Lovin' los libros

Bloodspell (Bloodspell #1)
   by: Amalie Howard

Publication Date: June 1, 2011
Publisher: Langdon Street Press
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: e-ARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 394 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 3/5 stars

                            -goodreads.com description


I wanted to love this book. I really did. But it just fell short for me. Which is a shame because it had a really cool storyline- girl finds out she is a witch (a powerful one at that) who is involved in a mega prophecy and happens to fall in love with a vampire- which is completely forbidden according to the vampire/witch rules of old.

We are introduced to Tori's character and you can't help but feel for the girl. She is the social outcast at her stuck-up prep school and the novel opens with her being taunted and teased by the 'Stepford' girls and the jerk football players. Tori unleashes her blood magic for the first time at the beginning of the novel and she is completely unaware of who and what she truly is. Upon transferring schools, she runs into (literally) Christian Devereaux, who she instantly feels a connection to.

Sigh. Christian's character was just so hot and cold for me. Yes, I understood his reasonings for being the way he was, but I hated the playing with emotions. Tori was guilty of it too, though, so I can't place all the blame on him. And I know Howard didn't want the focal piece to be their romance, but I could've used a little bit more, not just allusions to it. Though, they both do have some really sweet moments with each other.

I think part of what frustrated me the most was the back and forth between Tori and Christian. They're both all, "Heeeeey we're attracted to each other', and then it's all 'I want to drink your blood' and 'My witch blood wants to kill you'. So, we can't be together. But we can't stay away from each other. But we can't be together. BUT WE CAN'T STAY AWAY! Oi.

I also had trouble with the book's pacing. One minute I'd be really interested in what was happening and the next I felt like it was dragging and I just wanted to get through the pages to an interesting part. But then the END! Whew! The last 50 pages or so I just kept barreling through! There are a few unexpected twists, that I definitely didn't see coming. (Though I probably should have.)

I read ALOT of great reviews for this book, however, so I would definitely recommend giving it a try to see if its your cup of tea. It just wasn't mine, sadly.

*Thank you to Langdon Street Press for providing a copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review.*