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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
*Thank you so much HMH and Netgalley for letting me read and review GREYTHORNE*
It has been a few days since I've finished Greythrone and I am still in complete and utter shock with everything that happened in this novel. Bloodleaf was my favorite novel of 2019 so it was no surprise that I was going to love Greythorne, but honestly I am obsessed and I need to know what is going to happen next. Crystal is a masterful story teller who uses fast moving plots and beautiful imagery to keep her readings craving more. Plus, THAT ENDING.
At the end of Bloodleaf Aurelia has witness the fall of Achlev and pulled Zan back from the reaches of death. Just when we thought that their story could get a happily ever after, Dominic Castillion has just enrolled his plans to take over what is left of the fallen kingdom of Achlev and Renalt. Greythorne picks up a few months after the end of Bloodleaf. Due to Aurelia's mother dying as part of the blood cloth magic that saves Aurelia from death, it leaves her young brother Conrad as the heir to the throne. But all isn't as it seems as Aurelia returns to Greythrone manor for Conrad's coronation. The tribunal is back and they are set on taking the Renalt kingdom for themselves. With Kellan, Onal and a some new characters Aurelia sets off on a journey into the Ebonwilde to end this all once and for all.
The revelations in the first couple of chapters had me gasping and flipping through the pages of this book as fast as I could. Smith managed to further the plot with events that happened after Bloodleaf ends and before Greythorne start, but seamlessly weaves them in. I did not predict half of the revelations of the things that were going to happen. One revelation in particular had me crying at 2a.m. because just how can this be happening!?
I loved that we got to see Aurelia begin to explore her magic and its boundaries more in Greythorne. Though magic is frowned up, many know that Aurelia is a "witch" so she doesn't have to hide it as she once did. In Bloodleaf, if you were suspected of being a witch then the Tribunal would have you hung. I think it was interesting too to see Aurelia struggle with knowing what the right thing to do is, but knowing that in certain situations she can't use her magic in the ideal way.
Onal has always been one of my favorite characters. Shes blunt, cranky and straight up doesn't put up with anyone's bullshit. In Greythorne we learn a lot more about Onal, her beginnings and her purpose in the castle. I'd loved seeing that bond that Onal and Aurelia continued to build in this novel.
THAT ENDING. WHAT. The ending of Greythorne is the biggest cliffhanger that I have read in a long long long time. I'm itching to get Ebonwilde into my hands to know what is going to happen to these characters next. BUT THE PAIN. Overall I loved Greythorne as much as I loved Bloodleaf, possibly even more and I can't wait to see what heartbreak Smith has in store for us next.
*Thank you so much HMH and Netgalley for letting me read and review GREYTHORNE*
It has been a few days since I've finished Greythrone and I am still in complete and utter shock with everything that happened in this novel. Bloodleaf was my favorite novel of 2019 so it was no surprise that I was going to love Greythorne, but honestly I am obsessed and I need to know what is going to happen next. Crystal is a masterful story teller who uses fast moving plots and beautiful imagery to keep her readings craving more. Plus, THAT ENDING.
At the end of Bloodleaf Aurelia has witness the fall of Achlev and pulled Zan back from the reaches of death. Just when we thought that their story could get a happily ever after, Dominic Castillion has just enrolled his plans to take over what is left of the fallen kingdom of Achlev and Renalt. Greythorne picks up a few months after the end of Bloodleaf. Due to Aurelia's mother dying as part of the blood cloth magic that saves Aurelia from death, it leaves her young brother Conrad as the heir to the throne. But all isn't as it seems as Aurelia returns to Greythrone manor for Conrad's coronation. The tribunal is back and they are set on taking the Renalt kingdom for themselves. With Kellan, Onal and a some new characters Aurelia sets off on a journey into the Ebonwilde to end this all once and for all.
The revelations in the first couple of chapters had me gasping and flipping through the pages of this book as fast as I could. Smith managed to further the plot with events that happened after Bloodleaf ends and before Greythorne start, but seamlessly weaves them in. I did not predict half of the revelations of the things that were going to happen. One revelation in particular had me crying at 2a.m. because just how can this be happening!?
I loved that we got to see Aurelia begin to explore her magic and its boundaries more in Greythorne. Though magic is frowned up, many know that Aurelia is a "witch" so she doesn't have to hide it as she once did. In Bloodleaf, if you were suspected of being a witch then the Tribunal would have you hung. I think it was interesting too to see Aurelia struggle with knowing what the right thing to do is, but knowing that in certain situations she can't use her magic in the ideal way.
Onal has always been one of my favorite characters. Shes blunt, cranky and straight up doesn't put up with anyone's bullshit. In Greythorne we learn a lot more about Onal, her beginnings and her purpose in the castle. I'd loved seeing that bond that Onal and Aurelia continued to build in this novel.
THAT ENDING. WHAT. The ending of Greythorne is the biggest cliffhanger that I have read in a long long long time. I'm itching to get Ebonwilde into my hands to know what is going to happen to these characters next. BUT THE PAIN. Overall I loved Greythorne as much as I loved Bloodleaf, possibly even more and I can't wait to see what heartbreak Smith has in store for us next.
I love these books so much!! I am so pumped for the next book! Aurelia and onal in this book are such a great duo. Their sass together is everything!! I love the pacing of both books I read them so quickly and the wanting for the forbidden love! I felt like all the questions were answered and I love the way they all unfolded and had me on the edge of my seat!! A must read!
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay, so the second book was WAY better than the first. Definitely happy that I stuck with this series and now I can't wait for the third book!
Greythorne was so freaking easy to devour. I feel like the audio went by so quickly when I was working that I had to double check that it actually ended on me before my brain caught up to it. Now I thought the first book was just okay and I was a little hesitant to jump into the sequel. Luckily for me, Aurelia was just so much better in this one.
I don't really know what happened in between these two books but she grew on me. Of course she has a whole set of new problems in this book. With each twist and turn that came my way, I was just stuck to my seat the entire time. I wanted, no - needed, to know what was going to happen in this one and what's the deal with the curses? Oh lord so many things were happening for my more pudding brain to catch up. Yet, I ate it all up.
Even though this is book 2, I honestly don't have a favorite character yet. Maybe in the next one I might have a winner but who knows. Now I have to sit and wait for book 3 to become available.
Greythorne was so freaking easy to devour. I feel like the audio went by so quickly when I was working that I had to double check that it actually ended on me before my brain caught up to it. Now I thought the first book was just okay and I was a little hesitant to jump into the sequel. Luckily for me, Aurelia was just so much better in this one.
I don't really know what happened in between these two books but she grew on me. Of course she has a whole set of new problems in this book. With each twist and turn that came my way, I was just stuck to my seat the entire time. I wanted, no - needed, to know what was going to happen in this one and what's the deal with the curses? Oh lord so many things were happening for my more pudding brain to catch up. Yet, I ate it all up.
Even though this is book 2, I honestly don't have a favorite character yet. Maybe in the next one I might have a winner but who knows. Now I have to sit and wait for book 3 to become available.
adventurous
dark
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Things I Remembered About Bloodleaf, Which I Read A Year And A Half Ago, Before I Started Greythorne:
1) I really enjoyed it.
2) Bits of it were based on The Goose Girl.
Things I Remembered About Bloodleaf, Which I Read A Year And A Half Ago, As I Read Greythorne:
1) It had words, I assume, or maybe I imagined them.
This is a proof, I know that, so I'm dearly hoping there'll be a recap in the actual book. Usually there are reminders in the narration, but either I missed them or there aren't any in this book. I enjoyed the writing, the descriptions were lovely, but I genuinely had no idea what was going on at any point or who anyone was.
1) I really enjoyed it.
2) Bits of it were based on The Goose Girl.
Things I Remembered About Bloodleaf, Which I Read A Year And A Half Ago, As I Read Greythorne:
1) It had words, I assume, or maybe I imagined them.
This is a proof, I know that, so I'm dearly hoping there'll be a recap in the actual book. Usually there are reminders in the narration, but either I missed them or there aren't any in this book. I enjoyed the writing, the descriptions were lovely, but I genuinely had no idea what was going on at any point or who anyone was.
And now I have to wait until August. Great. I NEED MORE.
medium-paced
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.