Book review ~ Of wicked blood, Olivia Wildenstein, Katie Hayoz

Of wicked Blood (The Quatrefoil chronicles #1)
Authors : Olivia Wildenstein, Katie Hayoz
Genre : Fantasy
Publisher : Twig Publishing
Release date : 2 February 2021
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

SLATE
I didn’t mean to steal the Bloodstone from the De Morel’s crypt.
Scratch that, I did mean to steal it.
Until I realized it was a curse-magnet that only comes off if I, along with a jolly trio, successfully defeat four curses.
If any of us fail, I’m dead.
I’ve never been a glass half-empty sort of person, but my glass looks in dire need of a refill right about now.
The only highlight of this wicked treasure hunt: feisty, entitled Cadence de Morel.

CADENCE
I was raised on tales of magic, in a small town reputed to be the birthplace of French witchcraft.
Did I believe all the stories I heard? Absolutely not. I mean, if magic existed, Maman wouldn’t have died, and Papa wouldn’t be stuck in a wheelchair, right?
Wrong.
The night Slate Ardoin waltzes into my life, wearing a ring he stole from my mother’s grave, I call him a monster.
But then I meet real ones, and Slate, well . . . he becomes something else to me.
Something frustrating to live with but impossible to live without.
Something I will fight for, no matter the cost.

Aaah I loved this book so much ! Fantasies, especially chronicles can be a little challenging from me, and I had forgotten a little it was on my Netgalley TBR. Still, I was in a binge reading phase last month and ended up picking it up, if only to be rid of it.

How could I have been so wrong about this ? I loved EVERYTHING about it. Well almost.

We get introduced to a magic system that really takes you in, based around a mysterious cursed that has befallen the town. I loved how a team had to be assembled, each associated to one particular aspect of magic, in order to bring it back. I loved the characters. I loved Brume and its whole vibe. If you didn’t understand : I loved a lot about this book.

The plot is entertaining : after Slate, a mysterious boy who was summoned in the quaint town of Brume, robs the wrong grave, he becomes involved in a magic curse. Either he teams up with descendants of the city council who share magical genes, and manages to bring back all the artifacts necessary to have magic back in Brume in the alloted time, or he dies.

A race against time and personal demons start, which can only end one way or another.

The plot requires a team of characters. I love to have that in a book. A strongly written group of characters who need to bond and help each other out to achieve a difficult task is one of my favorite tropes. Here, the authors managed to bring the team to life with great details and beautiful relationships, and that’s a huge part of how much I will enjoy a book.

The writing style was a litte bit heavy from time to time, especially with all the french words dispersed here and there in the text. I’m not a big fan of having foreign words in a book, but as a French person, it made me feel strange to read a book in english with french in it. It felt somewhat artificial. Some sentences were also weirdly written, overly long or featuring odd phrases. Still, that was not enough to phase me and keep me from absolutely loving the book !

I’m glad I read a fantasy that had such a well-written plot, and such lovable characters. I can recommend it with my eyes closed, to anyone who enjoys magic and fantasy in general !

That’s it for today !
Thanks for reading me,
See you soon,
Love,
Jade ❤