The Judas Blossom by Stephen Aryan

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Okay! First official review of the year! Let’s just ignore the month it’s been published in (lol).

Anyways, first book I read this year was The Judas Blossom by Stephen Aryan. This is during the period the Mongol Invasion of the Persian Empire and it’s fantastic. I was nearly not sold until I got past the first few chapters and then I was sucked in so fast.

Here’s the synopsis for those that have no idea what I’m talking about:

1260, Persia:

Due to the efforts of the great Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire covers a vast portion of the known world. In the shadow of his grandfather, Hulagu Khan, ruler of the Ilkhanate, is determined to create a single empire that covers the entire world. His method? Violence.

His youngest son, Temujin Khan, struggles to find his place in his father’s bloody rule. After another failure, Temujin is given one last chance to prove himself to Hulagu, who is sure there is a great warrior buried deep inside. But there’s something else rippling under the surface… something far more powerful and dangerous than they could ever imagine…

Reduced to the position of one of Hulagu’s many wives, the famed Blue Princess Kokochin is the last of her tribe. Alone and forgotten in a foreign land, Kokochin is unwilling to spend her days seeking out trivial pursuits. Seeking purpose, she finds herself wandering down a path that grants her more power than a wife of the Khan may be allowed.

Kaivon, the Persian rebel who despises the Mongols for the massacre of his people, thirsts for revenge. However, he knows alone he cannot destroy the empire. When given the opportunity to train under the tutelage of Hulagu, Kaivon must put aside his feelings and risk his life for a chance to destroy the empire that aims to conquer the world.

Family and war collide in this thrilling and bloody reimagining of the Mongol Empire’s invasion of Persia.

*****

Okay so here’s to the main part of the review:

I LOVED this book. I think it was so fantastic and did a great job of showcasing a period of history not often written about especially in the Western World. I think the characters were pretty solidly fleshed out and I enjoyed my time. Obviously I had a least favourite character and a favourite character and I wish one of the character’s got more fleshed out in terms of magic and we saw more of how the magic works from the perspective of the one character looking at it themselves (can’t make it obvious who it is otherwise it’s technically spoilers).

This was also the January Book Club pick for the Musaeum Society Book Club and safe to say, I made a good choice for the first month of the year!

I think this was a fantastic blend of historical truth and fiction (some parts are fabricated to fill in gaps or made up entirely) as well as fantasy and think that fans of this period will enjoy this and it’s a fairly easy fantasy to follow!

I highly recommend this book and the second, Blood Dimmed Tide, comes out during the summer so not that long to wait! Below is my video review of the book if you’d like to watch and please do subscribe to my channel!

Rating: 5/5 stars

Love,

Mila