4.25 ⭐

Okay! I get it. I see why everyone is freaking out about this book.

Background:
We have 3 Vampire Kingdoms and all of the infighting and messy politics that come with being blood thirsty immortal beings.

And THEN there is an epic tournament that only takes place once every century in which the contestants that enter fight until the end in order to gain a prize of their choosing from the goddess Nyaxia.

So... You know, given the political atmosphere, that seems messy.

Plot:
Oraya, adopted human daughter of the Night or King, decides to enter the tournament. The odds are stacked against her but she's trained her whole life to protect herself against vampires. Once there, she reluctantly teams up with another contestant, Raihn, who is as mysterious as he is strange. They must work together to get through the trials. But there is only one winner.

Overall thoughts:
Once I picked this up, it was hard to put down. The pacing and the world building felt very consistent and I never experienced any moments of info dumping fatigue or lulls in the plot. And the slowburn romance was VERY GOOD.

I really loved Oraya and Raihn as main characters. They are both very well thought out with really interesting backstories and motivations. And their chemistry and banter were top notch. It was a slowburn but it was worth the wait. 🔥

I didn't quite get all of the world building that I would have liked. Especially regarding these other kingdoms. This centered on the House of Night. We got a little bit into the House of Blood. But, did I just miss the stuff about House of Shadow? I feel like it never really came up. Also, like what about any human kingdoms out there? What are those guys doing?

(But maybe we'll see more of this world building in book 2.)