“Enchanting, visceral, and twisty”– New York Times bestselling author of Ash Princess, Laura Sebastian “BLOODLEAF feels like a classic in the making.” – Sara Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless A roar of a dark and luscious epic fantasy that’s layered with heady romance, bloodthirsty magic, and ghostly intrigue–an absolutely wicked delight. Aurelia is a princess, but … absolutely wicked delight.
Aurelia is a princess, but they call her a witch.
Surrounded by spirits and burdened with forbidden magic, she lives in constant fear of discovery by the witch-hunting Tribunal and their bloodthirsty mobs. When a devastating assassination attempt reveals her magical abilities, Aurelia is forced to flee her country with nothing but her life.
Alone and adrift in an enemy kingdom, Aurelia plans her revenge against the Tribunal, desperate to bring down the dark organization that has wrought terror upon her people for hundreds of years. But there’s something deeply amiss in her new home, too, and soon she finds herself swept into a deadly new mystery with a secretive prince, the ghost of an ancient queen, and a poison vine called Bloodleaf.
Aurelia is entangled in a centuries-long game of love, power, and war, and if she can’t break free before the Tribunal makes its last move, she may lose far more than her crown.
Considered a retelling of The Goose Girl, Bloodleaf follows Princess Aurelia on the run with the revelation of her magic. There are similarities with the theft of her identity, but that is where the similarities end.
Intriguing Story
The story moves at a good pace, developing into something far from the source material. The pacing and development of the story were well done. Smith gives the story direction by detailing the politics, history, and magic of the world.
Bloodleaf is given direction through the pacing and subtle development of the story. There is evil magic at work here placing Aurelia in the middle of it.
It is interesting to see this part of the story develop because it gives the story its tension. The dark magic creates a strong mystery to solve. But more than that, it delves into darkness and remakes ghost stories, giving the story a sharp edge.
Bloodleaf has a great blend of fantasy and paranormal. It uses the magic to give the story its fantasy, but it utilizes Aurelia’s ability to see ghosts, tying them to the land and history. These ghosts give the plot its mystery. It is the mystery that makes it intriguing because it creates wonder. Intrigued by the ghosts, the reader wonders about the parts they play in developing the story.
Somewhat Forgettable Protagonist
Now, while the story and pacing are intriguing, Aurelia is a somewhat forgettable protagonist. She is easy to depict, her description clear and while her dynamics with Zan and the others are well-done, Aurelia does not seem to grow. Her magic influences her sure, but it does not make her grow. She ends the same way she starts, with this desire to bring down the corrupt Tribunal.
That is her only conflict in the story, her goal, and while caught up in this mystery in the hopes of saving this kingdom, it does not build up her character.
Nevertheless, despite Aurelia lacking growth, she does not lack personality, which makes the reading enjoyable. Aurelia may not stand out after the fact, but she provides the story with focus, a way to follow the intriguing plot that makes Bloodleaf worth reading.
I read this book in three sittings over three days – I was unprepared to be as enchanted as I was!
Review of Bloodleaf
OCTOBER 17, 2019 BY C.A. GRAY LEAVE A COMMENT(EDIT)
Technically I think this is considered high fantasy, because it occurs in an alternate universe… but it’s what I guess I’d call YA high fantasy, because it has a modern style to it, and doesn’t sacrifice characterization for plot the way (in my opinion) true high fantasy seems to do.
The story follows Princess Aurelia, engaged to marry a prince whom she’s corresponded with but never met. She’s a witch, in a world that condemns witches to death, and so her hold on the people is tenuous despite her royal position. Three of the people who love her best, including her mother and her guard and best friend who is in love with her, participate in blood magic at the beginning of the story, binding their lives to hers such that if someone kills her, one of them will die in her place. She allows this I guess because she is the princess and they want her to live to unite two kingdoms with her marriage, but it still seemed incredibly selfish to me for her to permit this. Anyway, one thing leads to another, a royal advisor double-crosses her and sets up her best friend in her place, and she’s on the run. She sees this ghost who’s haunted her most of her life, and she calls her the Harbinger because when she appears, it’s because someone is about to die. She thinks her guard dies but of course he doesn’t really–and while I thought he was going to turn out to be the love interest early on, it turns out she really doesn’t love him back. In her escapades she meets a series of characters, one of whom becomes the real love interest. She meets a series of characters who don’t seem to have much bearing on the ultimate plot and don’t really need to be there.
My biggest complaint was that either the rules for the world conveniently changed to get the characters out of tight spots, Deux Ex Machina-style, or else certain characters arbitrarily thrown into Aurelia’s path conveniently turned out to be exactly who they needed to be. It all started to feel a little contrived.
Still, I finished the story and enjoyed it. Even though this is listed as #1 in a series, the story ends, so I’m not sure if the rest of the series are just other stories involving different characters in the same world.
Smith weaves together mystery, adventure and a reimagined fairy tale in this bewitching debut. An irresistible, spellbinding story.
Enchanting, visceral, and twisty, Bloodleaf is a phantasmagorical wonder that will keep you guessing until the very last page.
So much to say about this book. I was graciously provided with an ARC, and I wasn’t sure what to expect going in. Now, having read it, I’m very pleased, to say the least. Read on for my honest, voluntary review.
The strongest magic requires the greatest sacrifice.
This was an apt quote to represent this story. Literally no one is safe. There is so much death, so many beloved characters victims in the fray. There was so much going on, so much groundwork laid throughout the book, just layers upon layers of story that slowly get revealed little by little as it goes, and yet so many twists and surprises you don’t expect to happen. Things you do expect go in completely different directions.
This book made me legit cry at least twice. So much gets invested as you’re reading this. So much excitement, conflict, betrayal, perseverance, loyalty and disloyalty, traitors and allies in unexpected places.
Just go ahead and settle in for a binge read once you pick this up because you won’t be able to put it down til the last page is read.