Unfortunately, too saccharine for my tastes.

Where Shadows Bloom is a YA sapphic romantasy that reads like a dreamy fairytale. While it's full of lovely poetry and sweet yearning between a sheltered noble girl and her sworn knight, I was frustrated by the shallowness and naiveté of Ofelia. It's hard to stay invested in a developing romance when only one character, Lope, is enjoyable to read.

I truly wished I had liked this one more than I did.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

Had to DNF this one at about 10%...I was hoping for Bakewell's writing to grow/mature and maybe it has somewhat but the writing, characters, and dialogue felt juvenile. Couldn't get past it.

Where Shadows Bloom, while very solidly YA in writing style and not, unfortunately, a bit more elevated) 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 romance is also so cute and tender! And while 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.

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 almost gave me similar feelings as Shadow and Bone. Not really the story but the vibes. There’s creepy shadows lurking but also a sweet romance at the forefront. It has light cozy fantasy vibes.

The way Lope loved Ofelia and was utterly devoted to her was the best. It was so so sweet. I didn’t love Ofelia as much as I loved Lope but they were cute together.
I didn’t completely love the ending either but it was nice in a way too. I did enjoy the Shadow King and his character arc.
Overall this was a fun cozy read. I think it’s a great book for young readers.

‘Sacrifice. That is what love is.’

I’m so excited to have been apart of the street team for this amazing YA fantasy romance! (& was lucky enough to get an arc of this masterpiece) Where Shadows Bloom reads like a fairytale. Sometimes deceptively cozy, this tale is definitely one not to be missed! I also adored Ofelia and Lope (& the dual POV narrative)!

You can grab this book today, especially if you love:
⚔️Lady Knights
✨Fairytale Vibes
⚔️Poetry
✨Sapphic Romance (no/low spice bc ya)
⚔️a beautiful palace with a dark side
✨Friends to Lovers
⚔️shadow monsters
✨myths & legends

There were multiple times that I wanted to DNF, and at one point I just had to stop reading because this book was difficult to not dislike.

Where Shadows Bloom is being hyped up for its sapphic premise; one FMC of royalty and the other FMC the knight in shining armor. Ofelia (royalty) wants to be a lady of the court, but there are evil shadows that prey upon the living that stand between her and the castle. Lope (said knight) is coerced by Ofelia (Lope's seemingly unrequited crush) to join and protect her on the way to the castle. Once Ofelia and Lope make it to the castle where the Shadows do not enter and not spoken of, things seem to be very odd, including the king himself.

Oh goodness... The miscommunication trope really destroyed this story. A simple conversation could have saved probably 50% of the fluff.

However, I did thoroughly the origin story of the shadows and the world that they come from. The second half of the book was definitely more exciting and was the only thing that kept me reading.

Not sure how I can recommend this book to others, as this was so difficult. It deserved a little more editing and cleaning up with character development and interaction. 2 stars at most.

Thank you Netgalley, HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins and the author for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

I will be posting to socials.

I wanted to love Where Shadows Bloom, with its eerie, fairy-tale atmosphere and a world teetering between darkness and enchantment. The premise of two girls—one a dreamer, the other a protector—venturing into the heart of a cursed Château was intriguing. Catherine Bakewell’s writing is undeniably lyrical, creating a rich, immersive setting.

However, I struggled to stay engaged with the pacing and character dynamics. The story unfolds at a slow, almost meandering pace, which made it difficult for me to feel fully invested in Ofelia and Lope’s journey. While the atmosphere was beautifully crafted, I found myself wanting more tension and momentum to drive the narrative forward.

Though this book wasn’t the right fit for me, I can see it appealing to readers who enjoy slow-burning, atmospheric fantasy with lush prose and introspective character journeys. If you love stories that feel like wandering through a dream, Where Shadows Bloom might be worth exploring.

Soft DNF at 23%

Thank you, Catherine Bakewell, NetGalley, and the publisher for this ARC. I am so excited to be a part of Cat's Street Team! This is my honest review.

A historical fantasy, set in a AU 1600s France. This book was such a mix of spooky, romance, and eloquence. When reading it, I started to see some connections with the political climate today (whomever says that books shouldn't be political doesn't know what they are talking about). The gaslighting of the villian is sometimes very obvious and othertimes makes you really second guess yourself. I found this to be very realistic, wven though the book is set in fantasy.

I really enjoyed all the characters, their development, the imagery, the imaginative situations, and the magic. I dont want to get too specific without spoilers, but I really loved everything about this book.

Oh this was lovely. Not always do you get a book whose cover promises exactly what's inside but here I kept thinking fondly of these two girls in this beautiful cover art as the story starts and really just moves along rather quickly. We get a sense of who Ofelia and Lope are right away (even as these things are fleshed out more as the story goes on), two very sheltered girls in a manor amidst the danger of deadly shadows, one nobility, the other a knight. You would expect a book over 400 pages to linger and drag but things moved at a pace that really felt reasonable to everything that was going on-- from the girls realizing they really loved each other when we meet them to finally having to move from Ofelia's manor into Le Chateau after the disappearance of her beloved mother, to the mysteries that are extremely apparent to the two outsiders even if the nobility at Le Chateau refuse to speak of it in a very Masque of the Red Death way.

It was definitely a book I looked forward to coming back to reading when I was waylaid by, you know, having a job and needing to do other adult tasks, and I'll most likely pick up a copy when I see it in the wild of my local indie bookstore.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for review!

Maybe I'm biased but Catherine Bakewell can simply do no wrong!! Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read this early!

ofelia has dreamed all her life of one day inhabiting le château enchanté, the gods-blessed king léo’s mysterious court. there, the shadow monsters that prevent ofelia from safely leaving her home never get near. when the shadow monsters get too close, ofelia and her knight, lope, go in search of le château enchanté for safety. when they get there, everything seems magical…but soon they learn that not everything is as it seems.

i really enjoyed catherine bakewell’s flowerheart, so i was excited to read another book with cottagecore vibes by her. this wasn’t 100% cottagecore, since it did get fairly dark, but i enjoyed it nonetheless! the plot was so interesting. i loved learning about the shadow monsters and le château enchanté. i also loved that this was dual pov so we could learn more about ofelia and lope! i loved them as individual characters and as a romantic pairing.

i’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA romantic fantasies. i can’t wait for whatever’s next from catherine bakewell!

We NEED more sapphic romantasy books! I went into this without knowing too much about the book or the author, but I was decently impressed. The characters feel really lifelike and believable. I also really liked the dialogue, which can be hit or miss for me.

This book was beautiful. Many times I found myself tearing up. It was a book that I wanted to constantly be reading, yet I also didn't want it to end.

I loved the characters of Lope and Eglantine and The Shadow King/Soleil. Lope's journey was my favorite. I loved seeing her grapple and deal with her grief. She is a strong character in many ways. Ofelia annoyed me almost the whole book. I feel like she matured near the end, but for a while, her naivety drove me insane.

As for the plot, it was fast-paced and easy to read, but I predicted the whole mystery. I think the only thing I didn't see coming was Ofelia and Lope being apart for a year and The Shadow King becoming Soleil.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a cozier (although there are still some dark parts), unputdownable story with elements of fairy tales, grief mystery, whimsy and love.

This was a lavish and sweet YA sapphic romance. It was a little slow to start but beautifully crafted

2.5/5 ⭐️ (rounded up)
Lope, blink twice if you need help, you perfect angel cinnamon roll. 👀

Every star I rated this can be given directly to Lope, she was the redeeming character in this sapphic romantasy. I found Ofelia to be insufferable and so very selfish. If Ofelia or her mother communicated at all, they wouldn’t have the problem in the first place. Lope deserved better and I spent majority of this book wishing I could scoop Lope out of this storyline into a better one. Lope was the perfectly broody, loyal knight with a poet’s heart. The plot was ok, overall. It had some pacing issues, particularly for the ending and the character actions did not always make the most sense. I ended this feeling a little rushed and a little frustrated.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!

While it is labeled as YA, it reads on a young enough side that I would feel comfortable suggesting it to middle schooler. Which certainly has its place! And I enjoy reading that, some of my favorite books are middle grade.
However, it also feels as if that wasn't the intention of the author? Which works to make this a disservice-- characters are in their late teens, and act very sheltered-- not just the extremely sheltered Ofelia, but also Lupe. France and Spain are shoved together (but it's mostly France) in what feels a very shallow, set-dressing like world. The god who's sending Shadows to kill everyone is doing it fairly innocently, and he's a great guy, really.
The only one who isn't the the very-obviously-an-evil guy, the King.

Ofelia's naivety towards him in believing the best could have worked for a couple chapters, but dragged on and on.

Three out of five stars, I will not be posting to other sites, as I don't like posting critical reviews.

Thank you to the author, Catherine Bakewell, and the publisher HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins for this eARC to review!

Actual rating 4.5/5

This was such a lovely read! The friendship/love between the two main characters was so sweet and tender, and I enjoyed how different the two characters were. The setting was beautifully described and I loved seeing the duplicity between the grandness of the court and their turning a blind eye to the darkness within the château. The story was a nice balance between cozy light fantasy with a darker main plot, and I feel would be a great read for those that are a bit younger. I do feel like the pacing in the beginning 35% could've been tightened up a bit more, but that's the only area where I truly struggled. Our MC Ofelia was sometimes hard to support, but that's mostly coming from the bias of me being a 33 y.o. adult, while Ofelia is MEANT TO BE a naive young adult who has been sheltered for most of her life by her mother. I feel like younger readers will enjoy seeing and learning that no matter how positive you may be, you cannot simply trust everyone you meet.

I adored Where Shadows Bloom! I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of the palace and courtiers. It all had a whimsical, dreamlike, Regency-era vibe that I loved. I also felt it had just the right amount of suspense due to the Shadows and Lope's investigation into the darkness lurking at the heart of the palace. Lope and Ofelia's love story was so inspiring and sweet, and the ending emotionally destroyed me in the best way. This book was truly wonderful and I will be recommending it to anyone I know who likes fantasy or romance!

Where Shadows Bloom is a lush sapphic romantasy set in a world inspired by early-modern Spain and France. The dual-perspective novel follows Ofelia, a noblewoman, and Lope, her knight, as they brave a world ravaged by shadow monsters. The only place safe from the monsters is Le Château Enchanté, the Versailles-inspired home of King Léo, who is said to be blessed by the gods. When they arrive there, however, they are drawn into a mystery that reveals that threatens everything they think they know about the threat to their kingdom.
There’s a lot to love about this book. The centerpiece is the romance. Ofelia and Lope have a deep friendship but are both pining for each other at the start of the book, worried their affections may never be reciprocated. Their relationship is sweet, but not cloyingly so—Bakewell doesn’t hold back from showcasing the disagreements that happen as each girl is on her own coming-of-age journey. Both characters must grow in order to be with each other, but the book’s fairytale atmosphere and their devotion to each other never let the reader fear that they won’t overcome these problems.
Individually, the characters have their own arcs and truly feel unique. Ofelia is a sheltered noblewoman who has spent her life dreaming of Le Château Enchanté from the secluded manor where her mother raised her. When she finally gets there, she has a difficult time seeing past the story she has always been taught, desperate to cling to the idea that everything might still be okay. She longs for connection and safety in a way that is painfully relatable, if a little frustrating to watch play out at certain points.
Lope, a knight, was taken from an orphanage as a young child to train how to fight shadow monsters. She has spent her life being taught to lay down her life for others, and part of her journey is learning to stand up for what she thinks, even if that goes against those she loves. She’s also a poet, and her love poems for Ofelia are interspersed throughout the book, adding an air of whimsy and beauty even in the book’s darker moments.
Indeed, this is fundamentally a book about choosing between a gilded veneer of safety and the dangerous yet truly beautiful real world. It is about two teenage girls figuring out what version of life they are willing to accept, and what they are willing to do and risk to do what is right.
Although there were a couple of things I wish had been different—the book is at least 50 pages longer than it needs to be for the story it’s telling, and the plot is a little predictable toward the middle (though not near the end)—it’s ultimately just a really lovely story about two girls who adore each other but are still trying to figure themselves and the world out. I’d happily recommend it to anybody looking for sapphic pining, fairytale atmospheres, unique coming-of-age stories, or just a very distinctive fantasy world. I’m giving Where Shadows Bloom 4/5 stars.

This was such cute and amazing queer fantasy!

Ofelia and Lope have such a believable friends to lovers and the way they both genuinely care for each was so fun to read. All the different plot twists really kept me on the edge of me seat.

SPOILERS AHEAD: I didn’t trust King Léo from the start so good job me. I am such a sucker for sweet portrayals of “villians”. The god of the underworld truly never meant any harm but his methods of gaining knowledge were evil to people perceiving him. Also Ofelia deciding to stay in the underworld was so amazing! Truly such a heartbreaking moment and you could really feel for Lope.

I really loved Lope and Ofelia together. They had realistic arguments and love moments that didn’t feeol forced.