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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this was such a sweet retelling! i loved the multiple povs.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Enjoyable standalone novel! I only wish there had been more time to develop the MC and give her a life and friends outside of those directly involved with the love interest.
Probably one of my favorite cinderella-inspired fantasy books that I’ve read so far.
4 stars; audiobook
This was a really great retelling of Cinderella. The audiobook was really good. Glad I gave it a listen!
This was a really great retelling of Cinderella. The audiobook was really good. Glad I gave it a listen!
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.75/4 stars!
This Arc was kindly provided by HCC Frenzy in exchange for a review!
TW: Child Abuse
Wow I throughly enjoyed The Blood Spell! This was a different spin on the classic Cinderella story. Now in full honesty when I see the tag line “Cinderella Retelling” I usually run the other way. I can’t stand the step mom/ evil step sister characters, or the classic Cinderella character. In YA it feels like there are so many Cinderella retelling and I tend to leave them all just feeling cheated of a good unique story. But let me tell you C.J Redwine took the overused Cinderella tale and flipped in on its head with this amazing and refreshing take!!
In our story we follow Blue De La Core who is an alchemist (which was fascinating to read about!). Blue has magic but in a land where magic is forbidden she has to hid it by using her ability to do alchemy. Blue was a truly fascinating character. Blue feels it is her duty to help the homeless of her town so she attempts to turn metal into gold, and that essentially kick starts our story. From that point we really get to see how characters are going to be interwoven with each other. I loved learning about alchemy and how it was incorporated into this story. The magic system was really fleshed out and so interesting. Blue was also a unique character, I can’t say I loved her but I did find that she was different and fresh which was nice!
The next character I want to talk about is Kellan who is our main male character and who is amazing! I ABSOLUTELY loved reading from Kellans POV he was such a interesting and realistic character. Kellan doesn’t want to be king he just wants to keep pushing himself until he finally feels again, after the devastating lose of his father he just wants to escape from his reality. When Kellan turns 19 in a few weeks he is to be married to one of the head families daughters and inherit the throne. Kellan was a fabulous character, he was so kind and it was so interesting to see him prepare to become king. Throughout the story you really see Kellan not just mature but grow and become a wise king. I loved reading about the problems that would arise and how Kellan as an upcoming king dealt with them, he was a well fleshed put character and so great!
One thing I thought was done really well in this book was how it dealt with grief. Both of our main characters are grieving and how they were able to come together in their grief and to find ways to grow stronger alone and together was breathtaking to read.
All in all I really did enjoy this story, I had a few problems though with the “step mother” character though and that is why this story was dropped to a 3.75. Who she came into the characters life just didn’t seem believable and the fact that no one was questioning it until the last half of the book just did not make sense and made me frustrated at time. My rating was also low because this book did drag in multiple parts.
Thank you again to HCC Frenzy for providing me with an arc! I do recommend The Blood Spell it was a unique and fascinating story!
This Arc was kindly provided by HCC Frenzy in exchange for a review!
TW: Child Abuse
Wow I throughly enjoyed The Blood Spell! This was a different spin on the classic Cinderella story. Now in full honesty when I see the tag line “Cinderella Retelling” I usually run the other way. I can’t stand the step mom/ evil step sister characters, or the classic Cinderella character. In YA it feels like there are so many Cinderella retelling and I tend to leave them all just feeling cheated of a good unique story. But let me tell you C.J Redwine took the overused Cinderella tale and flipped in on its head with this amazing and refreshing take!!
In our story we follow Blue De La Core who is an alchemist (which was fascinating to read about!). Blue has magic but in a land where magic is forbidden she has to hid it by using her ability to do alchemy. Blue was a truly fascinating character. Blue feels it is her duty to help the homeless of her town so she attempts to turn metal into gold, and that essentially kick starts our story. From that point we really get to see how characters are going to be interwoven with each other. I loved learning about alchemy and how it was incorporated into this story. The magic system was really fleshed out and so interesting. Blue was also a unique character, I can’t say I loved her but I did find that she was different and fresh which was nice!
The next character I want to talk about is Kellan who is our main male character and who is amazing! I ABSOLUTELY loved reading from Kellans POV he was such a interesting and realistic character. Kellan doesn’t want to be king he just wants to keep pushing himself until he finally feels again, after the devastating lose of his father he just wants to escape from his reality. When Kellan turns 19 in a few weeks he is to be married to one of the head families daughters and inherit the throne. Kellan was a fabulous character, he was so kind and it was so interesting to see him prepare to become king. Throughout the story you really see Kellan not just mature but grow and become a wise king. I loved reading about the problems that would arise and how Kellan as an upcoming king dealt with them, he was a well fleshed put character and so great!
One thing I thought was done really well in this book was how it dealt with grief. Both of our main characters are grieving and how they were able to come together in their grief and to find ways to grow stronger alone and together was breathtaking to read.
All in all I really did enjoy this story, I had a few problems though with the “step mother” character though and that is why this story was dropped to a 3.75. Who she came into the characters life just didn’t seem believable and the fact that no one was questioning it until the last half of the book just did not make sense and made me frustrated at time. My rating was also low because this book did drag in multiple parts.
Thank you again to HCC Frenzy for providing me with an arc! I do recommend The Blood Spell it was a unique and fascinating story!