Audio Review: One Blood Ruby by Melissa Marr

I received this book via Edelweiss, My Book Shelf. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

One Blood Ruby by Melissa Marr
Series: Seven Black Diamonds #2
Published by HarperCollins on 2017-02-28
Length: 373 pages
Reviewing eARC, Audiobook from Edelweiss, My Book Shelf
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2018 Audiobook Challenge, 2018 Blogger Shame Challenge, 2018 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge

Now that Lilywhite Abernathy is the heir to the Hidden Lands, everything is about to change.

The Queen of Blood and Rage wants Lily to help broker peace with the human world, but Lily knows that harmony won’t come easily. After decades of waging war on the humans, who cost the queen her firstborn daughter, the fae are struggling to accept Lily, a half-human monarch. And the humans, while no match against faery affinities, will hardly agree to the queen’s détente without resistance.

Lily wants to be a fair ruler but fears having to abandon the life she’s known to do so. Now that she and Creed are more than just fellow Black Diamonds—operatives for the queen—her priorities have shifted. But her worries about assuming the throne are derailed when it becomes clear that someone—or some fae—is masterminding violent attacks to discourage peace.

In this gripping follow-up to Melissa Marr’s lush Seven Black Diamonds, Lily and her friends are forced to reckon with the truth of their own parentage and to protect one of their own, no matter what—or who—comes between them.

I was REALLY looking forward to starting One Blood Ruby by Melissa Marr after I had read the first book in the series. I enjoyed Seven Black Diamonds that much! I liked the multiple POVs, the Fae living in the human world, the modern setting, really all of it. So why was One Blood Ruby not as good as I was hoping?!

The book picks up pretty much right where it left off. Lilywhite, now Lilydark, is about to be named the heir to the Hidden Throne. However she has some stipulations, namely that she would like to live in both worlds, stop the war, offer protections to humans, etc. She is surprised when her grandparents (the current queen and king) agree. However the Fae and some humans are opposed to this and will stop at nothing to prevent Lilywhite from taking the throne.

So the blurb makes One Blood Ruby sound like a really exciting read….and it is, BUT it is also rushed. There was action and adventure, intrigue and mystery at every turn of the page. However when I reached the last few chapters, I felt unsatisfied. I found myself questioning what I had just read. There was a lot of lead up to the coronation and announce of Lilywhite as heir, and then only a few chapters after it to wrap things up. BUT the climax of the story happened and then it just ended. Very unsatisfying!!

Lilydark is still coming into her powers. She seems to have full control of them now and is struggling to accept her new role as heir and princess of the Hidden Throne. My only complaint about Lily was her relationship with Creed. There’s some serious instalove there, and it felt forced to me.

Eilidh was the shining star of this book. In the first book of the series, she is timid and almost afraid to live outside of her little bubble. But her new engagement to Torquil, her new relationship with her brother Rhys, and her involvement in protecting Lily give her a newfound confidence. Not to mention the fact that in her first chapter she is torturing someone, becoming her mother’s daughter. She’s a bit terrifying.

Overall I didn’t love One Blood Ruby, but I didn’t hate it either. It was just okay for me. I did listen to the audio and I loved the multiple POV. The narrator did a fantastic job of bringing all the characters to life with different inflections and tones. I binged the book in just a few days thanks to her. If you enjoyed the first book of the series, I think you will enjoy this one. My personal opinion is that the story should have continued for at least one more book so as not to feel so rushed. But that’s just my two cents 😉

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