The Blood Chain by Erin Kellison [Review]

The Blood Chain (Indulgence #3) by Erin Kellison
Format: ebook
Source: provided for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: July 5, 2023

Indulgence Series
1. The Stone God
2. The Night Blade
3. The Blood Chain - Paperback | Kindle
4. The Dark Heart
5. The Crimson Throne

Erin Kellison
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Daughter of the Messenger god, Terah Crane is tasked with delivering an urgent warning to the god of Passion and Fury. But instead, she chooses to accompany his enigmatic son Adomanei on a mission that will decide if they will be players or pawns in the game of the world.

They alone know that one of the gods is a traitor, and discovering who it is requires maneuvering among their scheming scions. Together, they must discern ally from enemy while defending against attacks from the shadows.

Battle-weary Adom trusts only one person, and he's keeping her close. It would help if Terah would acknowledge their magnetic attraction and agree to a formal courtship. But Terah is wary of love and uncertain of a future with the arrogant prince, especially when their wills collide.

Escalating violence forces them to make a desperate choice, but they've fought side by side before and prevailed. This time, however, Terah and Adom find that mixing passion and politics is dangerous, but defying the gods is deadly.

Thoughts on The Blood Chain: Not going to lie, I'd forgotten how incredibly complicated Terah's life is. She's a seemingly ordinary person who's been thrust into this powerful role and she responds to things happening around her in the most chaotic way possible. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because it means her enemies can't predict what she'll do at any given moment, but it does have a tendency to upset her allies at times.

FYI, I'm talking about Adom for that last part. The guy knows the ins and outs of political maneuverings and he's good at getting people to do what he wants them to do. He has plans. He's currying favors. Then Terah blows in and drops a chaos bomb and suddenly he's scrambling to keep up with her. That said, Adom has learned to embrace Terah's chaos. She might not do what he expects, but her actions have made a difference time and time again.

To be fair, Terah never plans for things to go sideways on them. She wasn't raised with the expectation that she'd ever be a mover and shaker among the scions and she's learning to navigate the politics and treachery on the fly. She does what she thinks is right because she's true to herself (and actively works to protect those close to her) above all else. Perhaps the most surprising thing of all is that she now considers Adom one of her people. I mean, those two weren't exactly cordial to one another in the beginning. Sure, sure, they still snap and snarl when they get their backs up, but Adom would burn down the world to keep Terah safe and vice versa. (And honestly, I'm kinda starting to think that burning down the world is something that might happen with the way things are going for these two.)

Danger, allies, enemies, fierce protectors, gods, monsters, games, and a twisted path that's taking Terah and Adom to places they didn't expect to be. Am I ready for the next book? YEAH, I AM!