Scan barcode
A review by michael_benavidez
Bloodborn by Stephanie Kemler
5.0
The tagline I had thought of for the book/this book review was something along the lines of, "If twilight was done right." But that's both condescending as well as false advertisement. This book is its own genre, or to be more accurate, a culmination of several genres.
Dashes of romance, familiar drama, horror sprinkled in some perfectly done gothic prose, this book has something for everyone in the mood for a supernatural read.
The lore and the world itself feel lived in, fleshed (hehe) out. The characters live things in a way as though, the reader can FEEL how must this has always been and always will be.
I don't want to speak too much about the plot because while the story does center around our character Mina, and we follow her as she deals with the conflict of becoming Bloodmad, the plot isn't the major influence of the story. It does not drive things forward.
Mina does.
This is a story where the characters feel in charge of where things go, whether we're dealing with the repercussions of their actions, or the choices that they themselves make. It's never something where you feel like the plot is taking her hand and guiding her to the next step of the story. And I think that's what I loved most about it. There's something about just living with a character and her choices, where every choice actually seems to matter, and actually seems to make a difference as to how the rest of the pages unfold.
When Mina does something we understand it (even if we don't agree with it) because we spent enough time with Mina to know why she's doing what she's doing. There's stakes, don't get me wrong, but the book makes it feel natural enough that if Mina is calm about it, we're calm about it. Even if things seem to be leading up to a worst situation.
This is definitely the kind of book I personally needed at the moment I read it. Characters felt alive, felt fun, felt human. And i loved it. I loved them.
Dashes of romance, familiar drama, horror sprinkled in some perfectly done gothic prose, this book has something for everyone in the mood for a supernatural read.
The lore and the world itself feel lived in, fleshed (hehe) out. The characters live things in a way as though, the reader can FEEL how must this has always been and always will be.
I don't want to speak too much about the plot because while the story does center around our character Mina, and we follow her as she deals with the conflict of becoming Bloodmad, the plot isn't the major influence of the story. It does not drive things forward.
Mina does.
This is a story where the characters feel in charge of where things go, whether we're dealing with the repercussions of their actions, or the choices that they themselves make. It's never something where you feel like the plot is taking her hand and guiding her to the next step of the story. And I think that's what I loved most about it. There's something about just living with a character and her choices, where every choice actually seems to matter, and actually seems to make a difference as to how the rest of the pages unfold.
When Mina does something we understand it (even if we don't agree with it) because we spent enough time with Mina to know why she's doing what she's doing. There's stakes, don't get me wrong, but the book makes it feel natural enough that if Mina is calm about it, we're calm about it. Even if things seem to be leading up to a worst situation.
This is definitely the kind of book I personally needed at the moment I read it. Characters felt alive, felt fun, felt human. And i loved it. I loved them.