I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes; this in no way influences my review. Blood for the Undying Throne releases Oct 28, 2025; Blood of the Old Kings is available now. There may be spoilers for book 1 of the Bleeding Empire.
One day at the library, I happened across Blood of the Old Kings on the new releases shelf, and because I’m doing a reading challenge for 2025 where one of the prompts is a translated SFF, I decided to snag the book. I finally read it about a week before it was due, and immediately knew I needed to get my hands on the sequel, and I’m so glad Tor approved my request for Blood for the Undying Throne.
The Bleeding Empire is a series doing so much I love with themes of colonialism, consequences, and a convergence of choices. The Empire has conquered many lands, in many ways from “peaceful” surrender to the murder of gods to create subjugation, but the most infamous is the complete destruction of Mersia a hundred years ago. Blood for the Undying Throne tackles the history that caused that destruction, as well as revealing the true events instead of just the imperial propaganda.
I really love how this book utilized time and location to tell the story. Emere was such an interesting perspective because in the first book he was the good brother, the kind prince, but mostly he’s a follower and supporter. Seeing him working towards what he believes to be his destiny, but still putting his faith into King Loran, was such an interesting story, especially with the background of being in the imperial capital, and the dangers he faced. Arienne is one of my favorite characters from the first book, and seeing her growth, both on a personal level and with regards to her Power, has been excellent and with that ending, I cannot wait to see what’s next for her. It’s interesting how much she is such a central figure to the effects and consequences of the Empire and Arland, when she’s “just” a young girl who ran away from the imperial academy because she didn’t want to become a Power Generator upon her death. Yuma was the most interesting perspective in Blood for the Undying Throne because she’s the past and we know the final results of what happened, the destruction of Merseh, but not the how or why. Through her part of the story we see how she fell in love and inadvertently created the perfect scenario for the end of Merseh as it had been and it becoming Mersia of the Empire.
This is such an excellent book and series, and I cannot wait to see how it’s going to conclude with all the choices being made and the revelation of what truly happened with the Star of Mersia. This is definitely a book I’m going to have on my mind because it’s a mastery in creating ripples and exploring the picture that comes from the expansion of effects.