Where Shadows Bloom 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 world-building in this book is fantastically done, the plot is intriguing and mysterious and keeps the reader hooked, and the characters really grow in satisfying ways by the end of the story. The romance is also so cute and tender!

I also really enjoyed the nods to Greek mythology, particularly Orpheus and Eurydice.

I'm not usually a "cozy fantasy" person because I have a hard time staying engaged when there's little to no plot or stakes. However, that was absolutely not the case in this book. 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.

It's rare that I give a YA book 5 stars, but Where Shadows Bloom certainly earned it!

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 is a light and whimsical read, with lush worldbuilding and poetry sprinkled throughout. I loved the character of Lope, an orphan knight who renamed herself after a poet and spends her time writing her own poetry. Lope is stoic, dependable, but secretly romantic and passionate. I was less a fan of the object of her affection, Ofelia. Ofelia was bubbly to Lope’s pragmatism, making them decent foils in some ways. But I did struggle with how selfish she seemed at times, how willing she was to believe people she just met over her best friend of 5 years just because she wanted to be in luxury so badly. Ofelia is nobility who tries to understand the power dynamic but never seems to get there. Still, I enjoyed the ending, especially with it’s redemption and transformation of a surprising character.

This book is so dreamy and was giving me Orpheus and Eurydice vibes! Lope’s poems were swoon worthy and I enjoyed Ofelia’s character development! Definitely recommend giving this lovely book a read!!

Where Shadows Bloom by Catherine Bakewell is an excellent upper middle grade to young adult read. The pacing was handled exceptionally well and character motivations were easy to follow. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for other works by this author.

Where Shadows Bloom by Catherine Blakewell is a captivating and poetic tribute to true love, friendship, and the essence of being human.

Set in a magical world filled with gleaming gold and enchanting soirées, where fame and power reign, Ophelia and Lope embark on a journey to first find Ophelia’s mother, then to unveil the secrets lurking in the shadows, where real monsters await. Like true, dangerous, life-drinking monsters.

The author beautifully illustrates the evolving dynamics of friendship, the blossoming of romance, and the sacrifices we willingly make for those we cherish. This novel ignites a desire to delve deeper into the lives of its characters. As Ofelia and Lope navigate the challenges at Le Château, the unfolding truths bring their love to the forefront, while family bonds and the presence of magic enrich the storyline, adding layers of intrigue and excitement.

I wholeheartedly recommend this enchanting read to anyone who delights in knights, poetry, hidden mysteries, and a world woven with shadows. Absolutely beautiful, lyrical and filled with yearning!

Thank you for the author, fiercereads and netgalley for the Arc!

3.5⭐. Thank you NetGalley & HarperCollins Children's Books for the ARC.

I feel like this is such an apt time to read WSB given that Wicked the movie is still on my brain. If you haven't recovered from the bittersweet moment of two friends parting during Defying Gravity, this will be up your alley. You have the privileged upper-class girl in Ofelia torn between the safety & comfort offered by the King and her love for the knight Lope, who is uncovering the horrific conspiracy behind the King. Only this time, there's no subtext and you get all the delicious on-page sapphic yearning ... and declarations of romantic love.

The downside of WSB is that I had to hang on to the midway point for things to get VERY interesting for me. Nonetheless, once I reached the second half, I devoured the plot. Author Catherine Bakewell's prose fits the overall lovely fairytale vibe. Ofelia of course undergoes the most character development: while she might not have behaved maliciously, her ignorance and initial decision to choose a Comfortable Lie over the Harsh Truth were detriment to her character. I do find Ofelia's growth incredibly satisfying—how she went from never thinking to ask Lope, who is in a subordinate position to her, what the latter truly wanted, to undertaking an incredibly selfless act that would be of no benefit to her but to others. Coupled with Lope's own growth of pushing past her default setting of being subservient to the nobility, I grew to adore these two girls.

I could see some readers possibly finding the ending too convenient, too good to be true. But to me it's like a comforting alternative to the HEA we'll never get in Wicked.

This is the kind of young adult book that I wanted when I was younger. The characters make mistakes but learn from them; the plot is mysterious and engaging; and the world building is brilliantly done. This book is plenty sweet, with a darker undertone and has lots of yearning between two well matched characters.

The knight and her lady is one of my favourite pairings in books, and I’m so glad that it’s reappearing in 2025. Lope is serious, where Ofelia is whimsical. And Ofelia is determined, when Lope is shortsighted. I love how balanced their relationship is, and the way that they work together. It was incredibly touching whenever they defended each other, especially in tense situations.

The wider plot of this book is incredibly well written, with the right amount of mystery and intrigue. The blend of high society culture, and the fear surrounding the shadows made a fast paced book, and it all fits together beautifully. I loved every minute of this, and I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to read it early!

Thank you to the publisher for this arc! All thoughts are my own

I loved this authors first book, Flowerheart, even though I felt like it read more middle grade than YA. I went into this one hoping for a more YA feel, but it still felt incredibly young. Which isn’t a bad thing! I think this would be perfect for a 12/13 year old girl to read, and I love how there are sapphic stories that read so accessibly for children to get into.

With that said, the setting and Ofelia both felt underdeveloped- I couldn’t really tell where we were in the world and I never grew to like Ofelia like I did Lope. I struggled to be immersed enough to read this for more than a couple of chapters at a time, thus it took me a while to get through this. If I went into this expecting something younger, I think it would’ve been better for me, and both of these characters being younger (13 or so) would’ve made the character progression and plot make more sense as well.

Where Shadows Bloom is a whimsical and romantic fantasy that transported me to a spellbinding castle that hides dangers and secrets behind its glittery facade. The setting is enchanting and really adds to the fairytale vibes that I got from the story. This book also had huge amounts of pining and is definitely romance heavy. The Characters develop and grow throughout the story and seeing some of the characters mature and change for the better was incredibly satisfying. This book felt like a mixture of a lot of different things I really love and it definitely worked for me. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a cute romance with heartwarming characters, and a world you can just fall into and be swept away.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

it was a pretty good romantasy, i was in love with the romance right from the beginning, friends to lovers has always been my favorite trope and for it to be sapphic just add the cherry on top, i really enjoyed the plot and writing.

This was a great read with an interesting concept. We follow a female knight, Lope, who is trained to fight shadow monsters and has sworn to protect the daughter of the estate she is a knight for, Ofelia. The love the two girls have for each other is so sweet, and I love how we get to read both of their POVs to understand how they feel for one another. This book is full of whimsy, mysteries, betrayal, and the ending was quite unexpected but in a positive way.

This is a great sapphic romance full of mutual pining that takes place in a more fairy tale type of setting especially with their being the relationship between a knight and nobility.

Thank you NetGalley, Cat Bakewell, and HarperCollins for the arc copy!

Once agian Bakewell takes us to a lush fantasy world- this time one where myserious shadows have appeared to torment the people of the kingdom. Ofelia's mother used to live at the palace- the only place in the country that is safe from the shadows, but left for myserious reasons. When their home is no longer safe she returned to to palace to beg for a place to stay, but word of her arrival never reaches Ofelia. With her dearest friend and protector, the knight Lope, Ofelia goes to the palace to find her mother. But the perfect safe haven is not quite as perfect as it seems...

The star of this book is Lope, She's the model of a perfect knight- chiverlry, sapphic pinning, love poetry... She is brave and honest and doesn't fall for the trappings of the court. Ofelia... is difficult. She is delightful, but completely out of touch with reality (something caused by growing up on fairytales and not a lot of human interaction). The two chatacters together have great chemetry and I loved watching their friendship develop into more.

This book is darker than Bakewell's previous novel, but just as lush. A solid YA romantasy.

Catherine Bakewell's sophomore YA novel is a whimsical take on a modern fairytale. Ofelia has dreamed of living in the court, Le Château Enchanté, her mother was raised in, and she almost convinces her mother to return, before she disappears. While, Lope is a knight for Ofelia's family, but she has more passion for poetry than fighting. The two embark to Le Château to find Ofelia's mother and discover all the secrets she's been hiding.

This book is an ode to friendship, fairytales, and fighting the shadows hiding in the corners and behind faces.

I enjoyed reading this book quite a bit. I really loved Ofelia and Lope's characters at the beginning, although Ofelia's actions and choices did seem to be a little too naive towards the middle and the end of the book. I didn't really see as much character growth as I would have wanted or expected from her based on the events of the book, and she seemed selfish to me both in the beginning and at the end.
I wish that there had been more development in the world building. I really enjoyed the aspects of world building that were present in the book, but it felt like there was a lot that could have been expanded upon throughout. I did enjoy the end of the book, and I liked the writing style throughout the book as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy!

This book was so wonderful! The cozy vibes and love were truly captivating to read about. I loved the mythology and mystery aspects.

Countess Ofelia and her knight, Lope, have lived their lives isolated in Ofelia's mother's countryside estate, pining for each other in silence. When the attacks from the creatures known as "Shadows' grow too bold, Ofelia's mother goes to plead for sanctuary from Le Chateau - the one place where Shadows don't live, and that Ofelia's mother has begged her to stay away from. However, when Ofelia's mother doesn't return with the king's answer, Ofelia and Lope must journey to Le Chateau to seek both sanctuary and answers, testing their courage and their love.

Things I loved:
- the world building and the descriptions! This book was lush - everything was very decadent and I was enchanted by how colorful and vibrant it was!
- Lope: I found Lope to be very relatable, and I identified strongly with her motives, her purpose, and her story. I thought she had a great head on her shoulders and I was just taken with her.

Things I didn't love:
- Ofelia: I found her naivety to be frustrating rather than understandable. At first, I got where she was coming from, but over the course of the book, her "ostrich sticking its head in the sand" got to be annoying, especially when Lope was being very sensible by comparison. I also found her to be very hypocritical - she was willing to believe and do anything to get what she wanted, but judged it in others.

Overall, very pretty book!

Ofelia has always dreamed of visiting the Le Château Enchanté, a Versailles inspired palace that remains untouched by the shadow monsters that plague the countryside. As the threat of the shadows grows, Ofelia convinces her mother to petition the King to allow them to live within its walls. However, after her mother goes missing on her travels Ofelia must journey to the palace with her loyal guard Lope to find her. When they arrive they soon learn that while the palace is filled with beauty, secrets also lurk. And the origin of the shadows might reside somewhere within its walls. .

At first I liked how Ofelia and Lope were counterparts of each other. Ofelia is a sheltered noble girl whose naivety leads her to seek beauty and joy above all else. Lope is a knight who has seen violence and death, becoming distrustful and protective in the process. I was interested to see how their stark differences would begin to bleed into each other as they grew closer. But I found this growth to be incredibly one sided.

Lope is a wonderful well rounded character. She is sharp, strong, and loyal to a fault. Despite her tough exterior, she is a poet at heart. She is still able to put beauty into words despite the nightmares she encounters. And most of those words are dedicated to Ofelia, whom she loves and would follow to the ends of the earth. All she cares about is keeping her safe.

Ofelia, unfortunately, is an absolutely loathsome character. She’s self absorbed, air headed, and ignorant. I would say she is unintentionally cruel at times, but I don’t think it’s always unintended! At the end of the day she is still of noble birth. Ofelia is meant to come across as bubbly and naive, easy to manipulate because of her quickness to trust. She is supposed to be endearing and loveable, but instead just comes across as dumb as a doorknob. I simply got frustrated by her insistance on remaining a fool dazzled by jewels. She would rather turn a blind eye to injustice, live a life full of lies, than face any form of hardship. Even her desire to be reunited with her mother, a desire that drives the entire plot of the book, is easily placated with the promise of comfort.

The romance felt lukewarm to me. From the start, Lope and Ofelia have a mutual crush. They’ve been close for years, a friendship that transcends their lady and knight dynamic. But while there is pinning, there really isn’t any angst. Which is the main draw of a bodyguard romance to me. The resisting of feelings because it’s inappropriate for their relationship! Not knowing if it’s actually love or duty! Doing everything in their power to protect their charge! While this book tried to incorporate these elements into the story, they just fell so flat for me. I didn’t feel it, I didn’t believe it. Especially since the main conflict in their relationship is Lope’s honorable nature butting heads with Ofelia’s selfishness. I honestly didn’t think they should be together.

The world building was particularly vague. It’s heavily influenced by Spain and France, as both Spanish and French honorifics are utilized, but the religion seems to have some inspiration from Greek mythology. However the gods are never really discussed in a substantial way outside of The Shadow King. We don’t really know anything about this world outside of the palace. Even Ofelia’s home is quickly brushed over.

A good ending can make me forgive a lot of faults in a book. But unfortunately this book’s ending did not fall into that category. I was not a fan of the ending. It read to me like Ofelia is thrust into making the most drastic decision possible in an effort to show that she has grown from her flaws and truly has a heart of gold. I didn’t buy it for a second. Before this moment it seemed like Ofelia only started to care when her life was in danger and Lope had left her. What occurred after felt wildly out of character for everyone involved, and did not have the impact I assume was intended. I was left feeling very unfulfilled by the conclusion.

ARC Review: 4.5/5 stars!

A whimsical world with a sinister secret, this story had me enthralled from page one! The lyrical prose ensnared me and following the journey of the emotionally complex, contrasting dual POV characters was like watching a carefully choreographed dance on the page. The POV shifts were refreshingly easy to navigate thanks to the MC's clear voices.

Recommending for anyone who loves:
- Studio Ghibli vibes (but make it darker)
-A sapphic love that transcends class or station
- Beautifully naiive characters who transform when their rose-colored goggles come off

A special shout-out goes to the Shadow King, who is a tragically heartwarming character that I desperately want more of!

I had so much fun today reading and tabbing this book! This is a sapphic romance between a young lady and her knight, set in a fantasy world where beauty and richness are covers for the sinister darkness and shadows that plague the world..

I love loved the emotional journey taken by the two MCs, to accept their own faults and to learn to convey their emotions and ultimately accept their hea <33 and the plot! The plot was thrilling and well-written and full of twists and turns! I found the final resolutions to be really satisfactory as well, so I'd say this is a 10/10 well-rounded read 💛

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

Recommend if:
- you love a stoic lady knight
- you always believe the best in people
- want a combination of whimsy and heartache
- relive those first crush butterflies (and longing)

3.5/5 stars (rounded up for here)

This book walks the fine line between a whimsical fantasy world and some darker themes, perfectly matching the targeted age range. While the prose is lovely, I did sometimes find it very repetitive and just over the top. I think the characters are somewhere around 17 years old, but they read much younger - especially Ofelia. While I understand she is meant to be naive and sheltered, but it feels like too much. And while I absolutely remember the days of the dramatic teenage pining over someone (right down to the elaborate poetry), it got tedious to constantly read the inner monologues. Every time one of our POVs saw or thought of the other character, it was at least two paragraphs of how wonderful and perfect and lovely they were. For this reason, I found the book dragged quite a bit, and could have been like a third shorter. It also felt like the pining took away from the action, which wasn't always described very well, making it hard to follow the actual plots.

That said, by the end, the characters did grow on me (especially Lope), and I enjoyed the direction the story took in the last third of the book. I just wish we got there a little sooner.