Legacy of Blood

By Jessica Barberi

A Review by INFAMOUS🦀

Legacy of Blood is the first book of a fantasy series called Son of the Flames written by Jessica Barberi which follows in the footsteps of her previous series called Fires of an Empire Saga. I never read any of the previous books but the pleasant surprise was that I was able to quickly find my footing into this world of dragons.

The main character is the oldest son of King Ciran, 17-year-old Ronan, whom this entire book was written around. His father was the main character of the previous book series – if I’m not mistaken – and now as a king, he finds himself in a difficult situation with a son who acts impulsively and does not listen to good advice when given to him. Ciran, too, in his own days, had to overcome challenges of his own, but now that he is older and has garnered priceless life experience, he looks out for his son and constantly warns him, as to not wanting him to make mistakes he might regret for the rest of his life. 

That right there really sets up the tone for the rest of the book, which is basically a look at the learning voyage Ronan embarks on, over a series of trials and life/death situations.

DRAGONS:

If it wasn’t obvious yet, this is fantasy big on dragons. The dragons we get to read about are the more animal-like ones, not the talking dragons a-la Tolkien. Ronan, in a foolish attempt to prove ‘something’ to his father Ciran, grabs a dragon egg from the lair of Ciran’s own dragon, Lorcan, and crosses the mountains to get away from his family. But the dragon egg makes him a target for dragon hunters, and once the egg hatches, it just doesn’t make for a smooth travel companion, let’s just say. 

FINN:

The character of Finn, a boy/fisherman Ronan meets in his adventure across the mountains, quickly becomes a force to be reckoned with in the narrative, and will certainly become a fan favorite. Initially, he is everything Ronan is not, due to his upbringing. He was not born with a silver spoon in his hand, and unlike Ronan, who at this stage is simply driven by impulses and by his baser instincts, is able to judge situations and people more wisely. The friendship that develops between the two boys is not exactly the smoothest due to their intrinsic differences, but what is compelling is that in the long run, Finn becomes the one single factor that will make Ronan face and admit to his faults and wrongdoings. This was really the highlight of this whole thing. The one remarkable factor, embodied by Finn and his relationship/partnership with Ronan. That alone was worth reading the book. Stellar job in capturing not just the humanity of Finn, but also the synergy between him and Ronan, as their personalities clash one against the other. That tension, that pulling back and forth, is where the author nails it.

PLOT/PACE:

Where I think the book struggles a bit is with the overall plot and pace. There is a lot of walking and a lot of talking, but much of it feels “uneventful” for lack of better terms. Yes, Ronan develops some sort of bond with the newborn dragon eventually, but there is really not much more to it. Everything feels transitional as the main character runs away from home with the dragon egg, makes friends with fisherboy Finn, and chases after pretty girls before being scared straight. 

Overall, it all just felt very slow. A whole lot of nothing happening with just a few exciting highlights here and there. Don’t get me wrong, I am not inferring that the plot should be action on top of action, but the way it’s written, though grammatically correct and well edited, feels very passive. For example, expressions like “he began to swim” instead of “he swum” or “he started to run” instead of “he ran”—though not directly quoted from the book, might help you better understand the type of not-so-engaging approach the author is using here.

In itself, it is not a bad thing, but I personally prefer a more active and engaging style that grabs me from beginning to end.

THE NON-EXISTENT ENDING:

I said this before and I say it again: it doesn’t matter whether your book series consists of 3, 10, or 20 books, you gotta offer your readers some sort of satisfying ending to each and every one of them. Your readers should walk away feeling like something got accomplished within the narrative, and that things moved forward in a meaningful and memorable way.

In LoB, there is no satisfying ending, in fact, it feels like we’re getting half of an entire book. It’s okay to leave doors open for a sequel, but also, we have to make sure to offer readers a complete story to some degree. When I reached the last page, I almost had to second guess that my digital copy wasn’t missing chapters. Our books shouldn’t feel like a long prologue to introduce us to the next book.

CONCLUSIONS:

If you enjoy dragon-based fantasy this book is for you. I tend to prefer THIS imagining of dragons that feel like actual beasts rather than the intellectually sophisticated, talking creatures other authors have written. 

The book is well-written and the editing is solid. The character of Finn and his exchanges with Ronan were ‘fire’. 

I had some issues with the not-so very active style and uneventful plot (interestingly, I read some other reviews on the previous series which also point this out). There was no ending to the story, as the last chapter only hints that basically we will have to read the next book to get something that resembles an ending. I think this approach can work when we put our stories up on Substack and RoyalRoad, but when we publish a finished book customers PAY to read, we must go above and beyond expectations, let alone provide a somewhat fulfilling ending.

Hope you will grab a copy when this comes out on June 1st, 2025, and let us know how your personal experience will be in this exciting world of dragons and dragon riders!

🦀