A review by mbfeeney
WitchBlood by Emma Mills

4.0

Review to follow once I've read all 3 books

*update 6 April 2013*

The main draw of me reading this book was the fact that the author is not only a Brit like me, but she also has set her books in the UK. My other half is from Manchester, but I don't admit to knowing the city very much.

The main character of Jess is pretty much someone I'd want to be friends with. She sassy with a touch or sarcastic. Just my kinda gal, but I wanted to shake her when she left the club alone. You just DON'T do that!! I mean, look where it got her.

Once ... events have taken place and the reader has been introduced to Daniel and Eve, we start to see more of Jess's character. She refuses to act the way is expected of her, and I admire that. After all, it would be so easy for her to just cave to the peer pressure that's being placed upon her.

I enjoyed the twists Mills put on her version of vampire lore, such as the bonds between maker and new vamp, but I have to admit, I wasn't a fan of Daniel. As I read the first book, I couldn't help but think he was yet another 'x' years old vamp who thought he knew better than the female lead and was a bit controlling, but after a while, I found it easy to understand why he was like that.

Unlike 'other' vampire books, there was a real threat to Jess. The vampire clans were ever present, and rules had to be adhered to, which is why we're introduced to Sebastian (I REALLY wasn't keen on him).

I admit, after finishing this book, I was "Team Luke". Even acting the way he did, but considering his background, totally understandable.

I did feel sorry for Jess. If being a newly turned vamp wasn't enough, she now has witch powers that she's struggling to control, and at the end of the book I really wanted more.

The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 was in some places, the pace of the story dropped a little. First books in a series are tricky as they have to contain a lot of information, background and build up to the grand finale. Mills did all of this really well, but sometimes it was a little information overload. it didn't put me off diving straight into book 2 though.

Go to my blog to read the full review, and others: http://michbookreviews.wordpress.com/