Vanessa Le

*4.5 stars*
I really enjoyed reading The Last Bloodcarver, which is the first book in a duology. This book was written so well, it’s hard to believe that it’s the author’s debut novel! Nhika, the main character, was interesting and felt relatable. Her abilities as a heartsooth/bloodcarver were unique yet explained in a way that felt intuitive and understandable. I was easily pulled into this world, which has both a fantasy and technological feel to it. Bonus points for the map included at the beginning at the book, which helped visualize the city and how it was laid out. I really enjoyed the various side characters with their own stories and quirks. With a possible murder to solve, it gives this book a bit of a whodunit feel, and while some things were easy enough to guess, others came as a surprise. This is a book I would read again, and I definitely plan to read the 2nd book when it becomes available!

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and BookishFirst for the early copy of The Last Bloodcarver! All opinions in my review are completely my own.… (altro)

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

Content warnings:
This book contains scenes of violence (gun and knife), death, attempted murder by a drug causing paralysis, grief, vehicle accident, blood, blood-letting, gore, classism, genocide, colonisation, experimentation on/vivisections of magic users, mention of internment camps, prejudice, racism, forced captivity, dehumanisation of magic users, animal and bird deaths, abusive relationship with coercive control, blackmail, threats, decaying flesh, mistreatment of a corpse (not sexual), hospital/medical settings and open-heart surgery while the patient is awake and without their consent.

In The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le, Nhika is a healer, following an ancient tradition using abilities she was born with. Under the guise of a homoeopathic healer, she uses her abilities in secret, accepting payment at clandestine appointments where she heals patients failed by doctors. While doctors rely on science, Nhika can look directly inside a body and seek out the root of an illness or injury. But healer isn’t what people call her; she’s known as a Bloodcarver, feared for her abilities and hunted for them.

When an appointment goes wrong and Nhika gets caught, she finds herself being sold to the highest bidder. Among the buyers is someone who wants to eat her. When she’s bought by a teenage girl who turns up with an absurdly high bid, Nhika has no idea what could happen next. Prepared to run for it at the first opportunity, she’s stunned when she finds she’s been bought by one of the wealthiest families to help heal a man in a coma.

The more time she spends with the siblings and their bodyguard, she realises there is more going on, and she eventually learns that the injured man is the only witness to their father’s murder. As Nhika works to help heal her patient, she struggles with her past, and identity as a Bloodcarver. Her limited training might be her undoing, and as she seeks help, she unwittingly puts herself in danger. Is the enigmatic yet confusing physician’s aide, Ven Kochin, someone she can trust or someone who will destroy her?

The Last Bloodcarver is an ambitious fantasy novel that aims to mix elements of fantasy, folklore and science. It’s a bold task and one that Le accomplishes well. I think what makes it work is that Le doesn’t try to blend the scientific and fantasy elements too much. For example, Nhika’s training, while spotty, is very different to the medical training of a doctor. This means that she has no medical jargon for what is happening in the body, and that allows Le to wash over a lot of science through her protagonist’s ignorance.

While that may seem like a convenient way to avoid dealing with the subject, Le’s character-building is solid, and it is completely fitting with Nhika’s character that she does not know these things. Le also introduces other information that shows further merging of science and fantasy, but that is a spoiler, and you’ll need to read The Last Bloodcarver for yourself to find out more 😉

There are many layers to this book, and through the characters and sub-plots, Le tackles many difficult themes and topics in The Last Bloodcarver. These include but are not limited to grief, trauma, generational trauma and genocide. I’ve not seen anyone else list this as dark fantasy, however, due to some of the content in it, I feel that it fits that genre.

The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le offers unique world-building, characters you will grow to love and a story that will draw you in.

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… (altro)

The Last Bloodcarver follows the sudden mystery/adventure that Nhika has been thrown into. One misfortune after another, Nhika must come to turns with who she really is and what she really wants with her life. The storyline shows clear signs of asian (Vietnamese based on author's heritage) cultural influence which I really enjoyed. I have been studying East Asian History for well over 10 years now so it was nice to see the nine-tailed fox theme and language references (Nhika, I feel yah on trying to piece together characters/radicals.)
Now the reason why I gave this four stars instead of five. Slight kindof spoilers coming up as I discuss how this book made me feel. This was an easy read for me which I mean as, I was absolutely gripped by the story and quickly finished because I wanted to know how this played out. The only reason I docked a star and honestly i would rather give it a rating of like 4.9 stars was because of the ending. It wasn't a rushed or poorly written ending which I really appreciated. But I am really just tired of reading books that leave off with "well what-if" and ultimately a sad ending. The ending is very much like the ending of divergent series. Once again not a bad ending in my opinion but just not necessary. All in all though, great book and great author. I would recommend it.… (altro)

This was fantastic! A southeast Asian industrialism/technocratic dark YA fantasy with hard colonialism themes. Definitely a five star read and some excellent world building! The ending was so incredible and left me excited for the next book.

I absolutely loved the characters. Nhika is dynamic, growing and changing. She is angry but kind and wants to be good. I loved her interactions with the Congmi family. It felt so relatable and I liked seeing the way their relationships developed and changed throughout the story. The romance was also super sweet! Especially towards the end, I felt like the characters really made each other better.

All in all, this was a wonderful read! It felt more mature than a lot of YA that I’ve read. The issues felt bigger and Nhika - while angry - never felt annoying to me. Highly recommend this to anyone who likes dark YA with themes of death, healing, and found family.… (altro)