Official Review: Blood Thief by James Holmes
Posted: 28 Feb 2016, 09:11
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Blood Thief" by James Holmes.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Blood Thief: The Story of Selina Vandervord is the second book in The Bleeding of Worlds series written by James Holmes. I have not read the first book but I can say that the author successfully wrote a chilling and seriously frightening novel in book 2.
Told in the first person perspective, the story began with Selina’s narration of how she came to be known as Red. She was born in a brothel, the Painted Lady, and raised by her mother, Cora, a cold and hard woman. When she turned 15, Selina chose to be a housemaid instead of prostitute. She worked for the Ingrams, a wealthy couple with a handsome son, Byron, who broke her young heart and cost her her job. With no other options, she colored her hair with a bottle of red wine and joined the ladies of the night.
After a year of being a prostitute, Selina discovered that she was gifted with the ability to vanish when she escaped a group of men trying to force themselves on her and found herself exactly where she wanted to be. Not only that, she also learned that she could conjure up things by thinking about them. She was appalled, however, when she found out that five of the men from the previous night were dead, one was dying, apparently attacked by a wild animal.
The following night, Selina was arrested for the slaughter of her client she just left. After successfully conjuring up the key to her cell, she was about to escape when she heard a voice in her head. It was Lucian, a boy she saw at the market earlier in the day. Selina helped him and brought him to the Painted Lady. From Lucian, Selina learned that there were others with special abilities like hers, they were called enchanted and they were part of the circus that just arrived in town. She also learned about the Bunyip, a monster from hell that attacked her clients.
The following day, Selina took Lucian back to the circus and met the other enchanted including Vivena, Lucian’s mother, Rombaldi, the ringleader and Elliot, one of the Knight Brothers. That night, Selina joined the hunt for the Bunyip who was killing gifted people like herself.
Personally, I am not into thriller and horror. However, Blood Thief is so well written that I could not say I did not enjoy it because I actually did. The scenes were vivid that I could almost see the circus perform. I have no way of knowing how Essex looked like in 1858 but the author painted it with words that gave me the chills that even the harmless beach seem sinister.
The characters are developed, especially the protagonist, Selina, who was, for me, the perfect heroine. She was a tough woman who knew what she wanted and did not allow anybody to push her around. She was brave, smart and caring. She is one admirable and memorable character.
The only problem I had with the book was the numerous errors especially with possessive nouns and pronouns, missing words as well as excess words. The errors, however, did not warrant a loss of star.
I therefore give this book 4 out of 4 stars. It has a solid plot and can be a stand-alone novel and has developed characters. I recommend it to those who enjoy suspense, thriller and horror stories. Some gory details, however, may not be suitable for young readers.
******
Blood Thief
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4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Blood Thief: The Story of Selina Vandervord is the second book in The Bleeding of Worlds series written by James Holmes. I have not read the first book but I can say that the author successfully wrote a chilling and seriously frightening novel in book 2.
Told in the first person perspective, the story began with Selina’s narration of how she came to be known as Red. She was born in a brothel, the Painted Lady, and raised by her mother, Cora, a cold and hard woman. When she turned 15, Selina chose to be a housemaid instead of prostitute. She worked for the Ingrams, a wealthy couple with a handsome son, Byron, who broke her young heart and cost her her job. With no other options, she colored her hair with a bottle of red wine and joined the ladies of the night.
After a year of being a prostitute, Selina discovered that she was gifted with the ability to vanish when she escaped a group of men trying to force themselves on her and found herself exactly where she wanted to be. Not only that, she also learned that she could conjure up things by thinking about them. She was appalled, however, when she found out that five of the men from the previous night were dead, one was dying, apparently attacked by a wild animal.
The following night, Selina was arrested for the slaughter of her client she just left. After successfully conjuring up the key to her cell, she was about to escape when she heard a voice in her head. It was Lucian, a boy she saw at the market earlier in the day. Selina helped him and brought him to the Painted Lady. From Lucian, Selina learned that there were others with special abilities like hers, they were called enchanted and they were part of the circus that just arrived in town. She also learned about the Bunyip, a monster from hell that attacked her clients.
The following day, Selina took Lucian back to the circus and met the other enchanted including Vivena, Lucian’s mother, Rombaldi, the ringleader and Elliot, one of the Knight Brothers. That night, Selina joined the hunt for the Bunyip who was killing gifted people like herself.
Personally, I am not into thriller and horror. However, Blood Thief is so well written that I could not say I did not enjoy it because I actually did. The scenes were vivid that I could almost see the circus perform. I have no way of knowing how Essex looked like in 1858 but the author painted it with words that gave me the chills that even the harmless beach seem sinister.
The characters are developed, especially the protagonist, Selina, who was, for me, the perfect heroine. She was a tough woman who knew what she wanted and did not allow anybody to push her around. She was brave, smart and caring. She is one admirable and memorable character.
The only problem I had with the book was the numerous errors especially with possessive nouns and pronouns, missing words as well as excess words. The errors, however, did not warrant a loss of star.
I therefore give this book 4 out of 4 stars. It has a solid plot and can be a stand-alone novel and has developed characters. I recommend it to those who enjoy suspense, thriller and horror stories. Some gory details, however, may not be suitable for young readers.
******
Blood Thief
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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