I couldn’t stop reading this book. Once I started, the story just flows effortlessly, never feeling burdensome to read.

Linh’s character seems to be very relatable, she’s literally just a girl. The way I highlighted loads of her lines because they were something I would say, really says a lot. (I barely do this!!)

My favourite part was actually getting to know the characters, I could say a million things about why they are perfect the way they are and why the dynamic they have worlds so well, but I leave you guys to read it and discover it yourselves. I felt like we were all part of this journey.

The story doesn't feel heavy to read, even tho there’s loads of new words and concepts, Allie introduces them slowly enough for me to understand what is going on. Consider me dumb.

Also, I like the way she is not pushing readers to hate (or love) anyone and letting us form our own opinions until it's clear who is in the bad side and who isn’t.

Although, don’t be too confident thinking you know who’s the good guy.

Thank you so much for writing this. It’s been a pleasure being part of this community and I can’t wait to come back to Elbrirene.

“Show them, Little Moon. Show them you’re the blood of silver.”

Linh discovers that she might not know her mother as well as she thought. While searching for answers, she finds herself in a new realm, learns that she possesses powerful magic, and is tasked with sealing a portal to keep monsters from crossing over.

As a Vietnamese American, I was able to relate to Linh and appreciated all the little details Allie included throughout the book that helped readers learn more about our culture. From the áo dài to the stress of learning the language and the way the word "love" is used, I connected with many of the struggles Linh experienced growing up.

Linh and Elior balanced each other out so well. She gave off black cat energy, while he had total golden retriever energy. Their banter was adorable, and I look forward to seeing their relationship develop further. I also hope we get Elior's POV because I want to know what's going on in that beautiful head of his. And we can't forget the depressing talking flowers and Hal, they were hilarious.

Overall, this book gave me Spirited Away vibes, and I can't wait to read the next one! The cover of Blood of Silver is gorgeous, and I'm so excited that there's going to be a Vietnamese edition too.

Thank you Allie Nguyen, Simon & Schuster UK Children's, and NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5 stars!
Thank you so much to Allie Nguyen, Simon & Schuster UK Children's, and NetGalley for the opporutnity to read this e-ARC and review it!

This book is pitched as "a rich, darkly whimsical fantasy with a touch of horror and a slow-burn romance" and it delivered on every single point. I was skeptical as to how this whimisical yet horror-y world would be portrayed and handled, yet the vibes are exactly that. The world-building is very consistent and filled with unique magical elements, from sentient plants and magical spells and curses, to elemental magic taught in a magical school, mind control, and posession. It seems like having such a wide variety of magical elements all present in the story would be overwhelming or nonsensical, yet Allie weaves it all in to the fabric of this fantasy world thoroughly and it just works.

This books is really perfect for fantasy lovers because it kind of has everything people love about the genre: an elemental magic system, portals, a magic school, trials, and a quest for the "chosen one". This, again, was all so nicely woven into the plot that there was no whiplash going from one event to another, and the pacing was perfect, including some slower paced chapters focusing on character realtionships in between the action-packed trials. This was a highlight for me personally, as I typically don't enjoy reading about quests and trials since the consistent action becomes monotinous after a while.

Now, I of course have to highlight the great characterisation of my loves, Linh and Elior. Our two main characters are so well developed and layered, that they really feel like two people I know, yet their inner worlds are so complex that they still posess an intriguing heir of mystery, as we learn more about their pasts little by little. Linh, despite all of her edges and rash decisions, still remains very likeable, and you can't help but root for her as she assimiliates in this foreign, magical world. Elior, on the other hand, is immediately charming and a lovable flirt, yet as the story goes on, we see more of the self-destructive tendencies he's got going on underneath. I really admire the way we kept seeing new sides to these two as the story progressed, yet none of these new traits or actions of theirs felt contradictory to the characters- they instead helped to paint a fuller picture of the world and how Linh and Elior fit inside of it. I also love the whimsy of Linh getting transported into a magical world where everyone has powers and she just goes with it. No (or very few) rebuttals or disbelief, she just "yes and"s her way through.

I also appreciate the humor with which Allie has approached this story, as the slight comedic moments enhance Linh's internal monologue, as well as make side characters like Hal and Marcellius feel more real and likeable. The overall tone of the story and the way the protagonists actually feel like teenagers, without being too childish or too mature was also refreshing. There is a delicate balance there and seeing Linh and Elior be naive, impulsive, withdrawn, and just make different mistakes makes their story feel real and raw.

Overall, I absolutely adore the ambitious fantasy world this book presented along with Elinh (my babies to whom nothing bad will ever happen), with lush settings, powerful magic, and a complex mystery that threatens to upend the world and leaves the reader constantly theorizing. Blood of Silver is a grandiose debut that deserves its cult following and an ovation for how cleanly it achieved everything it set out to do.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! Normally, I take a book with me when I travel. This time, I had “Blood of Silver.” From the moment I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. Hours of sitting in airports turned into mere minutes while I navigated this world. Firstly, imagine finding out you have a hidden heritage in your bloodline, a la Percy Jackson. Then you can go to school to train those secret elemental powers—think YA Harry Potter school life with a competitive element. Then throw in the mysterious yet handsome prince who knows way more about it than he’s telling you—sort of like the love interest in Kerstin Gier’s Ruby Red trilogy. Then set the beginning in London.
Yet we don’t stay in London for long…because Linh, our main character, has somehow summoned a guy from another world to her mom’s funeral without realising it. And before long, she’s in his world. It’s up to her to save them from a portal that could cause disaster, and only she can do it. Well, if she’s not too distracted by the handsome prince she accidentally summoned…
The writing style is direct and reads smoothly. You won’t have to reread passages to ask yourself what the author meant, which I like. The author is definitely guiding the end to a sequel. Overall, a read worth buying!

Creatures, magic and whimsy galore <3

I was lucky enough to receive the e-arc from the author in exchange for an honest review, and I have to say, I ATE. IT. UP.

If you like whimsical worlds with darkness behind it, tales of a teenage girl misplaced and having to fight to find her way in the world, and an overarching theme of love in all its forms, you'll love this book!!

The pacing was absolutely immaculate, the world-building and element-style magic were enrapturing to read, and the characters never left me wanting for more.
Ebrirene's creatures - both the cute and the terrifying - were always amusing to read and imagine, making the world feel magical down to every last part.

However, this is a DARK fantasy, and it lives up to that genre. The political aspects, the darkness of the world at times overall, alongside the certain mindsets and actions you can find in the characters within Blood of Silver make it very grim in moments, contrasting nicely with the whimsical parts of it.

The POV of Linh felt like an actual, genuine teenage girl without ending up like the overdone, over-the-top caricature that some media will present them as. It was refreshing to read! She was smart yet awkward, fearless yet hesitant.
The relationships felt like that of teenagers: teasing, awkward misunderstandings at times, but plenty of care and love for one another.

Allie Nguyen also did an amazing job with the themes of motherhood, grief and all the smaller details that come with it. It was a genuinely beautiful story down to the very last word, and I cannot WAIT to read the second installment of Blood of Silver.

OMG! I have been waiting for this book for almost a year now and it was so perfect!
I’m so happy to be on the street team of such an amazing book and author. This book exceeded all of my expectations and is easily one of this year’s highlights for me. Allie truly puts all her love into her books despite saying she’ll kill characters off. (she loves them all trust my delulu state of mind)

Blood of Silver is a YA fantasy book with magical powers and creatures and let me tell you, The magic is amazing!

There are magic houses, magic books, magic animals basically magic everything and I lived for it! There are magic houses, there exist many different mages like Space mages (Our FMC Linh), Fire mage, Water mage, etc and all of these houses have personality traits that are seen in the characters.

The start in the book is amazing and kept me hooked right from the start, I kept turning pages because I NEEDED to know what happened next.

Speaking of chapters/pages, the chapter length was amazing not too long and not too short, and Allies writing? Even better!
Her writing is amazing and sooo easy to read, I basically just flew through the book, no weird fantasy words and no words that nobody uses. Allies writing is so perfect for fantasy and sooo bingeable.

There is also no cringy or corny dialogue or any second hand embarrassment moments that try to make a character quirky but just are embarrassing. It’s one of the things I hate most in a book and I was so glad it wasn’t there.

The world building in this is sooo addictive and I felt so connected to the world and their struggles. I’d kill to live in a world with whiny flowers and Hamster employees.

The characters were introduced soo well and the vibes and dynamics of them were so fun to read! Plus I love a good found family and these characters definitely act like a little fam! All of the characters really captured my heart in different ways, Speaking of characters our main character and narrator Linh is sooo well written and amazing!

Their choices actually make sense and even if they don’t make sense in the moment they do later. None of the characters are insufferable or annoying except Linhs bullies who I can’t remember the names of and Linh can’t either.

She is relatable in ways I haven’t read in a fantasy book in a while, despite having the strongest powers in the world she isn’t immediately overpowered because she doesn’t know how to use her Powers. I loved reading about her journey of learning to control her powers and use them to punish her enemies. (aka her bullies, I hate them and you should too)

Linh is a great narrator with funny thoughts and ideas that all make her the person that she is. (GIVE ME ELIORS POV PLEASE ALLIE!!!)

Elior is our blondE male main character and utterly whipped for Linh, which to his demise Linh doesn’t realise until very very late in the book. He is absolutely fun and has some amazing lines! To Eliors absolute demise Linh also doesn’t realise her own feelings for Elior until VERY VERY late into the book. Elior reminds me a lot of Warner and Cardan, he basically got their best traits lol.

But in general the characters are written perfectly and there are just a few I hate (Allie would not agree) and it is fun to get to know them, you keep learning about them until the end. Which brings me to my next point….

The plot was A W E S O M E, demons, dead lands, death, magic rivalries and sooo much more. It kept me on my toes until the very end and made me cry so bad. There were so many plot twists, I didn’t know who to trust most of the time so I just went with whatever Linh said. You didn’t know who to trust the more you found out about the world and politics.

There is not THAT much romance it was more plot before romance because Linh didn’t get it lol but it felt like just the right amount of romance for it. The scenes we got were top tier and we got 3 kissing scenes! Our dear author Allie promised me one and she gave us three! I was so excited even tho two of those three kissing scenes made me sob violently( Allie can agree)

There is a lot of pain, yearning, sadness and loss in this book but also a ton of fun stuff like Hamster employees( yes I am mentioning them again because they were one of my book highlights lol)

There were so many cute easter eggs and Riddles which was very fun to read and figure out especially because I’ve been waiting for almost a year and check Allies instagram stories like a psycho and threatened her a few times so she gave me a few hints and info on the book.

Seeing the story snippets on her story and then finally reading them felt amazing!

I’m not just saying this because I’m biased (I totally am, this long review is just payment for Allie not to kill of Elior) or because I really think Allie is not just an amazing writer but also a kind hearted and amazing human being who listened to me crying, laughing, hating and screaming on instagram for 2 weeks while reading this (sorry Allie) but I really really enjoyed this book and felt every emotion while reading this, it met and exceeded all of my expectations and completely destroyed my soul in the best way possible.