Aurelia is a princess, but they call her a witch.
Surrounded by spirits and burdened with forbidden magic, she lives in constant fear of discovery by the witch-hunting Tribunal and their bloodthirsty mobs. When a devastating assassination attempt reveals her magical abilities, Aurelia is forced to flee her country with nothing but her life.
Every once in a while, a book will come along that makes you forget what planet you’re on and that there’s a chaos-spreading pandemic going on. THIS BOOK is one of those books. It’s enchanting and devastatingly beautiful.
I read to page 58 one night, and then the next night I read to page 225 – in one sitting. Every chapter wrenched my emotions, and I HAD to know what happened.
The writing is great and a perfect balance of action, exposition, and description. The story never slows down, but I could see the world and feel the characters. Some of Aurelia’s decisions in the beginning had me asking, “But why?” but not enough to hinder my experience.
This book kept building the suspense without losing the thrills of fantasy and the wonder of magic. The characters, the plot, the writing, the continuously tightened suspense – this book.
So, as suggested by my fangirling above, Bloodleaf gets 5 magical scrolls out of 5. I am very much looking forward to what Smith has planned in the future, for this series and whatever else she writes.
Beatrice B. Morgan 