*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.

This book excelled in setting and cultural references. It fell a bit short in romance and general storyline though. Which was a shame, I was really excited about it based on its description. Jamaican folklore is something I haven't read about yet, so I got to be introduced to it in this book.

So where to start? I'll start with the setting, which goes hand in hand with the folklore, since I greatly enjoyed that part of the book. The jungle in this book is full of creatures, all of them dangerous, all of them intriguing. From the description and origin stories of the ghosts (and their habits), to the more whimsical animal creatures, to the spirits/gods of the jungle, they were all interesting. It goes without saying that 'River Mumma' was my favorite.

Unfortunately, the characterization and plot took me out of the book quite a bit. There's some stuff that's simply unexplainable that I couldn't get over as I was reading. I'll try to keep it high-level, but for those readers who don't like spoilers, proceed with caution.

We're introduced to the main guy who runs the touring company that basically has Victoria as an indentured servant (not a slave because they apparently get paid? But not free to leave either?). He's definitely a bad dude; but somehow manages to do terrible things to her without her retaliating because she grew up in that environment? But there's others that didn't? And their job is to protect using their magic when they're on tours, but for some reason can't use that same magic to escape, even if they haven't been raised in that life and wouldn't have the qualms on looking for freedom. And the tours themselves? Why exactly are so many people just trekking through the middle of this jungle, on an established road, when they can just boat around? I never really fully understood the dynamics that kept this world going.

The characters suffer the same fate. We've got this wild romance happening, that's a bit too quick with no real basis for its formation. We've got a dude spouting out his beliefs on Christianity and then really throwing it to the wind with another unmarried person (which good for them, it's just really weird juxtaposed with the previous discussion(s) of religion). And his drive for continuing on the mission, despite everything that is happening, is also quite baffling since he's presented as a 'good guy'. I guess the treasure is just that dang good? I learned about 'kissing teeth' as well, and while I was glad I could google and understand exactly what that meant (it can be very specific culturally), the characters did it A LOT. Even thinking about it culturally, if you replace with a "sigh" instead, it shows you just how often the characters were performing one move, too repetitive.

About halfway through the book Victoria changes and almost becomes a deux ex machina type of plot derailing. The book itself has the tone change and the ability change, and it becomes rushed and a bit strange. Although I will say, I actually liked the ending, even if I was slightly confused on how we got there.

I've heard her first book is great, and I think I'd be interested in reading it based on the ideas here, but this one needed cleaned up and refined a bit more to consolidate its ideas.

Review by M. Reynard 2023

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

From the very first chapter I knew this book was going to be absolutely amazing! The writing is so easy to read, but it's also so immersive that it feels like you're right beside of Victoria. She is such a strong character, and her story arc was one that I fell in love with the more it unraveled. I was so weary of what her ending would be, but it was absolutely perfect, and I couldn't have asked for more from it.

This book deals with some very heavy topics, including abuse, slavery, racism, and yet through it all, such great hope and light comes from Victoria and her journey. She navigates a world that is far more dangerous for her than the jungle that everyone else deems the evil of the world. She really subverts the conventional beliefs and finds beauty and strength in the parts of the world that society wants to shun.

And in the middle of al of this is a beautiful world full of the most stunning creatures and landscape.

If you're a fantasy lover, please get your hands on this book!

"No one escapes the Exotic Lands Touring Company, unless one would call deciding how they'd like to die "escaping"..."

For a young woman kidnapped at such a young age by an abusive boss, who wields complete and utter control over the Wildbloods he's kidnapped, Victoria personifies strength. She's leading a tour that will make or break her, and she has to work with the boy she hates as much as her boss. Dean betrayed her a year ago, and working with him is the last thing she wants to do. This tour will be more dangerous than anything she's ever done because the jungle will exact its price.

"Because a year feels far longer when you're the one living with it."

The writing had a few stumbles, but the storyline and message overpowered any of them. Touching on so many topics such as colonialism, slavery, abuse, and more, Blackwood told these tragedies in a fantasy setting, with blood magic. In addition to Victoria's strength, I loved the jungle. Everything they came in contact with, from River Mumma to Biggs, was so creative. The danger is continuous, it's always something new, and you're waiting to see what comes next and how they will handle it.

This does have insta-love, but it was done well. Victoria is the epitome of love, and we see that in all her relationships. This is such a lovely read.

Thank you, St. Martin's, for sending along an ARC.

What a solid waste of my time.

this book at first glance seems like a high stakes get lost in a jungle fantasy but that’s not what you get. You get these characters that seem so interesting but they’re so bland! There’s no depth to them. Especially the main character who goes through something horrific but it’s never elaborated on. You’re just told about it. And it’s supposed to make you have empathy for the main character but she has no personality. And the amount of times I read “kiss my teeth” made me want to scream. This book needs serious editing. I wanted more world building and more character development and better writing. Huge disappointment.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books/St Martin's Press for allowing me to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"I have to rage, Victoria... Rage is all I have left."

If I had to read "so-and-so kissed their teeth" one more time...

Wildblood is Lauren Blackwood's sophomore book and overall it was a decent read. I really liked her debut book, Within These Wicked Walls, and I was looking forward to Wildblood. The cover is gorgeous and very eye-catching.

The premise sounded exciting and intriguing but, while I was reading, that intrigue began to dwindle at times. I liked reading from Victoria's point of view and I thought her character was well-written. Though, Victoria, and probably Dean, are the only ones who got most of the development. The other characters were okay but they needed more depth. Honestly I think the jungle got more development than the love interest, Thorn.

The romance is pretty quick between Victoria and Thorn. They are instantly attracted to the other and say "I love you" in a matter of days.

Wildblood has an interesting "magic system" and I did enjoy the connection Victoria has with the jungle.

3.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC. General trigger warning for discussions of sexual assault.

I have mixed feelings about this book, and unfortunately they skew closer to disappointment. I was excited to read Lauren Blackwood's second novel after "Within These Wicked Walls", which I found to be a decent read and a good debut. That novel was a retelling of Jane Eyre, but I found it to be a pretty bare retelling - all that to say I was excited to read an original fantasy of hers. "Wildblood" had the foundations of a fantastic fantasy - a lush jungle setting with all kinds of demons and monsters, a jungle that is, in a way, its own character, blood magic - it sounds amazing! Sadly, the jungle ends up being a background setting for a nonsensical instalove plot.

We get random scenes with monsters in the jungle, we hear how dangerous the jungle is, there's a bunch of death, but we barely get to know it. This novel could have taken place almost anywhere. They're hunting for gold, or something? It's the driving point in the novel - the whole reason they're on this super dangerous expedition - and we hardly touch it. It's such wasted potential. Tell me about the jungle instead of how so-and-so kissed their teeth.

I don't care about Victoria's relationships with anybody, but least of all Thorn! You don't know this man. We NEVER know this man. I've finished this novel and I know nothing. We really don't even know a thing about the stupid gold he was hunting. "Beloved" this and that bro it's been like a day! At least make it lust motivated or something - that would've been more interesting and frankly believable.

The end of the novel also feels abrupt. We could have spent so much more time in just about every aspect instead of getting a surface level exploration.

The one thing I felt the novel did fairly well was discussion on trauma and healing and still processing trauma, even a year later. Without spoiling too much, Victoria was sexually assaulted prior to the beginning of the novel (about a year earlier) and much of her thought process, how she interacts with other characters, is informed by this event. I would have loved even more, because I thought it was something Blackwood did well.

Overall it's not a bad book... but it wasn't giving what I wanted, and I wish it had given more.

Victoria is a part of the Exotic Lands Touring Company - a business that escorts tourists across the untamed and very magically wild jungles of Jamaica. However Victoria is not your average person, she and the rest of the guides are Wildbloods and they are treated essentially as slave labor - all because they have magic literally in their veins. Enter Thorn and his crew looking for passage to find gold in the jungle. Victoria goes from her normal life of abuse and neglect to teaming up with her former best friend to ensure the wealthy gold miner makes it in and out alive.

This novel is truly one of self discovery and love in the most dire of circumstances. Victoria and her friends’ lives are hard and in constant threat of the jungle, their boss, and even of themselves. Her journey both physically and mentally through the jungle under the pressure of Thorn’s requests causes her to question all that she sees in the world. I very much loved the personal growth she experiences. I do, however, wish that the novel had put more into world building and depth of characters. I felt like I was just getting a general overview of this massive, magical, complex and very interesting world that the story takes place in. Overall an enjoyable read (be careful of triggers related to violence). 3 stars.

Review based on an Uncorrected Digital Galley provided by St. Martin’s Press - Wednesday Books and NetGalley. Thank you!

3/5 stars! I had such high hopes for this book. The premise reminded me a lot of the character Yelena from "Poison Study." Yelena was someone kidnapped from her family and endured horrible things, who ended up working for the kingdom that had contributed to this and had magic and jungle skills in her blood. So my bar was extremely high heading into this read. There are parts of the story that are successful. The characters are developed and have their own personalities and trajectories of growth through the story. And the cover was beautiful. But the downfall was that the storyline didn't measure up. I found myself bored with the storyline. Overall, great concept, good characters, but didn't pay off in the storyline.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

3.5 stars
So I loved the premise of this book. I loved the jungle, I loved how it called to Victoria and I loved all the terrifying creatures that lived in it. I loved the idea of having this tour group take people through the jungle to the other side. I did not like how the tour workers were treated and I did not like the romance. I am just not a fan of insta-love and this one was kind of weird and not believable.
I read the first third of this book in one day and I was completely hooked. I was hoping for this crazy treasure hunt in the jungle and after the first third I got this weird insta-love non-treasure hunt walk through a scary jungle that wasn't all that scary after the first third.
Though I didn't like the romance, I did love Victoria's relationships with Bunny and Samson. She cared so much about them and it was very sweet.
The Wildblood's "powers" called blood science was a little confusing. We have no idea why there are Wildbloods, where they came from or why they are hated. The power itself was pretty straightforward I think, I just wish it had a little bit more backstory.
The very ending was done well I think and honestly went the best way for my own opinion. It was very different than what I was expecting.
Though this had a few things that I didn't mesh with, it was very unique and I think I would still recommend it.

This one was not my favorite. The concept is so cool and I think a ton could be done with the Wildblood characters. This was too much character's thoughts and not enough plot. The forest was definitely my favorite character.

Wildblood is the story of a girl from the jungle. Victoria was kidnapped when she was six by cruel bosses at the Exotic Lands Touring Company. She is forced to take tourists through the dangerous jungle- lethal to everyone except her and those with magic in their blood. When a gold-miner books the company to go to the heart of the jungle, Victoria instantly knows it is a bad idea. The jungle does not allow itself to be invaded. With her ex as the tour leader, Victoria will need to work harder than ever to keep her found family and the gold-miner safe as she decides what she truly wants.

Lauren Blackwood has done it again! Wildblood is her second book and it is just as enchanting as her debut. In the sentient jungle, lost souls roam, and the jungle punishes those who invade. River Mumma was such a mysterious and vigilant presence in the jungle. I loved learning about her enigmatic relationship with Victoria. Outside of the jungle and its creatures that love her, Victoria is surrounded with found family who she will do anything to protect. Dean, Victoria’s ex, is a volatile and demanding presence who once betrayed Victoria unimaginably. Even so, I appreciated how thoughtfully Blackwood navigated their tense and toxic relationship.

My favorite character (besides Victoria) was undoubtedly the sentient jungle!! Blackwood describes it with spine-chilling horror and beauty. The perfect example is the Bloody Lady: a pretty and poisonous butterfly. As the tour group processes further into the jungle, every instinct in readers will be to flee in the opposite direction. I wish I could see visual art of some of the spooky creatures that haunt the trees, especially Biggsy!

Wildblood is a haunting, atmospheric, and vivid adventure. I would highly recommend it! I can’t wait to see what Lauren Blackwood writes next. Thank you to Lauren Blackwood, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, Wordpress blog, and Barnes & Noble etc

FLEW through this excellent, incredible book. Tightly written, earnest, laugh-out-loud funny at several parts—one of the best YA fantasy books I've read in ages.

I loved these characters. They were so great. I loved their background history and their chemistry, the love and support for one another, the angst, the push and pull, the tension between them, everything was so well executed by the author. The characters were not perfect, they had their own struggles and obstacles they had to overcome before they came to the realization that they are better together than apart. I’m so happy with how everything wrapped up at the end. It was such an enjoyable book.

I loved the concept and set-up in WILDBLOOD, and the way the author used it to show the relationship between victims and their abusers was very powerful. I would 100% recommend.

3.5 stars!

Wildblood was an immersive, well-written adventure fantasy. This story contains exciting action scenes, found family, and interesting magic.

What I loved the most was the Wildbloods' "science" that they can use to manipulate blood in the dangers of the jungle. My favorite part was the beautiful magic of the jungle, filled with fascinating creatures and monsters that gave me goosebumps. I loved how the main character was a powerhouse! And her relationship with the jungle was so intriguing.

Unfortunately, the relationships and character development fell short for me. I felt like I should have cared more about Victoria's relationships with Samson and Bunny and Thorn... But none of them really meant much to me. The relationship was too insta-love for my liking. There also were twinges of a love triangle, or rectangle maybe? But none of them felt like one I could really root for.


I enjoyed the themes in this novel of recovering from trauma, environmental respect, and finding freedom. I appreciated that the author provided a content warning as some topics could be triggering to readers.

Some of the writing was repetitive, like the use of the phrase "kiss my teeth"/"kisses his teeth" thirteen times!

Overall, if you enjoy fantasy romance, a cool world with magic, and adventuring through jungles, check out this read!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC! I'll be sharing my review on social media closer to the pub day.

I deeply enjoyed Within These Wicked Walls, so I was pumped for an ARC of Blackwell's second book about a group of kidnapped kids giving tours of the Jamaican jungle overrun by ghostly monsters.

As a whole, I loved the story and the characters. Victoria was fiercely loyal and fiery, though a lot of that goes out the window when she meets the charming tourist Thorn, who she is partnered with to protect on their journey. Her "boys" Sam and Bunny and the relationship with them was sweet. And even her complicated frenemy situation with Dean was intriguing.

There were some really cool moments in the jungle when the group was faced with its monsters. I loved Victoria's connection to the wild and the way the jungle pulled from Jamaican lore to build its rich existence. I was hanging on to every word, wondering what creature would present itself next.

The only thing that held me back was their "science". The Wildbloods have a sort of magic that helps protect them and the tourists they're leading from the ghostly ways of the jungle, but this "science" isn't well explained or predominantly used and I had a hard time really picturing it in my mind.

I read an ARC, so maybe this is smoothed out a little more in the final copy. I do think it would lead to a very interesting magic system if the story committed to it earlier than the climactic moment towards the end of the book. But at the time of reading, it could have been left out and I probably wouldn't have missed it.

I absolutely loved this book. Wildblood is a young adult fantasy story full of forest magic and I thought it was such a fun story. We follow Victoria who is trapped working at this company providing tours through a seriously deadly forest along with other wild bloods like her, who are local natives with blood magic that allows them a way to stay safe in the woods. Victoria has a closer relationship than most to the forest but she feels a strong need to protect her close friends that are also trapped in this company so she stays to try to find ways to keep them safe. These children are essentially kidnapped when it is discovered they have magic and are kept as slaves in all but name and subjected to every kind of abuse imaginable. It is very difficult to read about the abuse but it is so important to touch on it and I think it is important for it to be shown for the horror that it is. The forest magic and the blood magic is also really cool as well. Lauren Blackwood is definitely an author I'm keeping on eye on because this is now her second book and I've really enjoyed both which is exciting.

This book had a really interesting premise, but it never really came together for me. And when my least favorite plot device InstaLove came on the scene and permeated all the following pages with its unbearable inanity, the existence of the cool, dangerous, sentient jungle still wasn't enough to keep my attention amidst the nauseating number of "Beloved"s. Victoria is a reviled Wildblood, kidnapped at age six by the Exotic Lands Touring Company and forced to work for them, enduring physical and mental abuse. Now that she is 18, she is desperate to become a tour leader and help a younger Wildblood break free of the company. When her scheming ex gets the promotion instead (is it a promotion if this is all basically just slavery?), Victoria is forced to work with him escorting high-profile clients deep into the deadly jungle, where only she feels truly at home and can save them all with her sciencey-magic - or is it magicky-science? The blood powers that Wildbloods have are hardly described at all, with no background, and seem to work like a magic system despite repeatedly being called "science." I'll be honest, this read like the author had a cool idea but didn't really flesh it out in her own mind other than on a very superficial level, because usually even when I don't totally grasp a book's magic system, it's clear the author understands it and things become clear in time. Never happened with this book. And, as mentioned earlier, Victoria's InstaLove with the client, Thorn, had no development and no believability. Also, there is an awful lot of death in this book. I liked the very end, but I also thought Victoria would be a little less... okay?... after so much loss. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for a digital review copy.

Thanks to NetGalley & Wednesday Books for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I dropped the book at 40%.

It had a really cool premise and great descriptions of the forest itself, but my GOD the soap opera drama between the boring humans was driving me nuts. I think the MC was crushing on like 3 people? I think everyone in the tour group had a major crush on the protagonist, ha.

I did like the forest and wildblood magic but it kept getting shelved in favor of the most boring people drama. I'm sure it gets explained more later in the book but I was getting sick of it, so, lol. Sorry, cool idea and all but it definitely was dropped in favor of boring love triangle drama. :(

Wildblood is a sharp YA fantasy with a lot to say about social and emotional issues that adds a dash of romance, and then slips and adds the whole bottle, making it a very different story than expected.

The concept of Wildblood takes the stories of ye olde expeditions of the Victorian era and flips them right on their pith-helmeted heads. On top of that, Victoria, our heroine, is a strong and fierce character whose powerful is equal parts intriguing and terrifying. She is comfortable in the embrace of the jungle only because of her own traumatic past, and because within the trees and vines she isn't subjected to the discrimination her race, gender, and power all lay upon her. Her relationships with her friends, and those who have betrayed her, are also fascinating. All of this is the makings of a really rich and interesting novel filled with nuanced characters and moral shades of gray.

Which is why it was so very frustrating to me whenever Thorn, the sexy expedition leader Victoria must protect, came onto the page. Because on top of the intricate scaffolding Blackwood builds for us is a romance as subtle and nuanced as one of those giant stuffed bears holding a glittering heart between his paws. I often found it difficult to focus on the worldbuilding and the peril of Blackwood's really cool plot because of how much of Victoria's focus is on Thorn.

I'll admit I can see the utility of the romance in how Blackwood builds to her ultimately satisfying ending, but it feels like things progressed too hot, too fast for the satisfaction of a slow-burn romance, and there's too much peril for a hot and fast relationship to seem fitting. No matter how much I was drawn to the premise, I think the hard truth is that Wildblood is just not for me. But with a premise as cool as it has, I hope it finds a solid home somewhere.

(A longer version of this review, which includes a brief synopsis of the book, will appear on RingReads at the link provided on 14 February 2023 at 3:29 p.m. MST.)

This book was an instant favorite!

Simmering romantic tensions bring the heat to a jungle where anything from ghosts to butterflies to the river itself may be trying to kill you.

When a group hunting for gold hires the Wildbloods - wielders of blood magic - to protect their journey, Victoria is determined to be the expedition leader, and not just because of the charming investor Thorn. She desperately needs the money to help her brother Bunny escape the cruel life filled with beatings and torture that they are held in by the Boss. But her ex-best friend and rival, Dean, gets himself named expedition leader.

Victoria convinced him to let her help lead the expedition through the haunted, dangerous jungle, where everything’s trying to kill them. They get two warnings to turn back, and the jungle doesn’t normally give a third.

The author has brought an unforgettable, haunting jungle world to life. From the pickney ghosts to the beautiful, venomous butterflies, I wanted to see this world so badly, but from the safety of a movie screen! No way I’d brave the jungle myself.

Victoria’s both fierce and vulnerable. Whether she’s fighting monsters, dealing with her past pain from the Boss’s abuse or falling in love, she’s a heroine to root for. Thorn’s sense of humor is a delight, and Dean’s a great antihero with complicated motives.

Though the ending wasn’t quite what I hoped, it was still perfection. After finishing the book, I didn’t see how it could end any other way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.