Official Review: A Price of Blood

katiesquilts · Post by **katiesquilts** » 10 Sep 2018, 00:27

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Price of Blood" by Renee Peters and Rae Stilwell.]

4 out of 4 stars

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A Price of Blood is the second book in the Songs of Blood Saga by Renee Peters and Rae Stilwell. I also reviewed the first book in the series and fell in love with the historical setting and charming characters, so I jumped at the chance to review its sequel. The first book introduces the Anowen coven of vampires, led by Lian Redmond. However, Peters and Stilwell’s vampire lore is quite different in that each vampire, when turned, adds to the “song” of the coven. The state of a vampire’s song gives the other members of the coven a clue as to the vampire’s emotions and well-being, but only those in the coven can hear the collective songs.

A Price of Blood picks up right where A Song of Blood left off. Lian is determined to focus on the health of his coven, which he had been neglecting up until then, but he is also making plans to ensure the continuity of his bloodline, if you could call it that. The focus of the first book was on Lian and the human Delilah, whose song Lian could hear without him even turning her. However, the focus this time around is fairly evenly split before the coven as a whole and the romance between Dorian and Joanna. Also, there are ripple effects from other covens in the area due to Lian’s actions in the first book, allowing the authors to introduce new and interesting characters.

At first I was thrown off by the fact that Delilah and Lian’s romance wasn’t part of the plot anymore. But it didn’t take me long to warm up to the idea of an ever-evolving plot and characters. In fact, the authors’ decision to take this route meant that the reader got to know some of the other characters much more thoroughly, which was one of my biggest complaints with the first novel. Also, rather than just being a historical romance novel with a supernatural twist, the thickening of the plot added depth to the book. Usually I’m fine with reading just the first book in romance series and leaving it at that, but I don’t think I’ll be satisfied until I read to the very end of the Songs of Blood Saga.

Although the authors definitely seemed to have taken reviewers’ advice for the first book by fleshing out characters and allowing readers to bond with them more, it seems like I found a few more errors and typos this time around. There were only nine or ten errors in the entire 300-page book, so I don’t think it’s too bad, but I definitely remember the first book having excellent editing. Other than that, I didn’t see any problems with the book itself or the plot developments.

This book had a little bit less humor than the first book and definitely served to move the plot along, but it was still enjoyable and I found myself getting more and more attached to the series overall. Despite the grammatical errors, I think A Price of Blood has earned 4 out of 4 stars. It’s much calmer and easier to understand than the first book, allowing the reader to connect with the characters and setting much more easily. You do need to read the first book before reading this one, however. You wouldn’t understand much if you didn’t. I, for one, am eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series!

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A Price of Blood
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Bianka Walter · Post by **Bianka Walter** » 11 Sep 2018, 03:13

The fact that you can't wait to read the rest of the series is testament enough that this is a great book. I'm glad you got to review the second one after reading the first as well, that's a happy turn of events

Great review.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 11 Sep 2018, 07:55

I think I remember the first book in the series. It was one I was thinking about reviewing myself. I'm glad the second book is just as good, albeit different, as the first! Thanks so much for the great review.

Debjani Ghosh · Post by **Debjani Ghosh** » 12 Sep 2018, 23:30

The fact that you could not give up the opportunity of reviewing the second book in the series proves that the author has churned out an engaging series. From your review, this book seems to be an enjoyable read with a well-evolved plot as well-developed characters. However, vampire romances / "vampire anything" is not my cup of tea. Hence, i will pass this one. Thanks for the review.

rainydaysc64 · Post by **rainydaysc64** » 14 Sep 2018, 10:23

I like the premise behind this series, with regards to vampires having songs and when you get turned you have your own particular song to add. It's a concept I've never heard in a book about vampires before. So I definitely think I'll check out the first book at least to see if this is a series I could enjoy. Thanks for the wonderful review!

Sweetp120 · Post by **Sweetp120** » 07 Oct 2018, 23:07

Interesting! Definitely straight to the point revealing much without revealing everything. I definitely appreciate being told that without the setting of the first story that this one won't make much sense, this tells me I need to find the first just so I can get to this one.

Book Lover 35 · Post by **Book Lover 35** » 11 Oct 2018, 00:24

Nicely done! I think I'm going to read the first book so I can understand this one. It's a shame about the grammar errors but at least there's not a lot.Thank you for the review!