Book Review: When Wishes Bleed

Author: Casey L. Bond
Edition: Independently-published eBook
Released: 30th October 2019
Series: When Wishes Bleed #1
Pages: 462 approx.
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website | Buy the book!

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.

Okay, so in true quarantine style, I finally bought myself a kindle. And, honestly? I love it. I really can't believe it took me this long to get one... Anyway, whilst setting up my new, snazzy kindle, I discovered kindle unlimited. Immediately reeled in by the prospect of a free kindle unlimited subscription for two months (for being a student), I signed up. This title I came across not long after and the synopsis just drew me in. So began my first kindle unlimited experience.
Overall? I’m really not sure what I think about this book. When Wishes Bleed probably has some of the darkest, most intriguing opening chapters I've ever read. Straight away, our main character brings us into the centre of a, seemingly, very dark and complex world - introducing us to the unusual ways and witches of the 'Gallows.' Even her narration depicts a very unusual character in very unique circumstances. However, the more this book went on, the more I couldn't settle.

The magic system and set up of the witches is, indeed, a very unique breath of fresh air, yet I would be lying if I said I wasn’t also initially drawn in by the idea of a ‘Selection’ type competition to be the prince’s bride. However, unfortunately, it fell short for me on that one because of the almost instant insta-love. My ultimate pet hate. Insta-lust? I get that. Sometimes. Insta-love? I just don’t think I’ll ever be a fan of that. I‘m a sucker for a well-developed, angsty romance, so the fact the relationship in this novel got way too intense too fast just deflated me a bit. Especially since I really liked the set up of Sable’s first meeting with the love interest and also the love interest, himself. He really could have been that typical broody, enigmatic love interest that I love. There was just so much potential for him, as well as a very angsty, slow burn relationship and that just wasn't delivered.

Technically-speaking, there were also a few things that didn't sit right with me. For example, there were a lot of characters walking out and back in, out and back in, in scenes and a lot of repeated actions such as ‘hooking their thumb over their shoulder.’ It just made my reading experience feel a bit choppy, making me feel detached from the story. I also felt that there were some plot devices and decisions from the characters that made no sense to the plotline. The ending also just came across as sporadic and random.

I still stick by the idea that the concept and magic system of this story were very unique. It just ended up being a situation where the potential outweighed the actual, final product. The story just wasn't for me, in the end up. By all means, if the synopsis intrigues you, you're a fan of dark premises and witches and you have a kindle unlimited subscription, go ahead. You might have better luck. 

TWO STARS!



Have you read this book - what did you think? What is your experience with kindle unlimited like so far? Are there any books you've read where you fell in love with the potential more than the story?