When Wishes Bleed

When Wishes Bleed, Book 1

By: Casey L. Bond

Narrated by: Aleksi Graves

Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

One prince. One witch. One fate.

The upheaval in my life began the moment a prince stumbled into my house and asked me to read his fortune. Any other night, I might have made an excuse to get him to leave, but this was no normal visit. My fingers prickled to touch him. So, I granted his request by handing him a single wishbone. When he snapped it, the wish...bled.

Hearing me suck in a shocked breath, he asked what it meant. Such an ominous omen could only mean one thing: His death was imminent. Fate revealed that he wouldn’t die of natural causes. Someone wanted him dead. Stunned by the revelation, the man I now knew as Prince Tauren disappeared into a night I feared he wouldn’t survive.

The following day, I received an invitation to the castle. While it seemed the prince believed I could intervene and uncover who was plotting his death, his motives didn’t stop there. I was being summoned to join 12 other women in vying for the opportunity to be his wife and future queen. Going could mean jeopardizing my plans to reclaim my heritage and resurrect the House of Fate. But staying would guarantee Tauren’s death, and the blood of his wish would be on my hands.

When Wishes Bleed is a young adult fantasy romance perfect for fans of Adrienne Young, Cora Carmack, and Kiera Cass.

Praise for When Wishes Bleed:

"The Selection meets The Hunger Games in this MUST read!" (Tara Brown, international best-selling author)

"Witchy, witty, and wildly addictive. Bond’s twist on Fate is imaginative and fun. Cinderella meets the Hunger Games in this magical tale of family, tradition, and deception." (Tish Thawer, best-selling author of The Witches of BlackBrook series)

"Spell-binding and delicious, with magic that’s absolutely magnetizing. An unforgettable story with breakneck pace, enchanting characters and a dynamic plot. A real page-turner!" (Misty Provencher, author of the Cornerstone series)

"Casey crafted an intricate magical tale into a masterpiece. Be ready to be enthralled." (Mary Ting, international best-selling, award-winning author)

"A magically phenomenal tale with a bewitching modern spin." (Brittany Hively of Books Babble)

©2019 Casey L. Bond (P)2020 Casey L. Bond

Aweful Narrator

The story was great. The only thing that ruined it was the terrible narrator. All of the male voices sounded grating and the exact same. Also because she can not really do male voices she would talk very slowly whenever doing a male voice. That is not even the worst part. The narrator can not pronounce the letter “g”. This means that she pronounces hanging as “Han’in’”. This makes it very confusing to understand what she is trying to say.

Derivative mess

The plot on its own is somewhat decent, but some parts of the story have become cliché and the world this is set in is a total mess. There are so many inconsistencies and blatant copying of ideas from other series we all know now that it’s distracting. If more time had been spent on making a consistent, unique world for these characters to live and act in, then I might have given this book 4-5 stars.

The different sectors (The Hunger Games), the spiraling/ringed kingdom (I can’t even name all of the books), the prince having to choose a wife (The Selection, and so many more), it’s all eye-rolling in its unoriginality. Then add on top of that total inconsistencies in the details, like electricity, TV, and jeans in what started as a Medieval-ish society that uses horse drawn carriages, payments made in trade, candles, and executions by hanging. (There is a single sentence about the kingdom having previously had a Democrat society - ??? - it’s so random and confusing that it should have been edited out! It just created a ton of questions that the author had no intention of ever addressing.)

I understand there is supposed to be a cultural difference between the witches’ sector and the rest of the kingdom, but it’s not represented by a stylistic difference, but massive technological inconsistencies. [Example of proper development: In The Hunger Games there was a distinct difference between The Capital and District 12, but the technology was still present in both, just used differently to support the lifestyles of the different cultures. TV was entertainment used by the people in The Capital and propaganda used against the people in 12. Drones for convenience in The Capital and surveillance and control in 12.]

These technological inconsistencies are just dropped in at random as convenient to the author, not as intentional differences in culture, so they are jarring and the reader is left feeling like the laws of the fictional universe have just changed at random. If they were intentional they would have been established before the scene they are used in. For example: some kind of reference to TVs when describing the community at the beginning, not just all of a sudden some people have them when they start talking about the selection being televised. [Example of proper development: In The Hunger Games, we see TV projections, drones and the technology of the enforcers, in District 12, as well as Effie’s fashion and the train, before we enter the world of The Capital. We are prepared for the existence of advanced technology before we encounter it, so it is believable that District 12 & The Capital exist in the same world.]

“Wait! What? They have TVs? Electricity? I thought this was a pre-industrial society.” - that kind of moment shouldn’t happen - it just pulls the reader out from the illusion of the world. The only time technological change should have such unexpected change within the world of a story (so it won’t be disruptive) is when someone is actually kidnapped by aliens and taken to a different world, or time-travel.

More illogical inconsistencies: how does everyone from a single affinity live in one of five houses? Like, actual physical houses (not a group, like Gryffindor, but a structure). The main character’s house seems to only have 2-3 bedrooms. There’s is the outermost sector, so therefore it should be the largest, yet everyone lives in one place (in 5 houses)???

The physical structure of the kingdom seems to only be described to mimic other successful series on the market, having no real impact on the story. Further, its restraints make no logical sense in relationship to other discussions. Non-spoiler example: There is unease about how criminals being banished must be brought through the witches’ sector on the way to the border and that another route should be used. But if it’s supposedly the outermost ring and surrounds the rest of the kingdom, physically there really isn’t an alternative, so the whole political issue is stupid. (Not a spoiler; just a random bit of conversation in the book.)

There are political issues in the society that are brought up in discussion, but then never addressed in any way later (example: the transporting of prisoners mentioned above). They were only listed in the moment to give a weak reasoning behind why the witches and king were in communication. There is an increase in criminal activity in the kingdom: why? It’s never explored or addressed. Just a random bit of conversation that should actually be a bigger part of the story if something like that is going to be included. These kinds of things sets the reader up to think, “oh, here is where the plot is going to thicken”, but it never does.

As for the narration: the male character is an 18 prince, yet the voice used is that of a hunched over little old man of about 90 years old who smoked most of his life. That alone cost the Performance a couple of stars. Also, I usually listen at 2.0-2.5x but I had to listen at 1.5x because, although it felt so slow, something about the speakers voice made the words unclear (mumbling-like) if I sped it up.

it started off good but...

Started off strong, til I realized the narrator couldn't pronounce the letter G which once you notice, it's super annoying. The storyline kind of deteriorated too. The narrator overall ruined it, sometimes when she enunciated certain parts, it made it sound really cheesy.

review

story line good..narrator not so good. all her male characters had the same weak voice. they sounded like old men instead of young men

It's JUST The Selection with witches

I enjoyed the writing style and most of the characters. The story was engaging and well done. This was so close to being a 5 star read, but here I am grappling with whether or not to give it 2 or 3 stars.
The first reason is (minor) Brecon is a character that could have been deleted and the plot would have remained the same. He was frustrating. Everything he said and did was overstepping and confrontational and disrespectful. Especially to Sable, who was supposed to be his best friend. And the second she oversteps in a minor way he gets furious with her and then ignores her previous wish to not hit on her to the point that she has to use magic to stop what felt like would be an as*ault if she hadn't. He's flat out rude to the King, Queen, and Prince, to their faces. And they just... take it as if it's no big deal?
The second reason is a major issue. This is the exact same plot as The Selection. Prince invites one girl from each sector to date sending some home as he goes in order to pick a bride. The main character and the prince strike a deal that she will help him and he ends up falling for her, while dating these other girls, when she has zero intention of being selected. Of course she is the one selected, other wise she wouldn't be the main character. but her best friend/love interest from back home is right there the whole time. There is a world with royalty in a world that seems far behind technologically speaking but everyone seems to watch a telecast the royals put on regularly in place of the news.
There are some changes, names, magic, etc. But overall it seems this author outlined The Selection series and rewrote it with a slight twist.
It's extremely disappointing. The author has so much talent and a way with words - the writing is quite superior to The Selection, but that doesn't make taking another story and rewriting ok, does it? I'm shocked and to be honest, slightly appalled that no one else seems to have an issue with this.
This author has talent but she should be urged to come up with her own plots and not rewrite those of other authors. Some similarities are okay but this is too much. I have already bought all of her books after reading the first chapter of this one, so she has talent to draw the reader in. I am just afraid that the rest of her books will be rewrites of vastly popular books.

Blandsville

This book has a great concept, but falls short. Plot is predictable and one dimensional. If you are looking for a book with many layers of conflict and good character depth, find a different book.

This story would have been great if...
1. There was a back story about Fate and Sable's mother/grandmother.
2. Developed Characters better. All you really learn about Tauren is that he cares about Sable.. that's it.
3. The complete missed opportunity of Leah and Knox's secret/not secret affair.
4. Throughout the story Sable is worried that people will not accept her since she is a witch yet everyone accepts her without question. Another missed opportunity to create depth to the characters and the story line.

Narrator was boring and mispronounced simple words. King was "keen" Kingdom was "keendom" quickly pronounced as "quicklay." It was really, really annoying.

Good book

This is a good book. The narrator has a pleasant voice, but all the men she portrays aren’t. They all sound raspy as if they have smoked for 20 years.

I finished the book in a day and have it on a 2.3 speed. With this adjustment it was still almost intolerable to listen to.

Other than this it is a good book. I recommend you listen to the sample and decide for yourself if you would enjoy it.

I loved this book

This is the first book I have ready by author Casey L Bond. Her book covers are magical, and now I know her books are too! This was a great world to just lose yourself in. Starting book #2 now!!

Good story but no on the narrator

The story is good but I am struggling so bad too get through it that I'm writing a review half way through the book. I don't even know how to describe what she is doing. Everyone except Sabel, her seamstress friend, a female Dr., and a few others sounds like a decrepit old, old, person with some sort of throat sickness. Male or female you can't tell a difference. To the point I'll never pay to listen to another book she's done, which is a shame, she's got a nice voice normally.

Starts slow, but so worth the wait!

The first chapter made me thinking I had made a mistake and wouldn’t be able to get into this book, but by the 3rd chapter it picked up tremendously and I was hooked! The author uses such creativity and imagination in telling this story. I didn’t love the narrator’s voice when she was protesting other characters, but I was able to ignore that and enjoy the story! I will definitely be reading the next book!

not the best I've heard

took it's time getting going. not sure why the narrator made all the guys sound old and feeble