A review by bresbookclub
Blood & Betrayals by Jeanette Rose, Alexis Rune

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

3.5

3.5 stars ✨ 

Thank you to Alexis Rune, Jeannette Rose & Rose & Star Publishing for this ARC!!!! 

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Overall I had a good time reading this. It had lots of random funny moments that made me giggle, a mysterious plot & interesting characters, but I was expecting more. The vibes were there, the execution was not. 

What I enjoyed about this book - 
The side characters were so funny. 
Alice is so unhinged, definition of a ride or die. I need her as a best friend. 
The Morningstar Brothers are chaotic, but the way they joke around & have each other’s backs is so sweet. I LOVE THEM. Them + Summer + Alice = definition of a found family. 
The Morningstar parents?? Please adopt me. 
I wish we got more of Max, Headmaster Emrys, and the Stranger’s characters. 

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STONE ME IF YOU MUST, I DON’T CARE
 here is what I didn’t enjoy about this book 
⚠️ Enter at your own risk ⚠️ 







— WAY TOO LONG. there was so much unnecessary fluff that didn’t add to the plot at all. The first 45% had a good set up & steady pacing. 45-85% was so repetitive, I felt like I was stuck in a time loop, with slight variations or additions to keep me hanging on. 85-98% was suspiciously calm - I was holding my breath expecting there to be an intense ending. 98-100% FLOP. The ending felt so rushed. It was like the clock ran out and you had to turn in whatever you had written.  Nothing made sense. 

— THE PLOT — so many things are mentioned that NEVER get explained and/or are never brought up again. I was expecting WAY MORE blood & mystery & murder. This started off with a bang and then quickly became a summary of their daily schedules with Summer & Connor fucking non stop & making googly eyes at each other. Blood & Betrayals?? It should’ve been called Fluff & Fucking 

— WORLD BUILDING & LORE aka LACK OF. I barely know ANYTHING about this world & how it works. The most we got was about the Archangels & Heaven/Eden… A little bit of Dracūlae (??) and the Academia — this would’ve been the perfect way to explain what things are & how they work. Summer is as new to this world as we are, I felt like we should’ve been learning along with her, but not enough was explained to have even a base level of understanding. 

— THE CHARACTERS — we start off HEAVY with the Morningstar brothers, Summer & Alice. And then they fade into the background and it’s just Summer & Connor fucking every where & being sappy. Connor was suspiciously too perfect & nothing ever bothered him. His character was so strong in the beginning & then he turned into this docile & domesticated lover boy. He has their whole life planned out. 
Summer did a 180 at the beginning but she didn’t continue to grow. I felt like she kept gaslighting herself into wanting to be with Connor, and going along with whatever he said to make him happy but she kept so many secrets from him. Alice, the Stranger, Headmaster Emrys & Max knew things about her that Connor never did… and that’s supposed to be the man you want to marry??? The love of your life??? She has more chemistry with Max & the Stranger than she did with Connor. 
The Stranger?! Where does he come from, where does he go?? I wish we got more details about him. 
Some details about Luke & Max’s characters felt like a complete after thought. 
The mystery murderer(s)?!?! Not enough clues were given to figure out who it might’ve been. It literally could’ve been anybody & the reveal was so anticlimactic.