Bloodguard (Old Erth, #1) by Cecy Robson Series: Old Erth #1
Published by Entangled: Red Tower Books on October 22, 2024
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 512
Format: Hardcover
Source: Author
I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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One hundred years. Tens of thousands of gladiators. And today, only one will rise…
Everything in the Kingdom of Arrow is a lie.
Leith of Grey thought coming to this new land and volunteering to fight in the gladiator arena—vicious, bloodthirsty tournaments where only the strongest survive—would earn him enough gold to save his dying sister. He thought there was nothing left to lose.
He was wrong—and they took everything. His hope. His freedom. His very humanity.
All Leith has left is his battle-scarred body, fueled by rage and hardened from years of fighting for the right to live another day.
Then Leith meets Maeve, an elven royal who is everything he despises. Everything he should hate. Until the alluring princess offers him the one thing he needs most: a chance to win the coveted title of Bloodguard—and his freedom.
But in a kingdom built on secrets and lies, hope doesn’t come cheap.
Nor will his ultimate revenge…
Spectacular! Bloodguard has everything: the excitement of gladiator battles mixed with magic users, mythical creatures, a fight for the throne and of course, a beautiful romance. A Must Read for any Romantacy reader!
Leith of Grey went to the City of Arrow to fight in the arena to earn money to send home to his mother and little sisters. He also fights for the chance to become Bloodguard. Once upon a time, the Bloodguard were the elite generals of the Arrow army, it now referred to a gladiator who survives 100 battles and has not only won their freedom and a title of royalty and great wealth. When we begin this story, Leith has survived 97 battles and has already been given his first of four tattoos which will eventually be his ticket to providing his struggling family with a life of leisure and plenty. Everything he does has been for them. But there have been so few who have lasted long enough to be given the title of Bloodguard and he knows that the next few battles will be the hardest to survive.
Maeve of Iamond is next in line for the throne. Her grandmother is dead, supposedly killed by her Papa but Maeve will never believe that. With her father arrested for her grandmother’s murder, Maeve needs only to marry before her 21st birthday to claim her birthright. But as the days tick by towards her birthday, Maeve if finding it harder and harder to find an acceptable royal candidate. Her uncle has been holding the title of High Lord since her grandmother’s death and it seems that Vitor has closed the borders to the City, keeping out any potential grooms. Vitor wants Maeve to choose his son, the self-titled General, Soro, who unfortunately is a sadistic SOB who wants to go to war with…well, everyone to show the greatness of Arrow. Marrying Soro would be the worst thing to happen to Arrow, and honestly, to Maeve herself as she suspects that Vitor and Soro would subjugate her and rule in her stead, doing nothing for the betterment of her people. So Maeve comes up with her own plan when she sees Leith fighting in the arena. If she can help him become the Bloodguard, he will be titled royalty and she can marry him in order to take her throne. It’s a good plan, Maeve just has to make sure Leith lives to fulfill it.
There is so much to love about this story. As far as excitement, we have Leith and the other gladiators battling to the death in the arena, and it is not just gladiator against gladiator. Like the Romans threw in lions, here we have mythical creatures. Leith might be human in this story, but after 97 wins, he knows how to battle an opponent, be they elves, trolls, dwarves or mages, but what happens when you are suddenly looking at a dragon across the sand? We also have a less bloody battle for the throne. While there might be a less blood, there is ultimately more strategy needed. Once Maeve makes her decision to marry Leith, she needs to balance on a knife’s edge keeping Vitor and Soro believing they have outmaneuvered her or else, Soro, who is in charge of the games, will make sure that Leith doesn’t survive to become Bloodguard.
What I liked best about Maeve is that she doesn’t just take care of her people from afar. Maeve is an elf, which means she heals quickly, yet she has made it her mission to learn the art of healing with magical herbs. She goes into the poorer sections of her city and heals her people as well as the people immigrating into the city from the even poorer or ravaged areas around the city. This is important as she uses that magic to heal Leith. Because Maeve and her family “sponsors” Leith, Maeve takes him home between the fights and helps him heal from his wounds. This little nugget give our author carte blanche to make Leith’s battles even bloodier and more insane, as once his body is ravaged, Maeve can help him heal up before the next fight. One of my favorite scenes in the book involves Maeve healing some particularly nasty wounds and being very relatable in the icky-ness of it all.
That has to be a rule, right? Thou shall not hurl on thy patient?
Cecy Robson has a gift for making even the most trivial character lovable. That also makes her slightly evil. I love/hate authors like this who give you big feels about all their characters and then rips out your heart and danced a little jig on it laughing that slightly demented laughter that all good authors laugh when the know they are causing their readers great pain. In a book filled with battles both gladiatorial and royal, we are going to have casualties…many casualties. And just when you think, she would not…she does. And you will cry. And you know you want to stop reading, but you won’t, and she will make you cry some more, and if you listen closely, you can almost hear the maniacal laughter in the breeze.
Of course, Maeve and Leith’s plan on a mutually beneficial marriage turns to true affection and eventually love, making Bloodguard a Must Read story for any Romantacy lover.
But while Bloodguard is a complete(-ish) story on it’s own, I have not gotten my fill of Maeve’s little sister, Giselle, and I am hoping that she is going to be popping up with her own story in the saga of Old Erth.
Favorite Scene:
How is this man alive? When I am queen, I’ll free Papa, and we will end these games forever.
I dip my fingers into the paste I made, strengthening the mixture by adding the purple dust from aja mushrooms. It took months for me to find a fairy circle strong enough to grow them, but even then, I only found three and collected two.
Aja mushrooms are one of the only things that can heal not only a late-stage infection but the charred flesh that, under non-magical circumstances, would take months to painstakingly regrow.
An ache builds in my bones–that feeling of doubt that plagues me more than I wish. But if I am to be queen, there can never be doubt. Only action.
I shake off the fear. This mixture is potent, and it must be formulated just right. If I somehow missed a step, it will not only kill the infection. It will kill him.
The ingredients sparkle, brightening the paste. I exhale with relief. That’s a good sign.
I apply the mixture to his left hand, starting with a stab wound straight through his palm–it may be too late to preserve full mobility in that hand—and onto the series of gashes crisscrossing his arms. He doesn’t even flinch as I attend to these injuries.
But his jaw clenches when I move to his back. There’s a large wound on his shoulder that the dragon fire only partially cauterized. Whatever made that gash dug deep. He’s lucky to be alive.
He hisses as I glide my finger along the inflamed lesions and the deep burns. The paste is working as I intended. It sizzles across the skin, eating away at the damaged tissue and stirring new skin to form.
He grips the edge of the bathtub tighter.
Come on, heal…
The scar bursts open, and I gasp.
Leith twitches but otherwise remains still. I’d expected to find more injured tissue. I hadn’t expected to find a pus-filled sac at the base.
“Uh…this might sting a little,” I warn, trying not to gag.
With a sickening pop, yellow fluid mixed with spots of green oozes out.
My face puckers, and I struggle for balance. It’s only because of the pain he’s in that he doesn’t notice my reaction. Good. Despite my chosen specialty and unusually strong stomach, this is all sorts of disgusting.
The cleaning stone absorbs the contaminants like a sponge, rapidly pulling them in and keeping the water clean. I’ve never treated someone this injured before. Not even close.
With a trembling hand, I add more paste.
Then add some more.
In fact, I keep adding paste like his life depends on it–because it does. Honestly, the color drains from his skin and mine. “Ah, this might add to your discomfort.”
“Discomfort is stubbing a toe,” he seethes. “Am I going to have a fucking shoulder by the time you’re done?”
I take another good look and consider how much paste I have left.
“Um, maybe?” I offer.
“Maybe?” he barks back. Tremors rack his frame. He grips the edge of the bath even tighter, his knuckles discoloring. “Do you even know what you’re doing?”
“Yes.” Usually. I close my mouth tightly. It’s better than vomiting on my patient. That has to be a rule, right? Thou shall not hurl on thy patient?
I order my body to settle. He still needs me, and I can’t stop now.
His right shoulder makes an odd twitch. There’s an eruption of fluid and–
Yes!
Leith jerks forward, and I crouch at the side of the tub. As hard as I’m breathing, his respiration is deeper and dangerously fast. His eyes are wild, and I’m certain he’ll collapse. But then his breathing slows, and relief floods me from head to toe.
“What the blazes just happened?” he groans between gritted teeth.
If I wasn’t clutching the side of the tub for balance, I’d applaud. “Fresh blood is spilling from the wound.”
“Wonderful,” he mutters. “Indeed, miraculous news.”
I shift to my knees and begin to gently cleanse the wounds with a sponge. “Don’t worry. Nothing a good leeching won’t fix.”
“Leeching?” Water sloshes over the edges of the tub as he twists to gap at me, and I can’t help it–I start to giggle.
“I’m joking,” I say with a strangled laugh. “The next time you’re in the city, see about buying a sense of humor.”
“You seriously expect me to laugh? Now?“
“No,” I say, managing a smile. “But some gratitude would be nice.”
He grumbles something that may or may not be about my mother. I don’t let him catch my grin this time.
BONUS SCENE – WHY WE LOVE GISELLE SO MUCH…
The woman standing at the door to the cottage is not Maeve.
Giselle is wearing brown today–gloves, dress, boots, cape. She looks like a fucking tree trunk. A nice tree trunk, but still…”What do you want?”
She turns behind her, to where Caelen, his hair braided above the shaved sides of his head in the style of Arrow’s military elite, raises his eyebrows at me. “Did you see where it went?” she asks him. The little thing lifts her skirt and checks her feet. “It’s got to be around here somewhere.”
“What are you doing?” I demand.
“Just looking for my will to live,” she says. “Your idea of a good morning sent it running.”
Such a great review!!! I loved this book!!!
I’m definitely going to have to check this one out! And the book is just so freakin’ pretty!