Blood & Magic Eternal by Jessaca Willis
YA Fantasy, Indie Published in 2022, 382 Pages
What I Didn’t Like:
- Editing errors. To be fair, I am working from an ARC so it’s possible some of these were caught before publication. Normally, I ignore grammatical errors in my copies (especially my ARCs) but these are worth mentioning because there were a lot and it often distracted me.
- Timeline is confusing. I did read the original series (recently, actually) and I’m still a little confused. I’m sure part of the confusion is that these are VAMPIRES which means, I assume, they don’t age like everyone else. But there’s no real sense of how long it’s been since the events in the previous series. Also not really clear on what actually happened in between.
- Feels a little too much like the previous series in terms of tropes and character arcs. That’s not to say they’re the same (no vampires in the original) just that it felt at its core like a story we’ve heard.
What I Did Like:
- Twist on the vampire story. This doesn’t feel like it’s heading to be the same story we’ve heard. It doesn’t even seem like it’s heading in the direction I thought it was going. I like when stories go in a new and refreshing direction and this has the potential to deal with vampires in a way I haven’t seen before.
- Strong characters. This is a strength for this author. I like the characters she creates. They’re always reinventing ideas of what constitutes strength. Each one has something they excel in and that’s always interesting. Malaki and Charlotte are no different with their personal strengths (and weaknesses) that make them feel like realistic and well rounded characters.
- The Hunt. In itself this is a fascinating idea. Similar to something like The Most Dangerous Game, the Hunt is an event where vampires are going to literally be hunting humans. It’s thrilling, dangerous, and a perfect event to focus a series like this on.
Who Should Read This One:
- Dark fantasy fans who like characters who aren’t what they appear to everyone else.