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Review: Bloodleaf
Title: Bloodleaf
Author: Crystal Smith
Genre: fantasy
Release Date: March 12th, 2019
Series: Bloodleaf #1
Blurb
Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her. But the ghosts that haunt Aurelia refuse to abandon her, and she finds herself succumbing to their call as they expose a nefarious plot that only she can defeat. Will she be forced to choose between the weight of the crown and the freedom of her new life?
What I Liked
I definitely did a Twitter GIF reaction thread. Hop on in for like 70% gifs of people screaming.
I joke about Aurelia being stupid but she's actually just very realistic. I love her relationship with her brother, even through the strain it undergoes. Kellan *heart eyes* and Zan *annoyed heart eyes* are both great possible love interests to read about, even though there is blissfully no love triangle here (YET???). I saw some twists coming but others not so much. I literally cried. Like three times.
I think one of the best things about this book are how real everything feels, and how the descriptions make is feel like an actual place. The magic is mysterious to Aurelia so it remains mysterious to the reader until Aurelia learns it throughout the story. Her development in magic is done SOOO well, as she gradually improves her abilities. The ending is good and ties up the main loose threads, but there is clearly a sequel (a trilogy, in fact) so some things stayed unsolved. I CANNOT WAIT to get my grubby little paws on the second and third books!!!
What I Would Have Liked to See
I feel like it's weird to say "more men being killed" but like... that's for real. I also would have liked to see, and expect to see, more in-depth descriptions of family crests in the sequels.
My Favorite!
The depictions and descriptions of King Domhnall. That's all I have to say.
TL;DR
Princess and blood witch Aurelia must escape danger from all directions to save her life and the lives of those she loves, but when unforeseen magic threatens the entire world, sacrifices must be made.
P.S.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review. All thoughts are my own!
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