Week 19 Review: The Last Bloodcarver

From Goodreads:

The tantalizing romance of These Violent Delights meets the mechanical wonders of Cinder in The Last Bloodcarver, the first in a two-book debut -- with a riveting medical magic system and lush Vietnam-inspired fantasy world.

Nhika is a bloodcarver. A cold-hearted, ruthless being who can alter human biology with just a touch. In the industrial city of Theumas, she is seen not as a healer, but a monster that kills for pleasure.

When Nhika is caught using her bloodcarving abilities during a sham medical appointment, she's captured by underground thugs and sold to an aristocratic family to heal the last witness of their father's murder.

But as Nhika delves deeper into their investigation amidst the glitz of Theumas' wealthiest district, she begins to notice parallels between this job and her own dark past. And when she meets an alluring yet entitled physician's aide, Ven Kochin, she's forced to question the true intent behind this murder. In a society that outcasts her, Kochin seems drawn to her...though he takes every chance he gets to push her out of his opulent world.

When Nhika discovers that Kochin is not who he claims to be, and that there is an evil dwelling in Theumas that runs much deeper than the murder of one man, she must decide where her heart, and her allegiance, truly lie. And -- if she's willing to become the dreaded bloodcarver Theumas fears -- to save herself and the ones she's vowed to protect.

My Review:
This was such a fantastic read! I loved this world and the magic, and I just wanted to know more. Nhika, who can't help but help heal others, even when she knows it's going to cause her trouble, who has a prickly exterior to help hide her inner softie, I just loved it! 

That her natural abilities are looked are looked at that make her out to be inhuman, that people would consider eating her body because they don't think of it as cannibalism, that there's such a fear that gloves became the norm to prevent skin to skin contact, it's awful. That she helps heal this lady that traditional medicine wouldn't be able to help, and then is accused of hurting her...that hurt.

This family that she kinda joins on the periphery, that they don't fully trust her, but she's one of them, I loved that for her. Watching them deal with this potential murder, meeting a heart soother who wasn't related to her, Nhika deals with a lot in this book! 

The wait for the next book is going to be long. I've already read book 2's synopsis multiple times, and all I want to know is what he's going to do, that she's going to follow his trail to figure out what he did. Because I need to know! 

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to read more! 

Author: Vanessa Le 
Series: The Last Bloodcarver Duology #1
Read: May 10th, 2024
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a DAC Book and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2024 Book! 
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: March 19th, 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars