# of Pages: 425
Time it took me to read: 4 Days
# of pages a day to finish in a week: 61
Rating: 5 out of 5
With the kingdom of Cyrillia now in the hands of the powerful false empress Morganya, Ana and Ramson are on the run and in desperate need of allies. Because though she has no title, no army, and few friends, Ana knows she is the only one who can save her kingdom from destruction as Morganya’s army sweeps through the kingdom, killing non-Affiniates and anyone else who gets in the way of her plans.
When the last of her kingdom’s strongholds falls to Morganya’s power, Ana is forced to turn her gaze overseas, where foreign kingdoms with powerful armies could be the answer to the alliance she’s been looking for. But will Ramson be able to return to his home, the kingdom of Bregon, after all these years of self-imposed exile? And will the effort of Ana, Ramson, and their friends to expose Morganya’s plot to steal a powerful weapon from Bregon expose even more dangerous secrets brewing in the courts of Bregon?
Review (!!!Spoiler Free!!!)
I’ve been excited beyond belief for this book, as it’s the sequel to my 2020 Book of the Year, Blood Heir. If you’re unfamiliar, think dark fantasy retelling of the Anastasia fairytale (animated movie or awesome broadway show, take your pick). Anyway, this book has been out for a while but I’m trying to have much better self control and read books mostly in the order I buy them, alternating between sequels and new standalones/new series. So I’ve been waiting for this one to make its way to the top of my stack.
Everything about the first book was great, and Red Tigress did not disappoint. Ana’s story is just as compelling as it was in the first book, and there is the continuation of the lovely slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance. Something that I don’t see as often as I wish I did but is a component in lots of my favorite books is when both there are multiple protagonists which include both members of the romantic pairing, because I just feel like it makes it more satisfying when they admit their feelings for one another, because both of the characters are being developed individually, so it’s not like “oh, I love this boy, is it possible he loves me too”, you get to watch the feelings develop from both ends, and it’s awesome.
There is also a really great third protagonist in this story in the form of Linn, Ana’s friend who is briefly introduced in the last half of the first book. She’s a super cool badass also, and seeing her work to overcome her struggles and her distrust of others is a wonderful addition to this story.
I’ll wrap up this brief review, I obviously don’t have too much to say that is different from the first book: world-building is top-notch, characters are compelling and well developed, magic system is *chefs kiss* and pacing is great.
The one thing that I’ll say is I do wish I’d had time to re-read the first book before I jumped into the sequel. There was enough of a refresh that after a few pages I remembered who all the characters were and generally what happened in the first book, but a lot of the details were referenced here in the sequel but not fully refreshed, so it was like “oh yeah, I remember that this character died in the first book and it obviously had an impact, but what exactly happened again?”.
So I’m obviously going to move into my summary of this book so that the above scenario does not happen to me again when it comes time to read the third book, which will be coming spring of 2022 *sob*.
Cast (!!BIG SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)
Ana – main protagonist, true heir to the throne of Cyrillia, last of her line. Also known as the Blood Witch of Salskoff, her Affinity is to blood. She mostly came to terms with it in the first book and has stopped seeing herself as a monster. Her goal is to regain her throne from Morganya, who is the reason her family is dead and currently sits on the throne. Best friend of Linn and in love with Ramson.
Ramson – bastard son of Roran Farrald, Admiral of Bregan. A talented hand-to-hand fighter, former con man who worked for Aleric Kerlan. His goal is to hunt down Kerlan and get rid of him once and for all, mostly for all the harm he’s done to Ramson, but also for his role in helping Morganya take the crown and his trafficking in Affinates. In love with Ana but convinced it’ll never work out between them.
Linn – Wind Affinate who was trafficked in Cyrillia when she was searching for her brother. Freed by Ana and Ramson when they liberated the Playpen in book one, was captured by Morganya’s soldiers and taken to prison. Broken out of prison by Kais. Linn is Ana’s closest friend and finds her mission in liberating Affinates and fighting for their freedom.
Kais – A yaeger Affinate, meaning they can block or control the Affinites of others. Formerly a soldier for the royal army, decided to desert and helped Linn break out of prison. Son of Shamaira, a friend of Ana’s who was captured early on in the book. Mother and son have been searching for each other for years. Kais wants to find her more than anything, and when Ana promises her help, Kais is infinately loyal. Possible love interest of Linn.
Daya – Sailor from the Crown kingdom of Kusutri. Hired by Ramson to take him, Ana, Linn, and Kais to Bregon. Saves Ramson’s life when Kerlan tries to drown him, and ends up joining up with Ana’s cause by the end.
Yuri – lifelong friend of Ana’s, former soldier at the castle, leader of the Redcoat rebellion. The Redcoats are anti-monarchy, so they won’t ally with Ana, even though Morganya is a common enemy. Loses his mother to Morganya’s reign of terror, vows to end the monarchy no matter what, even if it means Ana has to be eliminated.
Sorsha – Ramson’s half sister, legitimate child of their father. Certifiably insane, the victim of a tortuous life of experiments on her due to her Affinity. She’s naturally an iron Affinate, but due to the power of the Affinity siphons, she also has power over fire and stone. Wants revenge on her father for giving her up to the experiments and Kerlan as well for being the cause of them.
Roran – Admiral of the Bregan navy, father of Ramson and Sorsha. A cruel, harsh man who killed Ramson’s best friend in front of him when he was only a boy. Submitted his daughter to excruciating experiments regarding the Affinity siphons. Wanted to take over the entirety of Bregon, was poisoning the king for years.
Kerlan – Former gang leader in Cyrillia, trafficker of Affinites. Ally to Morganya, power-hungry. Former boss of Ramson. Discovered the ability for searock to siphon the power from an Affinate and grant it to someone else.
Morganya – Current empress of Cyrillia. Flesh and mind Affinate. Killer of Ana’s family, determined to have entire power and domain over Cyrillia under the guise of caring for Affinates and killing any who persecuted them.
Darius – Fourteen year old king of Bregon. Ally of Ana in her quest to retake the throne of Cyrillia.
Summary (!!!BIG SPOILERS OBVS!!!)
Ana and Ramson arrive in Novo Mynsk looking for allies. Ana is there to meet up with someone from the Redcoat rebellion which is tied to her friend Yuri. She meets this person, Seyin, who tells her that the Redcoats believe the monarchy should be abolished, so unless she gives up the claim to her crown, they will not ally with her. Ana leaves, discouraged, but still wanting to meet with her friend Yuri directly in hopes she can change his mind.
Ramson goes to the former mansion of Kerlan, his old boss, where he meets an old collegue who makes a deal with him: she’ll give him information and help keep Kerlan’s thugs off of him if he’ll help her find her husband, who went with Kerlan overseas and hasn’t come back. Ramson agrees, since he’s looking for Kerlan anyway.
On her way back to meet up with Ramson, Ana gets into a fight with a bunch of Morganya’s new Inquisitors that are rounding up anyone who owned or trafficked Affinates, punishing their family members as well. Ana reveals herself and has to flee, hiding briefly with an old friend Shamaira, who advises her that she should go to Goldwater port.
Ramson is waiting for Ana at the hotel when he is almost killed by some thugs, so he goes out to look for Ana before she gets back. Ana arrives back at the inn, where she is met by Seyin, a shadow Affinate, and he stabs her, intending to kill her and end any competition for the monarchy. Ana survives, takes her horse, and makes for Goldwater port without Ramson.
Linn is trapped in prison. She finds that Kais, the yaeger Affinate who she battled at the end of the last book, is there too. He says he wants to change sides and free her so they can both go to Ana’s aid. She doesn’t trust him, but he ends up saving her when she gets in over her head with an escape plan, and they flee the prison together.
With the help of Yuri, Ana makes it to Goldwater port. Yuri brings her to his home with his mom and sister and gets her cleaned up, but says they cannot ally with her as Seyin said, though he did not order Seyin to try and assassinate her. Just as she finds Ramson again, Morganya and her troops arrive at Goldwater port and wreak havoc.
Ramson and Ana manage to flee the port on a ship with Linn and Kais, who have made it there as well. The ship is owned by a sailor, Daya, that Ramson has hired to bring them to Bregon. Ramson is going to Bregon to find Kerlan, as he has intel that’s where he’s gone, and Ana is going because she needs allies to fight Morganya, and hopes the Bregonians will be those allies. They also have intel that Bregon has some sort of powerful weapon that bestows Affinities that Morganya wants, and Ana knows they have to stop her from getting it.
Ramson won’t tell Ana anything about his past in Bregon, who his father is, etc. Thinks he can avoid it by going off on his own while Ana and the rest of the crew go to meet with his father and the king. They arrive in Bregon after a long journey, and are shortly thereafter beset upon by Sorsha, Ramson’s half sister. She is an insanely talented fighter, and tries her best to kill Ramson before Ana and the rest step in. Sorsha begrudgingly agrees to bring them before the king and courts. Ramson’s identity as the son of the Bregonian admiral is revealed to the rest of the group.
Something is off in the Bregonian courts, they realize it right away. Ana, Linn, and Kais stay to work on getting their alliance, while Ramson dips back out to search for Kerlan. Ramson and Daya find Kerlan’s ship in the harbor, and it’s loaded with searock. A second look the next day reveals that it’s a siphon made out of searock that is the weapon that allows an Affinity to be stolen from an Affinite and bestowed upon someone else, Affinate or not. Kerlan discovers Ramson, weighs him down, and throws him into the harbor to drown, but not before revealing his whole diabolical plan with Morganya to harness the power of the siphon and put Kerlan on the throne of Bregon, another jewel in Morganya’s crown. Daya is able to save Ramson’s life.
In the Blue Fort, Ana tries to get to the bottom of what’s going on, but it’s Linn happens upon the king, only to find that the poor young king, only fourteen, is being poisoned into submission by Ramson’s father the Admiral Roran so he can rule himself. Linn also finds the secret labratory where Affinites are being kept against their will and experimented upon with the searock siphon. Linn finds that Sorsha is deeply involved, and that Kais seems to have betrayed them.
Ana is about to go and confront the king and the Admiral when Sorsha and Kais come upon them. Sorsha commands that Kais take her prisoner for the coup that is about to happen. Sorsha leaves, and Linn arrives, willing to fight and kill Kais for his betrayal. Kais reveals that he didn’t want to betray them, but he found out that Morganya had captured his mother and would kill her without Kais’s complete cooperation. It’s revealed to Ana that Shamaira, Ana’s dear friend, is Kais’s mother. Ana vows to save her, and Kais gladly switches back to their side. Linn and Kais rush to save the trapped Affinates while Ana rushes to try and stop Sorsha.
Ramson makes it back to the Fort, hoping to warn his father about Kerlan’s coup. He realizes his father has been behind the whole Affinate siphon plot the whole time, but is too late to save him. Sorsha arrives, takes the key to the secret blackstone collar she’s been wearing, and kills their father. Unlocking her collar, she reveals that she’s been the only successful subject of the siphon’s power, adding fire and stone Affinities to her natural iron Affinity. She is by far the biggest, baddest boss with all the powers.
Attempting to kill Ramson, Sorsha is stopped by Ana, who arrives just in time. Sorsha is late for the coup, so she runs to find Kerlan. Ana and Ramson know they have to ring the war bells to bring the Bregonian navy to the fort to stop Morganya’s forces, which should be arriving any time to aid Kerlan’s coup. The two share their first kiss before going into the final boss fight.
Kerlan and Sorsha have already killed much of the three courts of Bregon, but they don’t yet have the king. Ramson tries to ring the bells, but Sorsha catches him. Ana rushes in and is able to ring the bells while Sorsha and Kerlan are distracted. Sorsha manages to cut Ana and siphon’s her Affinity. All seems to be lost, but Linn and Kais arrive with a dozen Affinites that they were able to save from the dungeon. Kerlan’s men fight the Affinites. Before Sorsha can absorb Ana’s blood Affinity, Ramson is able to best her and lock the collar back on her, so she’s once again without access to her Affinities. She flees.
Kerlan captures Linn and threatens to kill her unless they call off the navy. Linn says she’d rather die than have him win. So he throws her over the cliff. Kais is able to dive after her and save her, aiding her in the use of her wind Affinity. Ramson finally kills Kerlan and the action is over.
The story ends with Darius taking his throne properly and granting a huge fleet to Ana so she can return to Cyrillia for her throne. Ramson isn’t going with her, he agreed to head a special task force to find the rest of Kerlan’s men. Ana thinks that he doesn’t want to be with her, and the kiss wasn’t what she thought. Ramson does totally love her, but thinks it’ll never work out once she’s empress so is just dipping out to save himself heartbreak (lame).
Linn and Kais agree to be Ana’s ambassadors to Kemeira, Linn’s homeland, where she wants to return and convince them to aid Ana and fight for the freedom of Affinites everywhere. Ana sends a bird to Yuri, letting him know she’s returning to wage war on Morganya. Yuri has just discovered that his mother was killed by Morganya, and he reinstates Seyin as his second in the Redcloaks, with the intent of ending the monarchy, no matter what.
End Book 2
!!!END SPOILERS!!!
Thanks to everyone who made it this far. If you love these books as much as I do, let me know in the comments. If you think they suck and wanna tell me why, I’d love to hear from you anyway. Catch ya’ll later, I’ll just be curled in a ball waiting for Spring of 2022 and the release of Book 3, Crimson Reign.
If you liked Red Tigress, try:
Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
Furyborn by Clare Legrand
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
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