This hogg-pogg of crazy is a post-apocalyptic bundle of nothingness. Set in a barren future, 500 years after disease destroyed the world, there's little explanation of history, no characters that grab your passions, and no purpose. It ends without anything actually having occurred. No.

This is a post-apocalyptic drama/fantasy with some action and adventure. It is suspenseful and there are interesting characters, but this book was out there a little way with the mental states of some of the characters for me. I enjoyed the book, but I found the main plot to be lacking to a degree. Some plot elements were a little simple and occasionally convenient. The book also eludes to several things that it does not ever address in this book, so I found the ending to be unsatisfying.

A post-apocalyptic novel, and one I’m having difficulty deciding how I feel about, is Wonderblood by Julia Whicker. It’s the story of a world where most everyone has been wiped out by a disease known as Bent Head. Those left worship the astronauts who lived many years before. It’s a fantastic premise, but one I’m not sure I entirely enjoyed. I’m still thinking about it though, for what it’s worth.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

Eerily disturbing.


Gruesomely believable.


This book is beautifully written and a little bit haunting. I love how much this story made me think.


It definitely falls into the literary category, in that it's character driven, which made the action, at times, feel... I hesitate to say slow, so maybe just not fast.


There was a lot of weird. In a good way. This was the most imaginative take on dystopian that I've read to date. Brilliant and evocative.


I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

4.5 stars

The premise behind this quirky dystopian story is interesting, and it certainly is a unique take on an over-saturated genre. I got vibes of The Night Circus in the grand descriptions of the Carnivals, though soon came to realize they were starkly different. The story is a fusion of magic, a broken society, and a future political struggle.

Personally, I found the gore a bit gratuitous and honestly couldn’t stomach some of the descriptions of the beheadings. Such a shame as I think the concept behind this novel was quite unique, I just got lost in the violence which didn’t always feel like it needed to be there to get the point across. I also didn’t feel connected to Aurora (the main character we follow) and didn’t find myself wanting to know what was to happen next.

Wonderblood (Hardcover)
by Julia Whicker
Wonderblood is an involved book that looks at the true nature of humanity. How can mankind survive their biases drives. A post apocalypse story when mankind has become so defiant, violent and corrupted that the only solution is to leave the planet to those who can not be saved. The World is engulfed in a plague that makes all living things more violent. The only cure is more violence. The book draws the tension to the breaking point. The characters are caught between the violence they live in and the dream that they are able to reconnect to those who have left the Earth on their promised return. Will their belief be rewarded is the cliffhanger that Julia Whicker leaves the readers with or have we just destroyed ourselves. What is the breaking point of humanity, is it within our own nature to overcome the impossible?

WONDERBLOOD is an ambitious study of superstition, religion, and empire rule in an apocalyptic setting. WONDERBLOOD’s setting is almost alien. Travelling carnivals perform strange bloody rituals, doctors are outlawed, science is illegal and everyone is obsessed with prophecy. Although the writing is beautiful, worldbuilding details are pushed too far back into the novel. I knew more about the WONDERBLOOD’s setting and history from its blurb than from reading 100 pages of the novel.

There are several point-of-view characters in the novel, it’s easy to see Aurora as the main character. When her travelling carnival is taken over by Mr. Capulatio, who claims he’s destined to be the next king, eleven year old Aurora is quickly imprisoned then married. Aurora’s story is one was jealousy. She learns that she’s only one of Capulatio’s wives. She and his wives spend the entire novel posturing and threatening each other. Her only character growth happens in the last chapter of the novel. The most interesting part is glossed over in a paragraph that really should have been the entire novel. Had the story started here, it would have been amazing.

I enjoyed machinations that took place at Cape Canaveral, and seeing how the small fiefdom operated was interesting. Had the book narrowed it’s perspective and only focused on Aurora’s story and Cape Canaveral, without bringing in the idea of spies and betrayals of other kingdoms, it would have made a stronger story. Without the explanation of its history and setting, WONDERBLOOD becomes convoluted and overly complicated. By denying any character growth for the female characters and Aurora never realizing her abuse, WONDERBLOOD also lacks the characterization it needed to make up for the worldbuilding.

I did not even make it to the 25 percent mark before I gave up on this odd futuristic dystopian story where people worship the space shuttles and carry around the heads of people as talismans. The lack of world-building as well as the incessant cryptic sentences made this one through which I was not willing to wade.

Wonderblood by Julia Whicker is a dystopian YA novel that blends a somewhat surreal storytelling aspect with a twisted, post apocalyptic world. The strange and magic are venerated and space shuttles and astronauts of old tales are revered. Aurora (so named later by Mr. Capulatio) was dumped by her mother to live with her brother in a roving carnival band where magic, paranoia, mysticism and strength rule. When her brother's band is demolished by Mr. Capulatio and Aurora is taken to be his prisoner, teenage bride, and queen to be, Aurora's life takes another turn. Will it be better or worse?

I thought the idea was creative, the veneration of NASA, astronauts, and the space shuttles is interesting, though after 500 years which space shuttles have been destroyed seems to have been forgotten. The environment is brutal, bloody and bleak. It felt like the characters were mostly travelling around and experiencing things for the most part, rather than finding, exploring and developing, but as a whole this was an interesting world with remnants of the familiar.

Overall, if you are looking for a story with a interesting future myth-political aspect and the grotesque normalized, then Wonderblood by Julia Whicker provides an intriguing journey.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)

I really enjoy dystopian and science fiction novels but I have to say that Wonderblood was very unique. Set in a future where disease has wiped out most of the population, the remaining population await the return of the space shuttle at Cape Canaveral for a planetary cleansing. Ok! So from here, we get lots of talk about beheadings and using the heads as decoration, eating seagulls, pedophelia, child abuse...the odd/disturbing topics go on. Seriously, this futuristic disease has messed people up! Fortunately though, the writing style was very good and the prose was near perfect so despite my grimacing, I found that I was still engaged through the mania.

*I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
DNF @ 17%

tw: rape, incest, beheading, stockholm syndrome

This is another book where the problem is more me and what I prefer and not about the book being bad. I do think it is written well and the style of writing will really work for some people.

So, why could I not get into it?
Surprisingly, it wasn't all the beheading that turned me nor the undertones of rape and Stockholm syndrone. I get that the heads are a religious thing --even if I don't get it, I don't think it is written in a overly done way. And the other stuff... well, it is a dystopia and even if I'm a bit grossed out it is more subtle, so it didn't bother me as much.

No, I couldn't get into the book because:
1. the writing wasn't really my style
The writing as I said before, I think many people will like. I just prefer more straightforward writing.
2. the pacing was a bit slow for me
The first chapter was 40 pages -- over 10% of the book. There is a lot of background information given and it is really interesting, I won't lie, and it needs to be there, but it was just so much for me told within the present, which is a style I generally don't like. If characters are talking/interacting, I don't always like when a characters thoughts/flashbacks about the past take multiple pages between their interactions. "What does that say?" *other character thinks about how they ended up in this situation for 5 pages* "It says..."
3. the religion thing was a bit too ridiculous for me
People just didn't seem to be normal or understanding?? and it is very cult-ish.
4. the multiple POV wasn't working for me.
I usually like multiple POV, but when the second chapter started with a new character, in a new area, I practically groaned. I think I was ready for the book to start and get going, yet a new character meant more background, more flashbacks, and someone within this religion to potential be sympathetic to.

The worst part is the main character continually shows/says how powerless and stuck she is and notice that she will be going along with her fate. That is all just too sad for me to take in.

So, I see how some people will enjoy this book, but it just hit me wrong.

Wonderblood by Julia Whicker is a dystopian fantasy read set in the distant future where a disease has wiped out most of the population. Those left on Earth fight to survive as they await the return of the space shuttles at Cape Canaveral that will signal the cleansing of the planet.

I have to say this is one of those books I start out reading and then think what the heck have I gotten myself into?? Total weirdness from page one is what I got… The book starts with the talk of how everyone seems to like to behead people and what they do with those heads. But the sad thing to say I don’t blink at this but I get to where Aurora thinks she’ll survive eating the seagulls and then I get disgusted and think not the seagulls!!

So anyway now we know how I ended up with the weirdness to begin with. The story starts off pretty slowly as we wade through the decapitated victims and meet Aurora what has been with her brother’s carnival. Another carnival shows up to take the land and next we know Aurora is captured by Mr. Capulatio who is a total creeper and of course thinks he’ll be ruling the world with Aurora as his queen.

As the story went on I started thinking I wonder if the author <s>is from a legalized marijuana state</s> maybe got the idea from The Walking Dead where the survivors now are constantly at battle as if getting 90%+ of the world wiped out isn’t enough. The characters in here all sort of have Negan’s kill first ask questions later attitude with the idea of spilling blood to save the world.

Then we get to learning how everyone worships at Cape Canaveral and I actually found this a really creative idea. I imagine that over the course of 500 years the idea that we once went into space before the world became ill and the disease hit would be just what some nutty person needed to create the blood obsessed world it had become.

By the time I got to the end of this one though I was back to scratching my head. The potential of the idea to me really didn’t get played out as well as I hoped that it would and after wading through all the craziness and mayhem I felt a tad disappointed with the end leaving me to rate this book at 2.5 stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Wonderblood is a dystopian science fiction novel that follows the lives of a series of people living in the barren wasteland of Earth that remains after a mad cow like disease wreaks havoc on the world's human population. The events happen years after the population is depleted so the world as we know it is essentially flipped on its head. Folks are running around with decapitated heads as trophies, performing blood sacrifices, and practicing dark magics in reimagined carnivals. Beyond the violent scenes portrayed to capture this aspect of the story, there are also scenes of event leading to statutory rape. Cape Canaveral and the NASA space shuttles are somehow tied into this story as portraying a Mecca and providing hope that one day the shuttles will return and things will get better. I personally didn't quite get this part of the story and felt that the story would have worked well if the carnival aspect of it was the focus. Because of this, I had a hard time enjoying the book. I felt there was something there, but it was just an afterthought to other things. The carnivals had a Mad Max-like feel to them, so if you enjoy that kind of dystopian writing, I recommend this book.

The United States has been ravaged by a disease called Bent Head that has decimated millions. Over the years, the survivors have started worshiping NASA’s former space shuttles and their Mecca is Cape Canaveral. There are many prophecies that appear to be coming true and science is no longer accepted because everyone believes in magic, including human sacrifices. One prophecy appears to be about a young girl who is now being forced to marry and become a queen. Unfortunately, there are other queens who aren’t willing to give up power and they won’t go away quietly.

Wonderblood appears to be a stand-alone novel, which is a good thing. The larger story had the promise of something different, but the side stories that were used were ridiculous and not captivating. I kept waiting for the story to pull out of its funk and make me love it, but it never happened. This is Whicker’s debut novel, so I feel I should give some grace, but I also can’t recommend this book to any of my readers. I will give her another try, as long as it is not part of this storyline.

I am such a big fan of so many of the recent post-apocalyptic books that I jumped at the chance to read this one. It is a bit bleaker than most of the ones I have read, and there is more violence that I am accustomed to; however, the author has a very engaging writing style that really shines through.

The prose was evocative, at times mesmerizing, but the plot and character development was lacking.

I am on the fence about this one. Wonderblood is a post-apocolyptic story set in a world reminiscent of mad max. While i loved the story idead and the strong writing, this book just didnt hook me, and i found the beheading was overdone for my taste.

It took a lot to get me to push through and keep reading this book. I have to admit that I didn't start to enjoy it till I was about 65% of the way through. Once I hit that 65% I started to understand this warped post-apocalyptic world a bit more, though there were a lot of things throughout the book that I had a hard time wrapping my head around (like the heads! the brutality! the rival queens! the magic! I also felt zero connection with the characters, probably because the chapters kept switching POVs and I found it hard to follow.

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