octaviajacobs's review against another edition
5.0
I want to start out with that when this book first came out in hardcover with the first design I didn’t even pick it up... But this one I LOVE!
Anyway, I loved each character except one. Her guard was my least favorite I feel like his character could have been more developed. His feelings for her felt like they came out of no where and when she was showing signs of feelings for him and then completely rejected him, it was just odd. And I think if she was going to reject him like that then maybe it shouldn’t have felt like there was going to be a romance between them.
Aurelia herself was a great character. I loved everything about her. From her being a witch in a kingdom that burns them. And despite her kingdom wanted to test her to see if she was as one she still went to the trials anyway. She is everything a main character needs to be. Brave and strong but has a weak point and parts where the reader sees that she is still a human who can’t handle everything.
Now Zan! Omg! I loved him. I love when royalty are prickly and sarcastic with a dash of coldness. And when it was revealed that he was the prince I was actually kind of shocked. I had some speculation but like wow. The way he revealed was brilliant and it made me smirk.
I loved Zan and Aurelia! Together they were fire. I was begging for them since they met.
The antagonists were also great. I didn’t expect what Zan’s father did half the time. This book was full of turns that were all too predictable which was a nice refresher.
The plot itself was magical. I couldn’t put this book down. I was a really fast paced novel but it worked really well. I didn’t see any wholes in the story myself.
I actually stayed up for like 6 hours after I wanted to go to bed to finish it because I couldn’t put it down. Except for when something big or just plan great happened and I needed to take a breath. I was so enthralled I forgot to breath sometimes.
Now the world building. This was also amazing. I loved how both kingdoms were so entirely different. But in some ways (corrupt ways) they were the same. It was a nice relation.
5/5 Stars
erinarkin20's review against another edition
4.0
Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith was exactly what I was hoping for! From the first page, I was engaged in the story and found I didn’t want to put it down. There were twists and turns throughout the story and quite a bit happens in this first book. I’ll do my best to not include any spoilers so if something comes across as vague…sorry.
The main character is Princess Aurelia and when we meet her, it’s clear she is struggling with who she is and what she is facing. As the first Renaltan princess born in two centuries …or at least the first one kept by the king and queen in that timeframe, the people of Renalt view Aurelia as an oddity. Not only that, her birth meant that her family needed to honor the treaty that ended a long war with Achleva by marrying the prince.
The world that Smith has developed revolves around magic and the tension that has existed between Renalt and Achleva. Within Renalt, the Tribunal has a level of power that creates a fear of magic. The group is extremely interested in Aurelia and the only thing that has protected her is her status as princess as they believe she is a witch. As the head of the tribunal, Toris de Lena, is considered an ally, Aurelia’s mother believes she is safe. The thing about Aurelia, though, is that she has the ability to practice blood magic and has always seen spirits so while her mother and a few people around her know that she is trying to learn how to control the magic, it puts her in constant danger.
When something happens that puts Aurelia at risk with the Tribunal, she is snuck out of Renalt by Toris and her guard Kellan along with her little brother, Conrad and Toris’ daughter, Lisette. Very quickly Aurelia realizes that Toris is up to something that puts her, Conrad, and Kellan in danger. Unfortunately, she doesn’t realize it soon enough and she finds herself just barely surviving when she gets to the camps just outside of Achleva. The only thing that saves her is the fact that she has Kellan’s horse, Falada, which draws the attention of Zan.
Zan is a bit of a mystery at first. He wants Aurelia’s horse, but he isn’t willing to share why. When Aurelia turns down his money, he’s definitely taken aback but he isn’t going to give up. I really liked Zan, not only is he smart, but he’s willing to do whatever he needs to do to protect the people of Achleva and if that means taking the horse, he will…and he does. This kicks off the beginning of their relationship and I thought Smith did a great job telling their story but no matter how close they have become, they are both keeping secrets. Aurelia hasn’t told anyone that she is a princess and she doesn’t really know who Zan is until things take a turn. Zan is resourceful and although willing to throw Aurelia into the middle of the danger, he’s not exactly happy about it.
I have to say, I really enjoyed the secondary characters in this book. Early on, it’s no secret that Toris isn’t a good guy so you know pretty quickly he’s the bad guy. But I loved the addition of Nathaniel and Kate. They helped move the story along and they added a layer of interaction with Aurelia that shows her in a different light. This story does get dark at times – there is death, blood, and danger around every corner and Aurelia is right in the middle of everything. As she learns more about her magic and uses it to help Zan, she also learns more about herself and I loved seeing such growth in her character as well as how she is connected with the spirits surrounding her.
That’s about all I can share on this one without potentially giving anything away. If you’re looking for a new fantasy series that will keep you turning the pages, check out this one. As a debut, I thought Smith did a wonderful job developing the story and keeping my interest in what was going to happen with these characters. I will definitely be looking forward to the next book of this series!
Thank you to the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
The main character is Princess Aurelia and when we meet her, it’s clear she is struggling with who she is and what she is facing. As the first Renaltan princess born in two centuries …or at least the first one kept by the king and queen in that timeframe, the people of Renalt view Aurelia as an oddity. Not only that, her birth meant that her family needed to honor the treaty that ended a long war with Achleva by marrying the prince.
The world that Smith has developed revolves around magic and the tension that has existed between Renalt and Achleva. Within Renalt, the Tribunal has a level of power that creates a fear of magic. The group is extremely interested in Aurelia and the only thing that has protected her is her status as princess as they believe she is a witch. As the head of the tribunal, Toris de Lena, is considered an ally, Aurelia’s mother believes she is safe. The thing about Aurelia, though, is that she has the ability to practice blood magic and has always seen spirits so while her mother and a few people around her know that she is trying to learn how to control the magic, it puts her in constant danger.
When something happens that puts Aurelia at risk with the Tribunal, she is snuck out of Renalt by Toris and her guard Kellan along with her little brother, Conrad and Toris’ daughter, Lisette. Very quickly Aurelia realizes that Toris is up to something that puts her, Conrad, and Kellan in danger. Unfortunately, she doesn’t realize it soon enough and she finds herself just barely surviving when she gets to the camps just outside of Achleva. The only thing that saves her is the fact that she has Kellan’s horse, Falada, which draws the attention of Zan.
Zan is a bit of a mystery at first. He wants Aurelia’s horse, but he isn’t willing to share why. When Aurelia turns down his money, he’s definitely taken aback but he isn’t going to give up. I really liked Zan, not only is he smart, but he’s willing to do whatever he needs to do to protect the people of Achleva and if that means taking the horse, he will…and he does. This kicks off the beginning of their relationship and I thought Smith did a great job telling their story but no matter how close they have become, they are both keeping secrets. Aurelia hasn’t told anyone that she is a princess and she doesn’t really know who Zan is until things take a turn. Zan is resourceful and although willing to throw Aurelia into the middle of the danger, he’s not exactly happy about it.
I have to say, I really enjoyed the secondary characters in this book. Early on, it’s no secret that Toris isn’t a good guy so you know pretty quickly he’s the bad guy. But I loved the addition of Nathaniel and Kate. They helped move the story along and they added a layer of interaction with Aurelia that shows her in a different light. This story does get dark at times – there is death, blood, and danger around every corner and Aurelia is right in the middle of everything. As she learns more about her magic and uses it to help Zan, she also learns more about herself and I loved seeing such growth in her character as well as how she is connected with the spirits surrounding her.
That’s about all I can share on this one without potentially giving anything away. If you’re looking for a new fantasy series that will keep you turning the pages, check out this one. As a debut, I thought Smith did a wonderful job developing the story and keeping my interest in what was going to happen with these characters. I will definitely be looking forward to the next book of this series!
Thank you to the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
erinarkin20's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed the narrator on this one and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book now that I've done a re-read. Check this one out!
gracie_gray's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
katelynrosekelley's review against another edition
5.0
literally SO GOOOOOOD. i got kinda confused at times but im just #dumb so… but it is still so so amazing
ava15's review against another edition
The writing was just not good, to the point where it was distracting me too much from the story to keep going. Also, the main character made SUCH stupid choices I couldn’t stand it.
pinkhydroflask's review against another edition
5.0
RATING: 4.5/5
I was stuck in a reading slump for one solid month, but I picked this novel up yesterday night, finished it 14 hours later, and I'm happy to say that my reading slump has been cured.
THE PLOT
It felt like a typical fantasy novel, yet had so many elements that really set it apart and made it so different. I loved how sinisterly magic was painted in this novel, I loved how it was so forbidden and dark. The whole story was suspenseful, thrilling and never had a dull moment from the beginning to the end. I would say that certain pieces of the story felt vaguely predictable with overused tropes, but it wasn't particularly a deal breaker.
THE PACE
I quite enjoyed how the book moved swiftly about 85% of the time. There were obviously some lighthearted scenes sprinkled in here and there, but I thought that it overall never stopped moving forward, which was lovely. The fight scenes were actually pretty impressive, and did give the book a more jagged edge that made me enjoy reading it so much.
THE CHARACTERS
This book has quite a lot of characters. I'll have to admit that even though majority of the page time was devoted to our protagonist and her development, I did enjoy how every other secondary character had their own personality and role to play. Everyone was quite well developed considering how quickly the book went by, and I'm looking forward to the second book.
The romance between Aurelia and Zan was actually pretty un-cringey. Which is saying something because I personally feel that writers often mess up romantic relationships by making them the sole focus of the plot. This one was well developed and executed perfectly, so no complaints from me.
THE ENDING
I didn't expect it to end the way it did, though I did have a prediction that it was going to end on the typical 'happily ever after' note. I really loved the whole mythology about the living and the dead, and the ending i thought i saw coming didn't actually happen, which was pretty impressive. Definitely not one of the best endings to a novel, but I'd say i'm pretty impressed nonetheless.
OVERALL
I'd reread this! Definitely a book I'd recommend to someone if they were looking for a dark fantasy to pull them out of their reading slump.
I was stuck in a reading slump for one solid month, but I picked this novel up yesterday night, finished it 14 hours later, and I'm happy to say that my reading slump has been cured.
THE PLOT
It felt like a typical fantasy novel, yet had so many elements that really set it apart and made it so different. I loved how sinisterly magic was painted in this novel, I loved how it was so forbidden and dark. The whole story was suspenseful, thrilling and never had a dull moment from the beginning to the end. I would say that certain pieces of the story felt vaguely predictable with overused tropes, but it wasn't particularly a deal breaker.
THE PACE
I quite enjoyed how the book moved swiftly about 85% of the time. There were obviously some lighthearted scenes sprinkled in here and there, but I thought that it overall never stopped moving forward, which was lovely. The fight scenes were actually pretty impressive, and did give the book a more jagged edge that made me enjoy reading it so much.
THE CHARACTERS
This book has quite a lot of characters. I'll have to admit that even though majority of the page time was devoted to our protagonist and her development, I did enjoy how every other secondary character had their own personality and role to play. Everyone was quite well developed considering how quickly the book went by, and I'm looking forward to the second book.
The romance between Aurelia and Zan was actually pretty un-cringey. Which is saying something because I personally feel that writers often mess up romantic relationships by making them the sole focus of the plot. This one was well developed and executed perfectly, so no complaints from me.
THE ENDING
I didn't expect it to end the way it did, though I did have a prediction that it was going to end on the typical 'happily ever after' note. I really loved the whole mythology about the living and the dead, and the ending i thought i saw coming didn't actually happen, which was pretty impressive. Definitely not one of the best endings to a novel, but I'd say i'm pretty impressed nonetheless.
OVERALL
I'd reread this! Definitely a book I'd recommend to someone if they were looking for a dark fantasy to pull them out of their reading slump.
bookwife's review against another edition
4.0
Good YA fantasy read. It wasn't very original and I knew who Zan was from literally the first time he shows up. It's very, very obvious. And I feel like this storyline is way overdone in YA fantasy BUUUUUUT the thing is, I usually enjoy this storyline. So I can see how that might annoy some people but it worked for me. I liked the characters and I liked the story.
There wasn't anything ground breaking here but it was good!
There wasn't anything ground breaking here but it was good!
herbaceousriot's review against another edition
5.0
Oh boy I really loved this book. It started out a bit slow but made up for it quite quickly. Who doesn't love a good magical adventure?