Lovin' los libros

A book blog dedicated to young adult and new adult novels

Review: Bloodspell by Amalie Howard

By 11:21 PM , , , , ,

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

The spell was simple...

Cruentus Protectum (Defend the Blood)

But what do you do if your blood is your enemy?

Victoria Warrick has always known she was different. An outcast at school, she is no stranger to adversity. But when she receives an old journal for her seventeenth birthday, nothing prepares her for the dark secrets it holds -- much less one that reveals she's a witch with unimaginable power.

What's more, when she meets the dazzling but enigmatic Christian Devereux, she has no idea how much her life is about to change. Enemies will hunt her. Friends will turn on her. The terrible curse that makes her blood run black will stop at nothing to control her. And Christian has a sinister secret of his own...

Without knowing whom to trust, can Victoria survive her blood's deadly desires? Or will she lose everything, including herself?

                            -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.*

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4 comments

  1. Interesting - witches and vampires! Blood magic always intrigues me, especially if vampires are thrown into the mix! Although I can see that all that back and forth between Tori and Christian would get annoying. A shame it didn't quite live up to the hype.

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    1. Agreed- I was super interested in storyline, but the writing itself just didn't catch me like I would've liked. I never turn down a good vampire novel!

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  2. Good review. Interesting storyline indeed. Sorry you weren't impressed but i'd love to still give it a go :)

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    1. Definitely Shane! I read that SO many people enjoyed it. I hope you do too!!

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