The Darkest Bloom is the fast-paced first book in P.M. Freestone’s Shadowscent duology. Set in a fantasy world where scents are power and secrets to be uncovered, The Darkest Bloom explores the empire of Aramtesh, where Rakel, a villager, and Ash, a bodyguard for the crown Prince of the empire, are the most unlikely of people to meet.
Freestone kicks off the book by describing scents that Rakel can smell (which I believe is somewhat a nod to Perfume: A Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind) in her village, making me feel as if I was in the fantasy with her. Rakel lives with her father who was discharged from the military due to ‘The Rot’, a disease that sounds as horrid as it looks, as the disease causes very nasty blisters and ulcers, not to mention the terrible pain and stink! Rakel wishes for her father to get better from ‘The Rot’, and sets out to use her nose to compete for the Scent Keeper position in front of the emperor of Aramtesh.
The empire of Aramtesh has scent permeated into its language, magic, and culture, and being Scent Keeper is considered one of the highest privileges that one can receive. Looking for ways to find a cure or better treatment for her dad, Rakel signs a contract with Zakkurus where she has to win the competition, otherwise she’s enslaved to Zakkurus for ten years instead (I don’t know about you, but ten years seems to be a long time!). During the competition, things are shifty, and Rakel gets whisked away and ends up as servant of the current Scent Keeper.
The bodyguards of the emperor and princes are called Shields and Ash, our second main protagonist, is one of these Shields. He’s extremely loyal to the crown Prince Nisai, who then gets poisoned. As it happens, both Ash and Rakel happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and essentially get framed. The only way they could redeem themselves is to find a way to make an antidote for the prince, but unfortunately, this antidote required the pair to go on a quest to find the five scents to make this antidote and they uncover several very ancient secrets of Aramatesh along the way.
Whilst this quest kind of gave me Wizard of Oz vibes because it felt at times that they were very convenient situations that were Wizard of Oz-esque, I enjoyed seeing these characters meet the goals that they set out to complete and it made for some light-hearted reading. Even though these plot points were often too easy, I also enjoyed the dual perspectives from Rakel and Ash, as they both complement each other in the storyline. Although there’s no romance between the two, I liked how they became friends, but I just wish that there was more of this in it!
While the two points of view in this book was enough to carry the story at a fast pace, I would’ve loved to have other characters’ perspectives too. I felt like most of the time the other characters were just there, and didn’t really contribute much to the storyline, as if they were there for the convenience of plot progression.
Overall, I enjoyed the book for its descriptiveness of scents, something not very many other books do. I also liked the execution of the plot enough to read it to the end, and I was surprised at the ending. I hope the sequel (Shadowscent: Crown of Smoke, due out in April 2020 at time of writing) goes more into the development of other characters, because I really want their storylines. I recommend this book for the younger YA fantasy readers as a step-up from middle grade reads.
The Darkest Bloom is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
In the empire of Aramtesh, scent has power.
When disaster strikes and the crown prince lies poisoned, long suppressed rivalries threaten to blow the empire apart. It’s up to a poor village girl with a talent for fragrances and the prince’s loyal bodyguard to find an antidote.
To succeed, the pair must uncover secrets – cryptic, ancient tales as well as buried truths from their own pasts – in an adventure that will ignite your senses.
