Audiobook Review: When Wishes Bleed (When Wishes Bleed #1) by Casey L. Bond

 

Title: When Wishes Bleed

Series: When Wishes Bleed #1
Author: Casey L. Bond
Publisher: Casey L. Bond
Published: October 31, 2019
Pages: 462
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Source: Audiobook
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One Prince. One Witch. One Fate.

The upheaval in my life began the moment a prince stumbled into my house and asked me to read his fortune. Any other night, I might have made an excuse to get him to leave, but this was no normal visit. My fingers prickled to touch him. So, I granted his request by handing him a single wishbone. When he snapped it, the wish … bled.

Hearing me suck in a shocked breath, he asked what it meant. Such an ominous omen could only mean one thing: his death was imminent. Fate revealed that he wouldn’t die of natural causes. Someone wanted him dead. Stunned by the revelation, the man I now knew as Prince Tauren disappeared into a night I feared he wouldn’t survive. The following day, I received an invitation to the castle. While it seemed the prince believed I could intervene and uncover who was plotting his death, his motives didn’t stop there. I was being summoned to join twelve other women in vying for the opportunity to be his wife and future queen.

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Going could mean jeopardizing my plans to reclaim my heritage and resurrect the House of Fate. But staying would guarantee Tauren’s death, and the blood of his wish would be on my hands.

Goodreads | Amazon

My review on Goodreads!

The synopsis for this book absolutely spoke to my soul. Everything about it is my kryptonite. Witches? Check. A doomed prince? Check. Mysterious and eerie circumstances? Check. A competition to win the prince's affections and become queen? Check. And this book is chock full of some of my favorite tropes as well. Forbidden romance? Check. Love triangle (ish)? Check. Female friendship for the win? Check. 

I've read Casey L. Bond's books before and I love her writing style. I always find myself so engrossed in the story. She captures the reader's attention and runs with it. I really enjoyed the plot of this book and how things played out. The ideas were compelling and original. 

This book was so close to five stars for me. The one thing preventing that was the fast pace of the story. The pacing felt too rushed and it affected me in a few ways. First, I felt that the world-building could have used a little more depth. I didn't feel as connected to the characters as I would have liked. Yes, I enjoyed them but I didn't feel a bond with the characters. Lastly, the fast pace made the romance feel a little too instalove-like for my liking. I much prefer a slow-burn romance where the characters have more time together before all the intense feelings manifest. Otherwise, it just doesn't feel as realistic or believable to me. While Sable and Tauren's romance wasn't entirely unbelievable it did feel like it was right on the cusp of instalove. 

Instalove aside, I felt that Sable and Tauren were a good match. Their affection for each other felt genuine. 

I really enjoyed the side characters in this book. They were pretty entertaining. Brecan brought a fair bit of drama with his jealousy and unrequited love for Sable. Mira was such an interesting character and I adored her personality. Fate was also sort of a character in this story even though it didn't have a body and pretty much only existed in Sable's head. I liked Aaron's character though I wish that he would have had more page time and purpose in the story. As for the main characters, Tauren was really underdeveloped. He didn't really have enough depth for me to form a real connection to his character. I didn't dislike him but I felt disconnected. Sable's motivations were easier for me to identify with. She had more development so she stood out a bit more. 

The ending felt a bit lackluster to me. It felt like it was all resolved a bit too quickly and smoothly. I was expecting a bit more conflict there at the end. 

There were several aspects in the book that gave me Hunger Games vibes. No blatant copying or anything nefarious but there were definitely similarities. The Nautilus Kingdom in When Wishes Bleed is split up into 13 sectors which mirrors the Hunger Games 12 districts. There is also a correlation to the Hunger Games because of the competition that takes place for Tauren to find a wife and queen. In this book, someone is chosen from each sector for the competition which is similar to the Hunger Games. 

Overall, this book had a lot of missed opportunities because of the fast pacing but the book was ultimately enjoyable. Adjusting the pacing would literally fix all of my issues with the story. This book has potential to be an epic story with some tweaking. Casey L. Bond is a fantastic storyteller. I love all of the different elements that she combined for this story. She has taken a bunch of common tropes or themes and combined them to create something wholly original. I think that this is a book that a lot of people will love. I am already wondering about the second book in this series. I definitely urge you to take a chance on this book.

What kinds of things don't work for you in a book? In this book in particular it was the instalove and the fast pace of the story. I was still able to enjoy the story despite these things. Do you find that you can do the same when you read a book with these triggers or does it ruin the book for you altogether?