Blud and Magick by Preston NortonPublished: 8th January 2013
By: Cedar Fort Inc.
Source: Netgalley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. For two reasons. The first being that the protag, Darla, is only 14. This must have slipped my notice when I requested this book because, with the exception of Harry Potter, I prefer the characters to be a bit older.
The second reason, is that this book was written by a male author, and with a female protag. In the past, I've found that I struggle more to connect with females, written by men, though there have been a couple of exceptions.
Darla Summer was born out of the ashes of the evil Remmus Alrad, also known as The Shadow Lord, in front of a Council of Sages who mostly thought she should be killed immediately. Except for Edwin, who said that someone born out of something so evil, would be the complete opposite and would be inherently good. He offered to take her to the human world where he names her Darla Summer, and raises her as his niece, constantly on the move, so as not to be found by any of the Shadow Lord's followers.
But, on her first day at a new school, Darla and three of her fellow students are attacked at school by some of these followers, known as Shadow Risers. They believe his soul still resides inside Darla and they want to release him and have him back as their leader.
Darla, and two of the boys, adopted brothers Ash and Cirrus, a wizard and half vampire respectively, and who happen to also be living in the human world are taken back to Trivaesia, to attend The Alrad Academy of Blud and Magick, where they can live and learn among their own kind. But things will not be easy for Darla, being what she is. A vessel for the most feared and evil man in Trivaesia.
This book is set in two worlds, the world of Trivaesia and the human world. I enjoyed the world building, and the explanations and history of the gods, and how Remmus came to be. Darla was a great little character who had a lot thrown onto her shoulders after believing she was human for the first fourteen years of her life, but she handles it well. Her friendship with Cirrus and Ash begins because they are together at the wrong place at the wrong time, but blossoms as the book continues. Ash is quite a surly character but I actually enjoyed his attitude. Darla and Cirrus are better friends. He's caring and fun loving and I can't help but wonder if this will turn into more down the road. I did enjoy the interactions between this trio.
This book doesn't have any romance, which would usually be a negative for me, as I never truly enjoy a book that lacks in the romance department, but this was an exception. It actually didn't quite register with me that there was none until I had finished the book.
The ending surprised me and I'm really looking forward to the next book because there was a bit of a twist. But, sadly, with a release date of January 2014, I'll have quite the wait.
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Sounds like fun. Thanks for the review.
http://gwynnethwhite.blogspot.com/
I haven't heard of this one, but it does sound pretty good. Glad you enjoyed it.
January 2014 sounds like a really long wait, I hate it especially when I thoroughly enjoyed a book and also when there's an unexpected twist at the end. I don't know if Blud and Magick would be my sort of read, especially with the younger mc, but there was no romance and you still enjoyed it? I think I may have to give this book a try! Great review Suzanne! :)
Glad that you enjoyed despite the things that could be working against it. I usually like older protag and at least some romance too, but I am intrigued at the world building.
Brandi @ Blkosiner’s Book Blog
I can relate to the start of your review completely. I know it's very unfair to shy away from male authors who write female characters, but, like you mentioned, very few have managed to convince me in the past. I tend to prefer older characters most of the time, too. I'm glad this pleasantly surprised you! Lovely review as always. :)
Oh, God, I just recently finished a book with female protag/male author combo and I still haven't recovered. Also, I prefer my characters a bit older as well, but surprisingly enough, sometimes younger works for me too.
Great review, Suzanne. So happy you enjoyed this.
Oh wow, both the younger MC and female written by a male (Also an iffy aspect of mine) would have stopped me from getting this book so I'm surprised by how good it seems! The world especially sounds really cool and I secretly kind of love twists that leave you begging for the second. Good warning though ;)
Oh I've done that a couple times.. started a book and found out it's a young MC. Glad it worked out for you, though. It sounds like an interesting book. I don't mind the lack of romance in most books, so don't think that would be an issue for me. Great review!
I find it nice to actually get away from romance filled books sometimes so I'll check this out. I like the sound of the worldbuilding as well. The cover and the title make this seem as if the MC is much older so I think I'd be surprised to find out that she's so young too.
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