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A review by highladyofdelulu
Shade of a Blood Moon by C.M. Locke, D.L. Blade
2.0
2.25 stars
Plot-wise, it is a good book. There are surprising twists that I honestly did not see coming and they are executed well enough, with a cliffhanger that elicits interest in the next book.
I liked the very strong Vampire Diaries vibe and the parallels to it, as much as I liked the way it differed from it - the similarity without copying the world was well executed and the world building was solid, in my opinion. The mysteries and secrets are fun to explore and well worked out.
The book delivers an overall vibe and feel that was intriguing, dark and mysterious - vampire-y in a way that felt enjoyable.
Andrei, the big bad Mafia vampire boss, might seem a bit placative but I actually liked him. The potential for character development is obvious enough, revelations were made at the right moments and although there still seems to be a lot we don’t know, it all comes together in one relatively coherent picture.
As for Rachel… I do usually like a troubled FMC who struggles with acknowledging her dark side, then gets confronted with it in an arch of empowerment.
However, Rachel just did not feel relatable to me – and I usually have no problem relating to any FMC, no matter how different they are from me. It’s just that her thoughts and actions and words often contradicted themselves, her emotions sometimes changed so suddenly and unpredictably, even in her own POV… it felt chaotic and inconsistent at times. By the end of the book, I still feel like there are different versions and ideas of an FMC that did not really blend together all that well.
(I want to make a note that this is not about double standards for the FMC and MMC. Andrei is a ‘simpler’ character and the way he is written works for me personally. For Rachel, more complexity seems to have been intended but in my opinion, that did not work out quite so well.)
Unfortunately, that, combined with the writing, threw me off, personally. Which is a pity, because the book started out strong and promising. However, in my opinion, the writing seemed incoherent, varying in a way that made me feel like some chapters might have profited from one more round of editing to avoid repetitiveness and clumsy sentences. There were actually paragraphs that flowed so well and were so much fun to read, and then there were those that had me stumble and struggle.
Overall, unfortunately, I personally am a little underwhelmed. I can see how people love the book for the plot, the male character(s) and the spice, while entirely unfazed by what I stumbled over – it just wasn’t for me as I am someone who needs the whole picture.
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I received an ARC of this copy in exchange for an honest review
Plot-wise, it is a good book. There are surprising twists that I honestly did not see coming and they are executed well enough, with a cliffhanger that elicits interest in the next book.
I liked the very strong Vampire Diaries vibe and the parallels to it, as much as I liked the way it differed from it - the similarity without copying the world was well executed and the world building was solid, in my opinion. The mysteries and secrets are fun to explore and well worked out.
The book delivers an overall vibe and feel that was intriguing, dark and mysterious - vampire-y in a way that felt enjoyable.
Andrei, the big bad Mafia vampire boss, might seem a bit placative but I actually liked him. The potential for character development is obvious enough, revelations were made at the right moments and although there still seems to be a lot we don’t know, it all comes together in one relatively coherent picture.
As for Rachel… I do usually like a troubled FMC who struggles with acknowledging her dark side, then gets confronted with it in an arch of empowerment.
However, Rachel just did not feel relatable to me – and I usually have no problem relating to any FMC, no matter how different they are from me. It’s just that her thoughts and actions and words often contradicted themselves, her emotions sometimes changed so suddenly and unpredictably, even in her own POV… it felt chaotic and inconsistent at times. By the end of the book, I still feel like there are different versions and ideas of an FMC that did not really blend together all that well.
(I want to make a note that this is not about double standards for the FMC and MMC. Andrei is a ‘simpler’ character and the way he is written works for me personally. For Rachel, more complexity seems to have been intended but in my opinion, that did not work out quite so well.)
Unfortunately, that, combined with the writing, threw me off, personally. Which is a pity, because the book started out strong and promising. However, in my opinion, the writing seemed incoherent, varying in a way that made me feel like some chapters might have profited from one more round of editing to avoid repetitiveness and clumsy sentences. There were actually paragraphs that flowed so well and were so much fun to read, and then there were those that had me stumble and struggle.
Overall, unfortunately, I personally am a little underwhelmed. I can see how people love the book for the plot, the male character(s) and the spice, while entirely unfazed by what I stumbled over – it just wasn’t for me as I am someone who needs the whole picture.
---
I received an ARC of this copy in exchange for an honest review