It’s not often that I cannot finish a novel, particularly one I’m set to review. I’d read Sarah A. Parker’s 2024 fantasy When the Moon Hatched, so when approached with To Bleed a Crystal Bloom, I expected something similar in style and quality. A special edition re-release for 2025, To Bleed a Crystal Bloom is a reimagining of Rapunzel—except this one should’ve stayed in the past.
The novel is marketed as a dark fantasy, and while the setup attempts to ground us in this monstrous medieval-leaning world, its descriptions are flowery and full of contradictions. The overly purple prose and allusions without further clarification make it confusing to follow, which means you never really get a clear sense of the characters outside of the main protagonist, Orlaith. With that said, these critiques pale in comparison to the concerning plot:
The ruthless and mysterious High Master Rhordyn rescued Orlaith from a bloody massacre when she was two years old. Raised in a tower of Rhordyn’s castle for the past nineteen years, Orlaith has lived a sheltered life, tied to her guardian with one demand: A drop of her blood, delivered into a goblet of water, every night for Rhordyn to consume.
Now, Orlaith is turning 21…and she is completely infatuated with her father figure. Yup, if it sounds icky to you, that’s because it is. Orlaith is still very much a child, demonstrated repeatedly by her attitude and actions. The narrative does everything to remind you of that, including how she represses any biological changes to her body that happen with puberty. All while trying to convince you that Rhordyn didn’t have a hand in raising her, in order to justify their “romantic” [read: groomed] connection.
If that isn’t disturbing enough, about a third of the way through, Orlaith suddenly, with no prior warning or explanation, goes “into heat” for the first time, and her desire for Rhordyn rockets off the charts. And the elusive Rhordyn—who is never really given any kind of character development beyond being constantly angry and cold—seems to have a hard time resisting such temptation. I was already struggling with the book, but at this point, I couldn’t bring myself to read further. It’s like the author got the “shadow daddy” concept confused in all the worst ways to make this a dark romance without any romance.
Following the success of When the Moon Hatched, I can understand why Parker’s older, lesser-known works are being re-released, from a marketing standpoint. However, To Bleed a Crystal Bloom is only pretty in its sprayed edges and cover art; its content is deeply toxic and requires several trigger warnings. While dark romance is not for me, from a purely technical standpoint, this story feels more harmful than cathartic. I can’t imagine how the story would improve, considering this is part of a trilogy, but I won’t be sticking around to find out.
