Perfect for fans of RED QUEEN and UPROOTED, Crystal Smith’s debut novel, BLOODLEAF, is an imaginative retelling of the Grimm Fairy tale “The Goose Girl” that takes a ghostly mystery and sets it inside an epic fantasy world.
BLOODLEAF by CRYSTAL SMITH
Series: Bloodleaf #1
Release date: March 12, 2019
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA fantasy
SYNOPSIS
PRAISE FOR Bloodleaf:
“Enchanting, visceral, and twisty, Bloodleaf is a phantasmagorical wonder that will keep you guessing until the very last page.”–NYT bestselling author of Ash Princess, Laura Sebastian
“Eerie, immersive, and fascinating, Bloodleaf feels like a classic in the making. Readers will be pulled deep into Aurelia's world, and lose sleep alongside her as the deadly mysteries close in.”–Sarah Holland, NYT bestselling author of Everless
“Smith weaves together mystery, adventure and a reimagined fairy tale in this bewitching debut. An irresistible, spellbinding story.”–Rebecca Ross, author of The Queen’s Rising
Purchase the book here:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UrgwtT
iBooks: https://apple.co/2IZh9tC
Google Play: https://bit.ly/2ST6U9A
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2IZCfYL
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
REVIEW
Bloodleaf by Crystal SmithMy rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I was very excited to read Bloodleaf, and I think the concept of the magic system has merit, but it didn't come together as well as I hoped it would. In parts, there are some fresh ideas, notably the poison/healing power infused in the bloodleaf plant and Princess Aurelia's ability to see spirits of the departed. However, the clichés outnumbered the unique aspects for me personally by the end, and the heroine was a bit more frustrating than I would have liked.
Most in our land knew of bloodleaf —the vile poison that only grows on old battlefields or other soil upon which blood has been spilt —but no one ever spoke of the bloom.
Aurelia lives in a Kingdom divided up into two lands: Achleva and Renalt. As the Princess of Renalt, it has been arranged for her to marry the Prince of Achleva to tie the two sides together after many years of division. A wall has been erected, and only the very few who are able to gain permission are able to cross to the other side. Her pending marriage will bring much needed reconciliation and peace for everyone. Aurelia isn't fired up to get married seeing as her fiancé is reportedly a sickly recluse she's never met. On the other hand, there is civil unrest stirred up by the Tribunal and her safety becomes more tenuous by the day. This is a group that basically seek out people who have any form of magic and execute them as witches. As one who secretly holds one of the three forms of magic, Aurelia can only be shielded for so long before she is taken in.
After an assassination attempt and a hasty escape, Aurelia is forced to somehow make it to Achleva on her own with little more than a horse and the clothes on her back. She's lost all of her allies, her papers to get over the border, and has no money. She's faced desperate moments, difficult decisions, and tragedy. The more the book wears on, the more I started to disconnect from the heroine. While some things were beyond her control (the betrayal and plotting by someone close to her) it seemed as if the majority of bad things happening were a direct result of her poor/rash decision making. It made her seem pretty childish, and I get that her age and experience aren't advanced, but many times her actions weren't the most believable.
When it came to the romance aspect, she started out supposedly secretly in love with someone she'd known her whole life, and then because of one disappointing bad choice on his part she transfers her affection to someone new fairly quickly. The faded blood mark on the magic cloth should have given her a clue as to this person's true fate, and for some odd reason it never occurred to her that she may have been mistaken about what happened to him. That made no sense to me at all. I knew who the new love interest was from the start, and I also knew the twist very early on. It was pretty easy to predict so I'm not sure it could even be called a twist.
The author also modeled the corrupt king of Achleva after a real life person and it doesn't take a genius to figure out who it is. While I get that inspiration can be found in everyday life, the symbolism became so repeated and obvious that it took me out of the actual story. There were some plot points that didn't seem to go anywhere, such as Aurelia's bracelet that had been given significant page time. The gift from her father was mentioned over and over again, and I kept expecting to find out the importance of it, but it never happened. Maybe it will come out in the future, but it felt unresolved and completely unaddressed.
While Bloodleaf wasn't a total miss, unfortunately I didn't see enough to capture my imagination and interest like I had hoped. I've read quite a few YA fantasies with similar themes: outlawed magic, persecuted people who are gifted with it, princess on the run, betrayal to steal the throne, forbidden romance. The end was left in a happy for now place, so the lack of suspenseful cliffhanger was definitely a big plus. If you're looking for a new fantasy series that won't leave you hanging too painfully this could be the one for you.
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