The worldbuilding in this completely drew me in! The plot stalls in places, but overall it's exciting--and the abrupt cliffhanger (while mean) makes me eager for the next installment. The themes of found family, belonging, and trauma brought about by Othering makes this stand out in a sea of mediocre/whitewashed YA fantasy debuts.

Beautiful written Vietnam inspired fantasy that tells the story of Nhika who is a blood carver. She is ostracized by her ability and risks her life to be a healer when she’s thought to be a monster. I adore Nhika as a character, she is witty and compassionate even when she’s given reasons not to be. The plot revolves around a murder mystery and simultaneously explores themes such as genocide, trauma and grief.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The opening of this book had me instantly hooked. The main character, Nhika, is a Bloocarver, possessing the rare ability to heal others with magic. But when she is captured and forced to use her powers to save herself from grave injuries, she realizes just how dangerous her gift can be. Sold to a wealthy family, Nhika becomes entangled in a murder mystery that goes beyond anything she could have imagined. However, as the story progressed, my interest began to wane.

While the world-building was intriguing and the pacing remained steady throughout, I found myself yearning for more excitement and depth. The characters, including Nhika herself, lacked the depth and connection I craved. As a reader, I wanted more magic, more romance, and definitely more action.

Overall, this book was enjoyable but not enough to keep me invested in the series.

This book was captivating very early on. The main character energy is very positive and the action is fast paced. The plot is driven pretty consistently, but bogs down about 60% in . The ending redeems the lag in action in that section. The magic system is interesting and not developed, but this works because it is a dying art in this world.

A captivating read from start to finish! The author's storytelling is masterful, weaving intricate plotlines with deep, well-developed characters. Every page is filled with suspense, emotion, and thought-provoking themes. This book is a must-read for anyone who appreciates a finely crafted narrative. Highly recommend!

4.5/5 ⭐️
is a heartsooth, able to heal and alter bodies by touch. However, in the city she lives in, she is seen as a monster - a blood carver. When she is captured and then bought by a wealthy family, she finds herself trying to help find a murderer. Among the people she meets is Ven Kochin, a mysterious physician’s assistant.

I really liked this debut! I do think the whodunit part was a little obvious (at least to me), but I enjoyed the lore a lot! I am curious to see where the second book goes. I’m not sure about the main idea (don’t want to spoil anything), but I definitely will read it because I enjoyed this one a lot!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As the last of her family and of her kind, Nhika's story is a compelling one. To ensure her survival, she has to be somewhat selfish with her abilities, but it is complicated because those same abilities also make her a bleeding heart. This struggle is apparent at the beginning, and I was immediately hooked. Despite an interesting start, the story slows down once Nhika is purchased by the wealthy family. The murder mystery and healing the witness become the focus, which lead to a somewhat underwhelming reveal. Throughout this, Nhika does eventually form connections, but the depth of the bonds are questionable even though the story tries to say otherwise. A romance also eventually appears, but does not feel organic to the story, appearing more instalove than anything else.

The highlights of the book are the geopolitics and the magic system. The world is Vietnam-inspired. It delves deep into creating a detailed history of Yarong and its occupation. I liked learning the backstory of Nhika's people and look forward to more about this. The magic system is an interesting one. Rather than opposing forces, magic and science complement each other. Along with the good both can do, it also explores the dark side of each with heartbreaking accounts.

While The Last Bloodcarver did not quite meet all my expectations, the last sentence of the book had me scrambling to find out when the sequel would be released and what exactly was going. Yes, I am eagerly waiting to get my hands on it because I need to know what happens next. (3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars)

Nhika likes to think of herself as a healer or heartsoother; one who can alter a person’s biology with nothing but a touch. Unfortunately most don’t see her as a healer, preferring to see her as a Bloodcarver, one who hurts and kills others simply for pleasure. When Nhika tries to use her skills to heal someone she is caught and imprisoned and later sold to a wealthy family, a family hanging on to hope that she can heal the witness to their father’s murder. As Nhika starts her work she finds that she has many questions, such as why the murder occurred in the first place, and what is motivating Ven Kochin, a young physician’s aide, to help her, a question made more important when she discovers that he may not be exactly who he claims to be.

The Last Bloodcarver has a little bit of everything: mystery, magic, intrigue, and a great group of characters. I found myself greatly interested in their lives and their struggles. They contain honest emotions and reactions and were well developed. I especially enjoyed seeing Nhika’s strength throughout, as well as her overall growth. I also really liked the concept of heartsoothing–the power and wonder of it–and felt that the instances in which the reader is exposed to it were well written and descriptive. The worldbuilding is phenomenal as well. I can’t wait to see what is in store for these characters in the next novel of this duology.

A solid debut! I really liked the bloodcarver magic that the main character had. The world was also an interesting mix of old-world fantasy and steampunk-esque machines. I liked the commentary on colonialism, but the romance did nothing for me. The main character was the strongest part of the book.

4.5 rounded up

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book: it gave me shades of ATLA, Belladonna and How to Shape a Dragon's Breath.

First, the world itself was fascinating and really highlighted the contrast between people who have wealth and people who do not. Nhika is a very likeable main character and watching her growth with her relationship with her heritage, her grief and the new people in her lives was fascinating. It was just the right amount of gory for me and the art of heart soothing was so interesting especially compared with science.

The plot itself was interesting and I'm interested to see where book 2 goes, especially with the ending which I didn't love, but I think could be redeemed depending on the pacing of book 2.

Really interesting premise. Writing style was a little bland and I wasn't very engaged. I wish there had been more development of the romance between the MC and her LI as it went from 0-100 very quickly.

All I knew about Vanessa Le’s THE LAST BLOODCARVER was that its tantalizing romance was similar to THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS, which I absolutely adored. Add in the cover that I keep staring at; it’s a fantasy I want to read. I was super happy that it was as excellent as I hoped!

THE LAST BLOODCARVER is a truly unique fantasy tale. Vanessa Le’s creativity in this book knows no bounds. The different characters are interesting, and you always learn more about them. The setting and magical system also differ from what I’ve read before, and I enjoyed that immensely.

I enjoyed this book and can’t wait to reread it before the sequel comes out!

Thanks, Roaring Brook Press, for the ARC!

<i>First, a thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.</i>

Y'all, I came in with such high hopes and ended so disappointed. I think I would have DNF'd this book if not for the sunk-cost fallacy (and also because I kept desperately hoping it would get better).

The entire experience was just very "meh" for me. The characters had no lasting impact on me, every one of the "twists" I easily saw coming, and I felt like the setting of a futuristic... past?? (best way I can describe it) wasn't executed very well so it left me feeling mostly confused and distracted.

I know this is Le's debut novel so there is always room for improvement, but I am not sure I would read [book:His Mortal Demise|208834300] when it comes out.

Maybe if I hadn't read so many books this would have been a more impressive novel, but everything felt so "been there done that"... I just wasn't really interested and barely made it through to the end.

In The Last Bloodcarver Nhika is the last of a group of healers called Heartsoothers that have the ability to manipulate a body through touch. Now feared and hunted as bloodcarvers, Nhika has to hide who she is while fighting her need to heal those in pain around her. When she is captured and purchased by a rich family trying to discover who killed their father she is thrust into a world of political intrigue and medical practices.

This story started out strong. Being able to heal through touch and the way that Nhika accomplished her healing was interesting to read about. The way that society had changed to prevent the 'threat' of bloodcarvers was also pretty well thought out. I will admit, the political and societal turn that the story took was not really my style and I did feel a bit like I was slogging through it. The story definitely picked up when they finally caught the trail of the murderer and by the end I was wondering WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?

Overall the story was well done. While some characters were left more surface than they should have been, the important characters felt more fleshed out. I enjoyed the environment that the story was told in, as well as the culture that you could feel throughout. While you were left with a few unanswered questions, there were definitely not enough to impact the story.

The Last Bloodcarver feels like a book written for a teen/YA audience. In an era where some adult readers sometimes put expectations on YA books catering to them, I think it’s important that young readers can find books that are for them.

Readers who are looking for a medical drama and murder mystery with fantasy elements will likely enjoy this one. We get to spend a lot of time watching Nhika explore her powers and think about the world she has grown up in. There is a lot of discussion about colonization and its impacts on folk magic and practices, which I think this generation of readers will find really interesting.

I picked this one up because of the cover and the blurb compared it to Cinder, which I absolutely loved. I don’t really understand the comparison with “mechanical wonders of Cinder,” but maybe I didn’t read the book closely enough. My expectations were set that there was going to be more of a focus on romance, and the romance felt very friends - to - more, which is not my favorite trope. The found family friendships were more strong, and I think it’s a mistake to market this as a romantasy. Likely, the next book will focus more on the romantic elements and it may make more sense then.

I was immediately drawn into this captivating world and found the premise intriguing. The world and the mysteries of the Bloodcarvers was so interesting to me. Nhika, the female main character, impressed me with her strength and determination to survive in a challenging world. The depiction of Butchers Row was particularly fascinating, offering insight into their operations. Ven, another character, quickly won me over with his enigmatic nature. He's the morally gray character that I just can't help but love. I can't wait to see where the story goes next!

Vyvy Nguyen, narration was outstanding! Her use of tones and inflections kept me engaged from start to finish. Loved it!!

I honestly didn’t know what I was expecting going into this novel. The synopsis of blood magic was honestly what pulled me in more than anything. I figured any author who can blend southeast Asian (specifically, Vietnamese) and blood magic together, makes the book a win in my eyes. I can honestly say, I was pleasantly surprised with the contents of the book — not that I expected it to be subpar in anyway.

I think one of the stronger aspects of the book is the magic system. I loved seeing the different takes on what bloodcarving/heartsoothing actually is. And to see it as a lost practice to what I’m sure was a beautiful culture due to colonialism is something I think a lot of BIPOC readers can empathize with. I loved learning about the give and takes with the magic system and to see how it could heal but also take away.

I really loved the world. It felt whole despite not having been in this world and having to build up the systems in place through Nhika’s eyes. I had trust that the author knew enough about the world they created and would explain the world through the character while trusting the reader to piece everything together.

I loved Nhika as a character. Her anger at the world she’s been put in, her heartache at the loss of her family and knowledge that she’s probably the last one in the world with her shared experiences, her longing to find a place where she belonged and felt whole. I loved seeing love for her people and her culture and magic. She was such a beautiful character and I love reading about characters who love who they are whole-heartedly in a world which tells them to do the exact opposite.

I will say the biggest issues I had with the book were pacing or rather the presentation of the plot and some of the side characters (though clearly, the issues weren’t so big enough for me to take my rating down a star or so). While I loved Trin, Andao, and Mimi, they did fall flat at points and I wish we got to see more of the relationships between Nhika and the trio develop more and in turn, develop the trio as characters more. Not sure how they’ll end up in second novel, but.I do hope they show up since they meant so much to Nhika. The pacing or presentation of the plot was also weird for me. In some instances, I did struggle to see how the plot was going to unfold and see where everything was going — though part of that could be due to me missing the foreshadowing.

Lastly: the ending. I knew something was going to happen, but not like THAT. The second book needs to be in my hands, like yesterday. But, I will wait as long as needed for Vanessa Le to put out something as beautiful as The Last Bloodcarver.

The Last Bloodcarver is the first in a two-book debut of a complex magic system wrapped in a mystery.

Going in I know a few things, one, a drop beautiful cover, two medical magic and third a murder mystery. Nhika is a bloodcarver and we soon learn about her magic which is so interesting. We are soon tossed into a murder mystery of the wealthiest district the opposite of her world of struggling from day to day.

I enjoyed all the characters, they are fun but for me, it was the mystery and world that kept me reading. I wasn't to see how things turned out and where the magic plotline was going.

I liked this book and will read the next book to see how things unfold. I also read that this book was inspired by Vietnam and I want more fantasy worlds inspired by more different countries that I feel don't get spotlighted enough.

A YA lust fantasy of medical magic, an unfolding mystery, and characters who fight for what they want.

I loved the blend of fantasy and technology – the setting had a little steampunk feel to it with all of the automatons and auto-carriages. I hope that we get to learn more about heartsoothing itself in book two – the history seems very diverse between the heartsooth schools. Two of them – Sixfold and Tenets, are basically summarized between Nhika and Kochin. I found the different ways Nhika and Kochin use their heartsoothing gift incredibly interesting and how each has its apparent limitations, as the two found out. The author packed a punch with the big feels regarding family, loss, generational trauma, and so much more. Nhika and Kochin’s grief leaps off of the page and buries itself inside your heart.

"But there were days, moments, little things to remind her all over again – an anatomical textbook, a family dinner, a fractured ring – and it would be as though she’d never healed at all. The grief would come with all its claws and teeth, and the scars her heartsoothing could not touch would rupture back into wounds."

I loved the Vietnam-inspired world that the author built, as well as the buildings and infrastructure of Theumas. I am excited about the possibility of reading more about Yarong but apprehensive since it is still occupied by Daltanny.

Vanessa Le really knows how to pack in an explosive ending – I saw part of it coming but was blindsided by Nhika’s act in the end. I’m so excited to see that book two, His Mortal Demise is slated for 2025. There is no doubt that I will be picking it up to see what is in store for Nhika and Kochin. A big thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group/Roaring Brook Press for the chance to read an arc of this lush and heartbreaking book via Netgalley. All opinions are my own. Rounded from 4.5 stars.

I loved the idea of this book, though for some reason it didn't grip me as I hoped. It was quite slow, and the mystery wasn't intriguing. Maybe not enough at stake.. Though the magic system was quite interesting and unique, as well as the cultural references through out the story.

I noticed that the second book is coming next year, but I'm not sure how invested I'm in following up with this duology. I thought the ending was enough for me. Maybe the slow burn, enemies to lovers will love this more.

Thank you to Fierce Reads and Macmillan Audio for my review copies. All Opinions are my own.