Day’s YA: WILDBLOOD

WILDBLOOD by Lauren Blackwood
9781250787132
2/7/23
Wednesday Books 
Ages 13-18

E-galley available on Edelweiss

When Victoria was six, she was kidnapped and put to work by the Exotic Lands Touring Company. Now, at eighteen, Victoria’s whole life has been spent working endlessly as a tour guide with a team of fellow Wildbloods whose job is to protect travelers from the ghostly monsters haunting the jungle using their magical science that makes blood into weapons. 

After being denied a promotion that she was promised, Victoria gets placed to staff her most important tour yet, taking a group of American gold miners to reach an untouched gold supply deep in the jungle. But, much to her dismay, the leader of the tour will be Dean, her ex-best friend, current enemy, and the boy who received her much-deserved promotion. Hearing whispers from the trees and threats from River Mumma, Victoria knows she is embarking on the most dangerous excursion to date. Then the deadly insects and animals start coming a bit too close for comfort, and one by one, members of the tour are being killed off. 

Everything is telling Victoria to turn right around and take whatever punishment the boss is sure to give. Everything except for Thorn, the gold mining client who is all that Victoria isn’t—confident, kind, and so handsome she can barely speak when she’s around him. As Victoria, Thorn, Dean, and the group take on battle after battle in the lush and hypnotic jungle, Victoria will have to decide if the promotion and proving herself to a corrupt company is really worth losing everything and everyone she loves. 

WILDBLOOD is a lush fantasy filled with rich Jamaican mythology, bringing to life the mesmerizing jungle and all its lore. Both thrilling and emotionally complex, Victoria’s intense journey through the wilderness and turbulent river is accompanied by raw, honest, and real relationships. Victoria’s story is one about love and sacrifice as we watch her experience an abundance of feelings. This haunted jungle is terrifying yet beautiful, and readers will find themselves lost on the tree-root-covered paths right alongside the human and supernatural characters. Fans of Melissa Bashardoust and Courtney Gould will find much to love in Lauren Blackwood’s newest thriller fantasy. 

Happy reading!
<3 Samantha

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Day’s YA Archives
2023 Adult Books for Teens
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