vanessa le crafts a fantasy world so well described that i didn't want to leave it. i've been dying to read a fantasy with medical undertones or biology at its core, and TLB gave me that and more! the classic set-up with a unique world and magic system—by far my favourite part—is what sets this book apart for me.

Definitely an entertaining read. I recommend giving this a shot. The cover is gorgeous. I think the premise is very unique and fun. Overall I had a fun time.

I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this book up until the very end (and that's fine - it's clearly setting up for the second book in a duology!). My favorite part was the inventive worldbuilding, especially the existence of heartsoothing as a cultural ability. The descriptions of heartsoothing were very cool and lent themselves easily to a range of metaphors. For a YA book, it did get pretty dark and gruesome at times (in terms of gore, mentions of genocide, and descriptions of genocidal crimes and vivisection), so that's something to be aware of. However, I think it would be fine for teens. I also appreciated how the story worked on several levels - a murder mystery, a romance, and a cultural coming of age.

Strengths:

Captivating world-building: Theumas is a vividly realized city, teeming with danger and intrigue.

Complex characters: Nhika is a compelling protagonist, wrestling with her identity and powers. Kochin is a fascinating enigma, hiding his true motives.

Gripping plot: The story is full of twists and turns, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat.

Weaknesses:

Pacing: The action can be slow at times, and the plot takes some time to fully develop.

Worldbuilding: Some aspects of the world's magic system could be better explained.

Overall, The Bloodcarver is a captivating and suspenseful fantasy novel that will keep readers engaged from beginning to end.

This is a fun adventure Inez and Whit had great chemistry together, and I love the history aspect of it. This was a fun tresure hunting adventure with romace, I will putting the next one on my TBR.

The Last Bonecarver is a fun fantasy read based on Vietnamese culture with a light who dun it mystery thread that complemented the beautifully built world created by Vanessa Le. The only question for me now is when will another book in this universe be available?

"The Last Bloodcarver" by Vanessa Le is a brilliantly rendered fantasy that promises a gripping and emotionally charged narrative.

Meet Nhika, a bloodcarver with the power to alter human biology with just a touch. In the industrial city of Theumas, Nhika is perceived not as a healer, but as a ruthless monster who kills for pleasure. Caught by the infamous Butchers, she finds herself auctioned off to a mysterious buyer in white. However, this enigmatic figure has different plans for Nhika—plans that involve using her bloodcarving abilities to heal the last person who witnessed her father's killer.

As Nhika becomes embroiled in the investigation within the city's wealthiest and most powerful circles, all signs point to Ven Kochin, an alluring yet entitled physician's aide. Despite his attempts to push her away, Nhika feels an inexplicable connection to him. Unraveling the mystery, she discovers that Kochin is not who he claims to be, leading her to confront a greater and more terrifying evil.

The novel explores themes of justice, survival, and the choices one must make in the face of adversity. With a unique magic system and a richly crafted world, "The Last Bloodcarver" promises readers a thrilling journey through a city filled with danger, deception, and dark secrets. As Nhika grapples with her identity and the forces at play, the story unfolds into a compelling narrative that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

In the words of acclaimed authors Chloe Gong and Marie Lu, this book offers a smart, lush, and utterly compelling read, making it a must-read for fans of fantasy, romance, and intricate world-building.

4*

Nhika's story is one of heritage, magic, love, and loss. After being captured and sold into a wealthy family, Nhika must navigate the biggest test of her magical prowess whilst dancing through a rich tapestry of politics. Science fiction and fantasy blend seamlessly with folklore in this debut novel.

Le brought this story vividly to life, with a magic system with great potential and characters that really captured my heart. My only complaint would be that I didn't feel like the romance worked fluidly, sometimes feeling forced and clunky.

Thank you to Roaring Brook for the digital ARC!

THE LAST BLOODCARVER is set in a sci-fantasy, genre-blending powerhouse of a story. I whipped through this one and appreciated the fast pace. Even though the steampunk elements didn't quite hit for me (in general I'm just not a steampunk fan), the overall setting and feel of the story were good, and industrial fantasy is an under-tapped premise. I loved the folklore blended into this as well, and the mystery at the core--assassins and court intrigue and uncovering the truth behind a murder--was so fun to unravel from behind the MC's eyes.

Nhika is a young healer (heartsoothe/bloodcarver) with a war-torn past. She's seen as a bloodthirsty outcast due to her Yarongese heritage. Along comes Mimi, who purchases her, to heal a man who witnessed her father's death, but this healing isn't easy because Nhika's healing knowledge isn't complete.

I enjoyed the mix of science fiction and folklore of this story. Once I got to about 80%, I couldn't put it down and needed to know how it was going to end.

With a cover like The Last Bloodcarver, my interest was already piqued. After I read what it was supposed to be about, I knew I needed to read it. This debut absolutely knocked my socks off. So creative, well-written, and kept me sucked in until the last page. I loved it and will absolutely be recommending it when it comes out!

Bloodcarver is a fun, fast-paced read that submerges readers into a steampunk world. Automatons and human servants works side by side. Science fiction overlaps with folklore, giving this work an old world feel and yet a hint of sci-fi progress.
Nhika is a the daughter to a family that survived war and genocide. She is gifted with the ability to heal others, but Yarongese are maligned as blood thirsty and evil. Because of this false reputation, she and others gifted with heartsoothing are hunted, then sold to the highest bidder.
She is purchased for the purpose of healing a man who witnessed a death, but this particular man presents a challenge she's never met before. Healing him takes time and knowledge she does not have.
In comes Ven Kochin, the foil to her pursuit of knowledge. Until he is no longer her opponent but something closer to a possible romance. Together look for answers to the sick man's mysterious illness as well as to the death he witnessed.

"The Last Bloodcarver" by Vanessa Le offers a compelling and refreshing fantasy experience set in the harsh city of Theumas. The story follows Nhika, a bloodcarver with a unique gift, who is perceived as a monster in a society where her abilities are outlawed. When she's captured and auctioned off to an aristocratic family, Nhika becomes entangled in a complex web of intrigue, mystery, and a forbidden romance. The worldbuilding is exceptional, with a captivating blend of magic and science that sets it apart. While the characters and their development may have some inconsistencies, the exploration of diaspora experiences is a standout feature, offering a rare and authentic perspective in a second world fantasy setting. "The Last Bloodcarver" is a promising debut that hints at Vanessa Le's potential to excel in the genre, offering a glimpse of home for those who understand the diaspora experience.

#netgalley
#thelastbloodcarver

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I DNF'ed at 20% of the way through.

I don't know, I think the writing just wasn't hooking me. The story was interesting but the writing was just so much purple prose. It also felt...weirdly edgy. Maybe I'll try reading this later but for now, I couldn't get into it at all.

Overall I really enjoyed this and think it's a strong debut! The worldbuilding, especially the magic system, is so fresh. I absolutely loved the use of medical terminology to describe heartsooth magic, I just never get tired of that blend of magic and science. The trajectory of the plot was also really engaging, clear, with just enough mystery to keep you guessing.

My one gripe was that the characters felt a little flimsy, especially toward the last third of the book, when Nhika's personality and goals sort of take a backseat after she and Kochin find each other. I get that he's what she's been looking for all this time, but the build-up just wasn't there for me. However, I tend to be overly picky about romance. I also thought Mimi, Andao, and Trin would get more fleshed out or be more involved, but they just didn't carry that much weight in the story, which gave parts of the book a paint-by-numbers feel. But again, overall this was definitely a win for me!

The aggressiveness with which I was stalking this book’s GoodReads page before I got this ARC cannot be undersold. The Last Bloodcarver is Vanessa Le’s debut novel, set in a world of Vietnam-inspired fantasy that’s been drenched in a steampunk kind of grit. Nhika is our leading lady and believes herself to be the last Heartsoothe left after the country of her ancestors was conquered and their descendants hunted down for experiments. 

(I’ll be saying Hearthsoothe since Bloodcarver is thrown around like a slur, and my name may as well be Valentina. ALLY!)

After being caught and sold on the black market, Nhika is dragged into an aristocratic family’s sphere when she’s tasked with healing the only witness to their patriarch’s suspicious death. She’s left not only to deal with the most challenging medical case she’s yet to face, but also a social circle that likely contains the murderer so it’s a good thing she can soothe her own ulcer.

He regarded her as she'd regarded the ocean: with equal parts awe and fascination. Like she was both the tempest that sank junks and the gentle lap of water at the side of his houseboat.

I think Vanessa Le is going to be an absolute powerhouse, that said I will say that there were parts of this book that I’d still categorize as potential. I found the magic system to be interesting and the narrative descriptions of the magic in action to be vivid in a way that made me think of prose, albeit for bio majors. While a lot of the banter was enjoyable, some of the character development decisions didn’t totally make sense to me. I felt like the characters’ attitudes toward each other changed a few times throughout, but I didn’t really see the foundations for those shifts throughout. This can be said for the dynamics between both Nhika and the Cogmi family and Nhika and her love interest. 

"You two are involved? I wasn't aware he was capable of emotion." A soft look came over Andao's eyes. "It's not about what he says, but what he does." "Isn't that what you hire him for? To do things?" That elicited a laugh from him. "He's hired only to keep me alive. Yet, I wouldn't want to live without him."

The romantic subplot in particular took me out of the story. The relationship was so deep in the enemies category for so much of the book that despite the synopsis I completely forgot that a love interest was promised in the synopsis. It shifted then to something that felt a little too close to instalove for my comfort. I just wish the main couple had gotten a little more time to develop because the secondary couple, Trin and Andao (my two sons), were so sweet I wanted nothing but them. I’d be willing to kill off other characters in exchange for a look into these two just puttering about their lives. 

The Last Bloodcarver was imperfect but still a fun read. It feels safe to assume that Vanessa Le is going to be absolutely killin’ it in the near future!

This was INCREDIBLE. Just the right amount of gore, plus a delightful enemies-to-lovers romance, plus a Viet-inspired setting! I don't know what I'm going to do until book two arrives, especially since book one won't be officially out for another four months!

What is it like when an integral piece of who you are becomes outlawed? With knowledge passed down from her grandmother and her grandmother before that, Nhika is the only one left to carry on the knowledge of her people. In secret, she is forced to practice her bloodcarving abilities, using it to heal people for just enough money to survive. But when a sham medical appointment gets her caught by underground thugs and then bought by an aristocratic family, Nhika is given the chance to learn the knowledge that was stolen from her and her people.

One thing that fantasy as a genre is lacking much of is explicitly diaspora main characters. It’s so strange to me how many people I know who yearn for a place that is no longer theirs and yet I see it so rarely in fantasy. But I feel a special kind of kinship to Nhika for the things that she has been cut off from. The way that she is desperate to learn more about herself and her heritage is a specific kind of solemnity that I know very dearly, and her apprehension to trust anyone in a world that always sees her as *the other* makes me homesick for a place that doesn't even exist.

I’m especially fond of how this book highlights two entirely different diaspora experiences in one story. Nhika and Kochin come from the same place but have vastly different experiences and understandings of themselves and their relationship to home, and I think it’s beautiful how Le is able to emphasize how each of them came to their own conclusions. With so few explicitly diaspora stories in second world fantasy stories, it’s refreshing to be so blatantly clear that the diaspora experience is not a linear one and everyone has a different experience. The diaspora experience is not a monolith.

On a smaller note, I really appreciated the emphasis on how propagandized language is used. It parallels the way that states use specific language to encourage the masses to draw conclusions on different peoples. It’s a subtle violence that can radicalize people without them even realizing it and I love the call out here. Nhika is known as a bloodcarver, a name that instills fear because of what she can do to the inside of people’s bodies. But her people, who can no longer speak for themselves, called people like her a heartsoothe, because their purpose is to heal. The difference between the two is so stark, and such a strong example of how language can change the opinions of the masses.

I thoroughly appreciate all the ways that diaspora experience shows up in this story, especially for a second world fantasy. It’s honest and sincere in the details that remind you that the author understands. It’s in the details, in the comments, in the insecurities, in the yearning. This story is told through a lens of diaspora, and in the same way that Nhika finds home in her magic and knowledge, to me, The Last Bloodcarver feels like a glimpse of home.

This book was so fun to read. The plot was exciting and fast paced. The characters were well written people you wanted to root for (or hate). My students will eat this book up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this material!!!! The book is a mix of steampunk, fantasy, and mystery. There is a lot to love in this. The characters are loveable and the ways automatons and fantasy blend together feel very separate, but they live in the same building. A very fun book with the air of mystery.