Of Wicked Blood

The Quatrefoil Chronicles, Book 1

By: Olivia Wildenstein, Katie Hayoz

Narrated by: Holly Fielding, Thomas Locklear

Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

No rest for the wicked...or the cursed.

SLATE

I didn't mean to steal the Bloodstone from the De Morel's crypt. Scratch that, I did mean to steal it. Until I realized it was a curse-magnet that only comes off if I, along with a jolly trio, successfully defeat four curses. If any of us fail, I'm dead. I've never been a glass half-empty sort of person, but my glass looks in dire need of a refill right about now. The only highlight of this wicked treasure hunt: feisty, entitled Cadence de Morel.

CADENCE I was raised on tales of magic, in a small town reputed to be the birthplace of French witchcraft. Did I believe all the stories I heard? Absolutely not. I mean, if magic existed, Maman wouldn't have died, and Papa wouldn't be stuck in a wheelchair, right? Wrong. The night Slate Ardoin waltzes into my life, wearing a ring he stole from my mother's grave, I call him a monster. But then I meet real ones, and Slate, well...he becomes something else to me. Something frustrating to live with, but impossible to live without. Something I will fight for, no matter the cost.

Warning: profuse cursing (and not just the magical kind).

©2021 Olivia Wildenstein and Katie Hayoz (P)2023 WildStone Publishing

Another Good One!

Another good one by this author! If you haven’t checked her out yet you most def should! I loved the characters and their progression in the book! The narrators were really good as well! I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Excellent Book!!

This book was CRAZY good.....

Cadence and Slate team up to stop a curse, and find four pieces of the Quadrefoil....

Lots of danger and intrigue and excitement...

I have unanswered questions... I sure hope there will be a book 2!!

Brilliant!

Slade Ardoin was a thief. A very skilled and accomplished thief. Having been abandoned at a very young age, he’d survived a flawed and incompetent foster care system and had only himself to rely on, When contacted by the mysterious Rainer de Morel and informed that he was in fact the only living descendent of one of the four founding families of the Village of Broom, he began his adventure to claim his birthright with larceny in his heart. Little did he know that the “treasure” he stole would bind him and the descendants of the other three founding families to a quest to restore the “magic” to the land of his ancestors, a quest that would cost him his life if they failed. Cadence de Morel is a beautiful, strong, feisty descendent of one of the other families, and Rainer de Morel’s daughter. When these two meet ... well, I’ll not be the one to spoil the fun. Let me just say that this wonderfully written and magnificently narrated story is filled with mystery, humor, magic, love and redemption. I loved every second!

Slade

Our characters have such a grand adventure in this first book. You have fantasy, intrigue, even some romance!

I could just some this up with FREAKING AWESOME!

Fast paced and engaging urban fantasy

4.7 stars! While it was a little slow out of the gate, with some world building to do, the story picked up steam and held on tight. A gripping urban paranormal fantasy, set in a small village in France believed to be the heart of magic (even claiming to be the home to the most witch trials in Europe, the Salem of the east). But despite the local lore and the tradition steeped lives of the locals, not many truly believe in the old stories of magic. The main characters, Slate and Cadence couldn’t be more different. Him from a rough childhood in the foster system, living the live of a prissions thief, while she grew up with her father in this French college town full of lore and history. He’s so jaded that when he finds out that his birth parents were from that small town, and he is sent for to claim his birthright and inheritance, his anger and spite end up propelling them all into a world of magic and death that none of them truly thought was real.

As things get going, the story moves as a good pace. They are looking for the four pieces of the quatrefoil, and each piece comes with its own demons to battle. Out side of this journey, we get the budding relationship between Cadence and Slate. And Slate is one of the characters that you can’t help but like. He’s cocky, confident, and charming, and hides his feelings well. He’s got just that right blend of charm and ego that make him easy to get sucked in by. And Cadence, while young and naive, she’s also strong and confident. They’re romance is definitely a slow burn, but it’s sweet and young, and it’s nice watching it unfold.

Overall, the story is very engaging, with touches of humor woven throughout, and in the end we’re left with just enough questions to keep up wanting more (yay for another book!) but with enough closure that you’re not falling all over yourself with the wait. The narrators do a great job, their voices fitting the characters quite perfectly, and easily pulling you into the story even more. The two POVs are well suited, and give a overall well rounded view of the story. Excited to see where the next book will take the story from here!

Great fantasy paranormal treasure hunt

This book was super fun! It was kind of like a paranormal treasure hunt in France. The characters were great, especially our 2 main characters Cadence and Slate.
The idea of the book, where these 4 generations of families have to find each of their pieces to restore magic and save Slate from a curse he acquired when he put on a ring. Each trial they have to do to get back their leaves were so action packed and dangerous.
There were so many great relationships in this book. I loved how Cadence and Slate's relationship grew throughout the book. Cadence and Alma as well as Slate and Sebastian (spelling? I listened to the audiobook!) had such great friendships that warmed my heart.
The ending was so fast paced, but I felt like it ended in a weird spot. It ended on a real cliffhanger, but I felt like more things should have been explained. I'm very interesting to find out what happens in the next book!

Riveting listen

The story is told in dual narrative POVs. The narrators, Holly and Thomas did a wonderful job portraying the main characters, Slate and Cadence. Their voices were pleasing and it was easy to follow along.

I must admit that I really loved Slate. His character is phenomenal. He’s like a bad boy, who turned into somewhat of a villain to survive. His witty responses, and his loving side that he tries so hard to hide from others.

The mystery surrounding the curse and what the Quatrefoil crew needs to do, before it’s too late!! Secrets in a small town can get you killed. Will Slate and the Quatrefoil crew survive? If your a fan of fantasy, mystery, suspense, and slow burn romance then this book is for you!

Wickedly good!

An absolutely amazing story, creepy old secrets, family curses, a not-so-good guy, who may have triggered a timed curse, with rules & twists and you have to play your part! Will they survive? And if they do..... what then?

I loved this story

I'm a fan of Olivia Wildenstein's writing especially when it involves the romances she creates. Slate and Cadence are obviously the main and more important characters, but the rest of the mains: Gaelle, Adrian, Bastian, and Alma are definitely important and all got their own personalities. When casts of characters get this big I often find that some of the characters are basically background noise that I never get to know, but that was definitely not the case with this book.

This book was full of action and kept me listening the entire time. It has a slow start as the world is built and the story slowly begins, but once you get past that it is hard to stop.

Holly Fielding also narrated Feather by Olivia Wildenstein which I adored. She has a very sweet voice and sounds like an ingenue which is perfect for Cadence's character as well.

Thomas Locklear's voice was also very fitting for Slate.

Thank you to Olivia for the audiobook code!

Speechless

I’m speechless at this point. I was enraptured the entire time! This is a monster of a book and it held my attention the entire time. I am sooooo mad I have to wait to see where the rest of this story goes. 12/10 would recommend as a cleanish read. No steam but there are points where erections are mentioned. I’d say this would be good for high school YA readers!