Blood Amalgam

by Corey Sondrup

“Time's up skinwalker.”

What if you woke up one day and found out the life you had been living was a dream and the people in your life weren’t who you thought they were?

What if you found out you were something other than what you thought you were?

Twenty-one year old, Wyatt Harrison was perfectly content spending his nights partying with his fraternity brothers while trying to juggle school and his psycho- girlfriend. Fate decided it was time for Wyatt to wake up.
Wyatt’s world is suddenly turned upside down when he discovers that wild animals would rather love him then eat him, his sister communicates with him from the dead, he discovers he has the power to regenerate his body as he walks away from an auto accident that killed five of his fraternity brothers. And to make matters worse, he has a new craving that neither food nor drink will satisfy.
With the help of his college professor, a mysterious, new girlfriend and a loving grandfather full of family secrets, Wyatt finds himself running from the beings trying to kill him and from the ones that have found better uses for his blood other than just food.

243 pages, ebook

First published July 23, 2012

About the author

Author of Blood Amalgam; Book 1 of the Crimson Chronicles, released July, 2012.

I am currently working on Book 2, Blood Frenzy, due out Spring, 2014.

Book 3 of the Crimson Chronicles; Blood Seer is already underway with about 9,000 words written so far. Look for it to be out early 2014.

Author of two self help/personal growth books: Mastering Life's Lessons (2012) and Reclaiming Your Power (2008)

Author of The Paleo Plus Plan: A Patient's Guide to the Paleo-Primal-Grain Free Lifestyle for Optimal Health (2013).

When I am not writing, I play doctor in real life. I have been a chiropractor, nutritionist and energy healer for the last 16 years in Ogden and Sugarhouse, Utah.

Reviews

[Susan]

I really wasn't sure what to make of 'Blood Amalgam' when I was trying to decide if I wanted to read it. I knew it was a fictional, paranormal romance that sounded fascinating and I love stories that include "supernatural" elements in them so I figured I would try this one. Once I started reading it I was hooked into reading the whole thing because the action started on page one and continued throughout the book. There was something going on with each turn of the page that made me want to continue reading it to find out what happened.

I do not want to write a spoiler but in all fairness I should tell you that I do not like Vampires and Werewolves. I normally don't read such books and the mere mention of them usually turns me off. They are mentioned and other 'supernatural' beings such as Drones, Pixies, Skinwalkers, and Amalgams to name a few but they are done in such a way that they are not the main focus of the plot. In other words, this is not a Vampire story or a Werewolf story, it is a story about the main character, Wyatt, who's normal life of a twenty-one year old seems to take a turn to a life of decisions and confusion overnight. Wyatt learns who and what he really is (despite the fact that he don't even believe in such things) and must decide which path to take. I especially liked that the author used real historical events such as "The Long Walk" of the Navajo Nation in the 1860's. It was cleaver of her to alter who helped the Army to round these people up to make the 'reason' for the curse in her story.

This, to me, is a fast moving story but some of the characters are not well developed so I had a problem connecting with them. In fact, I had a problem remember who is who and had to go back and find how this person fit in. I wish that these characters were either developed more fully or just left as a nickname that popped in and then out of the story and not reappearing later on where you have to remember who this person is. I also didn't really care for Gretchen's nickname for Wyatt which is, "Lover". I can't really say why I disliked it, it could be that they weren't together that long and it cheapens "love" or maybe because she said it so much, maybe both but whatever the reason I do know it was annoying me. Also, I don't think a man of twenty-one would like his girlfriend to call him that in public. It is one thing to call him it in private as a pet-name behind closed doors but not in public around strangers. He didn't want to be called "Tigger" in public and "Lover" is even worse. Any ways, that is just my personal thoughts and opinion about it but thought it was worth mentioning since I found it so annoying.

I have read other reviews and they spoke about the grammar/spelling errors. I don't know if I was just into the story but I really didn't notice them. If they were still there then it didn't take away anything from the story to me. On the whole I thought the story was good and the author cleaver in his use of history. Because of the language used I would recommend this book to adults who like paranormal romance with a lot of action.

[TONIA DELLINGER]

SYNOPSIS:

A young man named Wyatt is an all around good guy. He is enjoying himself immensely while attending college and partying with his frat brothers and his on and off relationship with Porche. He is very left brained in his thinking. Believing only what his eyes can see. One day, fate has decided its time for Wyatt to wake up and assume his role among the supernatural. He discovers wild animals love him, he has an amazing healing ability, and his loving grandfather has been keeping secrets.



I’m very torn on my review of this book. I liked it but at the same time I didn’t. I will just break it down into 2 categories.



What I liked:

The story was an interesting page turner. The idea of having multiple “supernatural” bloodlines is a great way to keep the reader guessing which path Wyatt will take.

The secondary characters that assist Wyatt on his path to discovery were also very interesting. I could tell they loved Wyatt and only want the best for him.

Wyatt himself. I rooted for this kid to make wise decisions and to finally accept fate. He is a strong willed individual who really does have a pure heart.



What I didn’t like:

The dialogue is very cornballish. I discovered the author is a doctor so that explained that annoyance and I was able to overcome the cheesiness.

The fact that Wyatt only dated Gretchen for 2 weeks and her pet name for him was “lover”. I felt that term of endearment belongs in a steamy romance novel not a y/a paranormal novel. “Lover” is repeated a lot and it was a little annoying but I could overlook it every time.

All of the nicknaming in general to me was overkill. The author could have just named the characters the nickname and spent more time on the plot thickening.



All around I give this book a 3 star rating. I believe the author can do better.

***DISCLOSURE***

I received a copy of this book free in exchange for an honest review.

[Lindsay Kendal]

Now yes my name is on this book, but that doesn't mean for one minute that this review is bias. The author knows I will only tell the truth be it bad or good. I have reviewed a lot of books and all are brutally honest.

I read this book while in its rough draft, and I loved it. I suggested some changes to help the story flow better, and am now looking forward to reading it again and seeing how the author has changed certain things, and how it reads this time around. The characters are instantly likeable, and I now have a girls name in mind for if I have a daughter in the future. Yes I will name my daughter after a character in this book, Gretchen.

The story is rather deep and you are given lots of information on the characters lives, both past and present. Sometimes I did have to take a step back and think 'whoa', then read a certain paragraph again so that I had the history of some of the characters stored in my brain.

This story is also like none I've ever read before, which made it a refreshing read. Beautiful settings, great characters, myths, legends and beautiful settings, Plus! kick ass females instead of needy, moaning ones, make for one hell of read. I can't wait for the second and hope Corey Sondrup doesn't keep us waiting too long.

[Sara]

This book left me in a real quandary......

Somewhere, hidden deep in the book is a good story waiting to come out - but I'm afraid it needs some serious work for it to reach anything like its potential.

From a positive perspective it is a new, fresh take on the paranormal genre BUT the negatives, unfortunately, outweigh that. For me biggest problem is the fact the book is in desperate need of proofreading/ editing. I lost count of the number of wrongly used words - gentile instead of gentle, decent instead of descent, grown instead of groan etc etc - and these really detracted from my enjoyment of the story. In addition, the dialogue seemed stilted, in that the characters rarely used any contractions in their speech i.e. "I will tell you later", rather than "I'll tell you later" - and, in my opinion, it made the dialogue seem unrealistic as it simply isn't how people speak to one another.

Perhaps if it was professionally edited, and the story "tightened" up it would improve matters - and I genuinely think the story at the core of this is worth that time and effort, but until that is done I would have to say I would struggle to recommend this book in it's current form.

[Danielle (Dannie)]

Wyatt is the main character of the book and, without giving anything away,
it is the story of his immersion into a supernatural/mystical world and a choice he has to make. Of course,
he is a pure-believer in science, being a pre-med student, and doesn't believe in the supernatural world, but soon things happen
in his life that are too out of the ordinary and unexplainable by science alone. He eventually has to expand his mind for the
possibility of supernatural beings & happenings in his world.

This is definitely a unique & interesting approach to the storylines that incorporate witchcraft, vampirisim & werewolves
(as well as other were-beings) and how they relate & interact within each other's societies, with some twists on native american
shamanisim thrown in as well.

The book was a little slow in thebeginning, but once the intrigue & mystery really began, it was hard to put the book down!
I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

There are some minor spelling, grammar, & punctuation issues as well as the wrong word used for another word - such as "grown"
instead of "groan", but they are easily overlooked in the overall story.

[Brandy Nacole]

I signed up through a read and review tab for this book and I'm glad I did. Blood Amalgam gives a new twist to the paranomral genre. I don't want to give much away so I'll do my best to keep the spoilers out. The main character, Wyatt, finds himself facing an unknown world that he doesn't believe in. Throughout the story Wyatt is forced to open his mind and accept the unacceptable.

I will admit that the beginning of the story was slow but when it finally took off, it was great. The downfalls I found in the book were mostly grammar problems. I did have some trouble connecting and remembering some of the characters, especially in the beginning of the book. Wyatts friends are kind of thrown at you with a slight introduction to their nicknames and that's about it. I kept getting them mixed up and couldn't visualize their characters. There were a few scenes that I did feel were skimmed over with an unemotional detachment when in fact they should have been dwelled on a little bit more. I would emphasize but would give away to many spoilers.

Overall I thought Blood Amalgam was good.

[Terry Clancy]

I enjoyed reading Blood Amalgam. It's an easy read, great for a vacation,beach, airplane book. I read it in two days. The plot is an interesting take on the vampire,werewolf theme. I liked the addition of the skinwalker and Native American history. Living in Utah it was fun to be able to relate to the different locations and be able to visualize them while reading the book. I am looking forward to the second installment of the Chrimson Chronicles.

Terry Clancy--Wisebird Bookery

[J. McClain]

There are plusses to this story. Sondrup has obviously taken time to think out the lead characters. Wyatt and characters such as Gretchen, J.C. and Creedmore. Blood Amalgam’s premise is an intriguing one. The juxtaposition of occult icons such as witches, vampires, skinwalkers and ghosts with topics such as homeopathic / alternative medicines / treatments and Eastern philosophies is interesting. Traveling with the lead Wyatt in his journey of rediscovery of the world and hidden forces around him, the reader is introduced to the details of this particular iteration of supernatural creatures (Vitamin D? Who knew?!) which bring the story to life. The author is clearly trying to create his own rules, always a plus in storytelling.

The author needs to work a bit on narrative voice, but he manages to successfully create a good story of an at-first-oblivious protagonist who is slowly convinced that all the things he dismissed as supernatural, actually exist. Wyatt is a straight-up nice guy, which has its advantages and disadvantages. His purity is an essential prerequisite to his power, but his overly naïve mindset lends him to come across as a bit one-dimensional on occasion—though the dialogue could use some work, sometimes it’s a writing problem rather than a characterization problem.

In addition to flat dialogue, I have to mention that as an editor, my passion is in ensuring manuscripts are not released with this number of simple errors still in them. Your/you’re, their/they’re, knew/new, of/off, embarrassing/embarrassed, the list goes on and on. I hope Mr. Sondrup gets a professional to clean up his manuscript in the near future. In fact the worst part about imperfectly edited writing is the chance at insult: If you’re going to go through the trouble of citing Elvira, Mistress of the Dark by name and title, her title must be in caps! Show some respect, you don’t want to make Mistress Elvira upset! ;-)

Looking forward to the Second Edition of Blood Amalgam, and future works from the author!

[Lizzie]

This was a very interesting read. The story follows Wyatt, a college student and fraternity member. Who starts out in a bad relationship that he's in the process of getting out of. He starts out having normal college boy problems, leading a normal life. When he starts to notice wierd things happening around him. Then tragedy strikes, he's the only survivor in a horrible crash that kills a few of his best friends, soon followed with many wierd sircumstances that happen to him and his family. Coming from a very scientific lifestyle, he soon learns that he is really apart of a supernatural world, that involves the "impossible".

I really enjoyed this book, it was a fun read, and I really liked the story. Sondrup brought a unique scenario involving werewolfs, vampires, skinwalkers, and witches. The characters were fun and lovable. I did have a couple issues with this book. The first was the editing. It was as if someone just did spell check and called it good because there was many extra words or the wrong words in place of others. Overall it wasn't a buzzkill, there was only 2 or 3 instances that tripped me up enough to be really annoying. The second was the interactions between Wyatt and the new girlfriend. I did like them together but the scenes between them were just corny to me.

Overall this was a great story, and I do recommend it, but if your a grammer stickler you might get annoyed reading it.

[Katie]

I got this as a read to review and while it took a bit to get started, I thought it was a very interesting story. There were quite a few grammatical and punctuation errors, but over all I enjoyed this book!