Official Review: A Song of Blood

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katiesquilts
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Official Review: A Song of Blood

Post by katiesquilts »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Song of Blood" by Renee Peters and Rae Stilwell.]
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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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Sahani Nimandra
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Post by Sahani Nimandra »

I really liked the way how you compared the supernatural "jane eyre" to this, and I laughed out loud in this phrase "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" 😂. Thank you for this delightful review! I think it will be a splendid story.
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Post by Helen_Combe »

Great review. Vampires aren’t really my genre, but the thought of one man trying to control 16 scorned wives strikes me as rather comical.
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Post by MsTri »

That's certainly an interesting premise, yet I don't really care for romance novels these days, so I'm torn; I'll think about it some more, but thanks for the thorough review. I bet it was difficult keeping up with 16 wives, but that also makes me wonder why they'd care if there was another; after so many wives, does one more really matter? I also wonder how Delilah herself feels; does she even want to be turned and be with Lian?
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Post by kandscreeley »

I saw this one and was thinking about reading it myself. However, 16 vampire queens? Wow! You're right. That's quite a few. Still, it sounds like a worthy enough book. I'll have to consider this one more. Thanks so much.
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Post by Utor Emmanuel »

This is really good. The way you compare the super natural with the natural being and theme Of book is well arrange.
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Post by strawberrysab »

Sixteen vampire queens. Sixteen. Ah. You can tell this is a fiction, no actual man could manage so many :) The idea of vampires hearing the unique music is beautiful! I’m still dying at the Jane Eyre reference though! :)
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Post by Marissa Michael »

Reading vampires genre is 1 of my favourites. Talk about 16 queens? That sound like the kings in the Bible who had many wives and concubines. Thank you for your good review.
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Post by Kristy Khem »

What an interesting premise! I adore vampire lore and this story certainly portrays a new twist to the immortal beasts. The 16 queens remind me of those Chinese kings and their many wives and concubines. I'd love to get my hands on this one...thanks for writing a thorough review.
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Post by meadhbh »

I love fantasy books, and I especially love books that try and do something new in the genre. The idea of being able to hear music is really fun, and it would also be nice to read a vampire novel set in a more historical era, as there are A LOT of modern-day books.
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Post by gen_g »

16 vampire queens huh? This sounds like a hilarious read, definitely. Thanks for the detailed review!
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Post by daniya__shah3 »

Not a fan of vampire fiction, so this one is definitely not for me. However, I did enjoy reading your review.
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Post by Jonatan156 »

Although the plot catches my attention, there are too many vampires for my liking, hahaha, but it was something entertaining
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Post by pinchess07 »

Sixteen vampire wives, huh? The authors certainly stretched polyamory to its limits. Looks interesting enough, so I might give it a read.
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Post by bclayton13 »

I’m all for vampire folklore, so within the first paragraph I knew this was for me. Great review!
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