WE ARE BLOOD AND THUNDER

Lena is an outcast. A facial birthmark brands her as a cryptling—a disabled or disfigured person banished underground to tend the bodies of deceased Ancestors. In Duke’s Forest, Ancestors are worshiped and magic is outlawed. When a mysterious storm cloud brings a plague upon the kingdom and the Duke becomes ill, his representative, the sinister Justice, orders that all mages be executed. When she is convicted of magecraft, Lena must flee to the City of Kings and tame her powers by pledging herself to one of nine gods, forsaking the Ancestors. After six years, Constance, the Duke’s daughter and a talented mage, has returned to Duke’s Forest on a mission: to find and destroy the spell’s “heart.” But without the other, neither girl can succeed. Their stories build in alternating third-person chapters, increasing the suspense of their respective quests. Unfortunately, despite descriptive prose and musings on identity and self-acceptance, uneven character development and a rushed ending blunt the impact of their stories’ intersection and weaken a climactic twist. The magic and social class systems are familiar; a romance feels hasty and contrived. Most characters, including Constance, appear to be white; several characters, including Lena, are brown skinned. A minor character is gay and closeted.

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