PASSIONATE ABOUT SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Tag: Alchemy

Book Review: The Blood Spell

The Blood Spell – C.J. Redwing – Ravenspire #4 – Balzer+Bray – Published 12 February 2019

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Synopsis

Blue de la Cour has her life planned: hide the magic in her blood and continue trying to turn metal into gold so she can help her city’s homeless. But when her father is murdered and a cruel but powerful woman claims custody of Blue and her property, one wrong move could expose her—and doom her once and for all. The only one who can help? The boy she’s loathed since childhood: Prince Kellan.

Kellan Renard, crown prince of Balavata, is walking a thin line between political success and devastating violence. Newly returned from boarding school, he must find a bride among the kingdom’s head families and announce his betrothal—but escalating tension among the families makes the search nearly impossible. He’s surprised to discover that the one person who makes him feel like he can breathe is Blue, the girl who once ruined all his best adventures.

When mysterious forces lead to disappearances throughout Balavata, Blue and Kellan must work together to find the truth. What they discover will lead them to the darkest reaches of the kingdom, and to the most painful moments of their pasts. When romance is forbidden and evil is rising, can Blue save those she loves, even if it costs her everything?

My thoughts

The Blood Spell is the fourth book in C.J. Redwine’s series of fairytale retellings. As she has with each of the three previous instalments, The Blood Spell is a wonderful fantasy novel in its own right with threads of the familiar fairytale cleverly woven through the plot to create a unique and thrilling tale.

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Book Review: Everless

Everless – Sara Holland – Hachette Australia – Published 27 December 2017 (January 2018 US)

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Synopsis

 Time is a prison. She is the key. Packed with danger, temptation and desire – a perfect read for fans of The Red Queen. In the land of Sempera, the rich control everything – even time. Ever since the age of alchemy and sorcery, hours, days and years have been extracted from blood and bound to iron coins. The rich live for centuries; the poor bleed themselves dry.Jules and her father are behind on their rent and low on hours. To stop him from draining himself to clear their debts, Jules takes a job at Everless, the grand estate of the cruel Gerling family.

There, Jules encounters danger and temptation in the guise of the Gerling heir, Roan, who is soon to be married. But the web of secrets at Everless stretches beyond her desire, and the truths Jules must uncover will change her life for ever … and possibly the future of time itself.

My thoughts

What if time was money? What if the only way to pay your debts was to drain time from your body? Everless is a creative and original fantasy novel that takes alchemy and sorcery and speculates what would happen if it was possible to turn blood into coin.

Jules knows only hunger and a desperate fear that she will be unable to stop her father using the last of his time to pay off their mounting debts. It wasn’t always like this. Once, she and her father lived at the grand Everless estate – as servants, but never hungry or drained of their time. But they had to flee Everless and now her father insists they must stay hidden from the Gerling family. When the opportunity arises to return to Everless for work, Jules can’t resist, especially as she feels it is the only chance to save her father’s dwindling time. However, what she discovers at the Everless estate will change forever her life and how she views her family and her future.

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