3 out of 4 stars
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A Song of Blood is the first book in the Songs of Blood Saga and a debut novel for authors Renee Peters and Rae Stilwell. The two have created a new kind of vampire folklore that easily enchants readers. In their novel, they take the phrase "to hear the blood singing in their veins" to a whole new level, as vampires are able to hear music that is unique to each person. Arch Lord Lian Redmond is one such vampire, and he has made many women his queens over the centuries. Their songs harmonize with his in unique ways, but none of them can satisfy him completely.
One day, he meets the poor maid Delilah Flowers and is surprised to find that he can hear her song even without making her his queen. Lian knows that if he turns her, she may be his one true queen, the one who can satisfy his heart's longing and stabilize his extended family. However, his other queens are not happy at the thought of a new arrival, and Lian struggles between turning her and finding happiness at the cost of his queens' despair, or keeping her a human and enjoying her song until her mortal death, avoiding the wrath of his queens. Of course, life and death are never so black and white...
Set in the Regency era, A Song of Blood reminded me of a supernatural Jane Eyre, except in this case Rochester (Lian) wasn't just hiding one wife, he was hiding sixteen. I thought the premise of the songs' harmony giving the vampires their life was quite interesting, as it put more emphasis on the human-side of the relationship, rather than having the bloodletting be the focus. Peters and Stilwell blend the supernatural into the historical setting with great expertise. Their writing was eloquent and professional, with the perfect amount of description.
As for the novel's downsides, sixteen vampire queens is quite a lot to keep track of, and some of them only got a sentence or two of acknowledgement. I would have much preferred the number being halved so that the authors could spend more time fleshing out the backgrounds for each of the characters so that the readers could connect with them more. I was able to distinguish between the many characters by the end of the book, but I had little to help me in the first half.
Although Lian acts like a bit of a wet dishrag for a good part of the novel, once he starts thinking about the fate of his queens, his thought process becomes more interesting and the novel really picks up speed. The novel ended on a high note with plenty of potential for the following books in the saga, which I am actually hoping to be able to review. The first book took a little while for me to get into the world and get used to the characters, but once it picked up the pace I enjoyed it quite a lot. For that reason, I would give it 3 out of 4 stars. There are some graphic and sexual situations, so I would not recommend it to those who are squeamish. I think fans of vampire fiction would find the twist in this new lore interesting.
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A Song of Blood
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