A review by e_flah
Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood

adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Wildblood is a fantasy adventure story set in an atmospheric setting where certain people have the ability to harness blood to perform magic. This is a plot-driven story that follows Victoria on a tour through the jungle helping lead a group of miners to a mythical grove of golden trees. The pacing is pretty consistent with lots of action throughout. Victoria's journey to fully understand the abuse she suffered as an indentured worker at the tour company is emotional and well done.

The setting of Wildblood has a ton of ambience but a disappointing lack of substantive world building. There is SO much cool stuff in this story -- from spirits that haunt the jungle to the river spirit River Mumma -- but we don't get a lot of descriptions or any discussion about how these things fit within the wider world of Wildblood. It felt like the magical creatures were two-dimensional props for the story rather than interesting, complex parts of the setting. More world building would have helped make this a more memorable read rather than a somewhat predictable adventure story.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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