Blackwood’s second novel follows the lives of “Wildbloods.” Wildbloods have the power to control their blood or others and create weapons from them. This gift leads to their enslavement. They are forced to risk their lives and usher tourists through the dangerous and beautiful jungle.

The jungle is teeming with deadly creatures. Victoria is the most powerful Wildblood at this company. One day she sets on an expedition to find a gold mine. During this journey she encounters: love, heartbreak, peril and deceit.

I really liked the concept of this book. The depictions of the creatures of the jungle were fascinating. The plot itself had some holes I couldn’t look past. At times I find myself asking myself when exactly did something happen that I didn’t catch. The romance between Victoria and Thorn didn’t seem entirely believable.

I did enjoy the ending. It was exactly what I thought would happen and it fit the protagonist.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Victoria is part of the wildbloods who worked for mere pennies under the the abusive overlord. She joins the enemy side to guide the next tour into the jungle thanks to Thorn who soon becomes more than a friend. But Victoria is faced with the all to observant question of is this really what she wants?

Amazing! Victoria is such a wonderful character who develops nicely throughout the story along with the other characters. Blackwood did a phenomenal job setting the scene of the story and really using details to get you into it. Some things were a bit forced, including the relationship that is put upon Victoria but other than that it was beautifully written and well presented.

Wildblood was very intriguing to me from the description and in the beginning of the book. Somewhere along the the reading I felt that it became a little flat for me. I did enjoy the premise of them being in the jungle where there were strange and dangerous things lurking about; however, it felt more of a romance with the love interests in the story. For me, both the romantic and jungle journey of the book didn’t work well together. I believe I was looking for more of the fantasy vibe. It may have been an “it’s not you, it’s me” for this one.

I do feel that this will appeal to others. It just didn’t work well for me. So I would recommend to others to give it a try if they are drawn to the description. As I said, there were some bits that I did enjoy like some of the dangerous jungle scenes an atmosphere.

I read Lauren Blackwood’s debut, Within These Wicked Walls and loved it, so I was eager to read Wildblood.

This is a tricky book to review. Some of the ideas in this world are fascinating. The sentient forest is intriguing and there was a lot to discover there. It was used very effectively, advancing the plot, adding to the tension.

I also appreciated the magic system and how that connected to the forest.

And I liked Victoria and cared about her. I also liked some other characters and some fared okay, others didn’t. But even that worked for me, because it kept the book from feeling predictable or safe.

There were some weighty themes, and addressing rape and racism is tough. I don’t mind heavy themes. I do think there was a lot going on here, and at times, some of the issues slowed the story. At other times, some of the plot made it feel like we were skimming over the issues.

There’s always a sense of a large group of Wildbloods, but we don’t get to know many. And that keeps us from feeling the full impact of some events in the forest. It’s tricky balancing a large cast, and others may not mind that so many characters are kept in the background.

Sophomore novels are hard. I did like Wildblood and would give it 3.75 stars, which rounds up to 4. A lot of fantasy readers will enjoy this. A successful novel sells you on the author’s next work and I look forward to Blackwood’s next novel.

I picked it because I thought the cover was cool. When I read that it would have magic I was all set for the adventure but it didn’t play like I expected. I thought it would be all about the blood magic and show us everything it (the magic) was capable of doing. Instead we get a lot of talk about the blood magic and only a few glimpses but not much. Not enough to get excited over. I loved the blood magic and all the creatures and forces of the jungle. I wasn’t a big fan of the love story that came out of thin air and that ending. Also wasn’t a huge fan of Victoria but the lure of magic is what kept me reading. The story wasn’t what I was hoping for and leaned a little too heavy on a love that seemed flimsy at best.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

1893 June
Jamaica
Exotic Lands Touring Company

Step into Victoria’s dark and bloodthirsty jungle and go on a wild journey where death waits around every turn.

Victoria was stolen from her jungle birthplace as a child because of the power in her blood. After twelve years of abuse at the hands of her “boss”, she will lead a tour group into the jungle and off the beaten path in search of gold rumored to be deep in the heart of the jungle. The client, Thorn, refuses to listen to her warnings to turn back after numerous attacks from the denizens of the jungle.

Bloody, painful death will catch up with many members of this expedition and love will bloom between Victoria and Thorn, but who will survive this journey? Is there a happy ending waiting at the end of this story? I’m not going to tell you. Read it yourself to find out who survives the jungle and how things end for the boss of the Exotic Lands Touring Company.

Recommended for: older teens; fantasy readers

Content warning: blood; gore; physical abuse; sexual assault; death; child endangerment

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There's definitely some trigger warnings needed for the beginning of the novel, and I'd say it might be a better book for older YA readers (16-17+), but it was a great storyline with great climaxes and great character development.

My first introduction to Blackwood was her debut novel Within These Wicked Walls and I absolutely loved it. I’m sometimes on the fence with YA fantasy and a big part of that is the fantasy worlds often seem so similar, but not here. Set in the 1800s Jamaican jungle, the setting is rich, lush, and absolutely alive – it is definitely its own character in the story. And this is highlighted by the intense relationship that Victoria, our main character, has with her surroundings. Victoria is a wildblood – she literally has magic in her veins. She was kidnapped as a young child and forced to work for the Exotic Lands Touring Company, protecting tourists from the magical, untamed wilderness. She is quite literally slave labor, suffering abuse at the hands of her “employer” for years, because using her magic shortens her life. When she turns 18, and is counting on a promotion, she is once again betrayed by her boss. She convinces him to let her take an important client, Thorn, into the jungle, along with Dean, her former best friend. But the jungle clearly does not want them there and does its best to show it.

Victoria is an incredible heroine, demonstrating a fundamental belief in the goodness of people, despite her history. Blackwood uses the literal trek through the jungle to discuss themes of loyalty and found family, belonging and discovering oneself, and abuse, grief, and loss. FYI that TW for violence and SA.

What a haunting and magical story! Lauren Blackwood has immersed the reader in an unique setting, the jungles of Jamaica. I was intrigued by the jungle tours and Victoria from the start! A jungle with all of it's unknowns offers a mysterious setting for magical beings and the exotic magic system of this story. The messages were abundant throughout this book and I find myself still reflecting on them. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Myth: 3.5/5

Victoria was a really interesting character, young but has already experienced a lot of brutalities that life has to offer. She has strength and she takes care of her own, but she has no one to take care of her. A lot of the descriptions of this book that I saw focused on romance, but the story itself isn’t romantic. It’s much more a wild and reckless trek through the jungle with a heavy dose of violence.

Magic: 3/5

Two big magical elements, the wildbloods themselves and the forest. I have to say that the sentient forest was really cool and kind of a character in and of itself. The wildbloods really only were given enough information to propel the story, which worked, it just left the reader to assume some information about wildbloods.

Overall: 3.5/5

Once I aligned my expectations from something like These Wicked Walls, to a magical adventure story, I definitely enjoyed it. It just took me a little bit to shift gears. Victoria was compelling though and the way that her story unfolded was captivating to read.

I knew going into this it wouldn’t be my favourite and I was sadly right. Once again, the cover drew me in. It wasn’t awful at all! The writing was great but for my brain, I got lost a lot. One minute the main character was in one place and the next she was somewhere completely different and I was so confused I would have to go back to re read the whole chapter to see if I missed something. So this wasn’t my favourite as I also don’t like fantasy, but I’m sure someone who is used to fantasy writing will love this!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and Lauren Blackwood for the opportunity to read Wildblood in exchange for an honest review.

From the author of Within These Wicked Walls comes another thrilling stand-alone novel featuring jungle adventures, man's greed, romance, and ambition.

Born among the Jamaican jungle and kidnapped at six years of age, Victoria has been taken into forced, but paid, labor as a tour guide for the jungles of Jamaica. The jungle is home to many different ghosts and spirits, like the river spirit that tries to lure its victims in to drown, the children lost to miscarriage or in early age, and the Lady's: butterfly creatures that can kill with a toxic touch.

Being a light-skinned Black with exceptional features, Victoria is considered a Rare Beauty, one of the reasons her boss uses her as one of his leading tour guides. The fact that she is a Wildblood, a magic user who knows the jungle, is yet another reason, as she has the ability to keep their clients safe.

With the arrival of Thorn, a new client, Victoria is smitten by his features, strength, and courage. Where she cannot find a voice to stand up for herself, Thorn advocates for her. With admiration-turned-romance, Victoria works through her job with a potential new horizon at the end of this particular tour, a hopeful opportunity to escape her physically abusive boss and his protégé, her childhood friend Dean.

Wildblood was a fast, mystical read full of spirits, romance, and greed. The entire story pretty much takes place in the jungle, but there is always something new to discover. There were times where it was hard to picture the difference from one part of the jungle setting to the next and occasionally the sequence of events felt as if it skipped a blip here and there. While the ending isn't really what I wanted as a reader, it was the ending the book needed for these characters. Yet another excellent novel from Blackwood so different from her previous one. I am intrigued to see what she will do next!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this read of Wildblood. I have to say that I did not enjoy this read very much. I found it hard for me to get into even though I love to read books about the islands and especially Jamaica but I found this a bit ...boring and off putting and it made the book very hard to want to read. I normally take 2 days to read a book and this was 5 days for me and it almost made me feel slumpy while reading it. I also lost my desire to read. Lauren Blackwood's debut was so good, I was excited to read this but it was not for me.

2.5 stars rounded up.
The concept is amazing, but the background is severely lacking. The first description with a wall that keeps people from escaping gave me Maze Runner vibes at first, but then it turned into tour guides with abilities. Friendships and rivalries weren't well developed-Bunny are introduced early on but there's no strength in the connection other than Victoria wanting to protect him. There was a lack of chemistry overall I think.
The science behind their powers wasn't as detailed and explained as I liked it to be. With such a vast idea and so many places to take it, it really fell flat for me.
I also personally like descriptive writing and there was a TON of dialogue, which while equally important, was not as balanced with the changing scenery of a jungle.

I think the idea was there but maybe it just wasn't the book for me. Thank you for the ARC and I still will work on getting some copies for the library because there may be some folks that are interested in the concept like I was.

**3.5-stars**

The Exotic Lands Touring Company offers tourists the opportunity to go on the excursions of their dreams through the magical and mystical jungle landscapes of Jamaica. Victoria is an 18-year old Wildblood, who after being kidnapped as a child, is made to work for the Company. Wildbloods use their powers to guide tourists safely through the dangerous parts of the jungle.

The Company's latest mission is to help a successful miner, a young man named Thorne, reach an area in the jungle thought to hold vast deposits of gold.

Victoria, recently turned down for a position of team leader in favor of her less talented, jerk of an ex-boyfriend, Dean, is slightly disgruntled as the tour gets under way. One look at Thorne though and she begins to reconsider. He's quite handsome and he seems to be taken with her too.

Each member of the excursion is assigned their very own Wildblood and as luck would have it, Thorne and Victoria get paired up. The rest, as they say, is history.

I really enjoyed Blackwood's 2021-debut, Within These Wicked Walls. I loved the atmosphere, rich with gothic vibes and found the plot to be dark and engaging. Therefore, when I heard about Blackwood's sophomore effort, Wildblood, I was super excited to get to it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to connect to this as well as I did with Blackwood's first book. I feel like this is a personal taste issue, the plot just wasn't something I found to be engaging, but I know that a lot of Readers will.

Additionally, I was a bit disappointed by the atmosphere. Being set in the magical wilds of a fantasy version of Jamaica, I expected it to be lush, ominous and exciting, but personally, I felt like it could have taken place anywhere.

I did appreciate the various themes explored. The power dynamics amongst the characters working for the Tour Company was of particular interest to me. Also, the exploitation of local culture, people and resources by wealthy outsiders via eco-tourism was examined. It's a bit of an overriding concept in the book and I thought that was well done and an important topic to consider.

I found the main character, Victoria, to be interesting. I enjoyed learning a bit about her past and actually wish we could have gotten more of it. Furthermore, I wish the whole-concept of the Wildbloods, their magic system, could have been more detailed as well.

For me, the relationship between Victoria and Thorne took over the show and personally, it was my least favorite part of the entire story. I would have preferred more balance with the other aspects. Perhaps, if I would have gone into this expecting more Romance than Fantasy, I may have ended up feeling a bit differently about it.

Overall, I recognize that this is a good story, one that a lot of Readers will enjoy. Blackwood is a beautiful writer and I look forward to reading more of her work, even though this one wasn't a perfect match for my tastes.
I would still recommend this one to anyone who is intrigued by the synopsis, especially if you enjoy romantic fantasy. Also, as an aside, I did listen to the audiobook and loved the narration. I absolutely recommend that as a medium for reading this story.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

Wildblood is a fantasy adventure story set in an atmospheric setting where certain people have the ability to harness blood to perform magic. This is a plot-driven story that follows Victoria on a tour through the jungle helping lead a group of miners to a mythical grove of golden trees. The pacing is pretty consistent with lots of action throughout. Victoria's journey to fully understand the abuse she suffered as an indentured worker at the tour company is emotional and well done.

The setting of Wildblood has a ton of ambience but a disappointing lack of substantive world building. There is SO much cool stuff in this story -- from spirits that haunt the jungle to the river spirit River Mumma -- but we don't get a lot of descriptions or any discussion about how these things fit within the wider world of Wildblood. It felt like the magical creatures were two-dimensional props for the story rather than interesting, complex parts of the setting. More world building would have helped make this a more memorable read rather than a somewhat predictable adventure story.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I felt like this book had interesting magic, but the relationship happened too quickly and wasn’t quite believable. I wasn’t sure about this book at first, but I did enjoy it by the end. I was also frustrated with repetitive internal thoughts by the fmc when she kept saying he was cute. But overall, I rated this 3 stars.

The premise of Wildblood is so cool; blood magic and a sentient forest with an all-powerful river spirit? Yes. There are aspects of this story that were really strong, especially in the world building of the jungle, which was absolutely fantastic.
That said, I tried so hard to like this, but I just couldn't throw myself wholeheartedly into the story. The writing style just didn't mesh with me and there were a lot of things that felt extremely rushed. I really felt like there would have been a benefit to spending more time in the world and developing things more.
There are definitely strong points, especially when Victoria is able to experience power and joy. The trauma that she just keeps having dumped on her, however, felt a bit unnecessary to me. I had some issues with some of the other characters' motivations, and the romance just wasn't for me.
This would be perfect for readers who like a fast-paced, borderline rushed story where the hits keep coming will love this story, though, even though it's not quite to my personal taste.

A five star fantasy romance for young adult fans!
This novel highlights overcoming trauma and finding home, and supports black girls finding authentic love for their whole selves.
For me, the star of the show was the jungle! Sentient forests are becoming my new favorite in YA fantasy reads!! I loved reading about the Jamaican folklore inspired scenery and it was just a lush, creative and magic filled environment with a breadth of creatures.

I am pretty easy to please when it comes to young love, and so I enjoyed Thorn! I hated the ex boyfriend drama but in a way that makes sense with the narrative.

Wildblood is the story of Victoria and her amazing magical ability. A wildblood is a person who has the ability to draw out blood from another (or themselves) and use it as a weapon. It is an ability that is looked down upon, however, coveted, by ruthless touring companies. One such company kidnapped Victoria as a small child and forced her to work as a guide on jungle excursions. She only stays so that she can get her little blood-brother, Bunny, out of this life. of near-slavery. An opportunity comes along in the form of Laertes Thorne, a goldminer from America, who is in Jamaica to mine the golden sap from the middle of the jungle. But the jungle is dangerous and they are unprepared as only tourists can be. Only Victoria seems immune to the pressures and dangers that the jungle holds.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this e-arc.*