A review by princessrensa
Bloody Fool for Love by William Ritter

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

If you like the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and in particular if you like Spike, this is a very fun read. William Ritter really nails the irreverent and dark tone of the show. I think this works really well as a prequel in that it has just enough references to the future events of the show that it's fun, but not SO much that it's overbearing (for example we get a very unexpected origin story for a character whose origin I'd never considered). The dialogue and overall vibe can feel pretty modern, but it also feels quite true to the show so I think the right priorities were in place. Actually, now that I think about it, this is even sort of referenced in the story, when a writer tells Spike she thinks making her characters feel like people is more important than flowery historical-sounding language.

This book follows Spike in 1901 London as he plans a heist to get a relic that he hopes will cheer up Drusilla. The actual heist-planning doesn't begin until Spike has tried and failed at a couple other ways of getting the relic, but it was still satisfyingly heisty for me. We also have a little B-plot of Darla trying to get her affairs in order before she leaves Spike and Dru to rejoin the Master. I really enjoyed the Spike and Darla interactions in this story. The show itself gives us pretty much no interaction between them so it was nice to see them ribbing each other with a mix of genuine irritation but also maybe just a little bit of warmth. 

I'm intrigued by what characters future Buffyverse prequels will explore. I'd love to see some stories about pre-Buffy slayers, just saying...