My Rating ~ Five stars

5-gold-stars

RELEASE DATE: 12 February 2019

Publisher: Belzer & Bray

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 438

Blurb

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?

Review

This is actually the first book I have read in the Ravenspire series, even though it is book 4! They can all be read as standalone stories and I will definitely be reading the other ones now. I really love when retellings still stick fairly closely to the original plot points of a fairytale (some seem to deviate so much that I actually wouldn’t have realised it was a retelling without being told) and The Blood Spell did this perfectly!

While Blue is desperately trying to turn metal into gold, to help the poor, Kellan is dreading the upcoming betrothal season, where the daughters of the influential families will compete for his hand. When Blue’s father is murdered and one of the family head’s presents a document stating Blue’s mother granted her guardianship over Blue and their property, things start to deteriorate even further. Blue just desperately wants the horrible woman, and her daughters, out of her house, but as she slowly comes to understand what it is the woman wants, she realises the situation is more dire than she thought.

I loved the characters in this story, from sweet Kellan to fiery Blue to Blue’s kick-ass grandmother and the lovely princess Nessa, who is non verbal and communicates using a sign language she has created.

If you love fairytale retellings, I highly recommend this take on Cinderella!