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April Oaks #1
Sorcery of the Blood
Kingston St. Louis and Martin Von Brandt are vampire hunters of the highest caliber. That is until Kingston is made a vampire and they discover too late that the city is being taken over by vampires in a bloody coup.
Branded as outlaws, they’re forced into hiding with an unexpected ally. For their plan to stop the coup to work, Kingston will have to overcome his prejudices and train the very vampires he used to hunt, and Martin must learn magic.
All the while, they struggle with their feelings for each other. Love can be a weakness, and they can’t afford weakness when hiding from a powerful enemy.
Branded as outlaws, they’re forced into hiding with an unexpected ally. For their plan to stop the coup to work, Kingston will have to overcome his prejudices and train the very vampires he used to hunt, and Martin must learn magic.
All the while, they struggle with their feelings for each other. Love can be a weakness, and they can’t afford weakness when hiding from a powerful enemy.
212 pages, ebook
Published May 4, 2020
29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 4, 2020
This didn't feel like reading a whole book. It felt like the last half of a book or fanfiction. I liked the two main characters but I don't think there was enough interaction between them to care about their relationship. It felt like there were too many underdeveloped side characters. Overall, it wasn't terrible but it could have been better.
May 2, 2020
I thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a digital ARC of this novel.
I want to start this review saying that I enjoyed this book. I did. The plot was very interesting, and the two main characters were nice. But I can't help but think how great this book could have been if it wasn't so rushed. It definitely needed at least 100 pages more.
As I said, the concept behind this book was great: a vampire hunter is turned into his own enemy and now him, his partner and a bunch of other vampires and other creatures have to fight the villain. And the concept behind the villain could have been very very interesting. The problem is that all of this wasn't executed in the best way. Any element of the worldbuilding or plot twist or new character that appeared felt either too hasty, too easy, too convenient or too randomly inserted, with no real purpose or with the right introduction. For example, several worldbuilding elements were dumped in the middle of the story, by a character quickly explaining them to the main characters, when they should've been incorporated step by step, bit by bit, until they felt more realistic. That would have made the stakes feel more high too, creating more suspense. The same thing happened with some minor character: they randomly entered into the scene, presenting theirselves like "hi i'm X and I'm Y's girlfriend" and at the end of the day they were...well...useless, because they didn't really participate to the final fight.
Overall this was an okay book, but I think it needed to be developed a bit more before it was published.
I want to start this review saying that I enjoyed this book. I did. The plot was very interesting, and the two main characters were nice. But I can't help but think how great this book could have been if it wasn't so rushed. It definitely needed at least 100 pages more.
As I said, the concept behind this book was great: a vampire hunter is turned into his own enemy and now him, his partner and a bunch of other vampires and other creatures have to fight the villain. And the concept behind the villain could have been very very interesting. The problem is that all of this wasn't executed in the best way. Any element of the worldbuilding or plot twist or new character that appeared felt either too hasty, too easy, too convenient or too randomly inserted, with no real purpose or with the right introduction. For example, several worldbuilding elements were dumped in the middle of the story, by a character quickly explaining them to the main characters, when they should've been incorporated step by step, bit by bit, until they felt more realistic. That would have made the stakes feel more high too, creating more suspense. The same thing happened with some minor character: they randomly entered into the scene, presenting theirselves like "hi i'm X and I'm Y's girlfriend" and at the end of the day they were...well...useless, because they didn't really participate to the final fight.
Overall this was an okay book, but I think it needed to be developed a bit more before it was published.
May 6, 2020
”One good thing about throwing stakes at a target? Not a lot of room in your brain for much else..”
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was interesting and I loved the plot. It had the potential to be great but it lacked a few things.
The world building was a bit confusing and we kind of didn’t get much info about the world until farther in the book then I expected.
A vampire hunter becoming a vampire was such an amazing plot and I thought it was well written but I wanted it to be more intense. Overall this book kept my interest but it could’ve been a bit more developed.
3/5 🌟’s
May 3, 2020
This is an interesting book. The lore has lots of potential, but it’s uneven— some things, like the different levels of vampirism, are nuanced and interesting. Relic vampirism is cool. Other things, like the potion that one of the main characters makes up based on intuition and random herbs in his apt that vampires can then use as a substitute for human blood, feel overly convenient and almost sloppy. Thousands of years of blood dependency solved by 10 minutes of tinkering in a kitchen? It’s really not supposed to be that easy.
The supporting cast is really compelling: lots of diverse characters with fascinating backstories. The main characters, however, often feel less like characters than convenient plot devices: doing and feeling whatever is needed of them in the moment. One of them is a complete tool and everyone hates working with him, he’s not an authority figure at all, but suddenly toward the end of the novel he’s the big bad’s main nemesis and the only one who can take him down. The other one is a shy genius who takes to magic and baking with equal affinity (he learns to be a witch by being told it’s possible and like…trying really hard?) but also has no self confidence and no awareness of his own strengths. I get that the chosen one never knows how special he is…but this is some next-level obliviousness. And despite them telling themselves, and other characters telling them, at every interval how much they love each other, really they spend most of their time comically misunderstanding and alienating each other.
There’s a lot to really like about this novel: the premise, some of the magic, what these characters are (or could have been) in the abstract. There are some great pop culture references sprinkled throughout as well. The execution, however, I’m not a big fan of. I think it would have helped, perhaps, to have a third person perspective rather than switching between first person for the two protagonists: their inner monologues definitely don’t make them more sympathetic, or interesting, especially since they’re both prone to repeating the same, utterly debunked, lines of self-deception. Common refrains include “I can’t do this” (spoiler: he can) “He doesn’t love me” (he just said he did) “I’m not good enough for him” (weren’t we just here like three paragraphs ago?). That said, while I might never want to see these two protagonists again, I do love the world that the author has built around them. And I’d read a novel about Felix in a heartbeat.
*I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily composed an unbiased review.
The supporting cast is really compelling: lots of diverse characters with fascinating backstories. The main characters, however, often feel less like characters than convenient plot devices: doing and feeling whatever is needed of them in the moment. One of them is a complete tool and everyone hates working with him, he’s not an authority figure at all, but suddenly toward the end of the novel he’s the big bad’s main nemesis and the only one who can take him down. The other one is a shy genius who takes to magic and baking with equal affinity (he learns to be a witch by being told it’s possible and like…trying really hard?) but also has no self confidence and no awareness of his own strengths. I get that the chosen one never knows how special he is…but this is some next-level obliviousness. And despite them telling themselves, and other characters telling them, at every interval how much they love each other, really they spend most of their time comically misunderstanding and alienating each other.
There’s a lot to really like about this novel: the premise, some of the magic, what these characters are (or could have been) in the abstract. There are some great pop culture references sprinkled throughout as well. The execution, however, I’m not a big fan of. I think it would have helped, perhaps, to have a third person perspective rather than switching between first person for the two protagonists: their inner monologues definitely don’t make them more sympathetic, or interesting, especially since they’re both prone to repeating the same, utterly debunked, lines of self-deception. Common refrains include “I can’t do this” (spoiler: he can) “He doesn’t love me” (he just said he did) “I’m not good enough for him” (weren’t we just here like three paragraphs ago?). That said, while I might never want to see these two protagonists again, I do love the world that the author has built around them. And I’d read a novel about Felix in a heartbeat.
*I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily composed an unbiased review.
May 6, 2020
*I received this novel for free in exchange for an honest review*
Sorcery of the Blood is a different take on vampires. You have your traditional vampires and then there are kinds too. This idea is refreshingly different and provides a nice change and variation to the standard vampire lore. I also liked the incorporation of witches and magic into the plot. This and the assortment of diverse and interesting characters made this novel a really good read. I liked that you switched between Kingston and Martin’s POV so the reader got an excellent insight into both main characters and how they handled the situation that the found themselves in. All the characters were thoughtfully developed and the author took time to let you get to know the majority of them as the novel progressed.
However I was disappointed by the ending. There was so much build up and care taken into staging what could have been an epic show-down between the two sides and then it was over so quickly. The main villain was dealt comparatively easily and there wasn’t a moment where I found myself fearing for either of the heroes’ safety. I feel the lack of the on-the-edge-of-your-seat final battle took away from the story somehow.
Overall, I did enjoy reading Sorcery of the Blood and would recommend it to those looking for a different kind of vampire novel.
Sorcery of the Blood is a different take on vampires. You have your traditional vampires and then there are kinds too. This idea is refreshingly different and provides a nice change and variation to the standard vampire lore. I also liked the incorporation of witches and magic into the plot. This and the assortment of diverse and interesting characters made this novel a really good read. I liked that you switched between Kingston and Martin’s POV so the reader got an excellent insight into both main characters and how they handled the situation that the found themselves in. All the characters were thoughtfully developed and the author took time to let you get to know the majority of them as the novel progressed.
However I was disappointed by the ending. There was so much build up and care taken into staging what could have been an epic show-down between the two sides and then it was over so quickly. The main villain was dealt comparatively easily and there wasn’t a moment where I found myself fearing for either of the heroes’ safety. I feel the lack of the on-the-edge-of-your-seat final battle took away from the story somehow.
Overall, I did enjoy reading Sorcery of the Blood and would recommend it to those looking for a different kind of vampire novel.
May 5, 2020
I received this ARC from Netgally. The blurb sounded very exciting as I love almost everything vampire romance book I can get my hands on, ESPECIALLY the mm ones. However, I feel that despite the interesting world and awesome idea to turn a vampire hunter into his biggest enemy, the book fell short in areas.
My opinion is that things were told instead of learned slowly. The romance felt like insta-love and very one-dimensional due to the way it was finally aired out about eighty percent into the book.
I would say this is an average book. I read it through because I liked the world, the ideas, and the vampires. I was disappointed that Kingston never once really struggled with needing or wanting blood, he never bit or had sex with the man he claims to have loved for so long, even though they talk about how blood and sex goes hand in hand, and Martin was just not very interesting to me.
On the bright side, I like the cover, I liked the world the author made and the ideas behind the blood replacement drink and the interesting idea to turn a vampire hunter into his worst enemy. Some of the secondary character were pretty cool as well.
My opinion is that things were told instead of learned slowly. The romance felt like insta-love and very one-dimensional due to the way it was finally aired out about eighty percent into the book.
I would say this is an average book. I read it through because I liked the world, the ideas, and the vampires. I was disappointed that Kingston never once really struggled with needing or wanting blood, he never bit or had sex with the man he claims to have loved for so long, even though they talk about how blood and sex goes hand in hand, and Martin was just not very interesting to me.
On the bright side, I like the cover, I liked the world the author made and the ideas behind the blood replacement drink and the interesting idea to turn a vampire hunter into his worst enemy. Some of the secondary character were pretty cool as well.
May 2, 2020
Kingston and Martin are dedicated vampire hunters. Until Kingston becomes one.
I liked this book. I wish I could of loved it though. It had the possibility to be great but fell a little short. I think the main characters were interesting enough to carry the book, but some of the secondary characters (who really had the same importance) needed more backstory. The last quarter of the book seemed rushed and probably could of been stretched out for more impact.
Overall it was an interesting read and I will definitely add this author to my watch list.
This book was provided by the author via IndiGo Marketing & Design in exchange for an honest review. Review Copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads.
I liked this book. I wish I could of loved it though. It had the possibility to be great but fell a little short. I think the main characters were interesting enough to carry the book, but some of the secondary characters (who really had the same importance) needed more backstory. The last quarter of the book seemed rushed and probably could of been stretched out for more impact.
Overall it was an interesting read and I will definitely add this author to my watch list.
This book was provided by the author via IndiGo Marketing & Design in exchange for an honest review. Review Copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads.
May 19, 2020
A Joyfully Jay review.
3.75 stars
This is a story far more about the journey than the destination. There’s a lot of world building tossed out, hints of other races, of different types of vampires based on how they were made, different witches, elves, and mermaids, but the focus is always fairly tight on Kingston and Martin dancing around one another. It’s brain vs. brawn — and Kingston, though smart and clever and cunning, isn’t always the brightest where Martin is concerned. It’s an open heart coming up against one that’s walled up tighter than a vault. Martin is able to adapt his thinking to see the human behind the monster, while Kingston can only see the monster first. It’s hard to see the man behind the fangs when so much harm and so much evil can be placed at the feet of the vampires.
The world building is good and goes against so many tropes. Yes, there’s an ancient vampire, but the ancient vampire isn’t all-knowing.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
3.75 stars
This is a story far more about the journey than the destination. There’s a lot of world building tossed out, hints of other races, of different types of vampires based on how they were made, different witches, elves, and mermaids, but the focus is always fairly tight on Kingston and Martin dancing around one another. It’s brain vs. brawn — and Kingston, though smart and clever and cunning, isn’t always the brightest where Martin is concerned. It’s an open heart coming up against one that’s walled up tighter than a vault. Martin is able to adapt his thinking to see the human behind the monster, while Kingston can only see the monster first. It’s hard to see the man behind the fangs when so much harm and so much evil can be placed at the feet of the vampires.
The world building is good and goes against so many tropes. Yes, there’s an ancient vampire, but the ancient vampire isn’t all-knowing.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
May 3, 2020
Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC of Sorcery of the Blood in exchange for an honest review
Sorcery of the Blood was a fun and intense read. It's essentially about Vampire Hunters Kingston and Martin who are trying to make Phoenix a safer place for humans once again. But then, Kingston gets bitten by an old vampire and turns. With the help of Martin and some vampires who rely on donor blood instead of killing humans willy-nilly, he is brought to a safe-place to come to terms with his new undead-ness. In the meantime, the vampire who turned Kingston takes over the city dictator-style and Martin discovers something about himself: he has magic.
Together, they try to undo the evil vampire regime by joining forces, learning and teaching how to fight and, Kingston and Martin try to navigate the romantic feelings they have for each other which seem to become stronger than ever.
I liked the dynamics between the characters and I really loved the diversity. While there are not only characters of every ethnicity and sexual orientation, there are lovely human/vampire relationships that explore the issues that arise when one partner is immortal and one isn't. The pining between Martin and Kingston was absolutely lovely and I was rooting for them from the first second on.
The villain was of a very good-old-fashioned kind of villain sort: hella racist, hella homophobic, and unapologetically evil. You are immediately hell set against him because he does not have a single shred of decency.
So, the villain is a white cishet male who is fighting queer vampires of all genders and sexualities (except straight) and there are some nods to Nazi Germany and I thought that I would've loved to see a little more variety. I would have loved to see some white cishet human/vampire allys on the good side and maybe some influences from some other terrible dictorial regimes in there. The latter would have appealed to the history nerd in me, and since the villain is a couple of hundred years old, I would've loved a backstory of how he became evil and how he travelled the world to be part of all the regimes. Just to hate him a little bit more (even though he is already up there with Umbridge from Harry Potter tbh.) But these are very minor complaints because as I said, I enjoyed the characters a LOT, they were quite lovely and fleshed out :)
All in all, I did enjoy this though and I can't wait to see what Alice G. Holmes does next! Their writing was lovely all throughout and the world building was also fantastic. I'd recommend this to everyone who is into vampire novels first of all and pining second of all because... the amount of love and pining in this book is just great!
Sorcery of the Blood was a fun and intense read. It's essentially about Vampire Hunters Kingston and Martin who are trying to make Phoenix a safer place for humans once again. But then, Kingston gets bitten by an old vampire and turns. With the help of Martin and some vampires who rely on donor blood instead of killing humans willy-nilly, he is brought to a safe-place to come to terms with his new undead-ness. In the meantime, the vampire who turned Kingston takes over the city dictator-style and Martin discovers something about himself: he has magic.
Together, they try to undo the evil vampire regime by joining forces, learning and teaching how to fight and, Kingston and Martin try to navigate the romantic feelings they have for each other which seem to become stronger than ever.
I liked the dynamics between the characters and I really loved the diversity. While there are not only characters of every ethnicity and sexual orientation, there are lovely human/vampire relationships that explore the issues that arise when one partner is immortal and one isn't. The pining between Martin and Kingston was absolutely lovely and I was rooting for them from the first second on.
The villain was of a very good-old-fashioned kind of villain sort: hella racist, hella homophobic, and unapologetically evil. You are immediately hell set against him because he does not have a single shred of decency.
So, the villain is a white cishet male who is fighting queer vampires of all genders and sexualities (except straight) and there are some nods to Nazi Germany and I thought that I would've loved to see a little more variety. I would have loved to see some white cishet human/vampire allys on the good side and maybe some influences from some other terrible dictorial regimes in there. The latter would have appealed to the history nerd in me, and since the villain is a couple of hundred years old, I would've loved a backstory of how he became evil and how he travelled the world to be part of all the regimes. Just to hate him a little bit more (even though he is already up there with Umbridge from Harry Potter tbh.) But these are very minor complaints because as I said, I enjoyed the characters a LOT, they were quite lovely and fleshed out :)
All in all, I did enjoy this though and I can't wait to see what Alice G. Holmes does next! Their writing was lovely all throughout and the world building was also fantastic. I'd recommend this to everyone who is into vampire novels first of all and pining second of all because... the amount of love and pining in this book is just great!
September 23, 2020
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What a letdown. I was hooked by the blurb and the story start nice and promising... But it went down pretty fast.
And this is the quote that best summarizes the book. Fast. Too fast. Too fanficish.
Let's start with the plot. This is a vampires story. We have two vampire hunters who from night to day find themselves in the middle of a cruel vampire's domination. And what's worse: one of them is converted into that he hates most.
Promising, isn't it? The issue is within the details. Things happen too easily and, worst of all, it seems like every time they bump into a gigantic wall, suddenly they find the correct answer. Once and again and again. Is there a blood substitute? No, but no problem, we have a genius character that will invent it mixing this that and that; can a vampire become human again? No, but no problem! The same genius will find suddenly a way... And like that, everything.
Si the story generally speaking had potential but the execution is too very lacking. It's something that when reading a fanfic you don't mind because you don't expect more than that... But when reading a novel... You expect more. Seriousness. For the author to be careful with the details. And so on.
In regards of the characters... I have mixed feelings. Both mains seemed to be half developed. And specially their romance. It's... Uff. Just too shallow. The author leans too much on them being secretly in love since many years before the story beginning... And so, she doesn't give them the focus they deserve. I missed seeing more of them together, because if not because every character said they felt their love for each other... I wouldn't have felt more than friendship between them.
Kingston was by far more interesting than Martin. Martin was the goodie while Kingston the prejudiced who must learn that he's not always right. Kingston evolves, and that's at least something. Martin... Martin felt too good to be true: the one who is smart and suddenly is a master is magic and the one who everyone likes and so on. Again, too good to be true.
But better than them, were some of the supporting characters. Most of them felt like could have given us more than they did... But I can't deny I loved Felix. He is funny, and strong but at the same time he has a sweet and vulnerable spot in him that makes him more real.
In short, this is the kind of book you read, kind of enjoy but when finish what you think is: arrg, this could have been a lot better!
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a letdown. I was hooked by the blurb and the story start nice and promising... But it went down pretty fast.
"We've done it, we won!"
"That was fast", I said.
And this is the quote that best summarizes the book. Fast. Too fast. Too fanficish.
Let's start with the plot. This is a vampires story. We have two vampire hunters who from night to day find themselves in the middle of a cruel vampire's domination. And what's worse: one of them is converted into that he hates most.
Promising, isn't it? The issue is within the details. Things happen too easily and, worst of all, it seems like every time they bump into a gigantic wall, suddenly they find the correct answer. Once and again and again. Is there a blood substitute? No, but no problem, we have a genius character that will invent it mixing this that and that; can a vampire become human again? No, but no problem! The same genius will find suddenly a way... And like that, everything.
Si the story generally speaking had potential but the execution is too very lacking. It's something that when reading a fanfic you don't mind because you don't expect more than that... But when reading a novel... You expect more. Seriousness. For the author to be careful with the details. And so on.
In regards of the characters... I have mixed feelings. Both mains seemed to be half developed. And specially their romance. It's... Uff. Just too shallow. The author leans too much on them being secretly in love since many years before the story beginning... And so, she doesn't give them the focus they deserve. I missed seeing more of them together, because if not because every character said they felt their love for each other... I wouldn't have felt more than friendship between them.
Kingston was by far more interesting than Martin. Martin was the goodie while Kingston the prejudiced who must learn that he's not always right. Kingston evolves, and that's at least something. Martin... Martin felt too good to be true: the one who is smart and suddenly is a master is magic and the one who everyone likes and so on. Again, too good to be true.
But better than them, were some of the supporting characters. Most of them felt like could have given us more than they did... But I can't deny I loved Felix. He is funny, and strong but at the same time he has a sweet and vulnerable spot in him that makes him more real.
In short, this is the kind of book you read, kind of enjoy but when finish what you think is: arrg, this could have been a lot better!
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 5, 2020
Thank you to Alice G. Holmes, NineStar Press and Netgalley for the review copy in return for an honest review.
Plot This book follows Vampire hunters Martin and Kingston. One night, Kingston is bitten and turned into a vampire and discover that an old vampire is trying to take over the city.
Diversity: Wide range of LGBTQIA+ characters, characters of colour
Trigger Warnings : Racist and Homophobic behaviour, Violence and Beheadings
I did enjoy the plot. There was a lot of intrigued where it was going. Caleb was a good villain, his regime felt a lot like the NAZI regime. In general things could have been developed further. Characters and lore were dropped at random and one sentence spoken of.
The final battle did let me down. We are the most part of the story working up to this big battle and it was finished in like 3 pages.
Writing I did really enjoy the writing style. It was fast paced and easy to read. There were some things that got repetitive and could maybe have been edited down.
Worldbuilding The lore in this story is on one side really great and lacks on some other fronts. There was a lot of information about the different kind of vampires and witches and other paranormal creatures. But a new witch could find new spells, potions that suddenly make the life of the vampires 10x easier, while they are already living this way for 100s of years.
Characters In this story you follow the POV of Martin and Kingston. I really enjoyed Martin's POV and his route to magic. I did not enjoy Martin. I felt he was too much an asshole and was just constantly of two minds with himself and it got a bit tiring to read. I found the love for his partner from his POV a bit cliché written, but from Kingston pov more nuanced. and for me, i did not see enough of their interactions to really believe the love for each other. From the beginning of the story, it was told instead of shown.
Overall I did enjoy the story and wanted to keep reading. And not having read a vampire book in a long time, it was a nice change.
Plot This book follows Vampire hunters Martin and Kingston. One night, Kingston is bitten and turned into a vampire and discover that an old vampire is trying to take over the city.
Diversity: Wide range of LGBTQIA+ characters, characters of colour
Trigger Warnings : Racist and Homophobic behaviour, Violence and Beheadings
I did enjoy the plot. There was a lot of intrigued where it was going. Caleb was a good villain, his regime felt a lot like the NAZI regime. In general things could have been developed further. Characters and lore were dropped at random and one sentence spoken of.
The final battle did let me down. We are the most part of the story working up to this big battle and it was finished in like 3 pages.
Writing I did really enjoy the writing style. It was fast paced and easy to read. There were some things that got repetitive and could maybe have been edited down.
Worldbuilding The lore in this story is on one side really great and lacks on some other fronts. There was a lot of information about the different kind of vampires and witches and other paranormal creatures. But a new witch could find new spells, potions that suddenly make the life of the vampires 10x easier, while they are already living this way for 100s of years.
Characters In this story you follow the POV of Martin and Kingston. I really enjoyed Martin's POV and his route to magic. I did not enjoy Martin. I felt he was too much an asshole and was just constantly of two minds with himself and it got a bit tiring to read. I found the love for his partner from his POV a bit cliché written, but from Kingston pov more nuanced. and for me, i did not see enough of their interactions to really believe the love for each other. From the beginning of the story, it was told instead of shown.
Overall I did enjoy the story and wanted to keep reading. And not having read a vampire book in a long time, it was a nice change.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2020
I had the privilege of reading this book on NetGalley.
This was a very different kind of Gay Urban Fantasy story, and I loved it. Alice G. Holmes is a master at creating characters with backgrounds, dreams, and fears. I fell in love with the characters here, even the two-paragraph side characters. They all were so interesting and different. Another thing that surprised me is that there was no sex in the book between the love interests. I'm so used to the MC's having sex at least once in gay romances, it was actually a little nice to be able to just read a good fantasy with gay MC's. I kept having these expectations about how this story would go because it feels like I have read stories similar to this so many times, but none of those expectations became reality. This was a wholly original delightful story.
My one issue and the reason for four stars was the inclusiveness the author added into every nook and cranny. It feels really weird saying this is a bad thing, but nearly every character is gay, genderqueer or trans. That's all fine and lovely, and I think it would have been refreshing if it wasn't brought up nearly every page. That character you just met, surprise! their trans, that other character you just met he's gay. I don't think that's how it happens in real life, "Hi my name is Mark and I'm trans, let's go break into this building to save people..." It was just a little over the top.
Overall this is a fantastic story and I enjoyed every minute of it, and I will definitely be on the lookout for more books from this author.
This was a very different kind of Gay Urban Fantasy story, and I loved it. Alice G. Holmes is a master at creating characters with backgrounds, dreams, and fears. I fell in love with the characters here, even the two-paragraph side characters. They all were so interesting and different. Another thing that surprised me is that there was no sex in the book between the love interests. I'm so used to the MC's having sex at least once in gay romances, it was actually a little nice to be able to just read a good fantasy with gay MC's. I kept having these expectations about how this story would go because it feels like I have read stories similar to this so many times, but none of those expectations became reality. This was a wholly original delightful story.
My one issue and the reason for four stars was the inclusiveness the author added into every nook and cranny. It feels really weird saying this is a bad thing, but nearly every character is gay, genderqueer or trans. That's all fine and lovely, and I think it would have been refreshing if it wasn't brought up nearly every page. That character you just met, surprise! their trans, that other character you just met he's gay. I don't think that's how it happens in real life, "Hi my name is Mark and I'm trans, let's go break into this building to save people..." It was just a little over the top.
Overall this is a fantastic story and I enjoyed every minute of it, and I will definitely be on the lookout for more books from this author.
May 5, 2020
This was a fun fast read about a vampire hunter turned vampire and his best friend/sort-off witchy boyfriend.
I went into this with zero expectations - and then I couldn’t put it down and read it in more or less one sitting.
I wasn’t aware going in that there was going to be a major outing of the vampire race and evil vampires overtaking Phoenix - but I was THERE for it.
I did think it was at some points rushed and I would have liked to be more on the forefront of the rebellion, but since both Kingston and Martin had to go into hiding in the beginning of the story you don’t really get to see much of the impact of the city-wide war humans vs. vampires; you only get to hear about it.
The plot centers more on the relationship between these two colleagues/best friends who we find out really early on feel more for each other than either one wants to admit. The chemestry is so stinking cute, it made up for a lot of things plot-wise.
I loved how diverse the cast of characters was (to a point where you start to wonder if there is even one hetero cis person there ^^) and how diverse the MAGICAL beings were - the author took what we know of vampires and put their own spin on it.
The ending felt a little rushed, I would have liked for a bit … MORE. But all in all it was hella entertaining.
Highly recommend, if you just want to dive back into all things vampire and you like witty banter and fun characters.
I went into this with zero expectations - and then I couldn’t put it down and read it in more or less one sitting.
I wasn’t aware going in that there was going to be a major outing of the vampire race and evil vampires overtaking Phoenix - but I was THERE for it.
I did think it was at some points rushed and I would have liked to be more on the forefront of the rebellion, but since both Kingston and Martin had to go into hiding in the beginning of the story you don’t really get to see much of the impact of the city-wide war humans vs. vampires; you only get to hear about it.
The plot centers more on the relationship between these two colleagues/best friends who we find out really early on feel more for each other than either one wants to admit. The chemestry is so stinking cute, it made up for a lot of things plot-wise.
I loved how diverse the cast of characters was (to a point where you start to wonder if there is even one hetero cis person there ^^) and how diverse the MAGICAL beings were - the author took what we know of vampires and put their own spin on it.
The ending felt a little rushed, I would have liked for a bit … MORE. But all in all it was hella entertaining.
Highly recommend, if you just want to dive back into all things vampire and you like witty banter and fun characters.
May 7, 2020
Netgalley and the publisher gave me a copy of this book for an honest review!
I would class this book as "just okay". It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't knock my socks off good. The plot was excellent, and the concept of all the magical/mystical characters was well done, in my opinion. However, the pacing of this book was a little strange for me. We start right in and it felt like I was jumping into chapter 5 or 6 of a book. Then it slows down to world build a bit, but not until 30-50% of the book. There's a huge build-up to the final fight, and it sounds like it will be really intense, but then it...wasn't. The ending fell flat for me as the final battle wasn't as intense as I expected.
I wanted to feel more connected to the characters, but there were so many of them that were underdeveloped due to the lack of time given to them, that I really struggled with this. I adored Martin, one of the main two characters, but couldn't stand Kingston and don't know if that's just personal preference or how he was written. Lovable gruff asshole was the intention, but all I got was an asshole in the end.
Again, the plot and world were really good, but it all could have had a little extra added to it.
I would class this book as "just okay". It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't knock my socks off good. The plot was excellent, and the concept of all the magical/mystical characters was well done, in my opinion. However, the pacing of this book was a little strange for me. We start right in and it felt like I was jumping into chapter 5 or 6 of a book. Then it slows down to world build a bit, but not until 30-50% of the book. There's a huge build-up to the final fight, and it sounds like it will be really intense, but then it...wasn't. The ending fell flat for me as the final battle wasn't as intense as I expected.
I wanted to feel more connected to the characters, but there were so many of them that were underdeveloped due to the lack of time given to them, that I really struggled with this. I adored Martin, one of the main two characters, but couldn't stand Kingston and don't know if that's just personal preference or how he was written. Lovable gruff asshole was the intention, but all I got was an asshole in the end.
Again, the plot and world were really good, but it all could have had a little extra added to it.
May 17, 2020
Sorcery of the Blood
For a Slash fiction romance novel, there is not a great deal of romance, mainly some minor pining. I found that there are a few too many ideas crammed into a short book - vampires, witches, dead brothers, fights with the ultimate undead but not much romance! So many characters introduced that it's hard to keep up. They probably could have managed an entire series with the world building but it's too much in one book. Could do with a bit more back story in terms of why the vampires are there and how they work, the author seems to assume we don't need to know. Also, the characters themselves, there is very little description. The baddie doesn't appear nearly enough, all his activities are reported on rather than shown. Inventing an amazing blood substitute should take more than one go! The whole book just feels a bit rushed and targeted more at a YA audience.
Interesting theory about Bram Stoker's wife and her father. I also like the different types of vampire. Good cast of diverse characters, including a genderqueer vampire and issues such as racism and homophobia tackled.
I think the author is promising, but needs to take their time with the next book.
For a Slash fiction romance novel, there is not a great deal of romance, mainly some minor pining. I found that there are a few too many ideas crammed into a short book - vampires, witches, dead brothers, fights with the ultimate undead but not much romance! So many characters introduced that it's hard to keep up. They probably could have managed an entire series with the world building but it's too much in one book. Could do with a bit more back story in terms of why the vampires are there and how they work, the author seems to assume we don't need to know. Also, the characters themselves, there is very little description. The baddie doesn't appear nearly enough, all his activities are reported on rather than shown. Inventing an amazing blood substitute should take more than one go! The whole book just feels a bit rushed and targeted more at a YA audience.
Interesting theory about Bram Stoker's wife and her father. I also like the different types of vampire. Good cast of diverse characters, including a genderqueer vampire and issues such as racism and homophobia tackled.
I think the author is promising, but needs to take their time with the next book.
May 4, 2020
**Thank you Netgalley for providing an E-arc for an honest review.
Sorcery of the Blood is a fast-paced romp in a new vampire world. It is a story populated with delightfully vivid main and side characters and the plot, though somewhat superficial and unevenly paced, is compulsively readable. I tore through the story in mere hours and enjoyed every moment of it. Kingston and Martin are the narrative lynchpins, with the story unfurling in a newly altered reality that is precipitated by Kingston (a vampire hunter) being turned into a vampire. I loved the dynamic of these two characters and how they gave voice to their love amidst the ensuing chaos.
The biggest issue with the novel is how loosely everything is strung together. There is little depth, with information introduced and then rapidly built upon. The beginning proceeds at a slower pace, leading to an ending that arrived much too soon. The story would benefit from further fleshing out, but the bones are solid and robust.
Sorcery of the Blood is a fast-paced romp in a new vampire world. It is a story populated with delightfully vivid main and side characters and the plot, though somewhat superficial and unevenly paced, is compulsively readable. I tore through the story in mere hours and enjoyed every moment of it. Kingston and Martin are the narrative lynchpins, with the story unfurling in a newly altered reality that is precipitated by Kingston (a vampire hunter) being turned into a vampire. I loved the dynamic of these two characters and how they gave voice to their love amidst the ensuing chaos.
The biggest issue with the novel is how loosely everything is strung together. There is little depth, with information introduced and then rapidly built upon. The beginning proceeds at a slower pace, leading to an ending that arrived much too soon. The story would benefit from further fleshing out, but the bones are solid and robust.
May 8, 2020
Thanks Netgalley for ARC for an honest review.
I read the summary of this book and I was intrigued. I’m such a sucker for Vampires and it had a lil romance; sign me up.
This book follows the story of 2 vampire hunters Kingston and Martin in a city, things change when Kingston becomes a vampire. Reading this book too me felt a little too much. There is mention of too many creatures from lore to make seem more put together. And at times it felt too instant, from rage to remorse or hate to a friendship. I found it was a little too easy. The changing of emotions too quickly would get on my nerves.
But I liked the essence of the story, it’s a really good idea in need of some polishing but still entertaining. The minor characters made it more fun to read. Martin being a witch is genius. I think this book will also appeal to movie and book nerds cause it’s has references that make it more fun. Think Sam and Dean from supernatural kicking butt but not brothers and in love. It worth a read.
#VeryTadaReviews
I read the summary of this book and I was intrigued. I’m such a sucker for Vampires and it had a lil romance; sign me up.
This book follows the story of 2 vampire hunters Kingston and Martin in a city, things change when Kingston becomes a vampire. Reading this book too me felt a little too much. There is mention of too many creatures from lore to make seem more put together. And at times it felt too instant, from rage to remorse or hate to a friendship. I found it was a little too easy. The changing of emotions too quickly would get on my nerves.
But I liked the essence of the story, it’s a really good idea in need of some polishing but still entertaining. The minor characters made it more fun to read. Martin being a witch is genius. I think this book will also appeal to movie and book nerds cause it’s has references that make it more fun. Think Sam and Dean from supernatural kicking butt but not brothers and in love. It worth a read.
#VeryTadaReviews
May 3, 2020
I think that for a first attempt at writing, this was pretty incredible. The story definitely had good bones, what with the hunter turned vampire and the fight against evil. I liked how the lore was explained, the different kinds of vampires and their powers, and the existence of witches and magic, because they spiced up the story. But I couldn't get completely drawn into it. I think a lot could be just scratched out of the book, and it wouldn't negatively impact the quality, quite the contrary. Some of the characters, for example, or some of the far fetched, unrealistic moments. Like when Kingston woke up after being turned and they had to TELL him he was a vampire.
I honestly believe that with a bit of polishing, this book could have been great. And I trust that with more experience writing, this author will be amazing, and I'll definitely give their next books a try.
*ARC provided by the author via IndiGo Marketing&Design in exchange for an honest review
I honestly believe that with a bit of polishing, this book could have been great. And I trust that with more experience writing, this author will be amazing, and I'll definitely give their next books a try.
*ARC provided by the author via IndiGo Marketing&Design in exchange for an honest review
May 6, 2020
Thank you to Alice G. Holmes, NineStar Press and Netgalley for the review copy in return for an honest review.
***Spoilers***
I really enjoyed this book! I appreciated the diversity of the characters and the break it offers from the typical heterosexual relationships. There are also numerous interracial relationships which are highlighted nicely in the context of the villain being a Nazi-like vampire.
This was a very slow burn romance. From the blurb I was expecting a little more romance in the forefront of the storyline.
The lore and world building were very interesting! I would be excited to read more books in this series. I would have liked a little more “showing” scenes verse “telling”. It was also a bit tough to be afraid of the villain who insisted on a white cowboy hat, but overall it was a very enjoyable read.
***Spoilers***
I really enjoyed this book! I appreciated the diversity of the characters and the break it offers from the typical heterosexual relationships. There are also numerous interracial relationships which are highlighted nicely in the context of the villain being a Nazi-like vampire.
This was a very slow burn romance. From the blurb I was expecting a little more romance in the forefront of the storyline.
The lore and world building were very interesting! I would be excited to read more books in this series. I would have liked a little more “showing” scenes verse “telling”. It was also a bit tough to be afraid of the villain who insisted on a white cowboy hat, but overall it was a very enjoyable read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2020
I thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a digital ARC of this novel.
More of a 3.5 than a 4.
Honestly, I did really enjoy this book but firstly it could have been longer and more fleshed out. the characters seemed like they were acting way younger than they actually are especially our two main characters. things seemed rushed. but in saying that I did enjoy the book and what happened in the book. the characters were very good and most were fleshed out really well. This book is filled with LGBTQIA+ characters which was a thing that I loved. The city itself was good and the vampires interesting.
More of a 3.5 than a 4.
Honestly, I did really enjoy this book but firstly it could have been longer and more fleshed out. the characters seemed like they were acting way younger than they actually are especially our two main characters. things seemed rushed. but in saying that I did enjoy the book and what happened in the book. the characters were very good and most were fleshed out really well. This book is filled with LGBTQIA+ characters which was a thing that I loved. The city itself was good and the vampires interesting.
May 3, 2020
So I finished this book in 1 sitting and LOVED It. Vampires, witches and a nice boy on boy romance, yes please. Besides the fact I saw vampires in the synopsis, I didn't really know what I was getting into. The first chapter drew me straight in and I could see that every chapter would end in a way that I couldn't put the book down. I have no fault with the characters (I think they balanced each other out), no fault with the LGBT portrayed in the storyline and no faults with how the narrative was written. Overall a very good and enjoyable fantasy romance read.
May 7, 2020
This is the kind of vampire urban fantasy I can get behind. I feel like I need a prequel to understand some of the characters in this story, but I like the character depth given to the various relationships between everyone. The antagonist, Caleb, was an obviously transparent representation of many negative personalities rolled into one dislikable character, providing a bit of catharsis for certain readers, me included, when the ending occurs. I look forward to seeing more from this author as they are able to bring the humanity in characters to life (pun intended).
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 12, 2020
I wasn’t a fan of this one, and I’m devastated. Queer vampires! What could go wrong? For me it was the writing, pacing and world building. I think it jumped into the middle about in pacing. It kind of felt like I had dived into an established series and that I should already know what the heck was going on. I even double checked to see if I had kissed a “(book 2)” after the title.
In regards to world building: there really didn’t seem to be any?
The plot itself I liked but all the elements together made it a hard read for me.
Provided by Netgalley.
In regards to world building: there really didn’t seem to be any?
The plot itself I liked but all the elements together made it a hard read for me.
Provided by Netgalley.
June 27, 2020
I thank Netgalley UK and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel.
I feel that Sorcery of the Blood by Alice G Holmes had a lot of potential. It was fast paced and action packed from the start. However, for me it felt a bit rushed and under developed. I liked the characters throughout but there could have been more detail into their histories and feelings. Things progressed so quickly in the plot, I would have liked more detail about the training and building relationships with new people in the resistance. It was a fun read but for me it needed more depth.
I feel that Sorcery of the Blood by Alice G Holmes had a lot of potential. It was fast paced and action packed from the start. However, for me it felt a bit rushed and under developed. I liked the characters throughout but there could have been more detail into their histories and feelings. Things progressed so quickly in the plot, I would have liked more detail about the training and building relationships with new people in the resistance. It was a fun read but for me it needed more depth.
June 24, 2020
Sorcery of the blood is an urban fantasy with Vampires. What I liked about it was the inclusivity. It was filled with LGBTQIA+ characters. The premise of the book sounded interesting but it lacks depth and a back story for the Vampires. I was really looking forward to a good Vampire story but it didn't work for me. It should have worked - it had queen Vampires! It did not. The ending was rushed too. Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an early review copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 9, 2020
This was a fun and fast read. I really enjoyed the cast of characters especially genderqueer Felix. If you enjoy vampires and vampire hunter stories but wish they were more queer, check out this book. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.
May 30, 2021
Fresh and different!
A unique take on vampire and otherworldly legends with a modern view. Looking forward to reading more of Holmes' work.
A unique take on vampire and otherworldly legends with a modern view. Looking forward to reading more of Holmes' work.
June 14, 2020
This book is unapologetically pro LGBT and I love it. If things like romance between 2 men or 2 women offend you then do yourself a favor and stay away. Otherwise this is a great quick read from a new author. For a first book I thought it was pretty good! It's a pretty quick read but I can see potential for a series with a universe being established by the end of this book. I can already think of a couple of ways I can see this book going in the future. The only thing negative I would have to say and why I gave the story only 4 instead of 5 stars is the ending felt a bit rushed. There is a lot of build up to introduce characters but the ending seems to come at you very quickly. I could have seen about 50 more pages added to this to satisfy my cravings. If you like vampires with a bit of romance added in then definitely give this a read. I hope the author continues writing!
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