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booksalacarte's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
3.75⭐️3🌶️
Book 2
Dark adult Fantasy
Multi POV
Orphan FMC
Fae/fae adjacent
Folklore/mythical creatures
Stockholm syndrome
Slow burn
Fated mates
Forbidden romance
Secret identity
Separation
Tw: questionable guardian/ward relationship, toxic relationship, repressed trauma
This series is so rich in internal monologue imagery. The flower and foliage. SAP does this so consistently. She also doesn’t back down from putting her characters through the wringer, physically, mentally AND emotionally.
This is a self discovery book, for sure. Book 1 was such a narrowly focused book. With the only setting being the castle and watching the FMC strain against herself and her fallbacks.
Book 2 opens everyone’s eyes to the bigger fantasy world and it’s such an interesting one. Learning about the world along with the FMC is interesting and something SAP is very intentional with. However I felt that so many of the characters were fairly inconsistent from book 1 to 2… which was disappointing.
But the angst is at an all time high, throughout the entire book.
This had the biggest cliffhanger ending. I finished at 1am and immediately had to start book 3.
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Crystal Bloom Series: unfinished
To Bleed a Crystal Bloom- 4.5⭐️2.75🌶️
To Snap a Silver Stem- 4⭐️3🌶️
To Flame a Wild Flower- 3.75⭐️3.5🌶️
Book 4- unannounced
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
hberg's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This second instalment definitely defined the series as more of a “fantasy with romance subplot” instead of the romance focus I was hoping for. I had a bit of trouble identifying the plot as I thought it was going to go in a different direction. It felt to me the plot in this book wasn’t very clear. Elements that were introduced in the first book weren’t followed through which makes me wonder why they were there in the first place. Additional characters got a POV which I also didn’t understand because it didn’t at much to the plot for me.
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit
aliteraryescape's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Gore, Blood, and Vomit
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