Received ARC from Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for honest read and review.

Can I give more than 5 stars?

As a lot of you know I am a big fan of John Gwynne since Faithfull and the Fallen started with Malice all those years ago.

This is another superb read ,set after the events of the first book,and this did not let up at all.It has Angels,Demons and everything in between,good v evil.

Utterly brilliant and I cannot rate it highly enough.

Looking forward to bok 3.....

John Gwynne has firmly cemented his place as one of my favourite fantasy writers and A Time of Blood is an excellent read. I was hooked from the first page to the huge cliff hanger at the end. The plot is fantastic and moves along at a very satisfying pace, building and building until you’re sat there almost screaming “oh my god” (or is that just me?). This book was unputdownable.

The story picks up straight after the end of the first book so I won’t spoil anything by going into too much detail but let’s just say that the story is epic. The stakes continue to be raised throughout the book until it climaxes in a jaw dropping cliff hanger. If you aren’t cursing the fact you have to wait for the next book once you’re finished then you have no soul. This novel has everything: action, sweet character moments, betrayal, epic battle scenes. What more could a reader want?

And the characters, oh the characters. They are part of why John Gwynne’s books are so good (and the plot, and the worldbuilding and the battles) and they all deliver. I said in review of A Time of Dread that I was a little bit on the fence about Bleda and I am happy to say that I now think he is awesome. His story exploded and I really started to love him a lot more in this book. His relationship with Riv was sweet (as the young people say I ship it) and I love where Gwynne took his story in regards to his betrothal. I am very excited to see what happens next. Riv was also amazing. I loved how she spent a lot of the novel agonising over the fact that everything about her life and beliefs were a lie but you can still count on her in a fight. She is strong and vulnerable and I loved reading her chapters.

Most of my love, however, has to be saved for Drem. I said in my review of A Time of Dread that he was my favourite character and he is now more of my favourite character. He is just so complete as a character, he could be a real person. Yes he is strong and brave and he doesn’t back down from a fight but he also gets scared, he grieves, and he is often anxious which is wonderful to see in a character. He often states that he feels nervous being around so many people, having grown up very isolated, and that is a very relatable trait to see in a character. He’s not afraid to admit when he’s out of his depth and I love him for that. Drem is such a lovely character and I adored reading his chapters above everyone else’s.

Finally, I have to talk about the world and the battles. After reading all of The Faithful and The Fallen and A Time of Dread, I have to say that I love this world. It is wonderfully realised and beautifully described by Gwynne. I can imagine it in my mind and it feels so completely real to me. That can also be said about the battle scenes. They are raw and brutal and very, very exciting to read. I will admit that sometimes I can get a little bit bored of reading fighting scenes but not here because Gwynne writes them so amazingly that I find myself completely drawn into the fighting scenes.

A Time of Blood was amazing. There’s nothing more I can say and no more superlatives I can add. It raises the stakes from the first book and the pace doesn’t falter. The characters are wonderful and I am loving going on this journey with them. I am eagerly awaiting the next book now because it ends in the perfect place to make you want to read more and I am going to spend the entirety of 2019 sitting on the edge of my seat until I can find out what happens next. Bravo, Mr. Gwynne, you have yet another winner here.

A Time of Blood, indeed. It’s not often that I finish a book I love and struggle to articulate why everyone else will love it too. It’s been over twelve hours since I finished this masterpiece and my prevailing thought remains ‘it’s fantastic, read it, it’s fantastic, read it’… So I will do my best to explain why you should. I’d also like to note that while there are references to events and characters in Gwynne’s The Faithful and the Fallen series, this series can be read without having read them.

A Time of Blood is the perfect sequel, it delivers more action, more tension, more bloody battles and further blurs the lines of good vs evil in a land where the heroes and villains of legend are still remembered, if not still alive. We continue to question motives and decisions and live in constant fear for the lives our favourites. Without the world building and character introductions necessary in a first book, A Time of Blood catapults us straight into the action and doesn’t let up, building tension for what promises to be a truly epic conclusion. Unputdownable, this novel is exactly what I look for in my fantasy reading and has gone straight onto my favourites shelf.

We kick off where A Time of Dread finished, following four point of view characters as they discover truths, endure betrayals, fight against the odds (and many a fantastical creature) and traverse the landscape of the Banished Lands. I enjoy reading epic fantasy with multiple point of view character chapters but more often than not there is one storyline/character arc that’s perhaps a bit less interesting or whose narrative slows the pace and plot in general - I am happy to report that is not the case here. Each protagonist was engaging, well developed and put me right where I needed to be to see the whole picture. I would be remiss if I didn’t also praise the excellent non-POV characters too, in particular the animals. I have formed strong attachments to the non-human characters of this series, and considering some of them are non-verbal, that is a great feat. This series is very inclusive in that I feel like every character matters and has an important part to play, no one is anywhere by accident and their words, actions and histories will all impact on what’s to come.

I would just like to take a moment to appreciate Drem’s characterisation, in particular though. As a man who was raised primarily by only his father, Drem gets nervous and overwhelmed in large, crowded places as well as when faced with difficult choices/impending peril. When placed in such circumstances, he reaches for his pulse in his neck. This happens often throughout the novel and each time I was struck by how realistic this made him. Often in fantasy, characters are placed in these life or death situations and are expected to be brave, fearless and driven by righteousness yet in reality, if any of us were in that position we would be terrified. I know I would, and to see this small gesture of anxiety occur for Drem not only in situations that would petrify the majority of us but also in regular, every day scenarios (like travelling through a new town) was really refreshing. Of course he’d be nervous, he’d never been around so many people before! It made sense for the character and it’s these little attentions to detail for all of his characters that really makes Gwynne a master of his craft.

This brings me nicely to the writing. It continues to be superb. A Time of Blood jumps straight into the action and the pace doesn’t relent from there. The conflicts that I expected to occur as a culmination of the events at the end of A Time of Dread happened much sooner than I predicted. I loved that so early on I was thrown off kilter in my expectations and I could just sit back and enjoy the direction Gwynne took. The pacing is excellent, it kept me turning the pages whilst also remaining true to life, nothing felt coincidental or placed just to create extra drama, and the battle scenes continue to be breathtaking. You can tell Gwynne knows each weapon and how it works in the right (and wrong!) hands and reading the characters take on different roles and skills in each skirmish is impressive to behold. No one is safe and it is testament to the incredible writing that each casualty feels like a physical blow. I was wholly absorbed in the action and that is exactly what I am looking for in fantasy. I touched earlier on how there are no clear cut lines for the good guys and the villains, the characters have too much depth and complexity for that, but each character ultimately believes they are on the right side, yet still have moments where they question whether what they believe (or have been taught to believe) is the truth and with each new revelation we are more unsure who our allies are. See, I say our as if I’m actually part of the story - it’s that immersive.

This instalment certainly lives up to its name, Gwynne continues to be unafraid to dish out war, brutality and loss and the climax does not disappoint. As expected, I was rapidly turning the pages, impatient to find out how these characters were going to triumph, or even if they would survive at all, and as usual I was left with an incredible finale that promises an explosive conclusion. I have no idea how Gwynne is going to manoeuvre his characters to conclude this epic series, but I have absolute faith that it will be a violent, emotional roller-coaster of excellence. I can’t wait.

Truth and Courage.

John Gwynne does it again! A Time of Blood is yet another brilliant book from a man who has become a master of the fantasy genre.

What i love about this new series from Gwynne is that its a continuation of the Faithful and Fallen series, but written in an entirely different way. Those original 4 books were truly epic fantasy. They were big big books, with a lot of world building and vast casts. This new series is a lot more compact. The world building has been done, so pages arent wasted just to make the book bigger, its concise and gripping. And i imagine that a new reader could pick this series up and still enjoy it just as much. It pays homage to the original series, without being reliant upon it.

The PoV characters are brilliant, Drem is a fantastic character. The plot is great, the prose is exciting - what more do you want?!

Another winner from John Gwynne, bring on book 3.

A Time of Blood earned my absolutely undying praise for its impeccable, top-notch quality.

Currently, there are only three fantasy authors in the world who can compel me to drop every book in my reading plan and start their newest published work instead; John Gwynne is one of them. There will never be a shortage of praises I can give towards Gwynne’s books. I’m serious, I have insanely high expectations towards his books and yet somehow each of his newest works never fail to not only meet but also exceed my expectations. If you believe in my recommendations and somehow you still haven’t read any of Gwynne’s books, you need to redeem yourself immediately. A Time of Blood was such an incredible and riveting reading experience that I finished it in less than 24 hours; it made me totally ignore reality.

“There is much in life that is beyond our control, events that sweep us up and along, actions that wrap us tight in their consequences. Stop raging about the things you cannot change. Just be true to yourself and do what you can do. Love those worth loving, and to the Otherworld with the rest of it. That is all any of us can do.”

A Time of Blood is the second book in John Gwynne’s Of Blood and Bone trilogy and the story picks only a few days after A Time of Dread ends. Remember the wonderful pacing of Valor? That is exactly what you’re getting here: chapters ending in a cliffhanger, cinematic scenes being built up, and terrific action scenes written with sniper precision. Even when there was a respite from all the chaos, the story never stopped being interesting because these portions were used effectively to build the character development and relationships. The first book was mostly setup, and Gwynne phenomenally built upon the foundation he established to execute a fast-paced and brutal sequel full of dramatic revelations, engaging dialogues, and bloody warfare. Fans of The Faithful and the Fallen or A Time of Dread have nothing to worry about here; this installment doesn’t suffer the infamous middle book syndrome. Gwynne smartly used this book as a platform to prepare the story for the concluding third and final book while making sure this book doesn’t feel at all like filler.

“Each small step taken for a greater good, and then before you know it, you have walked a thousand leagues from where you used to be. And how do you return to that place, return to the person you were? Or if you cannot do that, how do you become the person that you wish to be?”

Just like my reviews for The Faithful and the Fallen, I’ll refrain from mentioning character names from the second book and so on in order to make my review as spoiler-free as possible. If you’re familiar with Gwynne’s work, you should know by now that he’s brutal with his characters and he’s not afraid to torture or kill them off. This is also why I utterly LOVE Gwynne’s books. Because of the horrible things he’s not afraid to put his characters through, a melody of dread seems to accompany these characters; I felt a healthy dose of fear for their fates as I turned every page. Their hatred, sorrow, and moral complexity were superbly written and they helped in developing the characters even more. However, it is once again their friendship, loyalty, and love for each other that made me truly care. The rise and fall of heroes and villains in the Banished Lands have always been something that feels personal to me, because Gwynne’s characters always feel so real, and A Time of Blood continued that tradition with finesse. The shifting of emotions that the characters felt were exceptionally portrayed and the characters’ motivations for their actions felt realistic. Because the characters were extremely well-written, the atmosphere of danger in the battle scenes became even more palpable.

“A person is made by their heart and their wits.’ He touched his one hand to his chest and then to his temple. ‘And by the deeds that they do. Their choices. Not whether they have pale skin or dark skin, wings or no wings. One hand or two.”

The scintillating quality of the action scenes in Gwynne’s books has always been a crucial factor that totally enhanced my reading experience and A Time of Blood displayed a lot of breathtaking battle scenes. Tension-packed chase, fatal archery, stunning airborne battle, deadly ancient magic, marvelous swordcraft/dance, magnificent duel, and savage beasts’ wrath; they’re all here. Even though A Time of Blood is not the last book of the trilogy, the action scenes—especially the final 100 pages which I blazed through in one sitting—could’ve easily worked as a final battle in your usual epic fantasy series. Mayhem and madness exploded as humans, ferals, giant, warriors of the Order, acolytes, wyrms, draigs, angels, and demons all fought in one epic battle. In this installment, Gwynne is back once again to show fantasy readers that he’s still the conqueror of close-quarter battle sequences. I’ve read more than two hundred fantasy books, and in my opinion there are less than five authors who can measure up to Gwynne’s unchallenged skill when it comes to writing vivid and heart-pounding close-quarter combat scenes. As the Kadoshim rises with explosive malice and the Ben Elim descend with their bloody justice, the Order of the Bright-Star must stand their ground with iron-forged determination in order to counter the tsunami of a bloodbath brought by the newly erupting war in the Banished Lands. I can’t emphasize enough the palpable thrill of reading the pulse-pounding climax sequences that were filled with a maelstrom of blood and the clashing steel of devastation in this book. The cinematic action scenes were absolutely fantastic and the heart-hammering climax sequences were completely world-class.

I mentioned this in my A Time of Dread review but it still holds true so I’ll say it again: EVERY single book by Gwynne is on my ‘favorite books of all time’ shelf. So far, no other author has ever achieved this kind of constant greatness for me. Not even some of my top favorite authors like Brandon Sanderson, Steven Erikson, or Joe Abercrombie have this kind of consistency. During my time reading A Time of Blood, I was an avatar of iron and the structure of the words written inside this book was a large-scale crimson magnetic field that compelled me to never stop reading. Every word in the book was brilliantly crafted to amaze readers with its superlative quality, and I consider myself blessed to have read this book.

Continuing the legacy left behind by legendary authors like J.R.R Tolkien, who rose to fame with his epic fantasies of light waging war against darkness, Gwynne steers the battle between good and evil in modern fantasy towards a perennially promising future. Brimming with astonishing plot, excellent characterizations, unputdownable pacing, vividly engaging prose, and full-throttle exhilarating action in a fully realized world; A Time of Blood is an irresistible jaw-dropping sequel that shows the importance of Gwynne’s role as an ever-burning bright star in modern fantasy. Fantasy fans, trust me when I say just pre-order or buy this book and read it as soon as possible. You won’t regret it. You’re missing out on one of the greatest books and series that fantasy has to offer if you should choose not to read it. The stage for the grand conclusion has been set, and I absolutely can’t wait to read how it all concludes in the final book of the trilogy, A Time of Loss, which I envision will solidify Of Blood and Bone as one of my favorite trilogies of all time. Thank you very much to John Gwynne for delivering another stupendous escapism experience!

“We live our lives by Truth and Courage. Love and loyalty, friendship and honor are our guiding lights.”

Official release date: April 18th (UK) and 16th (US), 2019

You can pre-order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookdepository (Free shipping)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.