Actual rating 2.5-3.0 stars.

Where Shadows Bloom by Catherine Bakewell is a YA sapphic romantasy novel loosely inspired by seventeenth century Spain/France as well as Orpheus/Hades mythology. Ofelia is an adolescent noblewoman, raised in the countryside and dreaming of the paradise of Le Château Enchanté, where the mysterious King Léo dwells. Lope is Ofelia's devoted protector, a skilled swordswoman and aspiring poet. She must protect Ofelia (the love of her life) from the Shadows, supernatural monsters who kill humans at nightfall. However, the quest they embark upon may be more than they bargained for.

I wanted to love this book much more than I did. The premise was interesting, but I was left with many questions by the end of the book. Restructuring would have solved this: the first half was very slow, and could have been cut down to save room for Lope's time in between Chapter 28 and the Epilogue. That chunk could have also better developed Ofelia and Lope's relationship--there was very little chemistry between them, and Ofelia's chapters at the palace got old very fast (she was very whiny). The ending of the book was abrupt and the characters felt flat. Lope could have been the sole narrator--she and the Underworld god were the most interesting characters. Bakewell is great at writing visual descriptions, but the worldbuilding here was lackluster--is this meant to be high fantasy, or some magical realism version of historical Spain and France? It was unclear. Only two locations were specifically mentioned in an otherwise literary fog and there was no clear sense of place. The court was described as scary before the girls' arrival, but the stakes there felt too low and so lost my interest. However, given Bakewell's descriptions, I think this book would do well as a graphic novel.

Readers may also enjoy: A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft, Troubadour by Mary Hoffman, The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda, Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997), The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, School Bus Graveyard by Red, and Tremontaine by Ellen Kushner, et al.

05/11/2025 || Where Shadows Bloom by Catherine Bakewell || #WhereShadowsBloom #NetGalley #QueerReads #Fantasy #Romantasy #HistoricalFiction

Thank you NetGalley, Cathrine Bakewell, and HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins for making this e-ARC available!

Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author and myself.
All of my thoughts are my own~

3 Stars
⭐⭐⭐

DNF

I got to 40% into the audiobook because reading the ARC copy became too tedious and I really wanted to read and enjoy this one. I gave the audiobook a try through my local library.

For starters, the plot and premise really grabbed me. I was very excited for this book. I love knights and sapphic pining love stories and medieval settings. I wanted to know what the secrets were, why there were shadows, etc! However, this book just slogged on for me and I had to stop.

To be honest, I am finding myself struggling to get into new YA and NA books and this one proved that fully to me. I don't believe Bakewell did anything wrong and I tried to tap into my inner teen and look at it from the perspective of a young, teenage queer individual. However, I just couldn't. Maybe it is my age or generation or something.

What did not work for me:
The plot seemed to be spoon-fed to us readers and everything was highly predictable or became more and more predictable for me.
I got so bored and had to pause and rewind to re-listen to entire passages. I could not stand how,,,,plain this book was. Ofelia and Lope were told, "always stick together" by another side character and IMMEDIATELY Ofelia was like "lol I can just go off by myself without Lope I am safe with (redacted)! Nothing bad ever happens to me" and it just seemed so predicable and set up to be so boring. Nothing was a twist, as far as I got, and I wish it had been more mysterious as promised.

Dual narration for the audiobook was stellar and I liked Lope a lot.

Where Shadows Bloom is a hauntingly lyrical novel full of rich imagery, dark fairytale elements, and courtly tension. Catherine Bakewell crafts a beautifully eerie world where shadows quite literally bloom—and with them, secrets, fears, and long-buried truths. The atmosphere is both enchanting and unsettling, pulling you into Ofelia’s unraveling reality.

Lope, Ofelia’s brave and fiercely loyal knight, was the highlight of the book for me. She faces the growing darkness with strength and clarity, often stepping into danger to protect those she cares about. Her courage and quiet resilience shine through in a story clouded by manipulation and illusion. The mixture of Spanish and French cultures, using both Mademoiselle and Senorita, was interesting and it really helped create a unique world.

While I appreciated the slow peeling back of Ofelia’s brainwashing, I found her blind devotion to the king frustrating. I understand this was an intentional part of her arc, but her naivety made it hard to root for her at times. And although her eventual awakening is central to the plot, it felt somewhat off-putting that she was positioned as the hero in the end—especially when Lope’s bravery and clarity of vision were so integral throughout.

Still, Where Shadows Bloom is a striking, shadow-soaked story about control, identity, and breaking free. If you enjoy royal settings, and fiercely protective female characters, this is a book worth exploring.

Gorgeous writing as always, a whimsical world I could dive right into. Layered, relatable characters that I grew to love over the course of the book. Adored this one and so grateful for the advanced copy :)

Unfortunately, too saccharine for my tastes.

Where Shadows Bloom is a YA sapphic romantasy that reads like a dreamy fairytale. While it's full of lovely poetry and sweet yearning between a sheltered noble girl and her sworn knight, I was frustrated by the shallowness and naiveté of Ofelia. It's hard to stay invested in a developing romance when only one character, Lope, is enjoyable to read.

I truly wished I had liked this one more than I did.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

Had to DNF this one at about 10%...I was hoping for Bakewell's writing to grow/mature and maybe it has somewhat but the writing, characters, and dialogue felt juvenile. Couldn't get past it.

Where Shadows Bloom, while very solidly YA in writing style and not, unfortunately, a bit more elevated) is a lush, beautiful, dual POV sapphic fantasy featuring monsters, gods, immortal kings, and death itself. Ofelia's home is beset by roaming shadow monsters, and Lope is the knight employed to defend Ofelia and her home from the Shadows. whom the knight Lope defends her against. But when the Shadows venture too close, both Lope and Ofelia are forced to embark on a journey through the darkness - to the Versailles-inspired Château Enchanté, the court of the gods-blessed King Léo, where the Shadows never pass. Little do they know that dangerous secrets and perhaps deadlier threats await them.

Where the Shadows Bloom is whimsical, enchanting, and lyrical. The comparisons to Allison Saft were very apt, as certain elements were reminding me of her recent book A Dark and Drowning Tide. I felt transported to another world, and I found myself really loving the characters. Ofelia's POV and her character growth were really strong and compelling - I loved watching her grow from a young girl naive to the dangers of her world to a woman ready to take it all on. I also really loved Lope in as a character, as I'm a real sucker for a knight/poet type.

The romance is also so cute and tender! And while the setting may seem cozy, but it's very much balanced by mystery, high stakes, and an intriguing plot that kept me turning the page.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and Catherine Bakewell for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own!

This almost gave me similar feelings as Shadow and Bone. Not really the story but the vibes. There’s creepy shadows lurking but also a sweet romance at the forefront. It has light cozy fantasy vibes.

The way Lope loved Ofelia and was utterly devoted to her was the best. It was so so sweet. I didn’t love Ofelia as much as I loved Lope but they were cute together.
I didn’t completely love the ending either but it was nice in a way too. I did enjoy the Shadow King and his character arc.
Overall this was a fun cozy read. I think it’s a great book for young readers.

‘Sacrifice. That is what love is.’

I’m so excited to have been apart of the street team for this amazing YA fantasy romance! (& was lucky enough to get an arc of this masterpiece) Where Shadows Bloom reads like a fairytale. Sometimes deceptively cozy, this tale is definitely one not to be missed! I also adored Ofelia and Lope (& the dual POV narrative)!

You can grab this book today, especially if you love:
⚔️Lady Knights
✨Fairytale Vibes
⚔️Poetry
✨Sapphic Romance (no/low spice bc ya)
⚔️a beautiful palace with a dark side
✨Friends to Lovers
⚔️shadow monsters
✨myths & legends

There were multiple times that I wanted to DNF, and at one point I just had to stop reading because this book was difficult to not dislike.

Where Shadows Bloom is being hyped up for its sapphic premise; one FMC of royalty and the other FMC the knight in shining armor. Ofelia (royalty) wants to be a lady of the court, but there are evil shadows that prey upon the living that stand between her and the castle. Lope (said knight) is coerced by Ofelia (Lope's seemingly unrequited crush) to join and protect her on the way to the castle. Once Ofelia and Lope make it to the castle where the Shadows do not enter and not spoken of, things seem to be very odd, including the king himself.

Oh goodness... The miscommunication trope really destroyed this story. A simple conversation could have saved probably 50% of the fluff.

However, I did thoroughly the origin story of the shadows and the world that they come from. The second half of the book was definitely more exciting and was the only thing that kept me reading.

Not sure how I can recommend this book to others, as this was so difficult. It deserved a little more editing and cleaning up with character development and interaction. 2 stars at most.

Thank you Netgalley, HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins and the author for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

I will be posting to socials.

I wanted to love Where Shadows Bloom, with its eerie, fairy-tale atmosphere and a world teetering between darkness and enchantment. The premise of two girls—one a dreamer, the other a protector—venturing into the heart of a cursed Château was intriguing. Catherine Bakewell’s writing is undeniably lyrical, creating a rich, immersive setting.

However, I struggled to stay engaged with the pacing and character dynamics. The story unfolds at a slow, almost meandering pace, which made it difficult for me to feel fully invested in Ofelia and Lope’s journey. While the atmosphere was beautifully crafted, I found myself wanting more tension and momentum to drive the narrative forward.

Though this book wasn’t the right fit for me, I can see it appealing to readers who enjoy slow-burning, atmospheric fantasy with lush prose and introspective character journeys. If you love stories that feel like wandering through a dream, Where Shadows Bloom might be worth exploring.

Soft DNF at 23%

Thank you, Catherine Bakewell, NetGalley, and the publisher for this ARC. I am so excited to be a part of Cat's Street Team! This is my honest review.

A historical fantasy, set in a AU 1600s France. This book was such a mix of spooky, romance, and eloquence. When reading it, I started to see some connections with the political climate today (whomever says that books shouldn't be political doesn't know what they are talking about). The gaslighting of the villian is sometimes very obvious and othertimes makes you really second guess yourself. I found this to be very realistic, wven though the book is set in fantasy.

I really enjoyed all the characters, their development, the imagery, the imaginative situations, and the magic. I dont want to get too specific without spoilers, but I really loved everything about this book.

Oh this was lovely. Not always do you get a book whose cover promises exactly what's inside but here I kept thinking fondly of these two girls in this beautiful cover art as the story starts and really just moves along rather quickly. We get a sense of who Ofelia and Lope are right away (even as these things are fleshed out more as the story goes on), two very sheltered girls in a manor amidst the danger of deadly shadows, one nobility, the other a knight. You would expect a book over 400 pages to linger and drag but things moved at a pace that really felt reasonable to everything that was going on-- from the girls realizing they really loved each other when we meet them to finally having to move from Ofelia's manor into Le Chateau after the disappearance of her beloved mother, to the mysteries that are extremely apparent to the two outsiders even if the nobility at Le Chateau refuse to speak of it in a very Masque of the Red Death way.

It was definitely a book I looked forward to coming back to reading when I was waylaid by, you know, having a job and needing to do other adult tasks, and I'll most likely pick up a copy when I see it in the wild of my local indie bookstore.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for review!

Maybe I'm biased but Catherine Bakewell can simply do no wrong!! Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read this early!

ofelia has dreamed all her life of one day inhabiting le château enchanté, the gods-blessed king léo’s mysterious court. there, the shadow monsters that prevent ofelia from safely leaving her home never get near. when the shadow monsters get too close, ofelia and her knight, lope, go in search of le château enchanté for safety. when they get there, everything seems magical…but soon they learn that not everything is as it seems.

i really enjoyed catherine bakewell’s flowerheart, so i was excited to read another book with cottagecore vibes by her. this wasn’t 100% cottagecore, since it did get fairly dark, but i enjoyed it nonetheless! the plot was so interesting. i loved learning about the shadow monsters and le château enchanté. i also loved that this was dual pov so we could learn more about ofelia and lope! i loved them as individual characters and as a romantic pairing.

i’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA romantic fantasies. i can’t wait for whatever’s next from catherine bakewell!

We NEED more sapphic romantasy books! I went into this without knowing too much about the book or the author, but I was decently impressed. The characters feel really lifelike and believable. I also really liked the dialogue, which can be hit or miss for me.

This book was beautiful. Many times I found myself tearing up. It was a book that I wanted to constantly be reading, yet I also didn't want it to end.

I loved the characters of Lope and Eglantine and The Shadow King/Soleil. Lope's journey was my favorite. I loved seeing her grapple and deal with her grief. She is a strong character in many ways. Ofelia annoyed me almost the whole book. I feel like she matured near the end, but for a while, her naivety drove me insane.

As for the plot, it was fast-paced and easy to read, but I predicted the whole mystery. I think the only thing I didn't see coming was Ofelia and Lope being apart for a year and The Shadow King becoming Soleil.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a cozier (although there are still some dark parts), unputdownable story with elements of fairy tales, grief mystery, whimsy and love.

This was a lavish and sweet YA sapphic romance. It was a little slow to start but beautifully crafted

2.5/5 ⭐️ (rounded up)
Lope, blink twice if you need help, you perfect angel cinnamon roll. 👀

Every star I rated this can be given directly to Lope, she was the redeeming character in this sapphic romantasy. I found Ofelia to be insufferable and so very selfish. If Ofelia or her mother communicated at all, they wouldn’t have the problem in the first place. Lope deserved better and I spent majority of this book wishing I could scoop Lope out of this storyline into a better one. Lope was the perfectly broody, loyal knight with a poet’s heart. The plot was ok, overall. It had some pacing issues, particularly for the ending and the character actions did not always make the most sense. I ended this feeling a little rushed and a little frustrated.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!

While it is labeled as YA, it reads on a young enough side that I would feel comfortable suggesting it to middle schooler. Which certainly has its place! And I enjoy reading that, some of my favorite books are middle grade.
However, it also feels as if that wasn't the intention of the author? Which works to make this a disservice-- characters are in their late teens, and act very sheltered-- not just the extremely sheltered Ofelia, but also Lupe. France and Spain are shoved together (but it's mostly France) in what feels a very shallow, set-dressing like world. The god who's sending Shadows to kill everyone is doing it fairly innocently, and he's a great guy, really.
The only one who isn't the the very-obviously-an-evil guy, the King.

Ofelia's naivety towards him in believing the best could have worked for a couple chapters, but dragged on and on.

Three out of five stars, I will not be posting to other sites, as I don't like posting critical reviews.