Rea and the Blood of the Nectar by Payal Doshi

From the terms used, to the setting, everything was so authentically Indian, I had a fabulous time reading it. I wish I had books like this in my school library back when I was a kid. It has adventure, family secrets, sibling rivalry and bond and strong friendships.įirst, my heart swelled with the Indian rep in this book.

I’d missed how much fun MG books could be, despite not being the target audience for it. I wanted something fun and easy to read, given how messy the past week was for me and Rea and the Blood of the Nectar was just that. My first blog review was YA, second adult so obviously third had to be MG.

Rea and the Blood of the Nectar is Payal Doshi’s stunning #ownvoices middle-grade fantasy debut about understanding complex family dynamics, fighting for what is right, discovering oneself, and learning to make friends.

Can she rescue Rohan, save Astranthia, and live to see it all? Struggling with the truth her Amma has kept hidden from her, Rea must solve clues that lead to Rohan, find a way to rescue him and save Astranthia from a potentially deadly fate. Rea also discovers that she is a princess with magic. There with the help of Xeranther, an Astranthian barrow boy, and Flula, a pari, Rea battles serpent-lilies and blood-sucking banshees, encounters a butterfly-faced woman and blue lizard-men, and learns that Rohan has been captured. In the shade of night, they portal into an otherworldly realm and travel to Astranthia, a land full of magic and whimsy. Unwilling to give up on her brother, Rea and her friend Leela meet Mishti Daadi, a wrinkly old fortune-teller whose powers of divination set them off on a thrilling and secret quest. Her grandmother, too, is behaving strangely. It hasn’t even been a day and Amma acts like Rohan’s gone forever. It’s four in the morning and Rohan is nowhere to be found. After a big fight with her twin brother Rohan on their birthday, Rea’s life in the small village of Darjeeling, India, gets turned on its head. It all begins on the night Rea turns twelve. The clock is ticking in this fast-paced, thrilling, and exciting adventure rife with evil creatures, a ruthless villain, and unforgettable friendships. Summary: A middle-grade fantasy about twelve-year-old Rea Chettri, who portals into an otherworldly realm to go on a secret quest to find her missing twin brother Rohan.

Rea and the Blood of the Nectar by Payal Doshi