Step into a sanctuary of Wicked Tales & Wild Romances, where we explore the most captivating corners of dark fantasy and heart-tugging rom-coms. This is more than just a reading log; it’s a collection of Curated Chronicles for the Modern She-Wolf who isn’t afraid to get lost in the shadows or fall for the monster.
Whether it’s a slow-burn magic system or a spicy contemporary trope, every story here is chosen to be Wildly Devoured.
4.5*. Best enjoyed when you need a dark fairy tale.
Publisher’s Synopsis
“Two roads lead into a dark forest. They meet at Greymist Fair, the village hidden in the trees, a place kept alive by the families that never leave. The people of Greymist Fair know the woods are a dangerous and magical place, and to set foot off the road is to invite trouble.
When Heike, the village’s young tailor, discovers a body on the road, she goes looking for who is responsible. But her quest only leads to more strange happenings around Greymist Fair.“
Review:
Zappia was inspired by the original, much bloodier version of Grimm’s fairy tales while writing Greymist Fair. With witches, Death, blood thirstly wargs, deadly woods, cannibalism, and many more darker themes, this story told in parts has them all.
I honestly had started this book awhile back and when I picked it back up after the first story I suddenly could not put it down. I was absolutely transfixed. Not only did this feed my inner child, but it also fed my horror-loving adult side. The stories were both dark and emotional, somewhat humorous at times but so very human. Like most of Grimm’s fairy tales, not all of them had a happy ending but every single one played on the others, building an absolutely enchanting overall story with well-rounded characters and a delicious atmosphere.
If I can find a special edition copy of this I would be remiss not to add it to my library in much the same way you would be remiss not to add this to your TBR if you have at all found the above intriguing. And perhaps it was because of the many smaller stories that made this world feel so rich. We got to know the backgrounds in a deep way; the lore was laid out for us in a detailed way and the history of Greymist Fair had such gravity it almost felt real (which is a part of the story that cannot be ignored).
I highly recommend this book to you. Thank you so much to Netgalley, Francesca Zappia, and Harper Collins for the advanced copy in exchange for this review.
4*s, Best enjoyed when you need a moment with a kick ass heroine experiencing extreme survival.
Publisher’s Synopsis
“A price must be paid.
Elodie never dreamed of a lavish palace or a handsome prince. Growing up in the famine-stricken realm of Inophe, her deepest wish was to help her people survive each winter. So when a representative from a rich, reclusive kingdom offers her family enough wealth to save Inophe in exchange for Elodie’s hand in marriage, she accepts without hesitation. Swept away to the glistening kingdom of Aurea, Elodie is quickly taken in by the beauty of the realm—and of her betrothed, Prince Henry.
But as Elodie undertakes the rituals to become an Aurean princess, doubts prick at her mind as cracks in the kingdom’s perfect veneer begin to show: A young woman who appears and vanishes from the castle tower. A parade of torches weaving through the mountains. Markings left behind in a mysterious “V.” Too late, she discovers that Aurea’s prosperity has been purchased at a heavy cost—each harvest season, the kingdom sacrifices its princesses to a hungry dragon. And Elodie is the next sacrifice.
This ancient arrangement has persisted for centuries, leading hundreds of women to their deaths. But the women who came before Elodie did not go quietly. Their blood pulses with power and memory, and their experiences hold the key to Elodie’s survival. Forced to fight for her life, this damsel must use her wits to defeat a dragon, uncover Aurea’s past, and save not only herself, but the future of her new kingdom as well.”
Naskeag Dragon by Randy Gallegos
Review
Damsel is a novelization of the upcoming movie by Netflix of the same name starring Millie Bobby Brown. I was excited to get an e-copy of this ARC given the premise, which takes the “Save Yourself” heroine trope and pumps it up super high octane. And it delivered!
I didn’t expect Elodie to be as well prepared as she was, nor for this to be what is a fantasy survival thriller—two of my favorite genres smashed together into one awesome story. This may seem cliché, but this is NOT your typical fairy tale love story. It’s gritty, bold, and ultimately powering. Tradition is the true villain of this story.
Elodie is the eldest daughter in a remote Dukedom, Inophe, where famine and drought reign supreme. She has grown up in harsh conditions caring for their people. When the chance comes for her to be married to the prince of Aurea in exchange for the goods and services needed to support the population she has helped protect her entire life, she is eager to be able to provide something more than just solace. However, what she doesn’t know until it’s too late is that she’s not meant to be a true princess of her newly adopted land, but a sacrifice to the dragon who provides the true power that provides the abundance to the people of the land.
Elodie finds that she has not been the first—there have been 2400 princesses that have been sacrificed in the proceeding eight centuries, and not all of them have gone quietly. She finds maps, resources, and magic that have helped those before her that she is able to take advantage of. But will she be able to escape the lair of the dragon, or will she become just another pile of moldering bones deep in the heart of Aurea?
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for this review.
4.5*s, Best enjoyed when you need a good laugh at yourself.
PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS
“A laugh-out-loud collection of illustrated scenarios that perfectly captures the tribulations of being an adult human in the twenty-first century.
Whether pondering the overwhelming plethora of nondairy milk options that drag out your coffee shop experience or grocery trip by a solid half-hour, trying to figure out why you always have a fork that never matches all of your other forks, or wondering why a salad costs $30 (the lettuce costs extra!), this exploration of modern life and its toll on our collective sanity invites readers to revel in the hilarity of these shared experiences. Poking fun at the things we all do to make life more bearable, like crystal healing, picking the perfect email sign-off, eating fancy cheeses, or Botox, this is the perfect sassy gift for birthdays, holidays, graduations, or any other day that needs some comic relief.”
REVIEW
There were a lot of mixed advanced reviews for There are Too Many Milks, but I found it hilarious. The pictures really drive home the anxiety of current life. However, you really need to be able to laugh at yourself and the world around you to truly enjoy and understand the point of this book. It’s a picture book of true commiseration for modern adult humans that exploits the maddening volume of choices we face daily and the expense that comes with making good choices and creates a literal and figurative portrait detailing why what should be a simple process of grocery shopping/getting lunch/etc often turns into an epic journey. It also emphasizes why we’re all so tired these days from decision fatigue and why we consistently make poor choices for ourselves in the current generation. It’s a daily multiple choice question with 25 answers. There are just too many freaking milks.
Thank you to Netgalley and Chronicle Books for access to this advanced copy.
3*s. Best enjoyed when you need a quick and dark fae story.
Publisher’s Synopsis
“When the vicious fae king catches Tessa stealing powerful gemstones from his mines, he demands a cruel punishment. She must leave her family and friends behind and become his future human bride.
Tessa has never stepped foot inside the glittering fae city until now—no mortal is allowed. There, things are far more monstrous than she ever dreamed. King Oberon humiliates her, terrorizes her, and threatens those she loves.
But when she escapes, someone far worse finds her. The lethal Mist King, the enemy fae who trapped her people beneath the reign of King Oberon in the first place. The one who destroyed human cities and watched them burn.
He takes her captive and then offers her a deal.
Become the first mortal to kill a fae king, and he will free her people.
But the mists beyond the kingdom walls are dangerous, ruthless, and mesmerizing…and so is he. As Tessa fights her growing desire, she must make a choice.
Her dagger can kill only one fae. Which king will it be?”
Review:
Of Mist and Shadows is a pretty decent overall story. It has some very dark themes involving forced marriage, torture, and murder.
King Oberon’s reign has been long and horrible in the land without night. It’s the only place that the people of his lands can be safe, however. Were they to cross the bridge into the misty woods, they would be plunged into night and most likely the jaws of one of the many shadow monsters that hide amongst the trees. King Oberon is obviously a horrid overlord, but is the Mist King the villain that Tessa and the other members of Oberon’s kingdom have been lead to believe?
Although I enjoyed this story, I had a rough time with Tessa’s character. She was pretty immovable in her thoughts and was far more stubborn than someone who had her experiences should be to the proof that was right in front of her. Granted, she’s grown up in an oppressive village under the threat of constant violence, but you would think she could see through the gaslighting of King Oberon, especially with how he killed her father and tortured her.
However, despite my issues with the main character, I loved many of the supporting personalities, and I can’t wait to get to know them better in the next installment. I also was left with so many unanswered questions. What ARE the gods? What happens to King Oberon’s previous mortal wives and children? Are the human kingdoms across the sea intact? Will Tessa ever find her family who escaped into the Mist after the wedding? You’ll be asking these, too. Luckily for you, the next installment, Of Ash and Embers, is available now!
Thanks to Netgalley and Victory Editing for the advanced copy in exchange for this review.
4*s, Natasha Preston’s endings always leave us hanging.
PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS
“Jagged Island: a private amusement park for the very rich—or the very influential. Liam, James, Will, Ava, Harper, and Paisley—social media influencers with millions of followers—have been invited for an exclusive weekend before the park opens. They’ll make posts and videos for their channels and report every second of their VIP treatment.
When the teens arrive, they’re stunned: the resort is even better than they’d imagined. Their hotel rooms are unreal, the park’s themed rides are incredible, and the island is hauntingly beautiful. They’re given a jam-packed itinerary for the weekend.
But soon they’ll discover that something’s missing from their schedule: getting off the island alive.”
REVIEW
When Paisley, a true-crime influencer, gets invited to the opening of Jagged Island, a private amusement part for the wealthy started by a billionaire, she is so excited. The pictures don’t do the gothic-themed park justice. The hotel is magnificent, the food is amazing, and the park itself is an experience to die for. Unfortunately for some of her fellow influencers, that turns into something quite literal. As people begin disappearing, their bodies showing up in unexpected places, Paisley’s true crime background thrusts her into the center of the investigation. They need to figure out who is killing the members of their group and stop them before this weekend in a gothic paradise becomes their last on this earth.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was packed full of gothic imagery and influencer nonsense, but also had so much character-driven drama. Preston has a real talent for horror and the character building that is necessary to create the kind of realistic scenarios that drive the knife of fear into the heart of a reader. Her endings also always leave the reader wondering if the main character really survived their ordeal or are primed and pressed into a more horrific one. You feel the emotions, practically smell the gore, and come out the other side craving more.
If you’re looking for other works by Preston, The Fear is also a great tale of horror. If you’re looking for more influencer-based horror drama, I recommend Never Coming Home by Kate Williams (review on my blog). Lord of the Fly Fest by Goldy Moldavsky is also one I have my eye on.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the advanced e-copy in exchange for this review. It was a wild rollercoaster ride. Pun intended.
“When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world.
Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market.
But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…“
Review:
In all honestly, Grady Hendrix is one of the greatest horror authors. I absolutely LOVE his books. He writes some of the creepiest fiction, but with the most well-built characters and semi happy endings. That may be what I love the most. These stories can be truly scary, and How to Sell a Haunted House has been one of my absolute favorites so far. But they always leave me feeling more of a ‘yay—scarred but alive!’ feeling.
The relationship between Louise and Mark and Louise and everyone, really, was interesting to explore. Mother/Daughter relationships are super complex and this explores that in a very first-hand way. It really makes me wonder where Hendrix got the material.
There’s also that toxic relationship situation between siblings that only a horrific series of events can seem to upend. Mark was a selfish prick and Louise was cold for a good reason from my perspective, but it’s crazy how much they both went through, and it makes you wonder if they had only talked, would they have gone through everything they did to the level and extent they did? Probably not. But they were also pitted against each other a lot. Thankfully, they got a second chance. Unfortunately, it didn’t leave them entirely intact.
To be honest, I had zero clue it was going the direction it was, and it’s so hard to talk about the most incredibly creepy parts without giving all of it away, but I will try to discuss a few moments that just really got to me.
Pupkin as a whole. Honestly Hendrix, why? We all have seen this Punch knockoff puppet with its incredibly scary grin, but to make it into something that drags itself across the floor or runs around on its tiny legs and bites/brainwashes people? WOW. Nightmare fuel. I won’t be able to hear a skittering noise without shitting my pants in the future without thinking a vengeful puppet is coming for me.
Pupkin starts a cult: the Mark in College stories. It got so dark, so quick. Puppet collective seemed like such a bad idea—and who would do that kind of show in an elementary school? Glory.
Marionette/Puppet Horde: this was actually kind of funny in the way only Hendrix can make it…or maybe I’m a little more twisted than I thought I was.
Dolls in general—really hit a note with me. Chucky can take a back seat to these.
Hendrix’s My Best Friend’s Exorcism was made into a movie. That was also an excellent book. But making this one into a movie? I’m not sure I could watch it and still sleep. IT by Stephen King was one of my favorite books in high school, but How to Sell a Haunted House has taken up its own corner in the secret little goth section of my soul.
“The beach read you have been dying for! When ten of America’s hottest teenage influencers are invited to an exclusive island resort, things are sure to get wild. But murder isn’t what anyone expected. Will anyone survive?
Everyone knows Unknown Island—it’s the world’s most exclusive destination. Think white sand beaches, turquoise seas, and luxury accommodations. Plus, it’s invite only, no one over twenty-one allowed, and it’s absolutely free. Who wouldn’t want to go?
The mysterious resort launched with a viral marketing campaign, and now the whole world is watching as the mysterious resort opens its doors to the First Ten, the ten elite influencers specifically chosen to be the first to experience everything Unknown Island has to offer. You know them. There’s the gamer, the beauty blogger, the rich girl, the superstar, the junior politician, the environmentalist, the DJ, the CEO, the chef, and the athlete.
What they don’t know is that they weren’t invited to Unknown Island for their following—they were invited for their secrets. Everyone is hiding a deadly one, and it looks like someone’s decided it’s payback time. Unknown Island isn’t a vacation, it’s a trap. And it’s beginning to look like the First Ten—no matter how influential—are never coming home.“
My Review:
This was my first “influencers go to an island for some sort of preview, end up in some real hot water” YA horror novel. To be honest, I stan! There are similar books like this one available or upcoming that you may want to check out if you enjoyed this one.
Told through revolving POVs, Never Coming Home follows a group of influencers invited to an island paradise that turns out to be anything but. The rooms they have are sorely lacking the advertised amenities. Buildings are far from finished. There are zero staff staying for the weekend, meaning they must rely on themselves for everything. At one point, one of our influencers sees a very deadly sea snake in the pool.
Right away after breakfast one of our influencers ends up dead in a way that was clearly deliberately targeted toward that person. The group can’t figure out at first if it this is just a fluke or maybe revenge for something that person may have done, but they soon find out that it is because all of them have secrets. Everyone has done something cause the death of another person in some way, whether deliberate or not.
Soon, the members of the group begin dying in a myriad of very specific ways and there is no way to contact anyone outside. It doesn’t help that the locals avoid that island like the plague.
Pacific sunrise at Lanikai beach, Hawaii
Will they be able to uncover the killer before they all die at their hands? Or will the unfinished hotel buildings in this false paradise become their tomb?
The ending of this book is very surprising. I had my suspicions throughout, but there are some twists and turns that would make a rollercoaster junkie a little nauseous. If you’re up for some darkness in paradise, I highly recommend adding this to your TBR.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random house for the advanced ebook in exchange for this review.
3.5*s. Great Historical romance pick by an independent publisher!
PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS
“A defiant Victorian wife fights to escape a bad marriage but her love for a forbidden man jeopardizes her chance at freedom.
James Standish knows how to play society’s game. He’ll follow the rules, marry a virginal debutante, and inherit a massive fortune. At least, that’s the plan until he meets Francesca Thorne. She’s not the sort of woman a respectable gentleman like James could ever marry—not least because, strictly speaking, she’s married already.
Francesca is determined to flout convention and divorce her philandering husband. When James sweet talks his way into her life tasked with convincing her to abandon her dream of freedom, she’s unprepared for the passion that flares between them.
Torn apart by conflicting desires, James and Francesca must choose whether to keep chasing the lives they’ve always wanted or take a chance on a new and forbidden love.”
REVIEW
The Worst Woman in London follows two very interesting main characters. Francesca is a woman bent on escaping her marriage of roughly a decade to a spouse that has taken on many mistresses and doesn’t care to give her much of a glance since he found out that she wasn’t the naïve young woman he thought he needed to marry (this becomes a plot point later in the book). James is a respectable gentleman who must toe the line of polite society in order to inherit his aunt’s title and fortune.
When Francesca’s estranged husband requests that James meet with Francesca with an offer of a heavy allowance in exchange for her dropping her pursuit of divorce (strictly to stop embarrassing him, of course), James is surprised to find a woman with a backbone of iron unwilling to budge. She’s not at all the woman that his friend has been describing to him the last nine or so years as cold and unwelcoming. Instead, he sees a fire and passion that he finds quite intriguing, and he can’t quite blame her for her ire given that her husband not only has been keeping mistresses, but doing so in a very public and quite embarrassing way.
James is not the man that Francesca assumed, either. He seems to understand her predicament and her feelings. They form a sort of friendship that quickly leads to secret feelings. However, if Francesca is going to get all she wants from this divorce—her freedom and a possible ability to remarry if she so chose—she needs to avoid further scandal at all costs. James is in the same position. He knows that in order to inherit, he must be prepared to let his thoughts of Francesca go and do what is expected of him. Marry a respectable debutante who can sire an heir to his aunt’s fortune and title and eventually inherit it himself.
However, as James and Francesca’s friendship develops into something more, they both must question if the futures they had planned for themselves are really what they most desire or if what they truly need is each other.
I really enjoyed this one. It explored what divorced looked like back then, and how hard it was for a woman to obtain one when she was part of polite society. A man could absolutely flaunt his affairs in the face of society but even a whiff of scandal from a woman—true or false–and her entire reputation was in tatters. It is enough to boil my feminist blood to see how poorly women have been treated and disproportionately blamed for all of society’s ills when the majority had no true society-given power (but of course, it was also imposed on them by all other women in a self-feeding patriarchal societal system…), but I digress.
Applying our modern sensibilities to the less than well-aged parts of past society is what I like most about historical romance and is also why the feminist undercurrent of these books is so appealing. Watching women take back their power is a personal kink and if you agree with me, you’ll find this book to be one of the ones where the heroine is what we all aspire to be and the hero is just what we want.
Thank you Netgalley and Julia Bennet for the advanced ebook in exchange for this review.
There are so many parts and pieces to healing from trauma that people just don’t know.
Healing from trauma, especially serial trauma, is an incredibly hard journey. This is something we know, something a lot of us live with daily. But what people don’t tell you is that when you are finally working through it, when you’re pealing away the bandaids after the bleeding stops and the scabs have formed, you’re still in an extremely vulnerable state. Sometimes it’s incredibly hard to not peel back those scabs and crawl back into the safety of the “bandaid,” being attached to your body but still somehow separate.
I’m not sure if there’s a true term for that disconnection when you’ve dealt with various forms of abuse throughout your life, but I’m sure it’s something along the lines of ‘incomplete disassociation.’ All I know is that when you begin to float back into your body after a long period of feeling out of it, it feels like a new skin.
However, when you do begin to shake off the shackles of oppressive thoughts and start living for yourself and gaining confidence and are finally ready to start trusting people and molting that old, scarred husk that was a prison of insecurity and fear, there are going to be those you thought cared about you and your well being that are going to do things that make you want to shove yourself back into it because they don’t seem to like what they see, and that’s the new you trying to break itself out like a butterfly. They are going to do things that make you want to sink back into that box that made you so very palatable for them.
You’re got to express new thoughts, new ideas. Tell stories and tales with a confidence that makes them wary because it wasn’t there before, and society doesn’t like a person who has always struggled to find their voice that can suddenly sing a beautiful, loud, and deeply freeing song. It’s startling, and sometimes they’re going to reject the true you, whether consciously or not, and it’s going to hurt. A lot.
It’s going to cause you to rethink relationships with people you really care for because that fresh new body you’ve just spent all that time creating and cleaning and preparing for your fragile new confidence is a vulnerability to you because you’re not fully locked in yet. That trust you’ve work so hard to start giving again will feel like porcelain, cracking under the pressure simply because someone you thought SAW you, someone you trusted and turned to during your journey, has no use for someone who is finding themselves and new ways to express their inner self. It’s going to throw you right back into those oppressive thought bubbles, causing you to be riddled with anxiety, and make you question if you are ever going to be worthy of love.
When you want people to have your back the most, they’re going to disappoint you in ways that hurt deeply and make you feel like you are completely outside again. In the dark. Alone. The blanket of depression will try to creep over you again as it has so many times before. Be patient.
It’s going to be hard to hold onto that light you have kindled in your freshly-washed spirit. They may not even know how much these little cuts hurt you, but they do. They pierce like needles into the hands you’ve scrubbed clean until they were baby soft again. They may not even mean to, but you feel it. And because you’ve spent time deconstructing your shell and your negative thoughts and are still working on finding ways to not blame yourself for how people react to you, you’re going to be able to see your trauma responses more clearly while they’re happening. The windows will be mostly clean because you’re had to do the work in order to find yourself, and it’s going to make you so irrationally angry because you have given them the very trust you have worked so hard grow again, the trust you sculpted like carefully blown glass, kept far from your body until it hardened enough to touch it and give it to someone like the gift it is. You have let them have a front row seat into this new confident you and you are COUNTING ON THEM to help you find your feet again, entrusting them with this gift that has taken you so long to form and handle and wrap…
I don’t want you to stop feeding that fire inside of you just because they let you down, just because they looked at that gift like it was just a trinket to put on a shelf and allow to gather dust. We should be used to people letting us down at this point, shouldn’t we?
Alas, don’t allow yourself to be disheartened. You’re going to have other people who have felt the same pain as you on their own healing journey who will support you and show you they love you no matter what your new brain communicates to the world through your newly budded, fragile lips. They will see that little bubble of trust that you have tried so hard to create, and they will cherish it because they know. They will encapsulate it in iron and place it on their belt because that is a token that deserves to be displayed. And the key is to cling to that feeling of support and to not let yourself down. Let go of those feelings of bitterness and anger that you may have towards those who ultimately just aren’t ready to be inspired by your strength and start their own journeys, and treat your trust and love like the gift it is. Rise above, babe.
In the end, we’re all on a healing journey, and someday you may be able to help them find their legs in a way they couldn’t help you find yours. But you’ll know what to do when that day comes and you’ll clip their hopes to your belt, too. Because you’re amazing and a true wonder to behold. Never forget that. Forge on.
4.5*. Enjoy with a cup of hot tropical tea, something that makes you feel like it’s straight from the humid recesses of a caribbean island jungle.
PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS
“Eighteen-year-old Victoria is a Wildblood. Since she was kidnapped at the age of six and manipulated by the Exotic Lands Touring Company, she’s worked as a tour guide ever since with a team of fellow Wildbloods who take turns using their magic to protect travelers in a Jamaican jungle teeming with ghostly monsters.
When the boss denies Victoria an earned promotion to team leader in favor of Dean, her backstabbing ex, she’s determined to prove herself. Her magic may be the most powerful on the team, but she’s not the image the boss wants to send their new client, Thorn, a renowned goldminer determined to reach an untouched gold supply deep in the jungle.
Thorn is everything Victoria isn’t – confident, impossibly kind, and so handsome he leaves her speechless. And when he entrusts the mission to her, kindness turns to mutual respect, turns to affection, turns to love. But the jungle is treacherous, and between hypnotic river spirits, soul-devouring women that shed their skin like snakes, and her ex out for revenge, Victoria has to decide – is promotion at a corrupt company really what she wants?
A fierce, lush fantasy by New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blackwood, Wildblood tells the story of a girl who must find the strength to defeat the demons of the jungle as well as her own to find where she truly belongs.”
HEART & SPIRIT (REVIEW)
I had the absolute pleasure of reading Lauren Blackwood’s Within These Wicked Walls and was overjoyed when I was approved for her upcoming fantasy novel, Wildblood. Put this one in your TBR!
Some overarching themes may be TW: references to sexual assault, overt tones of racism, and violence.
Victoria is a Wildblood. They are a special group of people who can turn blood into weapons or manipulate it and she is particularly good at what she does. Like her, the people who “work” for her company are mostly people of color, feared for their abilities. Also like her, most of the Wildbloods in The Company were kidnapped or taken from their parents. Their specific type of magic holds purpose in what they do, and that’s to help tourists or others through the jungles in Jamaica, which are populated by deadly insects, bloodthirsty beasts, and dangerous spirits that lure you to your death or even steal your face if you don’t know how to properly treat them and avoid them. It gives value to their abilities, but it’s also the only existence for Wildbloods. They are paid, but not enough to ever escape, and the only option would be going through the jungle if the guards don’t kill you first. Even then, the world outside can be so dangerous when your body was born with magic that not everyone understands.
Victoria’s main driving force is to get promoted so she can be paid enough to get her charge, Bunny, out of the company. He struggles with his magic and Victoria is afraid that he will stretch himself too far with it, which can be deadly for Wildbloods. However, the promised promotion is no where in site and instead she is given a deal. If she helps Dean, her former friend turned mortal enemy, on the next expedition and makes him look good, she will have her promotion. However, the next mission isn’t like all the others. The newest tourist group is headed by a man named Thorn, a very wealthy person of color whose fortune came from mining. Instead of the usual transport through the jungle on roads that are travelled often by clients of The Company, Thorn needs to get to the center of the jungle. However, the jungle doesn’t take politely to intruders and will not tolerate the intrusion this group brings.
This mission is unlike any other she has been on before, and three warnings are given over the course of the trip that make Victoria beg both Thorn and Dean to stop the journey, despite the punishment that she might get from it. However strong Victoria’s connection to the jungle and its creatures, it won’t be enough to stop the death, deception, and danger that they are all in. As things fall apart, Victoria must acknowledge who she truly is if she is going to get herself and the people she cares about back to safety.
This book was filled with so many twists and turns and mysteries that opened up like beautiful tropical flowers. It’s so hard to write a review without revealing too much, and there are so many things that happen throughout the pages that are surprising and heartbreaking and also beautiful. Discovering where Victoria came from and how she came to be in the company was my favorite part, but you don’t discover it until far into the book, but it explains so much.
I highly recommend this book!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this fair and honest review.
Lady Wolf's Library 