Review of Hierarchy of Blood

[Medina Fedrick]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Hierarchy of Blood" by Jennifer Haskin.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Marishel didn't know how fast the hands of time could turn; she had planned out her life and was looking forward to the future. But when she found out that her cousin, Jilly, had eloped with her lover from the Summerlands, she felt her blood prickle down her spine because that meant bad news for her. In Haumea, a contest is held to determine the Ambassador's Bride. The contestants, totaling sixty girls, are chosen, and their names are drawn from different parts of Haumea. They are trained and groomed to be the Ambassador's Bride, but only one who is capable of surviving the blood match will be honored. In the match, the girls are expected to fight each other to the death, with the last one standing being crowned the next Ambassador's Bride. In this generation's blood match, Jilly, Marishel's cousin, was to be drafted, but after Jilly eloped, Marishel Vance was drafted in place of her cousin. She felt as if her life was slipping through her hands; all her plans, her classes, and her family seemed out of sight. This was the end of her life, she thought. Does Marishel stand a chance of winning? Will she be able to take the life of another girl, whom she trained for a month with, and be crowned the Ambassador's Bride? Follow Marishel in the book Hierarchy of Blood by Jennifer Haskin to find out.

The plot was fascinating, with a satisfying and unpredictable amount of suspense; it reminded me of the movie Hunger Games. The plot was much like the movie, only this time it involved females fighting for their lives and a position to be honored as the Ambassador's Bride. I was enraged by the fact that the Ambassador, who is a male counterpart, allowed girls to fight and kill each other for him when it's the male that ought to shield and protect the female; this didn't deter my enjoyment of the book but spurred me on to continue reading. I relished the author's narrative style; she gave clear and vivid descriptions that brought the characters to life. I could envisage every moment, and I felt present with the characters while reading.

What I did not like was how the author introduced characters irregularly at the beginning, but I got used to it as I progressed and grasped each character's significance to the plot. Also, the romance didn't evoke as much emotion as I expected. I didn't like Marishel's constant negativity and that she didn't believe in herself that she could win, although she did put up a fight. But it was like she needed constant reminders of what she could do, and she always seemed to doubt herself. Although I do understand why she hid her romantic relationship from her friends, I didn't appreciate the fact she didn't trust her friends enough to let them in on her love life.

Due to the aforementioned dislikes, I would rate this book four out of five stars. I discovered no errors while reading, which indicates that the book was exceptionally well edited. The book did contain some strong words, but these were slight and didn't deter my interest in the book.

I would recommend this book to fans of science fiction, fantasy, romantic thrillers, and young adults.

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Hierarchy of Blood
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[Stephanie Stones]

This is an interesting and well thought of review. I would love to try out this book and know more about the fascinating things in it. This is an interesting storyline.

[Adeoluwa Adebusuyi]

This is a good and well written review. You captured all the important components of the book and I would definitely love to try out this book. Well done.

[Favour Hillz]

This review is well detailed and captivating. It contains the important information about the book. I'm looking forward to reading this book. Thanks for a wonderful review.

[Omneya Shakeep]

The storyline is very intriguing; I have read other books with the same idea of females competing against each other to win the position of a high-profile male spouse. Although this book takes it further to the point of 60 females fighting to the death, which I believe is a little exaggerated, I would like to know what happened to Marishel. Well done with the review. 

[Nisha DSouza]

It is quite a distinctive storyline and sounds captivating. Although the females fighting to be chosen as the Ambassador's wife, may not go down well with many readers. Thank you for this engaging review, Medina.