YA ARC Review: The Blood Spell by C. J. Redwine

The Blood Spell
Author: C. J. Redwine
Series: Ravenspire (Book 4)
Publication: Balzer + Bray (February 12, 2019)

Description: A dark and romantic epic fantasy retelling of the Cinderella story, about a girl who must team up with the prince she despises to defeat an evil creature threatening their kingdom. The fourth standalone novel in the New York Times bestselling Ravenspire series by C. J. Redwine.

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 violence 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: This was a wonderful retelling of the Cinderella story. Blue de la Cour lives with her father and works as an alchemist hiding the magic in her. Magic was made illegal in this kingdom after a witch who turned into a wraith terrorized the kingdom until it was imprisoned in an enchanted wood. But children are disappearing and it is feared that another evil witch is rising.

Kellan Renard is turning eighteen and finished with his education. Now it is time for him to choose a bride from one of the nine high families in the kingdom and become king himself. Choosing just one girl is a dangerous political balancing act. Marriage with him will bring her family greater power.

Kellan and Blue have known each other since they were children. Her father was his father's tutor. The families spent a lot of time together before Kellan's father died saving Kellan from drowning. Since then, Kellan's guilt has led him to make many reckless choices and Blue has done her best to keep his choices from killing him. She thinks he's reckless; he thinks she's the world's biggest party pooper. They have been frenemies since childhood.

But when Blue's father is murdered, Kellan is the only one who understands and comforts her. When she's put under the guardianship of Dinah Chaveau who's head of one of the nine families, Kellan tries to make things easier for her.

Dinah is scrambling to put one of her daughters on the throne. She'll have to work fast since her husband signed away all the property and one of his daughter's hands in marriage to get out from under his gambling debts but was murdered anyway. Dinah had forged his signature to get control of all the property and now new forgeries have taken it away from her.

Forgery apparently being a common thing, Dinah forges guardianship papers to gain control of Blue. She believes Blue knows how to free the wraith from imprisonment and Dinah needs the wraith to get the revenge she has been waiting for sixteen years to claim.

This was a great romance. Kellan and Blue are deeply in love but divided by the laws that say he has to marry a girl from one of the nine families. She is not only common but hiding her gift of magic too.

Fans of romantic fantasy and Cinderella stories will enjoy this wonderful story.

Favorite Quote:

"Do you think this is a a good idea?"

Ugh. Look who she was asking. The boy who got in street fights and jumped off a cliff into a stormy sea just to feel alive. The gap between his definition of a good idea and hers was an entire canyon.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.