The Bloodprint by Ausma Zehanat Khan

A dark power called the Talisman has risen in the land, born of ignorance and persecution. Led by a man known only known as the One-eyed Preacher, it is a cruel and terrifying movement bent on world domination—a superstitious patriarchy that suppresses knowledge and subjugates women. And it is growing. But there are those who fight the Talisman’s spread, including the Companions of Hira, a diverse group of influential women whose power derives from the Claim—the magic inherent in the words of a sacred scripture. Foremost among them is Arian and her apprentice, Sinnia, skilled warriors who are knowledgeable in the Claim. This daring pair have long stalked Talisman slave-chains, searching for clues and weapons to help them battle their enemy’s oppressive ways. Now, they may have discovered a miraculous symbol of hope that can destroy the One-eyed Preacher and his fervid followers: The Bloodprint, a dangerous text the Talisman has tried to erase from the world. Finding a copy of The Bloodprint promises to be their most dangerous undertaking yet, an arduous journey that will lead them deep into Talisman territory. Though they will be helped by allies—a loyal ex-slave and Arian’s former confidante and sword master—both Arian and Sinnia know that this mission may well be their last.

I really enjoyed reading The Bloodprint. It had some really interesting and exciting parts and I am very excited to read more books in this series. Even though this is a chunky book it didn’t take me as long as I thought it would to finish. Sometimes I struggle to read and absorb every detail from high fantasy novels, but I didn’t have this problem reading The Bloodprint.

Arian is a fantastic main character and as soon as you start reading you fall in love with her and you want to on this journey with her. This is her story and you want her to succeed. She is strong willed, smart and very very awesome.

The setting in the Bloodprint is definitely not a happy world or a world I would want to find myself living in, but its described beautifully in this book. The world building is so  rich with detail that its easy for you to visualise the world in your mind while reading. The more and more I read the more I learnt about the world and what I liked about it was that there wasn’t pages and pages of world building. Instead the world was built up throughout the novel, it evolved in your mind the more you read.

Its not just the world that is well thought out though because the plot is well written as well. The story has a way of entering your mind and then take hold and not let go, even when you have finished the book. At the end of The Bloodprint I still had questions that I wanted answers too but I didn’t mind that because this is part of a series and not a standalone novel. Another good thing about not getting everything resolved in one book means that you will want to check out the sequel when its released, and I will definitely  be doing that.

The small little niggle I had with this book is that it could be a little shorter, towards the middle I did find my interest dipping a bit. But this is me being very picky with the book because on a whole I really did enjoy it. I also found it helpful to keep referring to the glossary in the book.

I would recommend The Bloodprint to all high fantasy readers and to readers who want something new and exciting from fantasy books. This book had everything you need for a really epic read, a well crafted world, an interesting and detailed story and well developed characters.

I rate this book 4/5 stars

***I was sent a copy of this book to review. Everything in this review is my own honest opinions.***