Olivia Boothe
Three Brothers Press
12 June 2024
426
eBook - EPUB
Fantasy Romance
ARC via NetGalley
When a mysterious crow crash-lands through Avery Jaxon’s Brooklyn apartment window, awakening the elemental magic dormant in her veins, Avery soon discovers her entire life has been a skillfully woven lie, and that even her new avian friend holds secrets of its own, including the answers to her shrouded past.
But pulling back the veil is only the beginning. An ancient prophecy has been set in motion, thrusting Avery into a centuries-old supernatural war between witches and vampires.
Seeking to harness Avery’s rare and ancient power, the most notorious dark arts witch hive in the world is on the hunt to find Avery before she’s captured by Kane, a vampire sworn to protect humankind from the next Spirit Marked—a foretold witch with such immense, raw magic, it will threaten to destroy all life on Earth.
Now, to save humanity and protect her friends, Avery must learn to control her potent magic, all while building an alliance with the warrior vampire sent to seize her. Their destinies are more entwined than either could have ever foreseen. But despite the magic that binds their paths and the enigmatic attraction growing between them, Avery struggles to trust the man born to be her enemy.
However, Kane’s not the only vampire thirsting for the honeyed taste of Avery’s blood...someone else also seeks to wage a war against her heart.
In the end, Avery must not only grapple with the painful truth behind her family’s past, but she’ll need to accept the journey laid out before her. For not only do the lives of those she loves depend on it, but so do the lives of every mortal and immortal creature alike.
From the blurb, A Dream of Blood and Magic was an excellent match for me. However, when it came to reading it, I really struggled. Avery seemed too immature for her purported age and I found her inner monologues tedious. The chapters from Kane and Azrael's perspectives were better (though for someone imprisoned for 500 years, Azrael new a lot of slang), and I enjoyed the darkness in their characters. But there was a lot of info dumping near the start of the story, despite which I was still confused for the first half of the book, and a lot of repetition of information after that, which made me want to skim sections. The eventual love interest I assume will be Kane, but it wasn't clear, and I got irritated with Avery's constant dwelling on how hot all the men in the story were, even during moments when she was supposed to be in danger. I am giving it three stars. For major fans of the genre it will be worth a look, as the story premise was good, but I felt there could have been improvement in the prose/presentation.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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