Review: Out for Blood by Alyxandra Harvey
Goodreads: Hunter Wild is the youngest in a long line of elite vampire hunters, a legacy that is both a blessing and a curse at the secret Helios-Ra Academy, where she excels at just about everything. Thanks to her friendship with Kieran Black, Hunter receives a special invitation to attend the coronation of Helena Drake, and for the first time, she sees the difference between vampires that must be hunted and vampires that can become friends—or even more. When students at the academy fall victim to a mysterious illness, Hunter suspects they are under attack from within. She will need someone she can trust to help her save the future of Helios-Ra . . . help that shockingly comes in the form of Quinn Drake, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire. Who said senior year would be easy.
I have been reading Harvey’s books since her first in the Drake Chronicles titled Hearts at Stake. I immediately fell in love with Harvey’s quirky characters and fast moving prose. Out for Blood is no exception. With each addition to this series you learn so much more about the rich culture of both the vampire world and the slayer world of the Helios-Ra.
Hunter is a darn good character and very likable to boot. She is smart, and as always in Alyxandra’s books she is hilariously laugh out loud funny. She does not resent her legacy as almost vampire slayer royalty. She embraces but no matter what she has been taught Hunter always does what she thinks is right. To get a taste how bad-ass Hunter is, here is a quote from pgs 63 & 130 of the ARC:
She was right. But that was only because I’d been five years old when Grandpa had started my training. When I’d thought there were monsters under my bed, he taught me how to do a proper sweep to get rid of them.
“Are you ever going to shut up?” I snapped, fear and irritation filled me in equal measures. “This isn’t your monologue, Hamlet. It’s the battle scene, in case you’ve forgotten.”
His eyes narrowed so fast they nearly sparked. They were the color of honey on fire. One of the others growled like an animal. low in his throat. It made all the hairs on my arms stand straight up.
I was going to die for making fun of Shakespeare.
My English Lit professor would be so proud.
Quinn doesn’t take my place as favorite brother but he is a well fleshed out great character. I love the way his mind works and his playboy ways.
As always in the Drake Chronicles a love story is in the air, and again as always that is not the main arc of the plot. The Helios-Ra and vampire royalty must work together to find out what has the blue tinged beast Helblar vampires working on a much more sophisticated level than their normal ways of doing things based on animal instincts.
This book is fun fast paced and a great read of anyone who loves sarcasm humor and thrills.
Why Teens Will Love It:
Harvey breathes new life into vampire myth giving teen readers a dose of vamp lore they may otherwise not read. In addition to that the girls in these books are all very smart, savvy and can take care of themselves, great role model potential. The boys are hot and funny and the plot is relate-able on a teen level even though the book is based in lore.
Why Adults Will Love It:
Adults will love the Drake Chronicles for the same reasons I do. Fun and interesting characters doing great things in a fast paced lore filled modern world. These books are reminiscent of the tomes we read in high-school and have definitely been bumped up to 21st century standards.
Bloomsbury is offering a copy to a lucky reader of this blog. Just comment below and tell me why you want to read Out for Blood!
- Check out Haunting Violet, Alyx’s new book!
- Like the publisher on Facebook to win cool stuff!
- you can add yourself to the Drake Chronicles Facebook.
- Alyxandra has a page on Facebook as well!
- You can check out trailers, videos and lots of cool stuff on the Bloomsbury Youtube.
I received this book from the publisher for the purpose of writing this review.
Review: Beautiful Dead (Book 1 Jonas) by Eden Maguire
Something strange is happening in Ellerton High. Phoenix is the fourth teenager to die within a year. His street fight stabbing follows the deaths of Jonas, Summer and Arizona in equally strange and sudden circumstances.
Rumours of ghosts and strange happenings rip through the small community as it comes to terms with shock and loss. Darina,Phoenix’s grief-stricken girlfriend, is on the verge. She can’t escape her intense heartache, or the impossible apparitions of those that are meant to be dead. And all the while the sound of beating wings echo inside her head! And then one day Phoenix appears to Darina.
Ecstatic to be reunited, he tells her about the Beautiful Dead. Souls in limbo, they have been chosen to return to the world to set right a wrong linked to their deaths and bring about justice. Beautiful, superhuman and powerful, they are marked by a ‘death mark’ – a small tattoo of angel’s wings. Phoenix tells her that the sound of invisible wings beating are the millions of souls in limbo, desperate to return to earth.Darina’s mission is clear: she must help Jonas, Summer, Arizona, and impossibly, her beloved Phoenix, right the wrong linked to their deaths to set them free from limbo so that they can finally rest in peace. Will love conquer death? And if it does, can Darina set it free?
Beautiful Dead has every element that I dislike seeing in a paranormal work. The book is about zombies but maybe I am missing the point. It seems like a lot of authors are taking from supernatural elements and renaming them into something they are not.
The teens die in a mysterious way and are reanimated by an overlord who gives them a year to the date of their death to solve the mystery of their murder. To me this feels more like necromancy especially with the supernatural elements that the author gives the said zombies. Time travel and magic over time. Each teen has a ‘death mark’ that is tattooed onto the spot of skin where they are killed.
I think I would have liked the book more if the author had left out the word zombie and had only called the characters the “Beautiful Dead”. I was not able to connect with the characters in any way and some of the character names seemed to pull me out of the story a bit. Such as having a boy named Phoenix and a girl named Arizona, I could only think of Phoenix, Arizona while I was reading.
Darina who is the main character you follow through the world is still alive. She helps the Beautiful Dead to find out from the living information that may be used to solve their murder before they pass on for good. I felt she was a very bad example for teens. She only cared for the boy who died, even more than caring for herself. I also disliked that yet again in a young adult novel the parents are lame, and hard, and on the point of being abusive. Not every kid has crap parents.
In the end I do not think I will be reading book two. I struggled over this review trying to find some silver lining to share with you but I am unable to do so. I suggest from the same publisher reading either Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble or Bran Hambric by Kaleb Nation. Both of these works are good examples of what Source is trying to convey with their Teen imprint.
