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shannonxo's review against another edition
5.0
I need a minute. Or ten or a thousnd. I lost hold of my feelings somewhere along the way and they are still running wild. This book, I mean—I thought the first one was intense?! This jumps that to a whole new level.
A huge thank you to Raincoast Books and HMH Teen for the ARC copy!
From what I gathered in reading this, I believe this second instalment is a Sleeping Beauty slash Sleepy Hollow retelling mash-up. The story picks up about 5 months after the end of Bloodleaf. I was incredibly satisfied with the ending of Bloodleaf, and that died pretty soon after once I read the synopsis. It's pretty easy to put together the dots of what happened based on the summary, and it is shortly confirmed in the first few chapters. Aurelia has become a bit of a loner. She is in mourning and still reeling from the events of the past book. Her little brother, Conrad, is about to be crowned king, but the world is still in turmoil from the fall of Achlev. Greythorne estate is surrounded by Achlevian refugees who are without a country and in a place that does not like them. Worse still is the Tribunal, which again, Crystal Smith makes so easy to hate.
Aurelia is a much changed character from who we met on the first page of Book 1. She has become hard and tough, both from her experiences and her growing grief. Two of the three lives tied to her remain now that her mother died in her place. Properly outed as a witch, she is not loved by her people. Worse still is that she was the one who brought the wall down in Achlev. She's the one who brought these unwanted, heathen refugees into Renault only for them to steal jobs or not work at all. If that sounds Trump-like, 99% there is a jab at him in the shape of a "rake the forest" line. Despite all that, Aurelia still tries to help however she can from the shadows for both Renault and Achlev. Making matters even worse, something is wrong with her blood magic. She can't see the ghosts she used to, and using her magic makes her horribly ill.
The absolute intensity that sucked me into Bloodleaf is still here. Crystal Smith clearly has a gift for writing scenes that make me clutch my pearls and squirm from the sheer craziness of what is going down. I've read few stories that can dig into my feelings like this series seems to do. I am not exaggerating when I say this is literal edge of your seat action. I must admit that the story doesn't seem as ... deep this time. There is a lot more traveling around by the characters and there are a lot of disjointed dream sequences (for good reason, I promise). Despite that, the plot was no less intriguing or riveting. It was near impossible to put down. Not to mention the plot twists! There were so many things I either did not see coming or never would have expected to come up.
I finished both Bloodleaf and Greythorne inside of a week, and now you're telling me I have to wait a year for Ebonwilde? After THAT ending?! I mean, I'll do it, but it will not be easy.
A huge thank you to Raincoast Books and HMH Teen for the ARC copy!
From what I gathered in reading this, I believe this second instalment is a Sleeping Beauty slash Sleepy Hollow retelling mash-up. The story picks up about 5 months after the end of Bloodleaf. I was incredibly satisfied with the ending of Bloodleaf, and that died pretty soon after once I read the synopsis. It's pretty easy to put together the dots of what happened based on the summary, and it is shortly confirmed in the first few chapters. Aurelia has become a bit of a loner. She is in mourning and still reeling from the events of the past book. Her little brother, Conrad, is about to be crowned king, but the world is still in turmoil from the fall of Achlev. Greythorne estate is surrounded by Achlevian refugees who are without a country and in a place that does not like them. Worse still is the Tribunal, which again, Crystal Smith makes so easy to hate.
Aurelia is a much changed character from who we met on the first page of Book 1. She has become hard and tough, both from her experiences and her growing grief. Two of the three lives tied to her remain now that her mother died in her place. Properly outed as a witch, she is not loved by her people. Worse still is that she was the one who brought the wall down in Achlev. She's the one who brought these unwanted, heathen refugees into Renault only for them to steal jobs or not work at all. If that sounds Trump-like, 99% there is a jab at him in the shape of a "rake the forest" line. Despite all that, Aurelia still tries to help however she can from the shadows for both Renault and Achlev. Making matters even worse, something is wrong with her blood magic. She can't see the ghosts she used to, and using her magic makes her horribly ill.
The absolute intensity that sucked me into Bloodleaf is still here. Crystal Smith clearly has a gift for writing scenes that make me clutch my pearls and squirm from the sheer craziness of what is going down. I've read few stories that can dig into my feelings like this series seems to do. I am not exaggerating when I say this is literal edge of your seat action. I must admit that the story doesn't seem as ... deep this time. There is a lot more traveling around by the characters and there are a lot of disjointed dream sequences (for good reason, I promise). Despite that, the plot was no less intriguing or riveting. It was near impossible to put down. Not to mention the plot twists! There were so many things I either did not see coming or never would have expected to come up.
I finished both Bloodleaf and Greythorne inside of a week, and now you're telling me I have to wait a year for Ebonwilde? After THAT ending?! I mean, I'll do it, but it will not be easy.
gracedwithbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I received an Advanced Reading Copy of this book from the publisher and author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
What a ride. I swear this second book had more twists and turns than the first. I found the beginning of the story to be a lot of explaining what happened in the month between the end of bloodleaf and Greythorne, it was a lot of confusion and catching up but after that bumpy beginning, it became really enjoyable.
I think watching Aurelia deal with the fall out of her actions in bloodleaf was very compelling and seeing her struggling with the aftermath made her a much more dynamic character to read about. The ending left me breathless and I cannot wait for the final book!
What a ride. I swear this second book had more twists and turns than the first. I found the beginning of the story to be a lot of explaining what happened in the month between the end of bloodleaf and Greythorne, it was a lot of confusion and catching up but after that bumpy beginning, it became really enjoyable.
I think watching Aurelia deal with the fall out of her actions in bloodleaf was very compelling and seeing her struggling with the aftermath made her a much more dynamic character to read about. The ending left me breathless and I cannot wait for the final book!
djm_chal's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
thevillainesswildcard's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
laceydbell's review against another edition
3.0
I struggled so much with this. I can see its merits, but I think I maybe picked it up at the wrong time.
manu71005's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this, everything was s amazing and the ending was 5 stars. My only problem was that sometimes I was really lost and I didn't understood a thing that happened, but other than that it was really great. My heart bumped a lot, and i did expect most of the things.
paigeking's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
bookwife's review against another edition
4.0
I was lucky enough to to get an early copy of Greythorne and I loved it. I loved being back in the world. I love that Aurelia finally started practicing her magic. I loved that we got to know Onal better. That ending?! I can’t believe I have to wait until JUNE to find out what happens in Ebonwilde