Official Review: Blood Magic by Ann Atkins

[VinuW]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Blood Magic" by Ann Atkins.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Written by Ann Atkins, Blood Magic, the first book of the series of the first name, belongs to the young adult genre. Chock full of excitement, this book blends common and not-so-common elements of fantasy in a remarkable manner.

Seventeen year old Allie Chamberlain, the narrator of the story, leads the life of a typical teen. The only downsides of her life are the recurring dreams set in the sixteenth century, and the problems related to her absentee father. Her life turns upside down after she survives a near death experience and literally meets the boy of her dreams. As Allie learns the truth about herself, unraveling secrets from the past, she realizes that she is in for a precarious adventure. This moderately paced story is written in first person, and the use of a straightforward and informal narrative voice seems fitting. The plot switches between the past and the present, between Salem and Tennessee, and it is apparent that the plot and the setting are completely intertwined and dependant on each other.

The inclusion of many paranormal elements, inspired by mythology and folklore from all over the world, is what made the story such an interesting read. The incorporation of hags, hounds, witches, vampires and kitsune and many other creatures into a single storyline in a cohesive manner is highly commendable. With an interesting improvement on the classic ‘good vs. bad’ theme, and a gripping turn of events, this story is realist in style. The rising action was full of shocking revelations, twists and turns, with just the right amount of thrill, fantasy and a subtle hint of horror. The plot, setting and characterization are utilized effectively in developing the major theme. Dynamic and static characters complement the plot very well, but I feel that the main characters have room for improvement. Allie constantly finds herself in trouble, and needs all the help she could get from her knight in shining armor. I find her recklessness a bit too irritating, and the lack of character development is quite disappointing. Mason, Allie’s boyfriend, is an interesting character with many likeable traits like heroism and intelligence. It’s a shame that he seems a bit too doting.

Despite having a well thought out structure, the language of the novel is flawed. There are many errors in punctuation and grammar. Although the story is narrated in the past tense, there are instances where the tense switched to the present. The use of Lietwortstil seems forced and unnecessary.

With a meta-plot packed with action and excitement, this book would suit teens with a comfort zone spanning from fantasy to romance. New adults could enjoy this novel, but it is not the book for adults or children.

Rating the book is such a daunting task. Although I find the storyline absolutely gripping, it seems too hard to ignore the mistakes in the novel. After much deliberation I decided to rate the book 3 out of 4 stars.

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Blood Magic
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Like VinuW's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Cee-Jay Aurinko]

I like your writing style in this review, VinuW. The sentences are well structured and reads smoothly. Very good review. I might just read this book.

[bluemel4]

Well-written and insightful review. I really enjoyed reading it. This book sounds like it has a lot going for it. Great job!

[VinuW]

I like your writing style in this review, VinuW. The sentences are well structured and reads smoothly. Very good review. I might just read this book.

Thanks a lot Leon Durham. You might thoroughly enjoy this book, if you can look past the mistakes.

[Cee-Jay Aurinko]

@VinuW

I can, but the book does have to be enjoyable for me to do that. (^_-)

[gali]

Nice review indeed. I am glad you enjoyed the book despite its flaws.

[APatwary989]

I love this sort of story. The idea that a persons life can be turned completely upside down is always interesting even within a story because it always gives me hope that my hope will take a dramatic turn to a better day. I have throughly enjoyed books that take this sort of approach and bring in well known aspects of mythology or fantasy in the fabric of the story such as The Mortal Instruments series, The Paranormal Series.

[Ann_Atkins_Author]

To VinuW,

I am glad you enjoyed my book, and I am also glad that you pointed out the grammatical errors and the problems with switching tenses. I am currently working on editing the book to fix these problems, and I will be submitting an updated copy of the book to Amazon SOON. Also, readers of this review might be interested to know that the book will be FREE ON AMAZON MARCH 1st-5th. The second book, Blood Curse, will also be available for purchase on March 1st.

Thank You,
Ann Atkins

[VinuW]

Thank you, @bluemel4

-- 21 Dec 2015, 01:07 --

Thanks @gali. The storyline is what made the story enjoyable.

-- 21 Dec 2015, 01:12 --

I love this sort of story. The idea that a persons life can be turned completely upside down is always interesting even within a story because it always gives me hope that my hope will take a dramatic turn to a better day.

Although this seems to be a common concept of many YA books of the paranormal sub-genre, I feel that unpredictability is what makes a novel interesting.

-- 21 Dec 2015, 01:15 --

@Ann_Atkins_Author

Glad to know you'll be fixing the errors.
I can't wait to read Blood Curse!

-- 21 Dec 2015, 01:31 --

@VinuW

I can, but the book does have to be enjoyable for me to do that. (^_-)

[LivreAmour217]

Great review. It sounds like an interesting story, but I'm not sure if I could get past all of the grammatical mistakes.

[VinuW]

Thank you @LivreAmour217

The grammatical errors in the novel seem to be a major setback.

[Topcho]

Really nice review!
And good to know the novel is to be revised and the mistakes will be cleaned up. It really got me interested with the mix of folclore that is cohesive, as you said. I think this is very important.
It sounds like a book I would really enjoy. I'm having a bit of a hard time to tolerate mistaked these days, so I will be marking March next year in my callendar, when the revised version will be up.