This was a great start to a new series, and I really enjoyed most of it. I liked the characters for the most part, Slate, specifically, although Cadence has potential to grow on me more, once she discovers that she doesn’t need her Papa for everything, and that really sinks in.
The beginning of this took awhile for me to get into. Lots of information being doled out, which is necessary, of course, but it got to be that I felt inundated with it all.
However, once we got over the hump and things picked up, I was throughly invested. I’m excited to read the next in the series, because 8 can see many things on the horizon for this group.

As a side not, I read and listened to the audio, and the narrators were absolutely wonderful. I didn’t feel like I couldn’t listen to either of them, and felt they did justice to the characters.

Slate grew up in the foster care system and saying it was rough is an underestimate. After getting a mysterious letter regarding his birth family, he travels to find answers. Cadence lost her mother as a child and has grow up with magical tales while living with her papa. When Slate discovers a ring... and can’t get it off his finger... what unfurls is a dangerous journey he, Cadence and the rest of the gang will have to navigate or otherwise face death.
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I will read anything Ms Wildenstein writes - I haven’t found a single book I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed! Of Wicked Blood is no exception - real, relatable characters (people who grew up in foster care, an individual in a wheelchair), a lot of action, magic, mystery, lies and deceit... this book has it all. Hard to put down and highly recommended!

3.75/5

The book started off pretty slow and I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it or not. Because this was so slow, it took some enjoyment of the story away from me.

Where it started to pick up was when they introduced the fantasy element to it which was though a quest-style storyline and how each participant had to face their own challenges that were unique to each of them.

I really liked Slate’s relationship with his brother and how protective he was of him.

While the ending still leaves some unanswered questions and the big reveal was a bit obvious/cliche, it sets it up well for the second book in the series.

I DEVOURED this book

When I read the synopsis for this I knew straight away I needed to read it and wow did I judge it correctly.

The characters? Amazing. The storyline? Fast paced and exciting. The plot? Like nothing I’ve ever read before.

I am already anxiously awaiting the sequel, I need more Slate and Cadence!!

I was very intrigued by the blurb and in the mood for urban fantasy, so I gave this a try and was not disappointed. It was a fun read, I was invested in the story right from the start and binged it through so fast.

It's an action-packed quest story set in modern day France, in a small superstitious town with prominent local myths about witchcraft that all turn out to be true.
We follow the adventure of two protagonists: A thief, who finds out about his past after having spent all his life as an orphan without information on his parentage and the daughter of an wealthy, influential academic, who has the ambitious goal of restoring the forgotten magic from legends.
Things are set in motion when the thief gets cursed by putting on a stolen ring and they form a party with two others in order to collect 4 magical artefacts, before time runs out and our main character gets killed by the curse.

The pacing is fast, alternating between the dual POVs of male and female protagonist in pretty short and catching chapters. The plot is enthralling and I loved the writing style. It has nice prose, in a modern and tangible way that doesn't feel contrived. The humour is great, I laughed so much and it helped to quickly endear the characters to me. But despite the humour there was also a good balance between it and the story's touching and heartfelt moments.

I thought the characters were all well-written and believeable, with a good group dynamic. I really liked both of the main characters, even though they are typical YA-archetypes, but they show enough depth and personality to be relateable. Alas, I must admit, I have a soft spot for the "sassy thief with a heart of gold"-trope, as well as tough, intelligent girls.
It surprised me that the book focused on romance so much, because I did not take that from the description at all, but nonetheless I enjoyed the cute enemies-to-lovers relationship building up and it wasn't too juvenile or over the top.

So, in conclusion, although the book is admittedly a bit trope-y at times and it was not the most original story I've ever read, I had so much fun reading it and was thoroughly entertained by it. I will definitely buy the book when it comes out and be impatiently waiting for the sequel!

Olivia Wildenstein is quickly becoming a favorite auto-buy author for me. I really enjoyed this co-authored paranormal New Adult novel. I really really enjoyed this book. The character work was absolutely incredible. I absolutely loved not only the main characters, but the side characters as well. This is one of those books where you feel like you really know every character and love them so much. Slate absolutely has my heart. He definitely gave me Kaz vibes. The plot was FANTASTIC and kept me up late into the night more than once. I also really enjoyed the writing. Sometimes co-authored books can be hit or miss for me. They often feel disjointed, however this story flowed VERY well. This book was a great balance of this serious life-threatening mission, mixed with humor. The misty and dark atmosphere of the fictional city in France was a definite highlight for me. Overall I gave this book 4 stars and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves paranormal romance stories!

This book was a delight! It has a great combination of humor, romance, drama, magic, intrigue and fast-paced action. The narrative is quite engaging and got me very invested in the story. I enjoyed learning about Brume and getting to know the different characters. I particularly loved Slate, I found his chapters so entertaining! I definitely recommend this story and can't wait to see what happens next!

This was such a hard book to put down.

A fictional French town setting (resembling Mont-Saint-Michel) with dark academia, a quest to retrieve ancient artifacts, an old legend and a great romance that doesn't steal the spotlight of the story but is a nice wholesome addition. Also, a great set of interesting characters including a bad boy who's been through a lot and a good daddy's girl.

I thoroughly recommend it!

Such a fantastic and original story. It is captivating and imaginative and kept me intrigued throughout.

The story follows Slate, a savvy thief that spent most of his difficult childhood in foster care. However, a letter calling him back to his birthplace, Brume (a village in France known for its magical heritage), changes everything. Armed with this letter, his birth certificate and his real name, he discovers Cadence, hidden secrets, adventure, romance and magic.

Olivia Wildenstein and Katie Hayoz are brilliant writers! The narrative starts off a little slow but definitely picks up with its excellent and enticing plot and compelling characters (especially Slate) and thrilling action.
This is perfect for fans of urban fantasy, french dark academia, unique characters and a fascinating magic system.

4.6 starlights ✨✨✨✨✨

Of Wicked Blood by Olivia Wildenstein & Katie Hayoz is a book that I thought I knew what was going to happen, and then added a fantasy twist!

Slate is used to looking out for himself, and has had to do this since he was very young in the foster system. Out of the blue, he's told about a small town where his parents had lived, and that they've left money for him.

There are challenges, secrets and lies that come out when Slate goes there.  This was an enjoyable book, and one that surprised me.  I enjoyed the twists and the story.

Of Wicked Blood by Olivia Wildenstein & Katie Hayoz was published on 2nd February, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Olivia Wildenstein on her website, Instagram and Facebook.

You can follow Katie Hayoz on her website and Facebook.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Twig Publishing.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Twig Publishing for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In all seriousness, this book was a rollercoaster. In plot, in writing, and in my love/hate relationship with the characters. I found myself both greatly enjoying reading it and becoming frustrated with certain characters' actions or obliviousness. The writing style felt a little clunky at times and I'm not sure if this was because there were two writers, or because the deliberate word choices were made to sound more sophisticated and just...didn't, considering the two main characters were teenagers and thinking in terms of 4 or 5 syllable SAT words. Also Slate's eyes kept "curving in a smile" and I just kept getting distracted trying to figure out how such a thing was possible.

Slate and Cadence as a couple was another part of the story I had a love/hate relationship with. We'll start with Slate, who very much starts the story as a sleazebag who completely over-sexualizes the (SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD) female main character. I don't think he's too much older than she is, if at all, but it just felt insanely gross. This goes away after they get to know each other better, although it morphs into a kind of he-man overprotectiveness that borders on possessive, and was kind of uncomfortable in its own right. Slate grew up in foster care, which is a huge part of his story and a reason for why he has a chip on his shoulder, and yet mostly what it contributes to his character is an absurd amount of whining and self-victimization in practically any situation. In spite of all of this, I did grow to mostly like him? I think there was character growth by the end of the story, and this will probably continue in the next book?

Now for Cadence. While I enjoyed her immensely more as a character, I think she was supposed to come off as sheltered and naive, but it mostly presented as incredibly obtuse in the face of facts that were practically punching her teeth out. Her feelings towards Slate (and his towards her) were distinctly insta-lovey, considering they barely knew each other. I would normally not be bothered by this, because they're supposed to be teenagers, but they weren't written to seem like teenagers. Honestly I think this story might have flowed better if they'd just been placed in college. Their thoughts and mannerisms definitely felt more like people in their early 20s, versus that of teenagers.

I did enjoy the plot, for the most part, and thats what kept me turning the pages as much as I did. I flew through the last 50% of this book, because once the quests for the Quatrefoil pieces began, this plot became infinitely more interesting. At one point, it gets insanely (and maybe unnecessarily?) dark. So....trigger warnings for child death and talk of suicide, for sure. And finally, the ending. I honestly think I could have bumped up the rating to a 4-star, in spite of everything I discussed above, but I feel like this book took us 90% of the way to the finish line, hinted at a lot of things and betrayals that I kind of saw coming a mile away, and then just....stopped. And now we wait for a book two, when I feel like this story just needed another 50 pages or so and could have been over.

I definitely feel as though there are parts of this story that need improvement, but overall I enjoyed reading it. It was fast-paced and original in terms of plot, although I do doubt the need for an entire second book (or more to a series?). I might continue reading just to see how it's possible to stretch it out further. I definitely would like to know if my guesses as to some of the character's true motivations were right, so I'll most likely still pick up the second book.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Initially the story begins slowly, but, like flower petals unfurling so does the story, stay with it and the reward is worthwhile.

A mix of paranormal, fantasy romance the story explores the ‘what if’ question of magic; what if magic could be returned to the world?
Unfortunately to achieve the return of magic will require the main protagonists and assorted others to complete a deadly quest and defeat a curse on which the clock is ticking.

Filled with secrets, lies abound and emotions are tangled; love, hate and desire mingle with fear, grief and dread.

The ending is ‘happily for now’ as the book is number one in a series and to be continued.

Once you meet Slate and Cadence you’ll be sucked in by the series, enjoy!

When you are obsessed with an author's writing, their books and story, you obviously try to read their next book.. Especially their arcs. Thank you to the author for the review copy, and @netgalley for the audiobook !!
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My Rating : [🌟🌟🌟🌟]
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Of Wicked Blood follows our two main characters : Slate, who has had a difficult childhood, amd discovers the world of magic accidentally and hates being in it, and , Cadence, a history enthusiastic thrust into the same magic world because of her history. This book focuses on found family, dealing with rash decisions, betrayals and lots of 'what is happening' moments. It has a lot of swearing guys. So brace yourselves.
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First, OMG Slate was an absolute wreck, swore a lot and just didn't care for anything in general and I loved him for it. Cadence was a really strong character with small quirks that made me smile. Their banter was something I absolutely adored and loved reading about. Alma was another favourite of mine and I can't stop smiling at her outward and spirited personality!
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Second, I really liked the world building and the progression of the story. The concept of a town build and breathing a magic lore which was true, was a really intruiging one. Even though not a lot of explaination was goven as to how the history came to be, I really liked what was shown to us. The friendship between Cadence and Alma was amazing and I wish we had more chapters with Bastian because he was such a sweetheart. The side Characters played a very important in the story as much as the main characters and I think that's why I liked that ending. It was more like a gang coming together to fight for something even when they didn't want to. I have no opinions on Adrian so far and want Cadence to become a badass Character without Slate.
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Coming to the story and character development, I think the story has so much to deliver and develop, so I'm really looking forward to the next book. For the Characters, I think Bastian amd Alma were my favourites. Hands down. I also enjoyed the bonding moments shared within the Characters. I hated Papa De Morel with a vengeance and I have a few theories on what might have happened. Let's see how that turns out. The only thing I hated was the references to a certain book that must not be named and the comparison between characters. I think I lost my patience when Slate kept calling Cadence Bellatrix. I mean get that the authors were trying to prove a character trait with that, but I was extremely uncomfortable and didn't like that inclusion one bit. I really hope they remove them before it gets published. I still am trying to not be biased and rate the story, but it definitely affected my rating now.
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Overall, I think it was a solid start to a series and I'm looking forward to the next installment!
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Kindle/ Audiobook/ Netgalley/ January 2021

Fabulous story and kudos to the authors for just sucking me in! The twists and turns and imagery was just superb!

What did I like? Other than the weird names in this book, this is a five star story. Starts when one of the four main characters activate a curse and has to solve a puzzle to ward off death. As a group they struggle together to piece together a curse of dark magic in the tiny town of Brume. The audiobook was amazing!

Would I recommend or buy? Yes, if you’ve never listened to audio then this is the best one I’ve ever heard. It was entrancing and I caught myself wanting to listen more than read. An excellent tale and I can’t wait for the next part. This doesn’t end on a cliffhanger but does feel like there is more to the story!

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review! Five stellar stars!

Considered YA urban fantasy. In my opnion, it is more like NA considering the language used in the book.
It is a story of four people on a quest to find magical pieces to save themselves and bring magic back to the world. The premise really had me intrigued and the story grabbed me from the beginning

The progression of the story was a bit stop and go with a few fast paced scenes. There were several scenes that I really loved. I loved the witty characters and all the creepy paranormal! But in between some of those great scenes was just a bit slow. I was still eager to keep going and find out what was going to happen next.
Overall, I love reading urban fantasy and I will continue to read the next books in the series.

Thank you to the publisher, netgalley and the authors for allowing me to rrad an early copy.

I found this book to bit somewhat erratic and nonsensical. It was also very Americanized, which was just odd, seeing as the book was supposed to be set in Brittany in France. It was a bit all over the place and just generally a bit disappointing.

This was such a pleasant surprise. I have to admit I requested this on a bit of a whim as it just seemed like an interesting concept a Con-artist/thief gets pulled into a magical treasure hunt. I really enjoyed it. It is a fun and quick read with sassy characters, a little adventure that didn’t pull its punches. I definitely think fan’s of Gilded Wolves will like this one.

We had an interested set up for the magic, a little bit of Authrian, a little bit of a mixture of other mythical beasts and gods from a number of different pantheons and a good dash of astrology. There was also a ancient library which we know I love. I really loved the writing style there was lots of hints and undercurrents of the towns business and its rumours bubbling under the surface that really brought it to life as a place.

I only have two little gripes. Firstly, it was obvious the authors were American. Though the book is set in Brittany in France and the Characters themselves are natives to the the town, there are a lot of Americanisms in the book. One character at a New years party references not having seen anyone since Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a North American (US and Canada) holiday not celebrated in Europe. They also comment about the university returning right after new year being strange. This is very common in Europe, we don’t have the J-mester system, we go back to university on the first Monday/Tuesday after the new year. Little throwaway comments and conversations like this were dotted through out and sort of pulled me out of what was a fun and interesting setting. I hadn’t read a book set in Brittany before, and the slight Dark Academia vibes were fun. The incorporation of hits at Arthurian legend were also really interesting but the town lost the French feeling when the characters became Americanised.

The ending was also sort of non-existent. The big drama of the book just sort of fizzes and ends with no build up or hint at there being a second book other than the series name on the cover and it just feels like we lost a little of the payoff we had been building up too. It seemed a bit rushed and then stuck on to give this book some form of end but it definitely wasn’t a conclusion. Which is SOOOOO disappointing as I was really enjoying this book right up until those last couple of pages.

I read this over a couple of evenings, it was just a really nice escape. I liked how belligerent Slate was, I liked Cadences touch of naiveite. I also liked how they didn’t fall into the obvious tropes along the way, they were skirted, subverted or used in really nice ways to just make this an entertaining read. If you are looking for a quick escape with a fun setting this is a good read.

As a huge fan of Olivia's Boulder Wolves series I leaped at the chance for this ARC.
Olivia's and Katie's writing styles mix well in this book. It's something I'm always worried about when it comes to my favorite authors cowriting with someone new to me.
Of Wicked Blood is going to be tough to beat for "best book of the year."
Slate and Cadence are relatable and the progression of their relationship is gradual and natural.
The writing is well done and clever, right down to the warning at the bottom of the summary.
Of Wicked Blood is a must read for 2021. If you love adventure, magic, and romance, you do not want to miss this book!

ARC received from the punisher via Netgalley. Voluntarily reviewing and all opinions are objective and my own.

I was excited to get into this. I sounded like a witchy version of the type of fantasy romance that fans of The Mortal Instruments would enjoy. And, I still agree with this statement, but this is unfortunately only getting 3 stars.

I struggled to get through the first half of the book. It took a full third before I wasn’t bored, and then started to pick up the pace. By the midway point, I’ll admit I was very interested and intrigued, but I didn’t enjoy not enjoying a book for half of it.

I loved Slate’s character. I love how he’s set up to be basically a thieving bad guy, but there’s actually quite a lot of depth in him. I especially enjoy how he is when he is with Cadence. They’re such a cute couple.
Besides Cadence and Slate, this book carried with it a strong interesting cast. I’ll admit by the end I’m still not sure I know everyone, just simply due to not connecting well with them for half the read, but all in all, there’s a handful that do all contribute to the series.

Do I want to continue this series? I kinda do. I feel now that the book 1 stuff is over with, and progress has been made in the plot and with Cadence and Slate’s romance, I feel like each book here on out will have a better pacing. I’ll keep my eye out and would be interested in reading the sequel.

Rating 4.5

I really enjoyed this story. I loved that we got to read Slate's point of view as well as Cadence's view. Slate was a great character. He stayed true to his word and by the end of the book he showed good character growth. He was funny, witty, and a little reserved due to his upbringing. Cadence was a good strong female character who let her walls down when she had to. She worships her father which does blind her from seeing what he could really be up to. However, her character does change towards the end and the reader will notice her start to question more about her life. I found all of the side characters to fit the story and luckily none of them were annoying. I was a little nervous about a love triangle so hopefully one does not pop up in the sequel. The plot was interesting. The challenges will make one nervous not knowing what will happen to the characters. This book is a quick read because the reader is dying to know what will happen to Slate or if they will actually obtain magic. While I really did love this story the ending was a bit disappointing for me. It felt a little rushed and forced and to be honest I just had higher hopes since the rest of the story was so good. However, I will definitely be reading the sequel and I will definitely be recommending this book because the rest of the story saves the rushed ending for me.