The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst

goodreads.com

Book one in the Queens of Renthia. This is a world that is inhabited by spirits and fantasy creatures that humans must live in balance with. The spirits nurture nature and the humans keep them balanced by not letting them destroy the world as their instincts dictate them to. To accomplish this control they are ruled by an elected Queen while several heirs are trained to ensure a steady succession to maintain the balance. Daleina discovers she has power at a young age after her village is attacked and she saves her family. She is sent to train but she is constantly told she is not good enough though she is trying her very best. Just as she is accepting her fate it is discovered that the current Queen is following an evil plan and must be stopped. She sacrifices all to save the world with a twist at the end that has never happened in the history of the created world. I loved the details though the development was a little slow at times. I was hooked enough to be very curious about what will be happening next in this well built fantasy world. I give it 4/5 stars.