Heather’s Bookshelf: The Bloody Key
Author: LJ Thomas
Released: 04/25/23
Genre: YA Folklore/Gothic Retelling
“Here Liesl and I are surrounded by luxury and the best of everything. All the splendors we dreamt of in the meadow—and many more we could not have imagined—have come true. Why is it, then, that I feel so melancholy?”
“The Bloody Key” is a Gothic retelling of the Bluebeard fairy tale. It introduces Anne, a fifteen-year-old working with her older sister, Liesl, tending goats when a regal nobleman passes through.
It doesn’t take long for Liesl to fall for the mysterious Bluebeard and they are soon married. When warnings about Bluebeard’s past wives pass by Anne, she’s unsettled but shrugs it off to rumor and sets off to her new brother-in-law’s castle.
When they first arrive at Tiefenwald Castle, the young women are swept up in the gorgeous surroundings, doting servants, and planning of extravagant balls. But soon mysterious things start to happen around the castle…there’s this odd hidden door…and then there’s this fox…
When Liesl gets sick, Anne knows she has to do something. The opportunity arises when Bluebeard leaves his castle and Anne jumps on it. But the truth is much more terrible than anything she could have imagined and the sisters must flea the castle.
Will the sisters escape Bluebeard and his secrets or will they fall to a terrible fate?
Trigger Warning: violence, murder, assault
Overall, I enjoyed this tale. This story is told in a little bit of a different way (as if told through their writings) and through multiple POVs. A majority of the story is told through Anne’s POV- through writings in her diary and letters to her family. There’s also excerpts from Bluebeard’s diary and Liesl’s letters to home. The intertwining letters and diary entries are structured in such a way that the story gets pushed forward nicely and the pacing remains steady. I found the author did a nice job reducing any redundancies that could have been present given the structure of the tale. I was intrigued by the bits of mystery and by the characters as well. The one limitation I noted was in the disparity of development between characters. I felt as though Anne and Bluebeard’s characters were clearly developed with dreams, desires, motives, and emotions but Liesl’s was much more limited. I did not feel a connection to the married sister and perhaps would have felt more of Anne’s predicament with development in this area. I was very intrigued by Anne’s interactions with Sebastian early on in the story and the setting of the gardens also screamed for picturesque descriptions. Both wishes were fulfilled at the end, but I thought there was some opportunity for further development in the middle of the tale. I enjoyed the ending and felt it wrapped everything up nicely. I also think a prequel would make a great addition to this story.
I was not familiar with the original folklore prior to reading the tale and so this review is conducted more as a standalone story than based as a comparison to the original tale.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A retelling that reads like an original story told through the writings of multiple POVs. A strong main character and effective structure highlight this intriguing tale.
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Check out my interview with LJ Thomas
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