I consider Blood of Elves to be the third book of the saga. However, it is officially the first book of the main saga since The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny were prequels to this.

Regardless, I highly recommend reading the prequels before jumping into the main saga. It will enrich the experience to read all the books (no, duh).

Previously in Sword of Destiny…

The Nilfgaardians have successfully invaded and conquered the surrounding lands, now moving into the main kingdoms. This travesty and impactful war shook up the lives of all species, causing the species to have much discourse on how to handle the situation. Geralt, originally thinking that Ciri had perished when Cintra was destroyed, was reunited with Ciri and they start their journey together.

Blood of Elves picks up right where it leaves off in Sword of Destiny.

Ciri battles the trauma and flashbacks of Cintra’s downfall and is training to be a witcher. Geralt, finally accepting the princess as his destiny, guards, supports and trains Ciri while figuring out how their destinies are intertwined.

Ciri is being hunted by people who want to use her and her newfound powers. Geralt and the gang try to figure out how to keep the prophecied child hidden from her hunters. The main antagonist (or who I assume is the main antagonist for the saga) is revealed! We get an introduction to the current situation Nilfgaardian threatening to destroy all the lands and bring a new era, the prophecy from the elves, and how they are going to keep the world from blowing up.

First off, Ciri and Geralt’s relationship is really cute!! I know Geralt probably never planned to be a father, or if he did, it wouldn’t be for a while. But Ciri and Geralt have the best make-shift father-daughter relationship!! He’s very good to her as a mentor and guardian. They genuinely care for and respect each other. Absolutely love their scenes together.

That being said, the whole witcher’s den was so sweet and adorable with their latest witcher!! Or witchess? Nah, witcher. Forget I said witchess. They were like a group of fathers, brothers, uncles and grandfathers to Ciri. My favorite part was how Sapkowski illustrated each witcher’s personality through their training sessions with the young princess. They are so hilarious as a group! Especially because these male witchers have no clue how to treat a growing young girl when it comes to the feminine side of things. Thank goodness that they received help from the enchantress, Triss.

So, as we all know, our favorite brooding witcher, Geralt will never stop being hung up on his long-time love, Yennefer if Vengerberg. No shocker here in Blood of Elves. He’s still hung up on her.

BUT!! *drumroll* Yennefer isn’t the only one who is fighting for the man’s attention! Nope. Ladies and gentleman, there is a love triangle introduced in Blood of Elves. I won’t spoil it here. Though I encourage you to take a guess who else is trying to win over Geralt’s affections? Have you guessed yet? Read the book to find out who the other lady is.

Yennefer is not as bad in this book. GASP! Could I be warming up to the witch? I mean, enchantress. I kid. She’s really not so bad. She’s not…a fluffy lovable teddy bear. At the same time, she’s not as wicked as people like to assume. With the witcher’s request, she involuntarily trains Ciri, particularly because of Ciri’s awakening and evolving powers that no one else except the great enchantress Yennefer of Vengerberg can train her to control and strengthen. To my surprise, Ciri and Yennefer’s relationship was also endearing. Not as wholesome and touching for me as Ciri and Geralt though. But these women grew fond of each other as they worked more together. And Yennefer is actually an interesting, excellent teacher. Who would have thought, huh?

We get a return of Nenneke and the ladies of the Melitele Temple now that they are temporarily taking care of Ciri! They have consistently been my favorite side characters. I especially love how Nenneke acts like a mother and nurturer to Geralt. Heaven knows, the guy needs a caring, protective person in his life. Other than Dandelion, of course!

The only “boring” moments (I use this term loosely. It wasn’t painfully boring to read.) are the parts where the kingdom’s leaders discussed the political and economical state of their encroached lands. It can drag on a bit for these. They discuss it through dialogue, which I believe mimicked a town hall meeting in real-time very well. AKA, important but it does make my eyes heavy from boredom. I was just thinking the whole time, “Yes, please just give me the meeting minutes and synopsis version, thank you.” These moments happen rarely, thank goodness.

For those of you who enjoy understanding the story’s situation in-depth, you’ll appreciate these political talks. I…for obvious reasons, read fantasy, because I want to escape real-life and just get to read the monster-killing, father-daughter relationship blossoming, and dramatic and heart-aching romantic struggles of my favorite characters.

The book reads very quickly. The plot and pacing will keep you thrilled and engrossed as usual! The love triangle and romantic scenes are dramatic and juicy. A MUST-READ overall. You’ll hear me repeat this for all the books in this saga so just warning you now.

All Book Reviews for The Witcher Saga (in series order):

1. The Last Wish
2. Sword of Destiny
3. Blood of Elves
4. Time of Contempt
5. Baptism of Fire
6. The Tower of Swallows
7. The Lady of the Lake
8. Season of Storms