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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood
Minor: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, War
Somehow I think this was better than the first book? That's rare.
For some reason my review got deleted. So this one will be shorter because I’m upset lol.
The reason I only gave this four stars was because the chronological structure of this story bothered me. I don’t think it will bother everyone, but to me it took away from the characters and their development. After Bloodleaf, we skip about five our six months into the future starting in Greythorne. Auriela is living in a pleasure house gambling and saving money, Zan is just...gone and Auriela won’t talk about him, Conrad is king and misses his sister, and everything is just so very different from what I expected it to be—which isn’t the actual issue. The issue is that once she starts to reveal all of the events that transpired in the five or six months that have passed, I realized we should have been there for those events. Zan apparently dying, Auriela breaking off from the castle and staying away. Since these characters weren’t very well developed in book 1, I think being present for these moments would have aided their character development, considering there wasn’t a whole lot of it throughout this second installment.
The relationship between Auriela and Zan is also weird. They got engaged—which we ALSO weren’t present for. I feel like their relationship as a whole is barley sentient. I actually don’t care about them as a couple because it was poorly developed in the book. Almost non-existent. After we (obviously) see that Zan still lives and breaths, they almost get naughty once before she realized Zan is the reason she’s dying. Zan yelled at her once about how he felt much later, and for the most part he was always captured or they were always separated which was really underwhelming for their relationship growth.
The plot was the only thing pushing me along. Auriela learning about walking through the land of the “dead”, learning her body wasn’t he real body, but that half of her was in that world the entire time, which was why she had white hair and looked how she did. That was interesting. When Simon sent her on her quest to break her blood-bond to Kellan so she could die and keep chaos from reining, I thought that would be interesting to see play out.
I enjoyed Arcenaux, even though I wanted more from her as an antagonist. She felt a little too background. There was honestly not much threat from her besides in the beginning
when she declared Auriela a conspirator with their enemy—Zan’s kingdom.
The revelations were okay. They helped me care a bit more than I actually thought I would. Learning Urso was Mathuin Greythorne. Okay. Cool. Learning that Aurelia’s dad was the son of their nursemaid Onal, and that Onal had another daughter—Arcenaux. Okay, I’m here for that. I liked Onal a lot. When Rosetta lies to Auriela about the Bell that would break the blood bond because she wanted it for herself so she could finally die, I was a tiny bit shocked. Shocked enough that I was interested.
Overall this installment was okay. I gave it for stars originally, but I think three is more fitting so I changed it.
The reason I only gave this four stars was because the chronological structure of this story bothered me. I don’t think it will bother everyone, but to me it took away from the characters and their development. After Bloodleaf, we skip about five our six months into the future starting in Greythorne. Auriela is living in a pleasure house gambling and saving money, Zan is just...gone and Auriela won’t talk about him, Conrad is king and misses his sister, and everything is just so very different from what I expected it to be—which isn’t the actual issue. The issue is that once she starts to reveal all of the events that transpired in the five or six months that have passed, I realized we should have been there for those events. Zan apparently dying, Auriela breaking off from the castle and staying away. Since these characters weren’t very well developed in book 1, I think being present for these moments would have aided their character development, considering there wasn’t a whole lot of it throughout this second installment.
The relationship between Auriela and Zan is also weird. They got engaged—which we ALSO weren’t present for. I feel like their relationship as a whole is barley sentient. I actually don’t care about them as a couple because it was poorly developed in the book. Almost non-existent. After we (obviously) see that Zan still lives and breaths, they almost get naughty once before she realized Zan is the reason she’s dying. Zan yelled at her once about how he felt much later, and for the most part he was always captured or they were always separated which was really underwhelming for their relationship growth.
The plot was the only thing pushing me along. Auriela learning about walking through the land of the “dead”, learning her body wasn’t he real body, but that half of her was in that world the entire time, which was why she had white hair and looked how she did. That was interesting. When Simon sent her on her quest to break her blood-bond to Kellan so she could die and keep chaos from reining, I thought that would be interesting to see play out.
I enjoyed Arcenaux, even though I wanted more from her as an antagonist. She felt a little too background. There was honestly not much threat from her besides in the beginning
when she declared Auriela a conspirator with their enemy—Zan’s kingdom.
The revelations were okay. They helped me care a bit more than I actually thought I would. Learning Urso was Mathuin Greythorne. Okay. Cool. Learning that Aurelia’s dad was the son of their nursemaid Onal, and that Onal had another daughter—Arcenaux. Okay, I’m here for that. I liked Onal a lot. When Rosetta lies to Auriela about the Bell that would break the blood bond because she wanted it for herself so she could finally die, I was a tiny bit shocked. Shocked enough that I was interested.
Overall this installment was okay. I gave it for stars originally, but I think three is more fitting so I changed it.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
( 5 stars )
there is SO MUCH packed into this one that i don’t know where to start. there was even more lore and history and intrigue in greythorne than there was in bloodleaf and i loved it. rosetta is an amazing character, and learning more about onal was amazing but also heartbreaking (aurelia realizes she’s her grandma only to then lose her? fucking OUCH).
there are definitely magical components i don’t fully understand, and a lot of temporal stuff going on, but it’s all so interesting and the plot is really well done overall. for me, the characters and their connections are what make this series. it’s nice to have a book where conrad and aurelia are close for its entirety, even if they’re not physically together. knowing she has her brother’s love makes it all a little less depressing.
i’m going to read ebonwilde like, right now
there is SO MUCH packed into this one that i don’t know where to start. there was even more lore and history and intrigue in greythorne than there was in bloodleaf and i loved it. rosetta is an amazing character, and learning more about onal was amazing but also heartbreaking (aurelia realizes she’s her grandma only to then lose her? fucking OUCH).
there are definitely magical components i don’t fully understand, and a lot of temporal stuff going on, but it’s all so interesting and the plot is really well done overall. for me, the characters and their connections are what make this series. it’s nice to have a book where conrad and aurelia are close for its entirety, even if they’re not physically together. knowing she has her brother’s love makes it all a little less depressing.
i’m going to read ebonwilde like, right now
Still thinking about how an important character died because the main characters were trying to get it on
Much like it's predecessor, Greythorne managed to be an incredibly addicting read that ultimately left me wanting more (but not necessarily in a good way).
The vibes of this book are immaculate for fall. It explores some fairly dark themes and a good chunk of it takes place in a deep and spooky forest. The plot is very fast paced and has a ton of twists and turns. We also discover a lot more about the world and the magic system(s). The ideas presented in this book are fantastic and Smith's prose is wonderful and incredibly easy to read.
That said, a lot of the pros are also cons. There is way too much going on in this book. It kind of seems like every idea the author had while developing the story made the final cut, and there just isn't room for that in 350 pages. There are so many types of magic at play here that it's hard to keep track of who can do what. While we get some decent development for Aurelia and a few side characters, Zan is almost non-existent. There is a several month gap between Bloodleaf and Greythorne, so we have to piece together their whole relationship through a couple of argume- *cough* I mean, conversations. Honestly, I do not care about them as a couple at all.
The vibes of this book are immaculate for fall. It explores some fairly dark themes and a good chunk of it takes place in a deep and spooky forest. The plot is very fast paced and has a ton of twists and turns. We also discover a lot more about the world and the magic system(s). The ideas presented in this book are fantastic and Smith's prose is wonderful and incredibly easy to read.
That said, a lot of the pros are also cons. There is way too much going on in this book. It kind of seems like every idea the author had while developing the story made the final cut, and there just isn't room for that in 350 pages. There are so many types of magic at play here that it's hard to keep track of who can do what. While we get some decent development for Aurelia and a few side characters, Zan is almost non-existent. There is a several month gap between Bloodleaf and Greythorne, so we have to piece together their whole relationship through a couple of argume- *cough* I mean, conversations. Honestly, I do not care about them as a couple at all.
Thank you HMH Teen for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Greythorne, book two in the Bloodleaf trilogy, opens with (former?) Princess Aurelia reeling from the loss of her beloved Zan. The kingdom is also in disarray after the events of Bloodleaf, as her brother, Prince Conrad, prepares for his coronation at Greythorne Manor. After deftly playing cards for money at a quiet inn, Aurelia makes her way to Greythorne for the coronation, only to find it upended as the people turn against Conrad, and Aurelia is forced away from her brother in order to keep him safe, as she is being hunted for who she is. With her enemies growing and her allies woefully thin, can Aurelia turn the tide to keep her family safe and find some semblance of peace?
This sequel really took off in a great way after what happened in Bloodleaf. While the first story established the world and some of the stakes, Greythorne allowed Aurelia to breathe as a character and put her through the paces as one big surprise after another sprang up as if she was haunted by a hydra of misfortune. Aurelia's character really gets to shine because, while she is in mortal danger, she's doing her best for others as well. Most of the supporting characters, such as Kellan, also become more fleshed out as the story progresses. There were many surprises and developments, particularly in the final pages, and this was a fantastic middle arc for what's shaping up to be a very respectable fantasy trilogy. Get ready for a heroine you can root for and a doozy of a cliffhanger if you dare to step foot in Greythorne, and I really, really think you should.
Greythorne, book two in the Bloodleaf trilogy, opens with (former?) Princess Aurelia reeling from the loss of her beloved Zan. The kingdom is also in disarray after the events of Bloodleaf, as her brother, Prince Conrad, prepares for his coronation at Greythorne Manor. After deftly playing cards for money at a quiet inn, Aurelia makes her way to Greythorne for the coronation, only to find it upended as the people turn against Conrad, and Aurelia is forced away from her brother in order to keep him safe, as she is being hunted for who she is. With her enemies growing and her allies woefully thin, can Aurelia turn the tide to keep her family safe and find some semblance of peace?
This sequel really took off in a great way after what happened in Bloodleaf. While the first story established the world and some of the stakes, Greythorne allowed Aurelia to breathe as a character and put her through the paces as one big surprise after another sprang up as if she was haunted by a hydra of misfortune. Aurelia's character really gets to shine because, while she is in mortal danger, she's doing her best for others as well. Most of the supporting characters, such as Kellan, also become more fleshed out as the story progresses. There were many surprises and developments, particularly in the final pages, and this was a fantastic middle arc for what's shaping up to be a very respectable fantasy trilogy. Get ready for a heroine you can root for and a doozy of a cliffhanger if you dare to step foot in Greythorne, and I really, really think you should.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
emotional
fast-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:
Complicated