I loved this book. It reminded me of how I felt when I read the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare or how beautifully the story was blended into our modern day world like Gilded Wolves. This book has a slow burn romance and alot of thrills filled with suspense and mystery. This is definitely a must read in my opinion and can't wait for Of Tainted Heart to come out.

Calling paranormal romance lovers - this book is for you!

So I do have to say, I almost put this one in my DNF pile just because the beginning was really slow for me. If you run into this situation, PLEASE don't give up! It's worth it to keep going! After the first third of the book, I was heavily invested and had to binge read it all at once.

This is a solid paranormal romance book. It's an interesting plot that really hasn't been written about before, and I think it was definitely a breath of fresh air. The characters were well fleshed out, and really looking forward to reading more in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Twig Publishing for providing an ARC for this book.

This book was wonderful! It helped me get out of a bad reading slump. I thought the slump was due to being super busy and not finding time but this book proved that I justed to read the right book. Thank you netgalley for the ARC

I had a huge problem with this book: "OMG, I NEED TO FINISH THIS NOW" and "NO, I 'M NOT PREPARED FOR THIS TO END". I couldn't put it down. Or stop talking about it. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

What a great book this was! It got me hooked since the very first pages. Such a page turner!
It had everything I could ask for: action, mystery, romance, intrigue, nice range of well developed characters, cool setting and descriptions that could make you feel as if you were inside the book yourself (which I love, as a reader), interesting lore, great plot... Ah!

I want to mention as well the writing of the scenes, which was great, especially those with plenty of action going on. It was really difficult to put this book down, there was always something you just NEEDED to know.

As for the characters...As soon as Slate started talking I knew I would love him until the very end. And I was right, I couldn't get enough of him. I laughed so much at the dialogues (and also the HP references, which I loved!) and at the cursing.. Such a fun character, and also my new literary crush.

It was also really nice to see them all evolve and the effects that Brume had on people. New favourite fantasy world? I think so.



Didn't know any of the authors before I came across this book, but I'll surely be reading their other books now!!

A solid 4/5 stars for this title.
It has everything. Boy meets girl, check. Magical quest, check. Plot twist you didn’t see coming at the end, double check.

When Slate gets an invitation to an exclusive school, he decides to check it out. Especially when it has clues from his past. He stumbled into a century old magical relic treasure hunt, with a deadly twist. With a team of 4, can they find all the pieces before time runs out and slate loses his life?


I want to thank the publisher and the website NetGalley for letting ,e review this title. Highly recommend.

I liked this book a lot! It helped me get out of my reading slump. The plot was really engaging, the characters also were three dimensional and flushed out! A very interesting start to a promising series !!

“Oh, no there ain’t no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good.”
Aint’ No Rest for the Wicked by Cage the Elephant is surely the theme song for Slate Ardoin: playboy, ladies man, grave robber, art thief…and unwitting heir to a magical legacy that just might kill him. Slate is the type of protagonist that is fun to root for; he is as imperfect as they come, with raw wit, a bad attitude, and raunchy inner monologues, that contrast sharply with a surprisingly chivalrous streak and wildly protective tendencies towards those who have earned his affection. In fact, Slate is the perfect near antihero, to contrast with the too-good-for-words Cadence, his counterpoint in all things magical, with whom he shares an immediate romantic spark. Cadence is so good in fact, that her theme song might be Goody Two Shoes by Adam Ant…not that she necessarily wants to remain pure once she meets Slate.See the source imageOf Wicked Blood is told from the alternate perspectives of Slate and Cadence, as they work alongside two other heirs to the world’s magic in an attempt to unravel a centuries old mystery revolving around a vanished mystical quatrefoil, that if reassembled will return the ability to wield magic to the world. The only problem? Each piece of the quatrefoil is cursed in a way that will be particularly horrific for the heir meant to retrieve it, and if they don’t reassemble is by the new moon, Slate is doomed to die slowly and painfully.

Of Wicked Blood is a real delight to read! The dialogue between, and the inner thoughts of, Cadence and Slate are laugh-out-loud hilarious, while the slow burn of their attraction is equally intriguing. The story moves along at a even, fast pace, with each test the group faces seeming just challenging enough to be realistic, without becoming over the top fantastical. The GatheringIt is so well written, that you could almost start to believe that magic really is hidden from the world by some cursed force, able to be freed by breaking a series of curses. Just when I thought I had things all figured out, the last few chapters executed a neat plot twist, leaving me relieved, but also waiting desperately for the next book in the series. By the end of the story I was left pondering whether or not restoring magic would be in the best interests of the world, and I began to reevaluate the motives and actions of some of the characters, which in my opinion are the best types of cliff hangers. This book is wickedly enjoyable, and it was easy to give it the coveted five star rating…I highly recommend all urban fantasy lovers check it out!

This review originally appears on Lit.Buzz.

I received this ARC for an honest review. This is the first book I read of Olivia Wildenstein & Katie Hayoz. Overall, I really enjoyed the story. My biggest complaint is that the authors made the characters too young. The main heroine, Candence, is suppose to be 17, but how the authors wrote her doesn’t match. Her actions, responsibilities, going to the University does not aline with a 17yr old. They need to make her about 21 then it will match with the character they wrote.
The story is mainly about Candence, Slate, Adrien, & Gaelle. They need to find pieces of the Quatrefoil before the new moon or Slate will die. Once I ignored the age of characters, I really enjoyed the twist and turns of the story.

While the characters felt a bit stereotypical, the story was entertaining and the setting was incredibly easy to picture, thanks to the great descriptions. The ending felt a bit rushed but I look forward to the next book.

Thank you to Twig Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC to read and review!

"Of Wicked Blood" was not the story for me. It was a depressing read, but I do think others will like this book and series.

I love any magic system that involves elements and "Of Wicked Blood" was no exception. I liked how each element - Quatrefoil - was a dangerous course that each character had to defeat their respective element. I didn't have any trouble understanding how magic worked or the background to this whole hunt.

The four "main" characters - Slate, Cadence, Adrien and Gaëlle - were so-so but I was still rooting for them because of how deadly the curses were. I wasn't much of a fan of Slate and Cadence's relationship because of what happened in the beginning. They do have nice chemistry. I just couldn't personally get behind it. Yet the character I despised most was Cadence's dad. He is a despicable man who can't be trusted.

The hardest part of reading "Of Wicked Blood" was that I had trouble immersing myself into the setting. The story takes place in a small, fogged-over town in France that has managed to maintain much of its original architecture over hundreds of years with only adding some contemporary technology. I couldn't quite mesh it together for the entire story, which made enjoying it almost impossible. I also didn't care for the brief mention of covid (even if it was in the past tense). Too soon.

"Of Wicked Blood" is the kind of dark fantasy I don't particularly care for. However, I really wanted to know if the characters would succeed and if Slate and Cadence would become a couple. Overall, the book was okay but I don't think I'll be continuing this series.

Got to love a good romance with magic and suspense

Didn't know what I was getting in to with this book but glad I read it as it was so good the slow burn romance was healthy and right and the characters are well thought out

Of Wicked Blood: The Quatrefoil Chronicles by Olivia Wildenstein and Katie Hayoz

418 Pages
Publisher: Twig Publishing
Release Date: February 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1948463300


Fiction, Romance, Sci Fi & Fantasy, Teen & YA, , Paranormal and Urban Fantasy, Magic

Slate is a thief. He has had a rough life living in and out of foster homes almost his entire life. He gets a letter inviting him to Brume to attend the university. Curious by the offer, he travels to Brume and meets the dean of the school. He finds he is the remaining member of a founding village family. In order to receive his inheritance, he must remain in the village for two weeks.

Cadence is also a descendant of a founding family. She is the dean’s daughter and runs into Slate in the cemetery. She is unaware that Slate has robbed her family’s vault and set events in motion that may cost all of them their lives.

The book is written in first person shifting between Slate and Cadence. The story takes place within a two-week period and moves at a quick pace. The characters are well developed. There is a lot of action and even more of the “f” word. The ending was abrupt and gives the impression that there will be another book. I look forward to see what happens next.

Fans of urban fantasy will devour this. It's very Shadowhunters by way of The Gilded Wolves.

While I am not really an urban fantasy person myself, I can see how this story will appeal to most fans of the genre - it has a French dark academia setting, an array of interesting characters, and a unique magic system.

However, I feel a bit let down by the plot and progression of the story. I don't think it was the writing that lost my interest (even though it has a weird quality of feeling both slow and fast paced at the same time). I just don't think I was ever invested in the purpose of the characters and what they had to do. There are many other books who do the 'gang of kids on a mission' trope so much better, so I unfortunately compared a lot throughout.

Overall, not the best or worst book I've ever read, but I do think a lot of people will find this story to be their exact cup of tea.

An amazing start to a new dark thrilling series!!! I could not put the book down! Of Wicked Blood was not at all what I expected but I’m glad I got the chance to read it. I cannot wait to see what the sequel has to offer. 5 stars!!

HOLY MOLY! I went into this book with almost expectations. I have never read either author, so I wasn’t sure how it would go at all. I was drawn in by the Secret Circle vs A Discovery of Witches description, and while I can agree with those, I also felt a little Goblet of Fire and The Mortal Instruments...maybe? I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but I honestly couldn’t put this book down.

We start out with Slate, a teen who grew up in foster care his whole life and stole to make a living, finding out his birth parents were rich...and a founding family in a magical town called Brume. From there we get the - boy travels to Brume, boy robs a crypt and steals a ring, boy’s ring is cursed and he is now stuck in Brume until he and 3 others can restore magic or he will die - storyline.


I found all of the characters fantastic. Cadence goes through so many different feelings and emotions during her journey, it was great seeing inside her head to work through those. I would probably read a spin-off on Bastien and Alma. Any scene with either of them in it was automatically more fun. Things got quite interesting with Adrien towards the end and I’m anxious to see where his story line goes in the future.

I don’t want to dive into the story too much but I do want you to READ THIS BOOK. It’s one of my top reads of 2020 and it’s not one to sleep on.

A magical thriller that keeps you guessing right til the end. A Foster kid in France with no history receives a mysterious letter with his real name and an invitation to find out who he really is. This leads him to a quaint town said to be the centre of magic in the world. He goes for information and revenge but is it a trap? Can magic really be restored to the world by the quartrefoil Council? Will the price be worth paying? Personally I can't wait for the next instalment of the quartrefoil chronicles

Goodness gracious, where do I begin? First off, Ah-May-Zing!! For real, I absolutely adored this book! I went into reading it excited, but I did not expect to like it nearly as much as I did, let alone LOVE it! This is my first book by Olivia Wildenstein and after reading it I realized that I have her book Feather on my TBR list. And guess what just got bumped up to the top? I have just added some of Katie Hayoz's books to my TBR now as well.

The world building was great and the magical element was fun. But the characters! I loved the characters. I found myself smiling and laughing to myself so much while reading this book. And Slate? He has been added to the book boyfriend list. Cadence was great too and I usually do not like lead females in the books I read. The two of them and their snark and attitude, perfect. The side characters were just as great and I am so excited to see where they all end up.

Further, this book kept me guessing with the bit of mystery interwoven within its framework. Even still I have questions and suspicions that I am desperately needing answers to! Not only will I most definitely be reading the next book in the series, but I will be buying the physical copy of this when it becomes available, that is how much I enjoyed this book. It will definitely stay on my mind for a while to come. Would 100% recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the authors for allowing me to review this book.

Sometimes I think I'm getting too old for YA... but I love this author and will read just about anything they write! The one thing I really appreciated about this book is how the character Slate evolved. Desecrating tombs is disgusting, but so it abuse in the foster system.

I was sucked into this book right from the get go. I really love the character of Slate, a morally grey thief, who has managed to work his way up from poverty to provide for his brother and himself. Soon after arriving in a new town he unknowingly steals the bloodstone, a very special magical item, which sets off a chain reaction that means life or death for those who have to help him defeat the curses he has just set into motion.
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Slate is full of witty humor and even though he outwardly portrays a bad boy persona it is all to easy to fall in love with him. The story switches back and forth between Slate and Cadence's perspectives as we are taken on a journey to defeat the curses. I adore Cadence's character and loved watching her grow as we see her stuggle with learning her father has kept some huge secrets from her her whole life and deciding if she can trust Slate or not. I love how Slate and Cadence's relationship evolves over the course of the book and I can't wait to see where things go in the next one.
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The quatrefoil quest itself was engaging and I really enjoyed each of the challenges the characters faced. My only problem was the ending felt a bit rushed, I was a little confused and wished there had been a bit more time taken to explain what happened. Although this just makes me even more interested in seeing what happens next.
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This is an amazing book full of secrets, lies, mystery, action, and romance.
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Thank you to Netgalley and Twig Publishing for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

ARC from NetGalley

4.5 stars

A most excellent read. It took me a while to get into the first person delivery of Slate, but it happened. This book is rife with magic and mystery, romance, double crossing, and a healthy peppering of curse words. All of these things please me. There were a few patchy bits that brought down my rating a bit, places where things didn't quite make sense. Like why would Slate's spidey senses suddenly shut off? It was never explained, and that had me wondering. Like, one second you're cringing in pain and wanting to vomit, but then you aren't... why? I would have preferred the romance to be a bit more romantical, but I anticipate that will come with the next book. Whenever a book has liberal use of swears, I always hope for dirty bits, but what can you do. No dirty bits.

Even though this book includes many popular tropes, it spins them a bit and feels like something new, which is so refreshing these days. Do recommend.