Monday, January 11, 2010

[Review]: "Half Blood"

Title: Half Blood
Author: Liberty Stafford
Publisher/Publication Date: eXtasy eBooks (part of Devine Destinies pub)/ Nov. 2009
Available in: E-Book
Summary:
Ever felt like you don't fit in? Try being only half human. Daniel Otovic is a loner. A misfit. Discovering his father is a vampire doesn't increase his popularity at school. Dhampirs don't fit in anywhere. His cousin, Niko, is a jock. Nobody realises he is a dhampir, too. Except Niko feeds on humans. During detention, Daniels discovers the school talent show is imminent. Captivated by the enchanting singing of Katarina, he is persuaded to take part. His mind is not really on task. He has fallen in love and it's not a good time, having just discovered his paranormal heritage. He has new skills. He can fly. He can run like the wind. He can shape shift. Premonitions haunt him. Most of them are about Katarina and she is in danger. Growing up on the Bosnian border, Daniel could do nothing without Niko. In England, it is no different. Only Niko is hungry and Katarina seems like a tasty meal for him and his newly fashioned jock vampire friends. Can Daniel handle being a dhampir when for years he considered himself a normal guy? He has to handle it. Katarina's life depends upon it.





My Review:

Vampire novels flood the bookshelves, with new ones coming out almost weekly. So what does Half Blood have to offer that the others out there don't have? For one, the main character, and dhampir, is a guy. Honestly, other than that, the novel has very little unique features.


It's your average “good versus evil” vampire story, with a “coming of age and all the hardships it brings” subplot. Not a horrible book, just not anything new. On top of that, the writing was about average as well, and the characters were a bit dry.

Although it's suppose to be a teen paranormal romance, the whole book seemed more like a Dark Gothic, though admittedly aimed more towards the younger readers than anyone else. I guess I was expecting more from the characters, and the story in general, then what I got in the end.

Don't think that I hated the book-- I didn't. I simply didn't love it either. A quick, short read, but one that's a bit forgettable in the end.

3 Stars! Although having Daniel as the main character provided a bit of a change for this genre, it wasn't enough to raise the book above all the other vampire books out there. It wasn't a waste of time, by any means, but unfortunately it wasn't a vampire book I'd recommend readily to everyone. I'm hoping that the sequel, Full Blood will bring more to the table than Half Blood did.



Cover Note: I'll be honest-- I'm not feeling this cover. At all. A bit freaky-- no offense to the author/publisher/cover artist that may be reading this. For me, it just doesn't grab my attention at all.

~~~

Thanks to the publisher (via NOR) for the free e-book copy of Half Blood in exchange for the review.
~~~




Enjoy!




Until Next Time,
Photobucket

No comments :