Review: To Bleed a Crystal Bloom by Sarah A. Parker

Name: To Bleed a Crystal Bloom
Series: Crystal Bloom #1
Author: Sarah A. Parker
Publisher: Self Published
Format: Kindle (through Kindle Unlimited)
Genres: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Retellings
Noted Tropes: Enemies to Lovers
Steam or Spice: Some Spice

Rating:

Synopsis: Goodreads
Nineteen years ago, I was plucked from the heart of a bloody massacre that spared nobody else.
Small. Fragile. An enigma.
Now ward to a powerful High Master who knows too much and says too little, I lead a simple life, never straying from the confines of an imaginary line I’ve drawn around the castle grounds.
Stay within. Never leave.
Out there, the monsters lurk. Inside, I’m safe … though at a cost far greater than the blood I drip into a goblet daily.
Toxic, unreciprocated love for a man who’s utterly unavailable.
My savior. My protector. My almost executioner.
I can’t help but be enamored with the arcane man who holds the power to pull my roots from the ground.
When voracious beasts spill across the land and threaten to fray the fabric of my tailored existence, the petals of reality will peel back to reveal an ugly truth. But in a castle puddled with secrets, none are greater than the one I’ve kept from myself.

No tower is tall enough to protect me from the horror that tore my life to shreds.

Review:

I’m still unsure of what to write about To Bleed a Crystal Bloom… I thought it sounded really promising… The TikToks hyped this book up too. Not to mention, I loved When the Moon Hatched by the same author! But To Bleed a Crystal Bloom simply did not hit with me.

I can see the potential. I am intrigued by certain elements that were introduced, and have my theories about what feels like really minor things to be thinking about. And the reason for that is I essentially spent the entire read through confused as to what the actual story was. Is this because I don’t know Rapunzel in any meaningful capacity other than Tangled and Into the Woods?

I kept waiting for the moment it would click – because to be clear a similar thing happened in When the Moon Hatched. But that moment where things started clicking together and making sense just never seemed to arrive?

Whilst I also don’t feel like I necessarily connected to the romance or the characters, that doesn’t mean I didn’t love some of them… They just weren’t our FMC.

I loved Baze and Kai – and there is definitely a mystery surrounding Kai, and I’m intrigued by his people and backstory. However Kai as a romantic partner I’m not interested in. I feel like he has a lot of relevance to do with the lore and plot though! Baze was Orlaith’s trainer and professional babysitter I suppose. He had a great raport with Orlaith and I loved their relationship. My heart hurt for Baze and Orlaith respectfully whenever they weren’t getting along.

I even liked Rhordyn our MMC (I think?) – and most of my theories are surrounding him to be honest. I loved his character – he’s toxic but not nasty? He’s not the villain and he’s not keeping Orlaith locked up – he keeps her locked out of other locations, and whilst yes he does lock her up for a week of the book that made no sense he isn’t the bad guy. I liked him, and for Rhordyn, Kai and Baze I’d read book 2…

Which is why I’m struggling. Orlaith is who we spend most of our time with, and I just didn’t connect to her or really like her all that much. It leaves me a bit unsure of what to do. Books where the story and I haven’t connected, I’ve continued reading because at least I’ve loved the characters… it doesn’t happen often where I’m not connecting to the main plot, nor the main character, but love some of the side characters.

I’ve got a decision to make on whether or not I’ll be continuing with this series! My desire to understand what is going on says I will… but my brain is saying ‘you have so many other books to read!’… we’ll see who wins out later, I’m sure!

“What I want, what I need, and what is right are three entirely different things.”

Reading With Tyler