Bloodleaf (Bloodleaf #1) by Crystal Smith @crysrensmith @HMHteen #bookreview #YA #fantasy

Title: Bloodleaf

Author: Crystal Smith

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: March 12, 2019

Page Count: 384

My rating: 4 stars

About the book:

Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith is the first book of a new young adult fantasy trilogy by the same name.  This series is another that is actually a retelling, however, with this one it’s a story I’m not familiar with myself, the Grimm Fairy tale “The Goose Girl” so I went into this one reading it more as an original story myself.

While Princess Aurelia is an heir to the  crown in her country she’s always had a quirky personality about her, this comes from Aurelia’s ability to see  the  ghosts around her. Not only does she keep this ability hidden as much as she can but also her ability to use  blood magic as it’s forbidden in her land.

When there is an attempt made upon Aurelia’s life those around her do what they can to protect her and keep her from harm. However, when all else fails Aurelia finds herself separated from her family and friends and on the  run away from her kingdom with only the magic she’s hid as protection.

This was actually a nice start to this new series and while it was somewhat slow to  take off while building the world I still found myself enjoying it. The world within almost to me had a historical feel to it with innocent women hanged for the suspicion of witchcraft and Aurelia being a princess with servants helping her etc. I can’t say how it does as a retelling but it’s certainly gained my interest on it’s own.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online: 

Goodreads  /   Amazon

About the author:

Crystal Smith is a writer, photographer, and artist who developed an early love of storytelling in a family of voracious readers. She resides in Utah with her high school sweetheart husband and two lively sons. When she isn’t writing or creating, she can be found re-watching Jane Eyre or reading ghost stories with all the lights on. Twitter/Instagram: @crysrensmith