The Blood Spell (Ravenspire #4)

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 Balatava, 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 adventures.

When mysterious forces lead to disappearances throughout Balatava, 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?

Loved

• Blue! Wow this girl is one of the coolest Cinderellas out there. She's a brilliant alchemist with a goal to save all the children on the streets from starving. She's endearingly bossy, hates mornings, and loves fiercely. Blue has so many terrible things happen to her in this story, yet she keeps fighting and always focuses on her goals and the people she loves. Many Cinderellas out there are wonderful and kind, but so submissive and passive that it's frustrating. But this girl gets it done and has a bold strength to complement her compassion.

• Kellan. I think Kellan is my favorite guy in the Ravenspire series. He comes off as a shameless flirt, but we quickly learn the charismatic charm is a mask to hide his constant game of being watched, analyzed, criticized, and threatened by the competing royalty. I love that Kellan is really just an adventurous and reckless, but thoughtful and compassionate boy who is trying to balance the pressure of being the new king. His character develops nicely in this story as he channels the recklessness and bravery into preserving his kingdom, his family, and his heart.

• The romance. I just adore these two. Kellan and Blue's relationship has an original dynamic in that they grew up knowing, but not liking each other, which gives us a tasty hybrid of the boy-next-door-trope and the enemies-to-lovers-trope. These two complement each other so well- with Kellan showing Blue a little adventure and sense of humor, and Blue giving Kellan strength and compassion. I love their witty banter, but also how they push each other to be stronger and show each other empathy that no one else can provide.

• The mystery. This was unlike any Cinderella I've ever read in that we have a creepy wraith hanging out by the city, children disappearing, potential brides dying, and elusive alchemy and spells to be deciphered. I loved all the elements of this mystery, which left many questions and predictions throughout the story. In the middle of the book I forgot it was a Cinderella retelling because the plot was so original and different from any other Cinderella story I've read.

Didn't Love

• I wish the ending of this story had been more clear. Without spoiling, the end was very confusing. Maybe I read it too quickly, but I closed the book thinking, "Wait what?" I didn't quite understand some of the magic and history and how it fit together in the end. I wish we got more of a background story of the villains so we had more context for the plot reveal at the end. I mostly understood what happened, but I didn't get that "A-ha" moment since I was still trying to figure out how exactly everything fit together.

Content

• Language: 
• No swearing.

• Sexual content: 
• A few mellow kisses, nothing described.

• Violence:
• A secondary character is stabbed and his body is found and described.
• The main character is physically abused- slapped, burned, and pinched.
• References to a wraith who eats children to survive.
• A few characters are murdered, bodies not described.
• Many bodies of children are found with the blood sucked out of them. The bodies are described and disturbing.
• References to a monster killing by sucking blood, and attempts to do so on the main character.

Overall Thoughts

Overall I really enjoyed this story. I didn't like it quite as much as The Traitor Prince or The Wish Granter, but I still loved the original plot and characters. Blue is one of my favorite Cinderellas because she's brilliant and strong, and Kellan is a perfect prince- charming, but thoughtful, adventurous, and empathetic. Their banter and relationship was my favorite part of this story. The plot was creative and interesting, but I wish we had more background and more information on the magic/alchemy system to better understand the end of the story. I would say 4-4.5 stars for this book, and definitely recommend it!