This book took a while for me to get invested into. I will be honest. It's not my top fave book of the year, but by the ending, I was really satisfied. I was hoping for a knockout like Blackwood's debut, but I just felt indifferent about this story for the first 70% of the novel. But once the story started to come together, I really enjoyed my time and I think other readers will too. It's worth the wait (meaning, get through the first 70%!)

I enjoyed Blackwoods debut and was looking forward to her sophomore novel, but I had a really hard time getting truly invested. There were elements of this book I really enjoyed - the sentient jungle, the main character and the magic, but overall I was just seriously underwhelmed.
I didn't really care for the romance - it felt way too insta-lovey and over the top, I didn't really buy into it. I also felt confused about the time period. Despite it being explicitly clear when the story takes place, the way characters spoke and interacted felt too modern.

I'm interested in seeing what Blackwood writes next, but this book was kind of a miss for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this eARC. This YA adventure story contains powerful themes of choosing forgiveness, overcoming horrific obstacles & traumas, and claiming your own destiny. The author has thoughtfully included a list of content warnings at the beginning of the book, with additional information on her website. Victoria’s character arc is a delight to read, the jungle terrors are chillingly intriguing, and the writing style is simultaneously lush and accessible.

My only hesitation in the rating is that I wasn’t convinced by the chemistry with Thorn. My distrust/suspicions were raised the entire time, so I found him an unconvincing love interest, despite how handsomely he was described. For some readers, this might not matter.

Without a doubt one of the best books I've read this year!

The power system in the book and how Blackwood discussed colourism, white-passing privilege, misogynoir & workplace abuse/rape was nothing short of artful.

I especially love that our MC got to reclaim her identity and sexuality and that she was allowed to enjoy the expansive joys and pleasures of life before she made the decision she made as the last pages began to turn.

I wanted to like this book, but I couldn’t get into it. I tried it again on audio and just found my mind wandering. It felt like 2 books in one with the deep, ongoing trauma and then the instalove. I just couldn’t keep reading, sadly I DNFed it.

Thank you, Wednesday, Books, and Netgalley for this arc! I am so thankful to have received this book early as I am such a fan of Lauren Blackwood‘s books immediately when I found out that she was writing this book I knew I needed to request it. The description just really had me. I love the idea of the magic system and love to the setting. We do not get many books set in a Jamaican jungle. It was incredibly interesting to see how the animals/creatures of the jungle reacted towards invaders as well as protecting its own. My favorite was that of the bloody Mary butterfly. I think she talked about issues of colonialism, human trafficking, and assault in a mature manner and it definitely brings awareness to things that have happened in the past as well as things that are still happening. But I overall really enjoyed the story and the magic and definitely need to do a re-read soon. This is definitely another favorite by Lauren. I really enjoyed the story and can’t wait for what she comes up with next.

Unfortunately this one just is not for me. I wasn't really captivated by the magic system and I was left oddly confused for the first 25%. I DNF'd at 89% and will not be posting a review since I was unable to complete the title. I'm hoping to love something from Lauren Blackwood but it's not this title.

I would say this book was not for me. I enjoyed he premise of the story and that's what made me want to read it. I wanted more of the jungle and her connection and meaning behind her connection. I have never read a fantasy romance book before. I wanted more fantasy and none of the romance. I honestly will probably pick this book up again and read it. It may have not bee right time for me to enjoy this one. I think if you like YA fantasy romance as well as an opportunity to knock at the door of other economics and politics you may enjoy this one.

Victoria is eighteen-years old and possesses a type of magic that makes her a Wildblood. She was kidnapped when only six and taken in by the Exotic Lands Touring Company. Victoria and the other Wildbloods guide rich tourists through the Jamaican rainforest, protecting them from the magic that runs rampant there. Victoria is up for a well-earned promotion, but her boss gives it to Victoria''s ex who has betrayed her time and time again. When a new tour is booked, Victoria meets a handsome, confident gold-miner who might possibly be her way out of this life. He puts her in charge of the trip and she is able to help them survive contact with an astonishing array of jungle spirits - shape-shifters, giant animals. It is as she guides these people and falls in love with their leader that Victoria must decide what is right and true for her and where she belongs amongst the magic and power of the strange land. Wildblood is a delightfully unique novel. I enjoyed reading it - Blackwoods prose transports you instantly into the lush, magical rainforest where anything can happen. I hope she continues to write - I'll be ready to read! Many thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC.

This book was such a unique read and loved how the plot was so refreshing compared to a lot of books I’ve read lately. Definitely would recommend this book! Thanks netgalley for an advanced eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was very excited about this book. However, if fell short for me and it became dull. I sadly DNF this title at around 34%

Initially, this really sucked me in but by the middle/end of this my interest was gone. Blackwood's first book was spectacular, one my favorites from 2021 which made me ridiculously excited for this one. Unfortunately, it felt like there was little to no world building so while the premise of this book seemed really promising the execution of it was just not there for me.

I absolutely devoured this lush fantasy romance set in a beautiful and terrifying Jamaican jungle. Protagonist Victoria is a Wildblood, with the ability to draw blood from living things and form it into weapons. She has "worked" (i.e. was captured and held for little pay) for the Exotic Lands Touring Company since she was six years old. She and her fellow guides must use their magic to escort wealthy travelers through the jungle, which teems with man eating insects and soul sucking spirits. Victoria has a unique and deep connection with the jungle, and the river spirit Mumma in particular. By the skin of her teeth, Victoria joins the latest expedition to escort the handsome Thorn and his party into the jungle in a search for gold. Unfortunately, the expedition is being led by her ex- best friend, Dean, who had cruelly betrayed Victoria in the past. A harrowing journey begins, and not everyone will make it out alive.

I was immediately drawn into this world. The mystical jungle setting, and the different insects and spirits that inhabit it were fascinating. I love watching female protagonists, like Victoria, really come into their strength and learn to fight for themselves. Was there a bit of an insta-love thing with Thorn? Yes, but I had no problem with it because he was a necessary part of her growth. I easily connected with her as a protagonist, and truly felt for her. I would love to see more in this setting and get a deeper look into the lore of the jungle and those with Wildblood magic.

This was not quite what I expected, but still, I enjoyed it. Victoria's story, her connection to the jungle, her frustration with her job, all of it was beautifully written. I think that her story will resonate with many high school students, as they often feel like there's so much of the world they want to know or experience, but they feel trapped by school and family and other commitments. I can't wait to get this on my shelves and into the hands of my readers!

Wildblood is a new Historical Young Adult Fantasy novel written by author Lauren Blackwood (who previously wrote Within These Wicked Walls). The novel takes place in a jungle reserve in 1893 Jamaica, but not just any jungle: a jungle filled with supernatural creatures and spirits, led by a river spirit/goddess that isn't happy about human intrusion. But a tour company opens up and offers adventure into the jungle anyway, with trips guided by indentured young black men and women known as "Wildbloods", who have the magical "Science" to manipulate blood - their own and others - into weapons (or just to manipulate it in general. Naturally like in our world, the fact that Wildbloods have this power makes them "different" and not human, leading to them being treated horribly, and protagonist Victoria is desperate to prove herself, grab a leadership role in the company and make things better for her fellow Wildbloods, especially the 14 year old boy she thinks of as a little brother who can barely control himself and his own powers.

The result is a story dealing strongly with prejudice, with human greed, and with the impacts of abuse and trauma as it follows Victoria guiding a group of miners into the jungle, led in part by an alluring black man, along with the former best friend who betrayed her and now helps her boss oppress her and the other Wildbloods. It's a story that is dark, but not for darkness sakes, and hits its themes really well, thanks largely to a very strong lead character and a narrative that doesn't hold back. At the same time, the book's core romance doesn't really work for me, and the book's setting is very unexplored and underexplained, to the point where it's almost a little distracting when things in the plot possibly reach the outside world. Overall though this is a pretty solid young adult novel dealing well with some really strong and important themes, making this a worthy recommend.

TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE, Sexual Abuse, Physical and Mental Abuse by a Boss, Racial Discrimination and more. None of this is superfluous and it all works in context, so these triggering events are used properly and appropriately in furtherance of the book's themes.


----------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------
Having just turned 18, Victoria is determined to get what the Boss promised her: a promotion to a leadership position in the Exotic Lands Touring Company, one in which she can ensure that her fellow Wildbloods, most notably the older loving Samson (sort of an older brother/protector) and her adopted younger bother, 14 year old Bunny, are better protected. Victoria is the most powerful wildblood in the group, but that doesn't matter because she can't use that power or try to escape (a doomed prospect if there was one) without those she cares about getting hurt. Especially Bunny, a boy who wasn't meant for this life and who can barely control his own Blood Science from hurting himself and others.

But when Victoria tries to demand her right to the promotion, she is not only rejected, but finds the tour leadership position going to Dean instead - Dean, the wildblood who used to be her best friend and rival until he betrayed her to a horrible fate at the Boss' hands and has since then sucked up to the Boss as he continues to oppress Victoria and the others. Even worse, the Boss demands that she help Dean look good as a leader on a dangerous trip through the Jungle with a group of outsiders - miners - who want to mine the legendary gold hidden deep within the Jungle. But Victoria knows full well that no one has managed to make it through the Jungle alive to find that gold, for the Jungle is full of dangerous spirits, creatures, and other beings following the will of the River Mumma, who has little patience for human outsiders.

Left with no choice, Victoria tries to help the team of outsiders and Wildbloods make it as far as possible. But the infuriatingly handsome co-leader of the miners, the alluring black man Thorn, keeps refusing to heed her warnings about the dangers of going forward...not that Dean will let her fully explain those dangers. And even if Thorn is really genuine in how he is both attractive and actually treats her human like no one ever has before, his actions are clearly going to get him, and everyone Victoria loves among the Wildbloods, killed for disobeying the spirits of the Jungle....
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Wildblood is a novel that only does the barebones of explaining its setting. Why do the wildbloods like Victoria have blood science and what are the limits of their powers? Never explained. Are wildbloods unique to Jamaica? Never explained. How are kids discovered to have wildblood powers and then taken/kidnapped to the Touring Company? Not explained. These lack of explanations could be annoying for some readers, as the book isn't truly interested in exploring what these concepts might mean for the larger world, but the book's central plotting and characters are done well enough that its a minor annoyance at best.

This central plotting is centered around its main character Victoria, who is a really strong and well developed character, as she deals with a number of problems all at once. Victoria is a young woman who has a great heart and cares for those close to her immensely, especially Bunny who she feels determined to try to save, and Samson, the man who is basically her elder brother figure (and who kinda tries to be her father figure). In terms of magical power, she's incredibly strong, the strongest of any Wildblood, and she has a connection to the Jungle that is something that none of the others show a hint of having on their own.

But Victoria suffers from abuse and oppression - oppression like the racism of others for her being a wildblood or being light-skinned black to being looked at as eye candy essentially as an advertised "rare beauty" and abuse that is far worse than words - it is stated outright that she was not only physically abused by the Boss, but sexually abused and raped as well. Even worse, that rape happened when she was led into it by the boy she cared about the most at the time, Dean, who was her rival and closest compatriot but who has followed that rape by sucking up further to the boss and acting as his right hand man, a position she was clearly better suited for in terms of capabilities. And so Victoria struggles when not among her compatriots to assert herself, with an occasional stutter that shows up when talking to her supposed superiors.

These traits of Victoria come to a head when she makes the trip into the jungle with the miners led in part by Thorn, another black man and one who makes overtures to her that seem like he sees her - unthinkably to her - not as property or a dangerous Wildblood, but as a human like him. And so Victoria finds herself at war with herself - and in conflict with Dean - over a confluence of emotions...emotions that tell her she should stop them from going further into the jungle, emotions that tell her that she might want to try something with Thorn, emotions that tell her that she needs to somehow help Dean with this mission in order to get the promotion that the Boss surely won't back down on promising her again, right? And then of course there are the lingering feelings she has towards Dean and anger at his betrayal that makes even the idea of helping him more difficult to stomach...especially when he won't listen to her and keeps taking steps that she knows will get them all killed.

This results in a really strong character study through Victoria - and through the others like Dean - of people from a place that has been colonized, abused, and raped, and forced into various subservient roles. For Victoria, that's as what is essentially little more than a slave, but for Dean, who is hinted and of course is abused himself, that is that of an overseer type role, where oppresses those that really are kin to him and that he might otherwise have loved like Victoria. This is helped along by the supernatural spirits and creatures in the Jamaican jungle, drawn from Jamaican and African myth and cultures, which menace and encounter the protagonists along the way and require adaptation to...or death. And the contrast is clearly drawn with the miners the team is trying to protect - from Thorn, who is in fact good hearted but just sees no way other than to mine the jungle's resources to his far more greedy and vicious (and not Black) compatriots.

Besides the setting however, one thing that doesn't really work and kind of becomes a problem for this book is the romance between Victoria and Thorn. Victoria basically falls for him instantly based upon his looks and his optimism, but he comes across in dialogue as kind of smarmy and sleazy, with his treating her as a human feeling less like that and more like a guy trying to get into her pants. It's nice that the book doesn't try to make Thorn actually that sleazy jerk, so that there can be some contrast to all the people who have betrayed Victoria, but the chemistry just feels really forced, which makes it very distracting. Still, the way it all resolves in the end works very well as it contrasts Thorn's need to return to the outside world with Victoria's need to both be free and a part of the Jungle she loves, resulting in an effective ending.

Overall, Wildblood is a YA fantasy novel well worth your time, even with its warts, and I do look forward to see how Blackwood's next book will turn out.

This was a magical and mythical adventure through a deadly forest where the people were just as dangerous as the jungle surrounding them. Victoria was kidnapped at the age of 6 and forced to use her magical abilities, which makes her more witch than human to most, to protect tourists on guided tours through the exotic land. Set in a fictional, historical Jamaica, now 18 year-old Victoria does whats necessary to survive and protect those she loves. In order to secure a promotion, she accepts a tour that she fears is a risk. Thorne, an American, is on the hunt for treasure. Victoria expects danger, she doesn't expect to fall for Thorn. The romantic plot line felt a bit forced, rushed (insta-love). Especially while trying to keep 14-year-old Boney safe, her magic in check, the ignorant tourists alive all while putting up with a backstabbing ex-boyfriend who doesn't want her to succeed at anything other than making him look good. Fortunately, she has a relationship that's unique to the jungle and that may have been my favorite part of this story. The beautiful and insidious jungle, it's creatures and sentience. Things ultimately, unsurprisingly, go awry on their quest. We discover more of Victoria's past which helps us empathize with her more, but ultimately many of the characters didn't feel as fully developed as the jungle. I'm undecided on how I feel about the ending, but it left me thinking about this story long after I finished, dealing with dark and heavy content and the cruelty humans can inflict upon others.

DNF at 78%. And let me tell you I don’t remember a single thing about it. Definitely made me sad. I liked the first one and was excited for this one. But for this to be a huge scary jungle, there was again, no world building so it just seemed like she was outside in her backyard. I wanted to know more about the creatures and what a wild blood and all her magic and we just don’t get that.

Wildblood is a phenomenal thrilling read that I couldn’t put down. There’s action adventure and mystery!

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to read and review this novel before the publishing date, and I will not be providing feedback on this title at this time.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was a wild ride of a book. There were so many times when I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happened. The setting of the forest was a character in its own way and all of the creepy things that happened or lived in the forest really kept the character on their toes as well. I found the main characters some of the best-written characters I have read this year. I look forward to reading more from this author.