Thank you to Netgalley, Kesia Lupo and Bloomsbury Publishing for my EARC of We Are Blood & Thunder in exchange for an honest review!

"The living fought simply to live. Just like her. Just like every one."

The novel follows two points of view throughout, Lena and Constance..

In a sealed-off city, it begins with a hunt. A young woman, Lena, running for her life, convicted of being a mage and sentenced to death. Her only way to survive is to trust those she has been brought up to fear - those with magic.

On the other side of the locked gates is a masked lady, Constance, determined to find a way back in. She knows only too well how the people of Duke's Forest loathe magic. Years ago she escaped before her powers were discovered. But now she won't hide who she is any longer.

For me, this novel was a bit of a slow burner, I was slightly confused at first and it took me a few chapters to get into it. The idea of the novel for me is unlike something that I have read from a YA fantasy perspective before, and I enjoyed that and the general story line. However, I felt that the story could have had more depth. Similar to the characters, although likeable, I just wanted more. Just a bit more character development in a none-rushed way to have me thinking and cheering Lena and Constance on in my head. I was waiting to get to the point of such investment that I would cheer "Go, Lena, go!" Although on her side, I could have been more connected to the characters. Similar to the potential love stories happening in the background.

Despite all this, I hope to go back to the forest again, so let's hope there is a sequel!

Well done on the debut, Kesia, it was a pleasure to read. Three solid stars from me!!

Really enjoyed this one. Excellent characters, a fantastic premise and a really great writing style. It took me a little while to get into it, but once I was able to keep up with everything I was hooked! Couldn’t put it down towards the end!

I was lucky enough to be approved for an eARC as well as a physics ARC copy of this book. I was anticipating this release for a very long time and to say it met expectations is an understatement! This book is phenomenal - it was so well written and I was so immersed in the world that every time I put the book down I had to take a moment to ground myself back into reality! Phenomenal read and my top read of 2019 so far!

Thank you to Netgalley, Bloomsbury Publishing and Kesia Lupo for my arc of We Are Blood & Thunder.
Oh my word. This was just fantastic. From the very first page, in fact the very first paragraph this book had me hooked!

Hands down the best book I've read so far in 2019. Lena is a cryptling in the city of Duke's Forest, since a storm cloud causing disease arrived several years before, the city has been sealed off from the rest of the world, but now Lena is running for her life and trying to escape the city after being accused of being a mage. Constance meanwhile is trying to get back in. The storm cloud is no ordinary storm cloud, it is a spell and both Lena and Constance hold the key to setting everything to rights.

So why was this book so great? I'm going to break it down...
The Premise - the idea was original, interesting and full of everything I love about a good fantasy novel; it has magic, history, and something creepy and unknown: in this case, the cloud.
The characters - both Lena and Constance were fantastic characters with many layers.
The plot - I liked that this author stayed away from a lot of tropes
The twist - I did not see it coming!!

I liked as well how much grey there was in the book. There were elements of light and dark in all characters and elements of dark that came from light reasons such as the keeping of secrets. It is also one of the best examples of an unreliable first person narrative I've seen in quite a long time.

A fantastic debut from an author I'm keen to see more from!

An interesting idea, some good characters and some quite exciting plot strands. However I felt that it was let down by some rather awkward and clunky writing. The magic system felt a bit confused at times, and overall it all felt a bit too generic fantasy setting, like it has all been done before.

Wow!
Sometimes you pick up a book, and it takes you a few chapters to get into it. Sometimes it fails completely.
And sometimes, it grabs you with the very first page and refuses to let go.
We are Blood and Thunder is one of those books.
A story of two women, torn apart by different lands, full of secrets and power and inextricably linked, threads through this wonderful novel on storms and magic and life.
Lena is a cryptling, much akin to the former untouchable caste, who works only with the dead, reviled by the living. By chance and fate, she runs for her life, meeting a woman who is running towards the evils Lena runs from
Their link is forged in desperation, and will have profound effects on all of their lives.
This book is excellent on so many levels. The writing is tight and flows well, the plot woven skilfully like a tapestry - one point leads to another, whilst tugging on the strings of a third, and the characters are just as richly imagined.
I felt for Lena, and for Constance, and whilst the majority of characterisation is placed within these two, I still felt the supplementary characters were strong and fully formed.
What is interesting is this book is totally shades of grey - each of us has a little darkness within them, and light, too. Our enemies can be our sisters, also.
I massively enjoyed this novel, and hope for more from the author - I'd love to know what happens to the characters next.
Highly recommended, especially for readers like me, who love female character driven story.