Victoria is an 18 year old wild blood. She was taken from her home at age six and enslaved by the Exotic Lands Touring Company. They protect travelers in a Jamaican jungle teeming with ghostly monsters.

I really wanted to love this book but it just didn't hit the mark for me. The cover pulled me in but the book left me feeling blah. This wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions contained within are my own.

I fell in love with Lauren Blackwood’s writing when I read her debut, Within These Wicked Walls. There is something so evocative about how she strings words together. When I discovered her second book, Wildblood, on Netgalley, I instantly sent in a request. Lauren Blackwood’s writing mixed with a monstrous tromp through the jungles of Jamaica? Sign me up!

This story follows a young woman named Victoria, a “wildblood” who helps leads expeditions through the murderous-creature-filled jungles in Jamaica. Victoria is one of the top guides at the company she.. “works” for and, after she is denied a well-earned promotion, she has plans to use her skill to her advantage. Her plans are thrown awry when she meets the company’s newest client, Thorn. He is a handsome distraction that she truly does not need at the moment.

Though I didn’t love this book quite as much as Blackwood’s debut, I found myself completely sucked in by her writing once again! It’s just so lush and vivid. It makes it easy to lose yourself in the narrative as the world of the novel blossoms in your mind. It was so simple to envision myself tromping through the Jamaican jungle right alongside Victoria and Thorn.

Speaking of our two main characters, I have to say I wasn’t as enamored with them as I had hoped I would be. Victoria is an incredible character, don’t get me wrong. She’s a fighter, a strange girl with incredible power who is trying to make a place for herself in a world that does not want to give her room. I loved the exploration of her character and watching her grow throughout this story. Thorn, on the other hand… ugh. I mean, he was fine as a love interest, I suppose. He had plenty of great characteristics and wasn’t too perfect. But he was just… so dull! I don’t know why he felt so flat to me, but I had no idea why Victoria was so infatuated with him. Which was a problem since their relationship took up a good portion of the story.

Even with my constant eye-rolling at the romance, however, there was enough action and truly spine-tingling scenes to keep me flying through the pages. The monsters of this story feel so unique and I loved how the author brought them to life! I was more interested in learning about all the different creatures of the jungle than I was in whatever the hell Thorn and his crew were up to. The portions of the book that focused on Victoria, the creatures, and her powers were by far my favorite.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that kept me intrigued, even though I could have done without the romance.

the writing is the main culprit for this mediocre rating. Its repetitive, the prose/narrative is pretty weak, and it doesnt do a great job at supporting a unique concept overall. it creates more questions than answers when it comes to wildbloods, how they developed their “science” or why victoria is the strongest of them all. I didn't find her confinement to the tour company convincing, not to mention the boss and her ex are terrible two-dimensional villains.

Wildblood offers an intriguing premise with moments of interest but ultimately left me feeling underwhelmed and at times confused. The story follows Victoria, a Wildblood tour guide in the Jamaican jungle filled with supernatural dangers. While the character dynamic offers sparks of romance and adventure, the story itself presents many plot points including corporate corruption, magical abilities, and personal struggles. Despite its potential, the story felt overwhelmed by its own complexity, leaving me yearning for a more focused and cohesiveness.

This book is being voluntarily reviewed after receiving a free copy courtesy of NetGalley, the Publisher, and Lauren Blackwood.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounded awesome and I love books that include magic. For the most part I liked the main character, Victoria . I also enjoyed the Jamaican inspired folklore.

I didn’t like the insta-love story between Victoria and Thorn. It happened way too fast and their love story seemed to be the main focal point of the book. The small bit of folklore in the book was great, I just wish there had been more. The ending also felt rushed and anticlimactic.

It’s not a horrible book, but it’s not a favorite for me. I’m not a fan of insta-love so that is probably one of the biggest turn off for me with book.

A gorgeous cover with a story and characters that frustrated me. I liked the beginning - as we're introduce to the jungle and Victoria and we can see how things work. However, just as quickly - the romance interested is introduced and I was just not feeling it. The arguing, the shocking deaths - it felt rushed and forced.

I really wish I'd liked this one more. The ending did wrap up well and I did like it, but what came before was too much for me to enjoy this one.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book

If I didn't have an ARC to review, I would have DNF this book halfway through. This book was all over the place and it just was worse and worse after the 50% mark.

I'm not going to go in too much details but one of the things I hated was the so-called "romance" between our main character Victoria and the gold miner who needed her to find his gold. He was greedy, selfish and the romance was so forced and unnatural it gave me the ick. Her calling him the love of her life after knowing him a few days was so ridiculous to me ! He's the only man who treated her somehow nicely and she fell over heels for him just for being nice ? Ughhh.

The world-building and the magic is still a mystery to me. There wasn't much of an explanation, if any.

This book was so bad I'm actually surprised since the very beginning had me curious but the characters and every interaction ruined the book for me. Also, the writing wasn't the best with all the expressions like "kiss my teeth", "beloved", "my boys" and more used way too many times.

**Thank you to Netgalley for letting me read and review this book even though it wasn't my cup of tea...**

I had been eagerly anticipating this particular book, but to my disappointment, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Despite my initial excitement, the end result failed to capture my attention or interest.

Very early DNF. i'm very picky with my YA since im out of that age range and I can't really do first person so i dnfed.

The jungle is amazing but I felt the book fell a little short. Thanks so much for the review copy. Some of the writing was repetitive.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I really enjoyed this tale. I like the main character and the setting of the jungle. I found the "magic" system a little confusing and wanted a better understanding of it all.

One of the things I liked best was that at the end she does not choose to go off with the boy, even though she is given that option, instead she chooses to go back to the wilds of the jungle. With so many books that end with the couple together, which is great, it was a breath of fresh air to have someone choose their freedom and independence.

I honestly could not get into this one despite expecting to enjoy it based on the author alone.. What I can say is that it has beautifully rendered imagery.

Book is set in an interesting, magical version of Jamaica home to ghosts and spirits. Main character Victoria struggles to use her voice to defend herself partly because of a stutter, partly because she has been taught to accept abuse. She is considered a Wildblood, a magic user who knows the jungle, making her a valuable asset to the Exotic Lands Touring Company. By the time the real action starts, my attention waned a bit. It felt a little incomplete or contradictory, but also was certainly a unique read.

I tried. I did. I should've trusted Zana and just DNF, but here we are. We are done. And is this yet another book to add to our colonizer romances list?

I love supporting women. I especially love supporting BIPOC women. Must there be romance? And within that, must there be romance with white men?

Other things that bothered me include calling the US, America. Only Americans call it that.

This is confusing. I read the entire book and still couldn't tell you what a wildblood is. The magic system, or whatever it is, is not explained clearly.

And neither are the characters fleshed out. One minute, Thorn is thrown in as a womanizing white man, because of course he is. The next minute, Victoria is in love and running away with him. I don't get it.

Victoria was kidnapped at the young age of six. She was trained as a tour guide to use her magic to protect travelers in the Jamaican jungle.
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Thorn is a new client and sent to Victoria. They hit it off but Victoria is on her guard and she’s not sure focusing on love is even an option. The jungle is full of demons and Victoria must decide what battles are worth fighting.

Thank you #StMartinsPress
and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

I did not like this book at all. The writing is hard to get into and the story is strange. The cover is bright and will catch attention but it looks like a ya fantasy meets rom-com and it doesn't work.

"Wild Blood" by Lauren Blackwood is a spellbinding fantasy that follows Victoria, a powerful Wildblood, as she navigates a treacherous jungle filled with magic and monsters. Denied a promotion, she embarks on a mission with Thorn, a kind-hearted goldminer, leading to a captivating tale of adventure, romance, and self-discovery. A must-read for fantasy enthusiasts seeking an enchanting world of mystery and growth.

I was really excited for this book because it was a diverse read. However, there was a lot of violence that made it hard for me to like. I also found the world-building to be very confusing. Thus, this book was really a struggle to get through! Nevertheless, I recommend this for fans of The Continent!