Tuesday 19 February 2013

Half Blood - Review

 
 
"Swallowing her pained sounds, she forced the fear from her eyes. ‘You killed me,’ she breathed, swallowing down on the hard lump in her throat. It wasn’t often that someone got an opportunity to come face to face with their killer."

A battle for werewolf territory and rights has Rhett fighting for his life and for the survival of the pack. The last half blood—a half human, half vampire hybrid—has been found and Rhett has been chosen as her unlikely Guardian. The pack’s survival hangs on her completing her transformation, but a Sicarii—a vampire assassin—is hunting her to ensure that never happens …

Indigo’s hard exterior is nothing compared to the dark secret she carries within her. Her haunted eyes alone tell of her struggle and desire to live. But what she doesn’t know is that she is hard-wired for survival; the very blood in her veins and the legacy of her father demands it. But when her life takes a violent turn, her heritage and her fate may be the very thing to get her killed …
 
4/5 Stars
 
Half Blood starts off with an explosive beginning, a perfect picture that creates a mood of fear intertwined with a taste of murder and hot romance. Lauren Dawes has a fantastic sense of humour that is hidden in her work like Easter eggs among the garden; you just stumble upon them unexpectedly. For example she called the media 'Rubberneckers' which actually made me laugh out loud I even had to highlight it.

Indi came into the story packing punches, quickly introducing me to the norms of her life. Rhett is her best friend and protector, a sincere and beautiful character that I felt myself clutching my heart every time he entered the scene. Poor Indi is a girl stuck with handling sleazy men that seem to chase after her with lustful eyes all of her life. From foster home to foster home, betrayal after betrayal there seemed to be no one who deserved Indi’s trust. No one except for Rhett, her friend Beth and step brother Jerry.

There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a jerk get punched out by a girl he’s been harassing. There is some serious girl power here. But her tough exterior wasn’t just born into her blood; it was carved into her by an act so awful that it has caused a massive rift in her heart. Dawes has done a terrific job with finding the core of fear and painting the room with it, I don’t usually get scared in books but with Dawes’ Half Blood I was chewing through my finger nails like a rabbit through carrots. It’s easy to see how this is a favourite of so many readers, especially at the end where we are left with a massive cliff hanger before Dawes pulls the curtains close on us. I was left thinking… ‘what? Noooo!’ Talk about having the rug pulled out from underneath your feet, you think you have it all worked out then BAM there’s another twist.

Half Blood is from a completely different genre to what I am used to reading, I am more focused on YA work so when I stepped into this very adult world of murder, werewolves and revenge I was very easily taken aback. I was blushing every time a cursive word was used. Her style of writing was beautifully graphic; it was very descriptive that I found myself pulling faces at the book whenever there was a vivid section about blood or violence. It actually felt like I was there, watching it unfold in front of me. I don’t usually read books with such adult content but in Lauren Dawes novel ‘Half Blood’ I found myself clued to the pages like a fly to a web. This is a fair warning, this book isn’t for the faint hearted. It is a bit violent for my taste, but I really enjoyed her style of storytelling.

No comments:

Post a Comment