A review by thereadingraccoon
Bloody Fool for Love by William Ritter

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Book review: Bloody Fool For Love: A Spike Prequel by William Ritter

Bloody Fool For Love is a young adult paranormal fantasy based of the character of Spike from the Buffy the Vampire television series. It takes place in Edwardian London and has heist storyline. 

Bloody Fool For Love takes place almost a century prior to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer storyline. Spike has returned to London and is fresh off killing his first Slayer and living with his lady love (and sire) Drusilla and the vampire she calls “grandmother”, Darla. Drusilla’s mental health is very fragile and desperate to make her happy Spike decides to steal a religious relic that will amplify her visions. But a new demon has taken over London (Gunnar) and it is impossible to pull of a heist without him and his goons finding out. Together with another group of paranormals Spike and Drusilla devise a plan to go straight into the belly of the beast and steal the relic and rescue a hostage trapped inside. 

This has all the funny Spike quips and strange (but accurate) utterances by Drusilla that a Buffy fan would expect. I was sort of side eyeing the word choices and the overall language for London at the turn of the century when the author found a clever way to include his feelings about using lingo accurate to the era, touché. 

Overall, this was a fun addition to the Buffy the Vampire Universe and I enjoyed seeing these characters on the page again. It doesn’t have the most serious or memorable plot but for Buffy fans and readers looking for a paranormal vampire fantasy without a lot of scares, gore or heavy romantic content it will be a great fit.