Sheets of ice are spreading across the human world, ushering in an ice age as the magic drained from Demonside turns that world into a desert. Angus and reluctant warlock Terrance have defected from Vinland to the Mayan Empire—a land of dark and potent magic. But the Mayans aren’t offering sanctuary for free.Nor is the world willing to stand back as Vinland attacks, and the backlash will affect … will affect all magic users.
Mage Saka has no tribe. He is now just another refugee fleeing the dying Demonside. He knows the conflict brewing now will be worse than the first demon war. Countries are banding together—not just against Vinland, but against all magic. Where will the powerful Mayan Empire stand?
Angus might have the power to fight Vinland and the Warlock College, but the cost will be terrible. Saka is torn between helping Angus and stopping him. And Terrance would do anything for Angus, but he’s terrified of the man Angus is becoming, even as Saka is warming to the idea of a relationship between the three of them.
No matter what choice they make, victory will be bittersweet, and when the ash settles and the snow melts, nothing will be the same.
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Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
You really need to read this as a trilogy, and I would highly recommend them if you like epic fantasy/erotic romance with graphic violence. I was so excited for this third book to come out. If I rated the trilogy as a whole, I would rate it 4.5 stars. This is the end of the story arc for our heroes’ journey.
As the magic is draining from Demonside turning it into desert, Humanside is becoming covered in ice. Book two showed the escape from Vinland to the Mayan Empire for Angus, Saka, Terrance, Wek, Lizzie, Reese, and Emma. Everyone gets separated right away. Priest Cadmael has been questioning everyone to make sure they aren’t Vinland spies. He summons up everything I didn’t like about Terrence quite nicely. But what Angus, Terrance, and Saka fell into naturally, here is ritualized. Cadmael wants to get rid of Terrance and force Angus and Saka to bond with a Mayan priest as an anchor. Forcing humans and demons as partners against their will doesn’t seem that much different to me than the College. In fact, the Mayan way might seem better, but there are still ways in which humans are exerting control over demons in everyday life.
The Mayan Empire has a much higher level of magic and are devotional about rebalancing. In the city of Uxmel, demons seem to walk the streets freely. Meanwile Saka gets to see trees, flowing water, and permanent settlements in this part of Demonside. The demons are completely different, antlered, scaled, or feathered. Mage Iktan has put Saka to work in the healer’s building, when humans crossover for help. Lest you think everything is so much better, rebalancing takes on a whole new form here with the introduction of pitz, played in large arena matches. It was previously established that emotion in the blood made it more potent, although why that isn’t being funneled into something renewable instead of beheadings, seems strange. For instance, everyone in the crowd could donate blood rather than just killing a few players. As magical attacks from Vinland increase and their system starts to break down, they are lost–not used to thinking outside the box. They also don’t care about the whole world, just on saving their tiny part of it in the controlled way they want for as long as possible.
There are also doorways created that control the flow of magic between the worlds, as well as where people can come and go–both a good and bad thing. Still, this knowledge could help the Lifeblood tribes being summoned and killed by Vinland. Cadmael askes Angus to speak to World Council of Demonology; they then decides to ban demon magic except for rebalancing. But Saka is sick of waiting for humans to do something, so the demons will try to stop the flow of magic by closing the doors. Angus has a plan to find and take all the stolen magic from Vinland and return it to Demonside. The surprise here is that after all the distrust shown to the defectors, Cadmael just goes along with this plan? After Cadmael being a central character the whole time, he is now just shuffled to the background and no longer seems in charge.
This has always been heading towards the showdown with Angus and the College to restore the magic stolen from Demonside in order to save the world. Overall, I am very happy with how I got there. I would say, I wouldn’t have minded this actually being four books. I feel there was so much detail in the first two books, that when details started to get skimmed over, especially in the last third of the story in order to rush to the conclusion, I felt a little disappointed. After waiting all this time for a love scene between Terrence, Angus, and Saka it was rushed and not quite what I hoped for. I have been a bit hard on Terrence during the course of these books and I will say, while he redeems himself here, he’s still the weak link. I finally decided that is alright; his role is not just the anchor to bring Angus back to Humanside, but to remind Angus of his humanity. He is the only one who wants Angus for Angus, not his magic. Still, I had an expectation that this would be a true triad, and I had to let go of that. There is a lot at the end that we don’t get to see, like what happened to the Lifeblood tribes? What happens when Saka goes back? So, I was left with questions and wondering if they will be told in flashbacks in another book that shows us the rebuilding. If they could take what was good about the Mayan Empire and Vinland (and what about the other nations) and merge them to make a new worldwide system, what would that look like? That’s really the highest compliment I can give: that I don’t want to let go of this world and the people in it. I will reread these.
I think it’s brilliant what TJ Nichols created as a setting for the last book of this series: a magical Mayan Empire. And it’s amazingly depicted and detailed: the people, the colors, the rituals and its dark magic.
Angus,Saka,Terrence and the other runaways have barely made it out of the desert, hoping to find refuge and assistance on the other side of it…and I was hoping alongside them. But what they found was more trials and tests,both psychological and physical, more danger and treachery.
I actually held my breath all through this story and loved every minute of it. There are so many twists and turns and absolutely no guarantee of the outcome. I feared for the characters’ lives and rejoiced in each of their small or big victories. And the ending…wow!
So,if you want a mind-boggling combination of magic,suspense and love,look no further and pick the Studies In Demonology series. I really recommend it!
A magical masterpiece! It was bloody, raw and emotional. I was swept up in this stunning conclusion of this fast-paced fantasy series. I loved the characters and enjoyed reading their story and watching them grow. I highly recommend this series, it was well worth the read!
Blood for the Spilling is the third book in the Studies in Demonology series by TJ Nichols. What a way to wrap up the trilogy! This book has aspects of violence, rituals, sacrifices, and menage scenes. Well written and wonderfully descriptive scenes, interesting story and characters you can care about…. I was drawn into this world created in the series and it’s hard to say goodbye. But this third book does a fantastic job of pulling everything together and delivering a satisfying conclusion. Absolutely loved this.
I received an advanced reader’s copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
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Blood for the Spilling
Studies in Demonology, Book 3
280 Pages
POV: 3rd person, triple character POV
Would I read it again?: YES!
Genre: LGBT, MM, Romance, Fantasy, Demon, Supernatural, Magic
Pairings: MM, MMM
Heat Level:
Content Warning: pain play, cutting for blood sacrifice and pleasure, instances of violence, Aztec/Mayan inspired sacrifice, and menage scenes.
Holy Cow! This was incredible!
Somehow, T.J. Nichols manages to put a whole heap of world building, characterisation, emotion, and talent into a single <300 page book, that some authors can't even manage in 800 pages. Each book in this series has blown me away, time and again warning me not to underestimate the author's skill in wielding the weapon they've made of storytelling. Each book has somehow both met and exceeded my expectations, every single time.
Blood for the Spilling is a thrilling, engaging, unsettling novel about what a single human is willing to endure, sacrifice, and commit to, for love and because it's the right thing. Angus takes on the entire war-torn world in this novel, and manages to still be real, relatable, logical and break the bonds of the Angus Donohue the world has tried to make him.
The story picks up almost exactly where we left off in book 2. And, yes, I binge-read books 1 and 2 again, before delving into this book, because I wanted to be fully submerged in the world when I picked it up, knowing that all the little nuances were important. And while it wasn't strictly necessary – because there's a great, natural recap throughout the first chapter – this is definitely a series that should be read over and over again, in order, so that you really feel encased inside the world.
A few days/weeks after the events of book 2, we find Angus in the Mayan Empire, trying to fix the world that broke itself. Though we continue to have both Angus and Saka's POV's, we are also treated to Terrance's for the first time. This is totally appropriate, since he's more a part of their lives than he ever was before, and he sees events that we need to be aware of, to understand the entire story.
Yet, while getting to see Terrance's POV, I love that we're also still a little unsure about his commitment, still harbouring the same deep-seated doubts and hesitations that Saka and Angus have, despite knowing that they can trust him. Like Jim before him, Terrance has proven himself to be less about the cause and more about Angus; meaning he's easily bought and has no set loyalty. Something that is really well covered throughout the story, and is challenged by the Mayan's.
I love that the Mayan Empire is so closely based on the real Aztec/Mayan culture that we know, and that it maintains that authentic flavour throughout its culture. From the sacrificial games, to the way they work with demons and use magic, it all felt real to me. Especially since I've studied the Aztec and Mayan empires, so know what to look out for. It made it really easy for me to sink into the culture and see both their acceptance of their own practices and the resistance that Angus and Terrance show towards then.
There was a slow but steady stream of information about what was happening to the outside world, what was happening to the other tribes in Demonside, and about the clean sweep weapon, and how it had made Vinland the enemy of the world. I love that the explanation of what it was and what it could do came long after Angus and his small tribe were already mistrusted by the Mayan's – it only showed just what the world had been dealing with, while they trekked through Demonside and just why no one would trust them, no matter who they turned to for refuge.
I also appreciated the way that Angus slowly proved himself to the Mayan's, and they, in turn, proved themselves reliable allies in return. It's the genius of Nichol's writing that the smallest incidents or words can have a bigger impact when looked at with a new POV. Over time, just as Angus and Saka slowly built a relationship with each other, they too built a relationship with the Mayan Empire and were able to garner the trust, and offer their own in return, to make their plan viable.
Honestly, I can't say too much about the plot without giving it away. And I don't want to do that. But I will say that I cried for basically 50% of the book, or was close to it. I cried when Saka used the telestones and found death; at 64% when I worried that the story might not finish in this book and I'd have to wait for another installment; and for most of the last 30% of the book, as it all came together to the stunning conclusion that was reached. And, in the last 10% I cried mostly because it was over; the end was in sight, and I knew there wouldn't be another book; and because the ending that had been reached was just so friggin' perfect that I couldn't have asked for more.
Overall, Blood for the Spilling is the epitome of a perfect conclusion to a pretty perfect series. Every book in the trilogy, and each page in each book, offered a new adventure, a new insight, a new emotional tug that refused to let me put it down. I hungered, I thirsted, I reached bladder-bursting ache, and I went numb, sitting reading each book until there were no more pages left. Because once you start a journey like this, you become Angus. You can't stop until you've rebalanced the two worlds. Until Demonside is safe. Until Saka is back with his tribe. Now I have to ground myself with sustenance, after giving everything I have to Demonside. Then I'll come back again in a month or two and start the journey all over again from page 1 of book 1, until the final page of book 3.
Let me just end by saying, I've already pre-ordered my paperback. And this is - without a doubt - one of the best MM series I've read in a long time. One of my all time favourites, from book 1 to book 3, there was never a moment of disappointment or boredom.
Congrats, T.J. Nichols, on an EPIC series. And thank you, for an incredible adventure in a brilliant, beautiful new world that I can come back to revisit any time I like.
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Favourite Quotes
“The magic had brought him home.”
“If he'd known what summoning a demon would mean that first day, he liked to think he'd have still done it, but no one was that brave.”