Hype Post – Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

**Disclaimer, I have not read Bloodleaf or any spoilers about it.  I received it today from Shelf Love Crate.  The following post is pure speculation on what I think I will like and dislike about it.**

Title Bloodleaf

Author Crystal Smith

Description from Amazon

Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her. But the ghosts that haunt Aurelia refuse to abandon her, and she finds herself succumbing to their call as they expose a nefarious plot that only she can defeat. Will she be forced to choose between the weight of the crown and the freedom of her new life?

Cover Art

I like the cover of this book.  Blue is my favorite color so in my opinion, you really can’t go wrong with a blue book.  There are some symbols and objects woven into a design of silver thorns which is interesting as well.  As I haven’t read this book yet, I’m not sure what to make of the images.  I hope they tie in nicely to the story.  The picture in the center appears to be a literal blood leaf.  It looks like a flower with a drop of blood coming off of it.  My pre-reading judgy self thinks that’s a smidge too literal, but I’ll reserve final judgement until I read the book.

Notes on the Dust Jacket Description

I’ve seen this book described as containing “ghostly intrigue” so I’m curious if Aurelia is literally haunted by something or if it’s a figure of speech and she’s haunted by the idea that she can’t escape her crown.  I’m not a big fan of ghost stories or spooky books so I might not enjoy actual ghosts.

“Falls for a man who is forbidden to rule by her side.”  Obviously, the dust jacket description is vague, it’s one paragraph.  And maybe I’ve been watching too much Game of Thrones, but the first thing that came to mind was “oh god, I hope she doesn’t fall for her brother”.  It definitely looks like I’m coming at this book with some preconceived fears.

Things I Liked

Princess disguised as a commoner = Princess Jasmine from Aladdin, who is my favorite Disney Princess.  I know this is far from an Aladdin retelling but I like the connection there.

Series Value

I’m not a very patient person.  I like to start a series once it’s finished because I hate to wait for the next installment.  Goodreads has two more books slated to come out after this so I’m excited to read the first book, but dreading the agonizing wait for the next books.  However, despite my impatience, I will be reading this book long before the next one comes out.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’m pretty stoked to read this book.  It’s got tons of shelf appeal, was a big release in March 2019, and it is already slated to be a series.  It’s not at the top of my TBR, but it’s definitely not at the bottom.  I will probably tackle this one in May 2019.

Stay tuned for my review.