So far this year, we’ve covered standalones, series openers, duologies, and trilogies alike. But today, we’d like to focus on one duology: the Chaos & Flame series by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland and its conclusion with Blood & Fury.
Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland’s Blood & Fury picks up months after book one as Darling Seabreak learns to adapt to her newfound phoenix powers. While still, of course, finding a way to end the House Wars in Pyrlanum. Darling must gather the other House regents for any chance of rebuilding her world, but not everyone shares the same goal.
Blood & Fury by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland is another stellar sequel you don’t want to miss out on! Here are three things we love about Blood & Fury!
Book Overview
Content Warnings: war, torture, blood, murder, death, character death, disembowelment, graphic depictions of violence, fires (Read at your discretion!)
Summary: Picking up months after betrayal transformed Darling Seabreak into the long-lost Phoenix and every House regent into their empyreal form, Darling struggles to make sense of her destiny as a legendary creature. How can she, an orphan with no family, be the one to reunite the fractured houses and bring about peace, if she can’t control the magic of her new Phoenix body?
Talon Goldhoard, still in love with Darling but wounded by her betrayal, is tasked with ending the vicious war that his family instigated. With the Phoenix reborn, Talon is hopeful that the bloodshed will end swiftly. Instead, the kingdom grows more fraught, with the threat of violence ever present – especially from dark, conniving forces within the walls of his own House Dragon.
As Chaos reigns, Talon and Darling must find their way back to each other – not only to survive but to save the kingdom. Can Darling harness the power of the ancient magic that runs through her blood to bring about a new peace? Or will the fury that House Dragon fueled for a hundred-year war be too strong to break?
The Magic System
First of all, we love how each house represents a different mythological creature, from dragons and krakens to gryphons and sphinxes. And the people of each house have magical powers, or boons, related to their respective houses. After the events of book one, many others gained new boons that could fully awaken with Darling’s powers. The boons given by Chaos thus gives everyone a new purpose. We were fascinated with the diversity of magic abilities, even the simple ones that could be used in cooking or gardening.
Darling’s New Role
As the Phoenix Reborn, our protagonist Darling now holds the fate of the world in Blood & Fury. She assumes a new leadership position she could never have expected. But we love how well she connects with the phoenix empyreal and uses her powers to heal the communities she visits. We’d trust her with our lives at this point. Not to mention how her position affects her romance with Talon in book two. Darling has been through so much grief long before she became the Phoenix, so we’re glad she finally gets a chance to change the world for the next generation.
The End Of The House Wars
Speaking of changing the world, Darling must first reunite the House regents if she wants to bring peace. Each of them needs to finish the decades-long House War, a war they never started nor wanted. It’s easy for animosity to grow between Houses when war is all the world has ever known. But even with whiny dragon princes and scions much too young to take on the mantle, Darling successfully takes her throne. And we’re hopeful that this next generation of leaders can handle anything.
Whether you love strong female characters, magical alliances, or refreshing new fantasies, you can’t go wrong with picking up Blood & Fury by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland!
Blood & Fury by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland releases May 14th, and you can preorder a copy of it here!
What do you think of Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland’s Blood & Fury? Have you read Chaos & Flame yet? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TESSA GRATTON:
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JUSTINA IRELAND:
INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | WEBSITE
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