4.5/5

For fans of: X-men, Children of Blood and Bone, empires, revolution, slow burn romance

The Big Questions:

• What genre is this in? Young adult fantasy, New adult fantasy

• Are there any swoon-worthy characters? Ramson is quick with words, wit, and charm

• Is it spicy? No

• Is it violent or gory? Oh boy, yes.

• Should I buy, borrow, or pass on this book? If you loved Blood Heir, absolutely buy it!

Synopsis: Ana Mikhailov is the only surviving member of the royal family of Cyrilia. She has no army, no title, and no allies, and now she must find a way to take back the throne or risk the brutal retribution of the empress. Morganya is determined to establish a new world order on the spilled blood of non-Affinites. Ana is certain that Morganya won't stop until she kills them all.

Ana's only chance at navigating the dangerous world of her homeland means partnering with Ramson Quicktongue again. But the cunning crime lord has schemes of his own. For Ana to find an army, they must cross the Whitewaves to the impenetrable stone forts of Bregon. Only, no one can be certain what they will find there.

A dark power has risen. Will revolution bring peace--or will it only paint the streets in more blood.

Review: Second books in a trilogy are so tricky to get right and Red Tigress hit it out of the ballpark. It has been quite a while since I read Blood Heir, but it was surprisingly easy to return to the world of Cyrilia as revolution stirs the air and our main characters are scrabbling for survival after the brutal turn of events at the end of the last book. Amélie’s writing has improved quite a bit as the world expands, new cultures are explored, and new characters take the stage.

The journeys of our mains, Ana and Ramson, made me truly love them more. Ramson specifically gets far more page time as we learn more about his past in the second act of the story and his motivations for the remainder of the series. Ana, reluctant to make hard choices, takes steps to prepare her for ruling and war. I loved seeing her fully embrace her powers instead of being afraid of them, as terrifying as they are. Another pair we get to know a bit more are Linn and Kais, prisoner and jailer turned reluctant allies escaping Cyrilia to fight for a better world. These two have my heart in their enemies-to-friends (and maybe more?) relationship. I love to see it slowly unfold. We get to meet several new antagonists, but the one who stood out the most and scares the living daylights out of me is Sorscha, a cold-blooded psychopath hellbent on getting back at every single man that has ever wronged her. She was absolutely terrifying and thrilling.

If you were on the fence on continuing Blood Heir, I highly recommend that you do. Red Tigress is excellent in continuing the threads of the first book, adding complexity to the plot and characters, and creating an emotional connection for all of our characters. This book had me laughing, gasping, and tearing up at all the right moments.