Blood of the Chosen

• Author: Django Wexler
• Genre: Fantasy
• Publication Date: October 5, 2021
• Publisher: Orbit
• Series: Burningblade and Silvereye #2

Thank you to Orbit and Angela Man for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

CONTENT WARNING: violence, gore, blood, murder

“Fantasy at its finest.”–Nicholas Eames, on Ashes of the Sun  In the second book of Django Wexler’s epic fantasy trilogy about two siblings divided by magic and revolution, Gyre must travel across the Splinter Kingdoms to rally the rebels to his side, while his sister Maya uncovers the secrets of a powerful artifact that could change everything.

Gyre finally sees a way to overthrow the all-powerful Twilight Order. But he’ll have to gain the alliance of both the ghouls and the human rebels to the south in order to even stand have a chance. And uniting them won’t be so simple.

His sister Maya is still a soldier of the Order. But after clashing with her brother, she isn’t so certain where her loyalties lie. Chasing the origins of a mysterious artifact to a long-lost library, she just might find the answers she’s looking for.

It’s no secret that I really enjoyed book 1 in this series, and I was so excited to start this book. And this book picked up right where the last one left off, building on the layered complexity and deepening it.

The story itself is a great one, full of action and plot twists and intrigue that we never see coming. In addition, we get to see so much more of the history of this world, and more parts of the world and how it works. I loved seeing the various cities and territories, and how they each differ, not just in appearance, but in how they are governed and how they function. 

But there’s another layer to the story, and that’s the relationship between Gyre and Maya. The complicated relationship between these two siblings on opposite sides of the conflict adds additional depth, especially since they share a moral code that doesn’t want them to kill the other, even though the fact that they’re on opposing sides dictates that they should be working to kill the other. Each of them faces an internal struggle, and has to come to terms with who their sibling is now, as an adult, and how it affects their own goal.

“Things were simpler, back when I was Hallmark. Before I met Maya again.”

In addition to Gyre and Maya’s mission, they’re both aligned with different factions. While Maya is working for the Twilight Order, an organization that she believes in wholeheartedly to provide order, Gyre is working with the ghouls to take them down and give power back to the people, who he believes should be able to take care of themselves.

“That danger doesn’t mean the Order gets to treat the entire rest of humanity like children, while conveniently keeping anything that might be a threat to their dominance out of our hands. If dhak is what it takes to overthrow the Republic—and to protect ourselves afterward, from plaguespawn or anything else—then so be it.”

I fell in love with this story. The writing style that makes it so easy to picture everything in my mind, no matter how complex the items described might be, the way the characters relate to each other, the wonderful dialogue, and the action sequences that blow my mind. But the real draw in this book is the relationships between the characters. Although Kit is relegated to a smaller role in this book, her quips definitely made me laugh all the time, and this book certainly wouldn’t be the same without her. I also loved seeing Sarah and Elariel and how they connected to each other, as well as watching the relationship between Maya and Beq grow and deepen, as well as how Maya connects with her own little crew. This is a wonderful series, and it ends on a cliffhanger that has me dying to read the next book as soon as it comes out!

People who have sat around with me while I’m reading, especially when there’s a surprising reveal, a shocking plot twist, or an unexpected event often look up in alarm when I gasp audibly. The gasp factor is directly related to the number of times I audibly gasp during a reading, and there isn’t an upper limit.

Gasp Factor: 18