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A review by constant2m
Blackbird by L.E. Harrison
3.0
Blackbird was an intriguing story. L.E. Harrison built a world in which religion and magic are intertwined and the shifting between human and bestiae (the non-human form) are tied to the religion itself. The pacing of the story kept me wanting to know what was next and how the Alena and Michael would get themselves out of the various situations they found themselves in.
The two lead characters are interesting. Alena Andrick is lovely and impulsive. She is also loyal. The daughter of one of the highest level priests, she trains to inherit his duties as Guardian of the Dead. Her defense of Michael puts that particular future and many other things about her life at risk.
Michael Singleton grew up outside the valley and returned to attempt to find a way to pass over to the afterlife and back. He is also a shifter, something that is seen as a curse and is punishable by death. Alena believes that he is not cursed and seeks to protect him and also learn the truth.
I found the love story hard to buy into and wished she hadn't fallen in love with him so quickly. I generally find love at first sight hard to believe, but in this particular tale, she seemed drawn to his appearance beyond anything else and I wasn't always certain if he cared for her or if he was using her. It was not the healthiest relationship in a lot of ways. But none of her relationships were healthy, so it could be argued that theirs was one of the better ones.
The ending does leave you hanging a bit, but the next two books have already been published, so that is easy to remedy, and I'm curious enough about how certain developments will be addressed, that I plan to pick them up and finish the story.
Trigger warnings: Quite a bit of domestic violence, slander, murder and death, one sex scene (which, while not my preference was necessary to the story).
I received a free copy of this book by the author and have reviewed it willingly.
The two lead characters are interesting. Alena Andrick is lovely and impulsive. She is also loyal. The daughter of one of the highest level priests, she trains to inherit his duties as Guardian of the Dead. Her defense of Michael puts that particular future and many other things about her life at risk.
Michael Singleton grew up outside the valley and returned to attempt to find a way to pass over to the afterlife and back. He is also a shifter, something that is seen as a curse and is punishable by death. Alena believes that he is not cursed and seeks to protect him and also learn the truth.
I found the love story hard to buy into and wished she hadn't fallen in love with him so quickly. I generally find love at first sight hard to believe, but in this particular tale, she seemed drawn to his appearance beyond anything else and I wasn't always certain if he cared for her or if he was using her. It was not the healthiest relationship in a lot of ways. But none of her relationships were healthy, so it could be argued that theirs was one of the better ones.
The ending does leave you hanging a bit, but the next two books have already been published, so that is easy to remedy, and I'm curious enough about how certain developments will be addressed, that I plan to pick them up and finish the story.
Trigger warnings: Quite a bit of domestic violence, slander, murder and death, one sex scene (which, while not my preference was necessary to the story).
I received a free copy of this book by the author and have reviewed it willingly.