Official Review: Blood on the Water by David Burton

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Hendmosaad89
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Official Review: Blood on the Water by David Burton

Post by Hendmosaad89 »

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Blood on the Water" by David Burton.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Blood on the Water by David Burton is the second installment of a series (the name of the series is unknown) and it was published in January 2015. Burton's first published book was in 1997 and it was a mystery called Manmade for Murder. He has more than eight books published on Amazon. Blood on the Water is a crime, thriller, mystery and horror novel, and it is suitable for readers above 15 years old. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars.

Blood Justice is the first installment of the series, and it revolves around a single mother called Justine Kroft who seeks revenge on the man responsible for the rape and murder of her daughter. She meets the ancient vampire Simone Gireaux and she helps her find and torture her daughter's killer. In Blood on the Water, Simone and Justine help their mortal friend Teresa Diaz to find her kidnapped daughter, Antonia. In their quest to finding Antonia, the women are immersed in a world of magic and sorcery. They discover the existence of witches and their eternal fight against villainous vampires and their Oracles. In their Journey, Teresa discovers that she is heir to a gift of magic power that she had never suspected. Together the women follow clues that ultimately take them to Antonia's whereabouts, but will they reach her in time or will they be too late?

I admit I was a little apprehensive about reading and reviewing the second book of an unknown series and not having read the first one. I was a bit afraid that the author would overlook the importance of inserting some history or background of the previous novel. Thankfully, the author did give a brief background of what happened in the last book, so I didn’t feel completely lost.

There are many good aspects in this novel. The most prominent one of those aspects is the writing style. It's a well-written mystery novel and Burton's writing skills are exceptional. The story flowed smoothly and with no obscurity. The writing is easily comprehensible and enjoyable. Although some readers may consider the story's pace a bit fast, I found it completely adequate to the events in the plot. A slower pace would have made this plot seem bland.

I prefer First person narratives because they convey true emotions and inner struggles of the lead characters better than third person narratives. Even though this novel is a third person narrative, I admire the way the author succeeded in transferring the lead characters' deep thoughts and emotions. I can't say I linked to them all, but I can say that I understood their characters well enough. Also, the author intelligently and gradually developed Teresa's character, and that is what I liked the most about this book. In the beginning of the story, Teresa was a little guarded and she thought she was unequal to her vampire friends in relevance to their strength and fighting skills. However, throughout the story I witnessed her grow stronger every day and more confident in her ability to defend herself. I liked that about her; she felt very human and relatable.

Nevertheless, this book is not without flaws. The flashbacks sections were somehow confusing; there was no differentiation between the present fonts and the flashback fonts. Also, almost all the characters had their own personal chapters, the lead characters AND the side characters. Frankly, I thought these side characters were too inconsequential to give them my full attention. More importantly, I really detested the relationship between Justine and her maker, Simone. Justine claims that she is "head over heels in love" with a detective called Harry, but she contentiously sleeps with Simone. My problem is that she doesn’t think this makes her disloyal to Harry (the man she supposedly loves). The last and most important flaw I came across in this novel is the regular repetitions of the same events. The women keep falling into trouble and they keep getting out of it exactly the same way. It was becoming a bit tedious but in the end, the author threw some twists and turns that ultimately made me enjoy the story.

Finally, I must say that aside from these flaws, this is one impressive vampire story. I think that it will definitely appeal to readers searching for an unconventional vampire story. Since the storyline is a bit repetitive I highly advise the author to shorten the length of the story a little to give his readers an enjoyable mystery read.

******
Blood on the Water
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Post by zeldas_lullaby »

Great, very thorough review.
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ashley_claire
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Post by ashley_claire »

I just reviewed the first book of this series, Blood Justice, and this book seems like a nice continuation of the story. Sounds like it reads much the same way the first one did. I'm glad to hear that Teresa's character grows. Great review!
Hendmosaad89
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Post by Hendmosaad89 »

@Zeldas_lullaby: Thank you, I appreciate it.

@ashley_claire: Thanks alot. Yeah, Teresa is my favorite. Justine annoyed me and Simone felt too distant for my liking. Overall it's a good vampire story:)
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zeldas_lullaby
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Post by zeldas_lullaby »

You're welcome!
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Post by Thesaurus Rex »

You are amazing at writing reviews, so thank you for sharing your opinions on this book with us. I didn't think this would be a vampire book at first, so I'm surprised by that. It sounds even better than I expected!
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Post by dburt12 »

Thanks for the good review of Blood on the Water and, by the way, for the one of Blood Justice. I'm working on the third book and will definitely use some of your comments and suggestions. Thanks again.
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Post by zanderlyrose »

Would this be a good choice for a light easy read. Something I could pick up between life chores without having to clear my mind first?
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