THE BLOOD SPELL by C.J. Redwine Cinderella retelling!

 Blue de la Cour has her life planned: hide the magic in her blood and continue trying to turn metal into gold so she can help her city’s homeless. But when her father is murdered and a cruel but powerful woman claims custody of Blue and her property, one wrong move could expose her—and doom her once and for all. The only one who can help? The boy she’s loathed since childhood: Prince Kellan.

Kellan Renard, crown prince of Balavata, is walking a thin line between political success and devastating violence. Newly returned from boarding school, he must find a bride among the kingdom’s head families and announce his betrothal—but escalating violence among the families makes the search nearly impossible. He’s surprised to discover that the one person who makes him feel like he can breathe is Blue, the girl who once ruined all his best adventures.

When mysterious forces lead to disappearances throughout Balavata, Blue and Kellan must work together to find the truth. What they discover will lead them to the darkest reaches of the kingdom, and to the most painful moments of their pasts.

When romance is forbidden and evil is rising, can Blue save those she loves, even if it costs her everything?


Opening line:
"Once upon a time..."

I had no idea I would be reading a Cinderella retelling. I didn't know what the book was really about, either. Plenty of my friends enjoyed it so I thought I'd give it a shot.

First, I love the name Blue, short for Bernadina. What a great, original name for the female main character. Blue is kind, loves her father and grandmother, and cares for others. She cares for the homeless children of the town and tries to help them in anyway she can. When the children start to disappear, she's determined to find a way to help them.

Second, Kellan, the prince, is back from school and ready to be the king. Only, he's not ready because the first thing he has to do is pick a bride from the right families. Which means, lots of posturing, manipulating and murder by the families and their enemies. Kellan is sharp, fun, driven, and a kind brother to his sister who can't speak. They even have their own sign language.

Third, Blue and Kellan's parents were good friends so the children grew up together. Kellan was reckless and loved to push the boundaries, while Blue put a stop to his 'fun' often, which Kellan hated. So when Kellan comes back from school, Blue is right there to tell him to stop behaving in a way that can get himself killed and he's right there telling her to leave him alone. As you can tell, they aren't the closest of friends.
But as they go through trials, and Kellan helps Blue through some personal hardships, and Blue is there to listen to Kellan, their anomosity turns to friendship and they can stand to be around each other.
Then their feelings deepen even more are they share their innermost secrets with each other. Which brings me to...

Five. The romance was a nice, slow burn. It was fun to read about their feelings for each other as their trust deepened.

And through their story, their is a rogue witch, a blood wraith, and an evil stepmother. CINDERELLA!

I loved the retelling.

The only point that got me was that there were two characters who got left out of the story, particularly at the end. Maybe I miss what happened to them? The stepsisters were gone from the story about three-fourths of the way into the story. I would've like to know what happened to them.

There is some violence, kissing, sexual tension and no swear words (that I can think of0. I'm ready to read another book by Ms. Redwine!