I honestly don't know how I feel about this book. I liked some parts of it - the magic was kind of cool. I don't necessarily understand why Wildbloods are needed to work at the camp and help people along the jungle road, but ok, fine I guess? I guess I just don't think enough was explained for me. How do people have these powers? Why is Victoria so strong? None of this is particularly explained. There is a little bit of backstory about why she is special to the jungle, but for me that really just didn't make a lot of sense. The descriptions of the jungle and the special creatures inhabiting it were great. I enjoyed the world building a lot. It was the main characters I had such an issue with I think. I liked Victoria - I even liked Thorn. I found their romance to be ridiculous. And don't even get me started on Dean or the boss...or their backstory for that matter. I literally couldn't stand it and cringed any time it was mentioned. And it was mentioned. A lot. The ending seemed rushed and was mostly a letdown for me. I just mostly didn't care anymore. And the end there were really just more questions than answers and I was just unsatisfied.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

Actual review closer to 3.5 stars. Even though I read this one sitting I felt it was lacking something for me. The world building was great but I feel like there wasn't much for the characters.

Content warnings: colorism, racism (real-world & fantasy), sexual assault (prior to story), violence, abuse & manipulation, mentions of lynching

Victoria is a Wildblood. She was kidnapped and forced to work at the age of six, and though she’s eighteen now, Wildbloods are not respected in her society, so she doesn’t have much of a choice to leave. But when her boss denies her a promotion, she figures out a way to convince him otherwise: she’ll go on a dangerous expedition with her ex-best friend who will be inheriting the company, and who is less powerful than her, and make him look good. This expedition is different than anyone expected, though, and ahead of Victoria is a journey full of death, dangerous jungle creatures, and even love.

I loved Lauren Blackwood’s Within These Wicked Walls, so as soon as I heard about this one I was excited to read it! The beautiful prose in WTWW was not missing from Wildblood. This book also touched on religion (specifically Christianity) and I really liked and related to some of the discussions on that.

I loved Victoria and I’m so glad we got this book about her! Wildblood is set in first person from Victoria’s viewpoint and this choice further drew me into the story and into Victoria’s mind. Victoria’s story was unique in many ways, but I think all readers (myself included) will be able to relate to her in at least one way.

I highly recommend to fantasy fans who want a book that’s still YA, but edges closer to NA.

The cover and the synopsis are a great indication of the kind of story you're in for. This book was a whirlwind of an adventure with some of the intoxicating worldbuilding. It was so easy to go through and author also did an excellent job at including meaningful details about the setting that made the work immersive and lush. If you love young adult fantasy, this is absolutely a book you’ll want to preorder.

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an amazing novel. Most definitely one of the best books I read in 2022.
I really loved all of the characters and their relationships.
I hard such a hard time putting it down because the story was so compelling and well written.
The world building was excellent and the characters were interesting and compelling
An engaging plot with well-developed characters and setting that had me so consumed I lost all track of time.
The characters are well developed, the world building is rich and wonderful, and the plot will keep you hanging in there until the last page.
A new bold fantasy, Wildblood will be one of the best books you've laid eyes on.

Wednesday Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

creepy, unnerving, with lots of magic and twisty turny characters. readers that loved the creepy rooms and manifestations in Within These Wicked Walls will love the spooky manifestations in the forest (especially the pickneys). I do wish Victoria had more time to shine, I kind of feel she was overshadowed by Dean and Thorn especially. I also wish that the aftermaths of certain deaths in the book weren't smoothed over so easily. But it definitely scratched an itch for creepy YA that's almost adult in some aspects. It does have certain Heart of Darkness vibes, just YA and not horrifically racist and sexist.

(I received an ARC from Netgalley).

I absolutely loved Beyond These Wicked Walls, so I was very excited to get a chance to read an advanced copy of Wildblood. Blackwood wrote another unique story. I absolutely loved the setting- the sentient forest, the array of monsters/creatures, the River Mumma. If you don’t mind a book with heavy content (rape, abuse, death, blood, violence) I would recommend this novel to you. But be warned, once you start reading it, it’s hard to put down! :)

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.