To Bleed a Crystal Bloom

"⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a phenomenal series! It makes me sad that this book isn’t talked about as much as popular fantasy/romantasy books we see everyday. I will agree that this story is slow compared to most other books in the genre. Nothing really “high-stakes” happens, at least not until the end of the book. BUT, that also doesn’t mean that interesting things don’t happen. The slow start, in my opinion, is essential to building the world and introducing the characters to us. We get snippets and drips of the true plot, making it enjoyable to try to piece everything together as you read along and you get to know the MCs. Sarah A. Parker’s writing style and use of literary devices immediately made her my favorite author. She has a way to beautifully say so much in so few words. I tend to catch when authors use a phrase or term several times (i.e. ‘picking invisible lint off one’s shoulder’ to show nonchalance). I had a hard time finding that type of redundancy, allowing reading to be fresh and seamless. Her storytelling is magical and rich with detail, making you hungry for more while absorbing so much. Orlaith is truly a relatable character; her emotions and trauma responses resonated deeply with me. I instantly found myself rooting for her to figure out her roots and backstory through her PTSD. The rest of the characters are all vastly complex and hold their own secrets that I can’t wait to unravel. I highly recommend giving this series a try - I devoured each word and am already more than halfway through the second book at the time of writing this. To Bleed a Crystal Bloom has very quickly become one of my most beloved reads. "

"It is a good story but I feel drags on and not much happens. Have to wait for the next book."

"Super slow burn "

"2 mistakes I made with this book<br/>1. reading it so far from the second ones release<br/>2. almost abandoning it because of that weird sexual maturity thing that was going on in the middle of it<br/><br/>oh my goshhhh. first of all, though I do hate when characters are pathetically and embarrassingly in love with people who (usually) don't deserve it, I really was rooting for Orlaith. Not rooting for her to land Rhordyn, but for her to free herself of him. And I'm so glad that she really did make the effort to untether herself from him, and that she was self aware enough to realize how damaging their relationship was to her, and that she really did need to let him go. So I didn't find fault the times when she gave in to him (which I admit was quite frequent, but what matters is that she tried). That being said, I love how Orlaith's character was written to be more than a girl with an unrequited love, but as someone who was quite feisty and had a very likeable personality. She really made it easy to root for her. Even her flaws, like when she was being VERY chilling with Zali and giving me mad second hand embarrassment didn't deter me from rooting for her. She really did grow a lot from the beginning of the book, and that was definitely seen in the end when she did the hardest thing she's ever really had to do. I'm proud of her. And I definitely think some distance is needed for her and Orcrux (or whatever Rhordyn's land is called) so that she can grow.<br/>And as for Rhordyn, this man gave me whiplash with the constant liking and hate I had for him. He's such an intriguing character, and the relationship he has with Orlaith is so... unique, that I could never fully guess what he wanted from her. Did he see her as a naive child with a foolish crush, or as a girl he genuinely loved but would never allow himself to show it? Either way, when we got a Rhordyn POV, I was really left with more questions than answers.<br/>Another character I am very eager to learn more about is Cainon. I definitely think he and Orlaith could be something, and though I'm still weary of him, I definitely like his character and his chemistry with Orlaith.<br/><br/>While I really liked this book, I definitely felt like I was being dropped right in the middle of a fantasy series, as explanations for the universe were sparse, and a lot of words and nicknames used, like Rhordyn calling Orlaith Milaje went unexplained. I'm not sure if that was intentional on Sarah's part, but either way I think we could've been given a little more information on how the world works. Perhaps its due to the fact that Orlaith doesn't know much about the world herself, but I'm sure she knows more than a reader would!!<br/><br/>Can't wait for the next book, though it's unfortunate how far away it is...<br/>I fear I may forget many things between now and then. <br/>Alas, onto the next I shall go.<br/><br/>Reread 2<br/>4.2 stars<br/>The story was just as good the second time. This time I caught onto the foreshadowed things that I missed before, as well as smaller details that maybe I didn’t think were relevant. I wasn’t planning on reading this a second time, but I’ve been looking forward to the sequel for months, only to realize on the day it came out that I could hardly remember what happened in the first book. It was well worth the reread, and I found the second hand embarrassment Orlaith gave me before to be much less potent this time. Something else that’s changed between my first and second read is that I’m not rooting for Cainon the I probably was before. I think mostly, I was just eager for Orlaith to be free of her toxic relationship, but now i’m wondering if the devil you know might really be better. Rhordyn was still an enigma to me in this book, but (maybe it’s my imagination) an attraction to Orlaith seem to be a bit more apparent to me, and I can acknowledge more how he’s provided her her entire life, despite knowingly shredding her heart and her hope numerous times. Anyway, I’m very much looking forward to book 2, and am eager to see more of the world and it’s characters through Orlaith’s (previously) sheltered eyes <br/><br/><br/>"

"This is the first of the bloom series and its so good! "

"Incredible read! "