Reviews

Spells of Blood and Kin by Claire Humphrey

teresaalice's review against another edition

3.0

2.5 stars. This book was just okay. I've read quite a bit of urban fantasy in the last few years so I guess I was expecting more of the supernatural. The "kin" in this book are never revealed for their true nature -- are they vampires? Or some kind of other supernatural being? Whatever they are, they're not overly interesting or captivating. Lissa was my favourite character, but you don't get to know too much about her, really. I'm assuming that this is the first in a series (apparently stand alone books are sooo last century), but I'm not sure I'll be compelled to read any further.

fatherfireball's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

vicrine's review against another edition

3.0

6/10

drewdontcare's review against another edition

1.0

If i had to use one word to describe Spells of Blood and Kin it would be BORING. Who ever says this book gets interesting past the half way point was wrong.

Starting off with the best thing about this book, at least in my mind, was that the plot was original and the fact that Lissa is a Russian witch who casts her spells in eggs is so freaking cool to me. I also found the premiss of the Kin interesting too. If you know Toronto at all her nods to popular places are fun and relatable and her writing style is easy to read but that is all the good I found in the book.

Now onto the bad. Nothing happens in this book there is no climax, no suspense, no plot twist and nothing to keep you on the edge of your seat reading. The blurb of the book tells you what is going to happen no twists along the way, buts forgets to mention one key element of this book... the running. Everyone is always running everywhere all the time and it's boring. Humphrey doesn't explore her characters or develop them in any way the only character that has any changes in any way is Nick and that is only because he is physically changed.

I don't want to rant more about this book and risk "spoiling" anything but if you want a book that just so average and boring and predictable the entire time with a little bit of fun fantasy I recommend you give Spells of Blood and Kin a try.

slashattack7's review

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

jammasterjamie's review against another edition

5.0

Terrific! I really enjoyed my trip through Spells of Blood and Kin and thought it was a fantastic debut novel from an author I will definitely be reading more of. The story started strong and went into some great world-building, accomplishing this without breaking or slowing down the narrative flow. Humphrey's characters felt real, and although I have to admit that I didn't really love Lissa as a person, that's part of the charm and depth of her realness. No spoilers, but the ending wasn't exactly what I expected, and that's not a bad thing. All in all, this is a good piece of escapism and a strong first showing from a promising author.

plaidpladd's review against another edition

3.0

I've had this on my TBR since it came out in 2016 and I finally read it! I liked it over all, although when I turned the page and got just "About the Author" I actually said "what?" out loud because it didn't feel like it really had an ending. Unless you consider Nick the main character, I guess, but I really could care less about him so I do not. I liked the switching POVs and the flashback sections. I think the world building was really cool, and I would definitely read a sequel.

toadfairy's review against another edition

3.0

I really wanted to love this book... For its uniqueness and being based in Toronto. But it just didn't do it for me. I found it boring and unfulfilling.

raeallic's review against another edition

4.0

Enjoyed this fresh take on witchcraft. Would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Deborah Harkness's All Souls Trilogy or even Karen Marie Monings Fever Series, as I am most definitely a fan of both. Looking forward to seeing what's next.

carolynf's review against another edition

3.0

Not quite as good as "Discovery of Witches" but comes close. A young modern witch in Canada someplace assumes her grandmother's role upon her death. The story begins with "Baba had been dead for four days by the time Lissa got to speak with her," which sets the tone for the book - mysterious but a little campy as well. Lissa's job is complicated by the appearance of a vampire, whose keeping-it-together spell dissipated with her grandmother's death, so now he feels the pull to do Very Bad Things. Should she recreate the spell and bind his nature once again? I felt there was a Clockwork Orange connection here that could have been emphasized a little more. A lot of the plot devices seemed more like unpleasant fate that cannot be avoided than an actual choice that the characters had to make. But maybe that is just the Russian influences.