Title: Princess of BloodAuthor: Sarah Hawley
Series: The Shards of Magic #2
Pages: 512
Publication Date: Sept. 30, 2025
Publisher: Ace
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Fantasy / Romantasy
Synopsis:
Once a servant, now a princess, a young woman thrust into power challenges everything about the underground Fae realm in the next installment of Sarah Hawley’s new romantasy series.
Kenna Heron is still reeling from her lover’s betrayal and the threat of an impending war. With only her two closest–and most powerless–friends by her side, she must navigate the treacherous politics of Mistei while coming to terms with her new identity as not just Fae, but princess of her own house.
With the king dead, three candidates are vying for the right to wear the crown next. A princess who claims the throne as her birthright and two rebel princes, both of whom are depending on the support of Blood House to break the stalemate between them. Old loyalties fray as new, dangerous alliances form, and Kenna finds herself caught in a web of violence, deceit, and unexpected passion.
Kenna has the power to shape Mistei’s future… but someone’s willing to kill to make sure she never gets the chance.
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“May your words grow wings.”
Wow. I just finished the book, and my heart feels like it’s been stomped on, but I low-key want to thank the author for it. lol Seriously, it was STRESSFUL!
New to the world of fae royalty, Kenna has her work cut out for her. There’s so much backstabbing and spying, deceit, and lies as more than one fae vies for power, and Kenna is a target since her role as leader of her house comes with significant influence and power. Between learning how to become the kind of leader she wants to be, choosing a new king, learning how to fight, dealing with the repercussions of her actions from the first book, avoiding assassination attempts, gaining new friendships, and trying to repair broken ones, Kenna really goes through it! I loved her growth in this story.
Some of what she (and other characters) witnesses and experiences is brutal and dark, and they are all dealing with a lot of tragedy and trauma. The story definitely explores the different ways people deal with trauma, and there are some strong messages about healing, hurting, grief, and surviving. This aspect of the story was really powerful, and I feel like it’s not always explored in fantasies when characters endure horrific treatment and cruelty. Some parts were painful and visceral and so heartbreaking, and I felt for so many of the characters, even ones I was prepared to loathe.
Speaking of, a character that I’m now obsessed with is one I was curious about in Servant of Earth – the mysterious Kallen. I officially love him and the slow-building romance between him and Kenna. He has that whole bad boy, morally grey, broody, moody, intense, steel exterior-he’s only soft for her vibe down perfectly. I love that we learned more about him, his relationships, and his backstory, since he had such a villainous role in the first book as a right hand to the king and Kenna’s blackmailer. His character is as layered as Kenna’s.
I wake up thinking about you, and I fall asleep thinking about you, and on the rare nights the universe offers me some mercy, I dream about you, too.”
Of course, I LOVED the romance. Kenna is still reeling from a betrayal in the first book, and she has a lot of conflicted and complicated feelings as she processes what happened and how she should handle what happened. All the while, her feelings for Kallen are growing, and he is so unreadable. Ugh! The push and pull between her and Kallen was fantastic. They had amazing chemistry, and some of the things he said when he let his guard down are positively swoon-worthy (and spicy)!
I thought this was a brilliant addition to the series! The pacing begins a bit slowly and gets quicker as the story progresses, heightening the intensity of the plot and tone. It made for a suspenseful and gripping read that I found impossible to put down. It was brutal and vicious and emotional and romantic, and I still don’t have words for that ending! I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself now because I’m so invested in these characters, and I need to know what happens next! lol
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
Neutrality sounded ideal in principle—to be a watcher of history, to document the truth without bias and stand apart from the violence so easily inflicted by others—but in the face of monstrous evil, it became complicity.
Power could be gifted, but it meant more when it was seized.
“We can’t control everything, but the wise prepare for all ends.”
None of us were the same, though. Time wore over us like a river, smoothing some areas and sharpening others, twisting us into shapes we’d never imagined.
Sarah Hawley is the USA Today bestselling author of Servant of Earth and the Glimmer Falls series. She has an MA in archaeology and has excavated at an Inca site in Chile, a Bronze Age palace in Turkey, and a medieval abbey in England. When not dreaming up whimsical love stories, she can be found reading, dancing, or cuddling her two cats.
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