ARC Review: Where Shadows Bloom by Catherine Bakewell

Where Shadows Bloom
by Catherine Bakewell
Publication Date: February 11th 2025
Publisher: HarperCollins
Find This Book: Where Shadows Bloom
Source: NetGalley eARC
Rating: 4/5

Ofelia has lived her life dreaming of entering Le Château Enchanté — the mysterious court of the gods-blessed King Léo, where the shadow monsters that roam Ofelia’s home never trespass.

Lope has lived her life as a knight, defending Ofelia and her home from Shadows even as she dreams of escaping with Ofelia by her side.

When the Shadows venture too close, Lope and Ofelia are thrust into a journey that will lead them to the heart of the darkness haunting their the dazzling and deceptive Château Enchanté itself.

Where Shadows Bloom is a high fantasy book inspired from French and Spanish nobility. It has cozy, dreamy prose perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli. Ofelia and her brave knight Lope travel from the countryside to Le Chateau to escape the dangers of the Shadows: monsters that haunt the night and steal the breath and life of those who foolishly venture outside. While Ofelia adjusts to their new life at court, Lope still sees danger around every corner. Can their love overcome the monsters, secrets, gods, and the growing distance between them?

Things I Loved:

• The yearning (with dual POV). Where Shadows Bloom is perfect for readers who want some action but want the focus of the book to be on the main character’s inner monologue. This is a medium-paced book that centers on the yearning on both sides of a sapphic romance.
• The main theme. What makes this book so strong is its exploration of its main theme: what it means to be human. Experiencing love, experiencing grief, one of Ofelia’s tasks is to teach humanity to a lonely god. The evolution of the god’s character was just as compelling as the main characters’ character developments.
• While the flaws of the characters are definitely showcased, there is strong character development, and the ending redeemed my frustration with Ofelia throughout the book (see first bullet point below on my gripe with Ofelia).

Things I Didn’t Love:

• Ofelia’s cheerful outlook started off inspiring and understandable but became annoyingly obtuse as the novel went on. 
• As in many fairy tales, there is a god to bargain with and it just felt like they bargained with them too many times.

Review: This Woven Kingdom

This Woven Kingdom
by Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: February 1st 2022
Publisher: HarperCollins
Find This Book: This Woven Kingdom
Rating: 3/5

**A finalized copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

This Woven Kingdom contains beautiful prose and descriptions, but unfortunately very little plot. It comes with the territory of an almost 500-page book that spans about 3 days of in-book time. 60% of This Woven Kingdom is the main characters’ inner monologue, 20% is setting/food/clothing description, 10% is verbal dialogue, and the last 10% is where the actual occurring events happen. I prefer to be shown actions to back up character motivations and thoughts, but this book heavily relies upon the reader being told what to think. The whole experience made it hard to connect with, or even like, either of the two main protagonists.

I was hoping for a lush Persian mythology read, but This Woven Kingdom is essentially a Cinderella retelling with cosmetic Middle Eastern inspirations regarding food and clothing. A dual-POV read, we alternate between Alizeh a long-lost princess of the Jinn who is currently hiding as a lowly servant, and Kamran the heir to the human empire of Ardunia. Their lots in life place them at odds, for Alizeh was prophesized to end the reign of the current king of Ardunia, Kamran’s grandfather. Of course, Alizeh and Kamran happen to cross paths on the street and become an insta-love forbidden romance. As I mentioned, this book is about 10% plot. Over the course of about 3 days, Kamran and Alizeh think about the other non-stop and their inner thoughts take up the majority of the writing of this book. All of this builds up to a ball, (Yay, an event is finally occurring!) so you have that to look forward to in the last 100 pages or so. Check out my book recap for a more thorough summary.

If you come into this with the right mindset, I think it can certainly be an enjoyable read, but it was very different than how it was marketed and you have to be ready for it to be a slow-paced read, very trope-heavy and descriptor-heavy.

Book Recap: This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: February 1st 2022
Publisher: HarperCollins

Alizeh is the lost princess of the Jinn, a magical race of beings made from fire. She raised to be royal until an attack on her home orphans her. Left to work as a servant, she has no money, no allies, no friends. This all changes when she is attacked on the street. She defends herself and lets her attacker go, an act observed by the human prince, Kamran. In disbelief at her skills and mercy, he believes her to be a spy from an enemy kingdom and starts investigating.

He makes an ass of himself in many ways that involve him making wild assumptions about others, but he also starts to care for Alizeh along the way. She, too, has become mesmerized by the prince giving a lowly servant such as herself attention and kindness. This budding romance is shaken by a new discovery: the kingdom’s diviners have prophesied King Zaal’s downfall at the hand of Alizeh! How can Kamran be falling for the person who will be the end of his grandfather?

A familiar face from her childhood gifts her a nosta. A small orb that changes temperature: hot when someone is telling her the truth and cold when someone is lying to her. A useful tool! Except she somehow jumps to conclusions and makes several horrible decisions at the end of the book.

Recap of MAJOR SPOILERS: The king of the enemy kingdom of Tulan, Cyrus, kills King Zaal at a royal ball. Very public, but/and it was probably justified. We find out that King Zaal had elongated his life to give Kamran more of his childhood (at the cost of killing orphans and eating their brains). Kamran challenges Cyrus to a duel and is saved by Alizeh who intervenes before Cyrus can deal a deathblow. Alizeh and Kamran can finally have their happily ever after, except Cyrus kidnaps her so Kamran assumes that Alizeh betrayed him. This all seems to contradict the prophecy King Zaal was worried about, as Alizeh had nothing to do with his death/end of his reign. Maybe Zaal misinterpreted the prophecy? I'm hoping this will be explained in books 2 or 3.

Review: Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland

Rust in the Root
by Justina Ireland
Publication Date: September 20th 2022
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Find This Book: Rust in the Root
Rating: 3.5/5

**An early finalized copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

It’s 1937, and Laura Ann Langston lives in an America divided: between those who work the mystical arts and those who do not. Ever since the Great Rust, a catastrophic event that blighted the arcane force called the Dynamism and threw America into disarray, the country has been rebuilding for a better future. And everyone knows the future is industry and technology (otherwise known as Mechomancy) not the traditional mystical arts.

Laura is a talented mystical arts mage from Pennsylvania who hopped a portal to New York City on her seventeenth birthday with hopes of earning her mage’s license, allowing her to use her talents publicly. But six months later, she’s got little to show for it other than an empty pocket and broken dreams. With nowhere else to turn, Laura applies for a job with the Bureau of the Arcane’s Conservation Corps, a branch of the US government dedicated to repairing the Dynamism so that Mechomancy can thrive. There she meets the Skylark, a powerful mage with a mysterious past, who reluctantly takes Laura on as an apprentice.

As they’re sent off on their first mission together, they’ll discover dangerous work that could threaten Laura’s and the Skylark’s lives, and they’ll need to work together to have a chance at survival.

Rust in the Root is a fleshed out historical fantasy read, which is quite an accomplishment for a standalone. This is a solid alternate reality focused on a government agency investigating a dark mystery in Ohio. Laura will need to develop both her powers and her friendships if she wants to make it out alive and save the country she lives in.

What was special about this novel was the culmination of different story telling elements. Traditional prose is paired with the Skylark’s official mission report, as well as Laura’s photographs of the people and places she meets along the way (real photographs, sourced from an archive!). The plot, betrayals, and character development were all fantastic. I read this is less than 24 hours! Why didn’t this get 5 stars? For me, parts of the arc development and prose felt a bit too rushed, which I didn’t expect from an author with so many publications under her belt.