Review of "Blood of the Raej" by Hayley Rae Johnson

Score: 95/100 (9.5 out of 10)

Blood of the Raej by Hayley Rae Johnson is a compelling and inspired fantasy novel that reminded us of a blend of Harry Potter and Avatar: The Last Airbender—with its richly imagined magical world, elemental powers tied to legacy and identity, and a young protagonist navigating destiny, oppression, and hidden heritage amidst a fractured society.

We were hooked from the beginning!

This book kicks off with one of the most thrilling and incredible opening sequences we've ever read in a novel! It's up there with the opening of Magic, Mystery, and the Multiverse by Aurora Winter. In fact, it's probably a superior opening.

We start in medes res (middle action) during what seems to be a climactic final battle or siege between indistinct parties, one of which is led by a king (King Mason) who appears to be on the losing side. The tide of the battle has turned against him, and he is informed that his beloved wife, the pregnant queen, has been captured by the enemy.

King Mason's chancellor, advisors, and others plead with him to surrender, sparing them and the kingdom from prolonged suffering. However, King Mason refuses due to stubborness and the staunch desire to preserve the Raej bloodline. This is key to the book (and series) as the Raej and their bloodline are truly special—the sole bloodline that can use magic without the need of pebbles (essentially magic rocks) and the dynastic rulers of the land.

We then cut to Queen Mellany's desperate yet futile attempt to escape with her unborn child in her womb. The peril and the stakes are paramount and meaningful.

And, in the midst of all of this chaos, our protagonist is born: Terhese.

What a doggone epic friggin' opening!

Unfortunately, none of the rest of this book really ever rises to that level of epicness again. We wouldn't say that it falls flat or falls off a cliff, but it does become significantly more tame.

It's ironic we say that because we just read Republic of Mars by Dr. Sam Sammane—a book with a really flat, generic, and lifeless opening that eventually "got good" about 70-80 pages in. This book, on the other hand, is almost the reverse: a book that started with a BANG then meandered into a relatively paint-by-numbers witchcraft & wizardry book.

At the same time, this is still a compelling book from beginning to end, despite its flaws and loss of momentum, if for no other reason than we care about Terhese, the Raej bloodline, and want to see some for of rectification for what happened in the beginning.

This book—again, similar to Republicof Mars--decided to inexplicably become a mystery novel. It's so funny comparing the two books. Republic of Mars gets you to believe that it's going to be a sci-fi/space-colonization novel only to become more of a mystery, unraveling the truth of this Mars colony in which the powerful have seemingly rewritten history. Similarly, Blood of the Raej gets you to believe that it's going to be an epic fantasy novel only to become more of a mystery, unraveling the truth of this world in which the victors have seemingly rewritten history with the Raej as the villains.

In Blood of the Raej, the narrative of Terhese's bloodline and the Raej has been twisted and warped to the will of those who overthrew them. This is totally realistic. Look at all the dynasties in China that talked crap about how bad the previous dynasty was. Or just look at Washington D.C. today. Everyone is always blaming the previous administration.

We really liked and appreciated this angle. In fact, it was one of our favorite aspects of the book. Those in power have clearly wiped or changed some of the history involving the Raej. They are painted as genocidal tyrants who are responsible for the mass-deaths, endangerment, and/or extinctions of creatures like the Mermaids/Merman, the Aeon Bill (which kind of sounds like a giant griffin-like or dragon-like creature), tree goblins, and Moon Wolves.

What's interesting is that we actually already had a feeling that Terhese's dad, King Mason, wasn't exactly a sage king or perfect leader/guy. In fact, when we first met him, we were already asking ourselves: what did this guy do to become so hated? Did you execute a ton of people? Did he ransack cities? Tax the people into destitution?

You also see how tightly he clings to power despite it seeming disadvantageous at that stage in the conflict.

So, King Mason wasn't an angel.
Yet, a huge part of us still wanted Terhese to reclaim her royal status and restore the family honor as its rightful heir to the throne. Is that wrong? Well, that's part of the beauty of this book.

Right and wrong are perspectives. The victor writes history. That doesn't make it true (or absolute truth).

Truth becomes subjective—something based on the feelings, opinions, desires, and motives of the one creating and propagating it.

Anyway, this book really becomes a lot more like Harry Potter as Terhese (in a sense "the one who lived") finds herself in a kind of wizardry school, sort of. Though it's not filled with wands or spellbooks, the Academy functions much like a magical military academy—rigorous, hierarchical, and brimming with secrets. Terhese is tested, trained, and sorted, all while discovering hidden aspects of her identity and power. Like Hogwarts, it's a place where alliances form, rivalries sharpen, and the mystery of who she truly is begins to unfold.

There are even a few characters that seem to be homages to the Harry Potter series. For example, there's Professor Hadritch, whose name reminded us a lot of Hagrid but whose personality is a lot more like a mix of Snape and McGonagall—stern, commanding, and ruthlessly competent, yet not entirely without a buried sense of fairness or unexpected moments of insight.

Oh, and let's talk about the Pebbles—pretty much the things that encompass and enable the magic system of this book.

The Pebbles essentially work like the crystals in Labruula Awakens by Paul Wood—they're the items or objects that enable certain types of magic to be used. Actually, they reminded us a bit of materia from Final Fantasy VII.

And similar to those magical items, they actual have a physiological effect on the user. The Numbing Pebble, for example, The Numbing Pebble, for example, dulls the user’s pain receptors, allowing them to push through injuries or extreme conditions without feeling the full extent of the damage. However, this comes at a cost—users can easily overexert themselves, tear muscles, or worsen wounds without realizing it, leading to long-term harm once the pebble's effect wears off.

There are also some OP (overpowered) Pebbles like the Earthquake Pebble. By the way, we're also told about the awesome power of the Raej including being able to cause earthquakes, so it makes you wonder how fall they had to fall to, well.. fall.

Anyway, as alluded to before, Terhese's bloodline is said to be able to use magic without the use of Pebbles, a unique and (potentially) very useful trait.

Oh, and by the way, this magic system is also organized into different specialists: Pebble Makers and Pebble Pinchers.

Beside Terhese, there are a few other characters worth mentioning including Chloe, who serves as a bit of a surrogate mother to Terhese after she's orphaned. She's likable and lovable enough. There are also Natalie, who kind of reminded us of Hermione but was still a pretty original character, and Nathan, who becomes a bit of a love interest.

So, the romance with Nathan is supposed to be a huge part of this book (it's marketed as a "romantasy"). But that's not the impression that we got from reading it. Yes, Nathan is often discussed as being hot and attractive, and yes there are some intense scenes involving him, especially near the end, but this really seemed more like a witchcraft & wizardry book to us. In other words, it's a lot more like Harry Potter than it is like Twilight, which is a plus (in our opinion).

Another character who we appreciated was Lenetta, the charming little fairy Helper who seems to be assigned to watch over Terhese. Hilariously, Lenetta kind of acts like a virtual assistant or alarm app, always reminding her when it's time for her next class.

There's a lot to love, find, and explore in this book. This series has a lot of promise!

Check it out on Amazon!