mission is to escort a dignitary to the pious and ancient city of Jarrazir - beneath which lies a fabled labyrinth. Having barely survived their last underground adventure the mercenaries aren't keen for another, but Toil has other plans. Under threat of siege and horrors rising from the labyrinth, even the Mercenary Deck may have to accept that Jarrazir's prohibition laws aren't their biggest problem.

Princess of Blood opens with a nice little recap and a glimpse of what's to come with it's hilarious opening chapter, seamlessly throwing you back in to the story like you haven't been away. We quickly get reacquainted with the group and Princess of Blood is fast paced and action packed from the start. 

Most importantly, we get some pirate action...you guys know I love pirates! I did love the little detail about Deern. You know. Traitorous, nasty Deern. Yep. Toil's totally on to him and I was kinda like rargh because that little thread hadn't been resolved and then boom. I do feel like we get to know Deern a bit better in this book but I'm not sure whether I like him or not. I was kinda hoping Toil would kill him! 

This book focuses a bit more on Toil, there's still lots of Lynx, he's very present and just as strangely loveable as before, but we really get to know Toil in this book and I'm loving her! I liked her last book, but I also felt like she was untrustworthy so I wasn't sure how I'd end up liking her, but she's crafty, intelligent and a total badass. I'm so interested to know more about her background after meeting her brother Vigilance. She's actually a bit like Sydney from Relic Hunter in this book! Along with Toil, I'm loving Kas too. She's seriously one of my favourites and I need way more Kas in my life! She's such a brilliant secondary character. 

With a new book, there comes new characters and there's a couple I'm intrigued by! Suth gets thrown in near the end and I was bit frowny face about her for a good chunk of her page time, but towards the end I was like "yep. I like you. You'll fit in just fine" so I'm looking forward to seeing more of her.  Lastani and Atieno I wasn't too sure about at first, I'm always wary of new characters it's all Game of Thrones's fault. I actually ended up really liking them, they fit right in with the group and Lastani is super smart and intelligent and I just loved her! She was a lot of fun and kind of adds another dimension to the group, and Atieno well....he's totally awesome! I'm really looking forward to getting to see more of them and how they change the dynamic of the group! I'm also kind of intrigued by Stilanna!

There's more history of the world of the book and there's a lot of politics in this one as certain...things happen. I loved getting to learn more about the world and delve deeper in to it, as well as getting to see some new settings! Lloyd creates each setting so vividly and it really sucks you in to the story. I'm not going to lie, this book had some serious Relic Hunter vibes, kind of crossed with Crystal Maze but that might just be me! 

Princess of Blood is just as fast paced and colourful as the previous book. It's another wild ride with a nicely intricate plot of well woven threads. I love the group of characters, and we keep getting new and interesting additions to the deck, the banter between all of them cracks me up and the book is a nice blend of action, adventure, and humour! I seriously devour these books, it's so easy to sit and read large chunks of this book because it's so much fun, and after a hint at where we're heading next...I'm excited for the next book!