I really did try with this book but I did DNF at 60%, the writing style just wasn't for me at all and I felt the characters and the story was just lacking so much depth

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Good book, but I think the characters weren't as flushed out as they could have been.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

This story felt a little quick to me, and I would have liked to have connected more with the characters than I did! Cute moments though.

Unfortunately the writing style didn't work for me in this book, so I ended up having to DNF it. It has such a fun premise, and it's great to see more and more vampires appearing in fantasy fiction again, but from the first page this novel feels quite rushed? I think it could benefit from being a bit longer and the author fleshing things out a little more.

What a letdown. I was hooked by the blurb and the story start nice and promising... But it went down pretty fast.

<blockquote>"We've done it, we won!"
"That was fast", I said. </blockquote>

And this is the quote that best summarizes the book. Fast. Too fast. Too fanficish.

Let's start with the plot. This is a vampires story. We have two vampire hunters who from night to day find themselves in the middle of a cruel vampire's domination. And what's worse: one of them is converted into that he hates most.

Promising, isn't it? The issue is within the details. Things happen too easily and, worst of all, it seems like every time they bump into a gigantic wall, suddenly they find the correct answer. Once and again and again. Is there a blood substitute? No, but no problem, we have a genius character that will invent it mixing this that and that; can a vampire become human again? No, but no problem! The same genius will find suddenly a way... And like that, everything.

Si the story generally speaking had potential but the execution is too very lacking. It's something that when reading a fanfic you don't mind because you don't expect more than that... But when reading a novel... You expect more. Seriousness. For the author to be careful with the details. And so on.

In regards of the characters... I have mixed feelings. Both mains seemed to be half developed. And specially their romance. It's... Uff. Just too shallow. The author leans too much on them being secretly in love since many years before the story beginning... And so, she doesn't give them the focus they deserve. I missed seeing more of them together, because if not because every character said they felt their love for each other... I wouldn't have felt more than friendship between them.

Kingston was by far more interesting than Martin. Martin was the goodie while Kingston the prejudiced who must learn that he's not always right. Kingston evolves, and that's at least something. Martin... Martin felt too good to be true: the one who is smart and suddenly is a master is magic and the one who everyone likes and so on. Again, too good to be true.

But better than them, were some of the supporting characters. Most of them felt like could have given us more than they did... But I can't deny I loved Felix. He is funny, and strong but at the same time he has a sweet and vulnerable spot in him that makes him more real.

In short, this is the kind of book you read, kind of enjoy but when finish what you think is: arrg, this could have been a lot better!

This book is ok. The premise of the book is good, but it lacked in the execution area. I liked the fact that there were vampires, and that it's very inclusive. But the book left something to be desired.

I’m really sorry but I had to DNF this. I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a story. I feel like I was supposed to already know the characters well enough before something quite crucial happens to care about them. Which unfortunately I didn’t. The one thing I couldn’t get past though is the way the characters talked to each other. This felt like a fan fiction for an already established book. I can see potential though because the writing apart from the characters interactions was really good.

I found the world and characters unique But overall the book was too short. The writing style was bland and made it harder to connect with the characters. Overall a ok book that could’ve been longer

I thank Netgalley UK and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel.

I feel that Sorcery of the Blood by Alice G Holmes had a lot of potential. It was fast paced and action packed from the start. However, for me it felt a bit rushed and under developed. I liked the characters throughout but there could have been more detail into their histories and feelings. Things progressed so quickly in the plot, I would have liked more detail about the training and building relationships with new people in the resistance. It was a fun read but for me it needed more depth.

Sorcery of the blood is an urban fantasy with Vampires. What I liked about it was the inclusivity. It was filled with LGBTQIA+ characters. The premise of the book sounded interesting but it lacks depth and a back story for the Vampires. I was really looking forward to a good Vampire story but it didn't work for me. It should have worked - it had queen Vampires! It did not. The ending was rushed too. Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an early review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this urban fantasy lacks character depth for me, the characters are walking stereotypes. The bad guy and the whole plot are weird, it does not seem plausible for the story to develop this suddenly. The dialogues feel cringy, too.
I had hoped for a good diverse urban fantasy, but it seems I will have to keep looking

I thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a digital ARC of this novel.

More of a 3.5 than a 4.

Honestly, I did really enjoy this book but firstly it could have been longer and more fleshed out. the characters seemed like they were acting way younger than they actually are especially our two main characters. things seemed rushed. but in saying that I did enjoy the book and what happened in the book. the characters were very good and most were fleshed out really well. This book is filled with LGBTQIA+ characters which was a thing that I loved. The city itself was good and the vampires interesting.

I received a free copy of this book. I am leaving my honest opinion.

The premise of the book is sound. A pair of lovelorn vampire hunters in Arizona. One of them gets turned into the monster they hunt.

A big, bad vampire has come to town and is determined to create a kingdom in Phoenix.

The characters are likeable enough but the book lacks depth. It is written on a superficial level and the storyline is fairly predictable.

For a Slash fiction romance novel, there is not a great deal of romance, mainly some minor pining. I found that there are a few too many ideas crammed into a short book - vampires, witches, dead brothers, fights with the ultimate undead but not much romance! So many characters introduced that it's hard to keep up. She probably could have managed an entire series with the world building but it's too much in one book. Could do with a bit more back story in terms of why the vampires are there and how they work, the author seems to assume we don't need to know. Also, the characters themselves, there is very little description. The baddie doesn't appear nearly enough, all his activities are reported on rather than shown. Inventing an amazing blood substitute should take more than one go! The whole book just feels a bit rushed and targeted more at a YA audience.
Interesting theory about Bram Stoker's wife and her father. I also like the different types of vampire. Good cast of diverse characters, including a genderqueer vampire and issues such as racism and homophobia tackled.
I think the author is promising, but needs to take her time with the next book.

I wasn’t a fan of this one, and I’m devastated. Queer vampires! What could go wrong? For me it was the writing, pacing and world building. I think it jumped into the middle about in pacing. It kind of felt like I had dived into an established series and that I should already know what the heck was going on. I even double checked to see if I had kissed a “(book 2)” after the title.
In regards to world building: there really didn’t seem to be any?
The plot itself I liked but all the elements together made it a hard read for me.

I did enjoy it and I thought the characters were well-written and engaging but the inclusiveness of the storyline kind of went off the rail a bit. Don't get me wrong, I loved all of the inclusiveness of the diverse LGBT characters but it was almost shoved down the throats of readers. It didn't have to be mentioned so many times, but that aside I did find this a enjoyable urban fantasy vampire tale.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by NetGalley*

This book is unapologetically pro LGBT and I love it. If things like romance between 2 men or 2 women offend you then do yourself a favor and stay away. Otherwise this is a great quick read from a new author. For a first book I thought it was pretty good! It's a pretty quick read but I can see potential for a series with a universe being established by the end of this book. I can already think of a couple of ways I can see this book going in the future. The only thing negative I would have to say and why I gave the story only 4 instead of 5 stars is the ending felt a bit rushed. There is a lot of build up to introduce characters but the ending seems to come at you very quickly. I could have seen about 50 more pages added to this to satisfy my cravings. If you like vampires with a bit of romance added in then definitely give this a read. I hope the author continues writing!

Enjoyed this book, it had a very simple story but quite an interesting take on it .It felt very inclusive and I look forward to seeing where it goes next

In a world burdened by vampires, a select group of humans aware of the scourge take it upon themselves to get rid of the monsters hunting at night. These mortals defend innocent lives while trying to balance work, social lives, and the hunt, but what happens when a vampire decides to eliminate the human race by turning as many people as he can into vampires, especially when one of those people is a vampire hunter? Karsten Knight explores this answer throughout her novel This Eternity of Masks and Shadows.

While Knight's premise was exciting and promised an entertaining story of characters who would have to question everything they believe in, the actually story rushes through events and tells the reader what is going on, rather than showing the events. Despite the first person perspective, I had a hard time truly feeling with the main characters. At times, the dialogue seemed forced and unrealistic and I could not find myself actually liking the main characters. Though, I am sure that some readers will greatly enjoy the plot and grow to love the characters in a way that I personally could not.

Kingston and Martin work together during the day at the office - then during the night roaming the streets as vampire hunters.
Things go great until Kingston is turned by a new, big gun vampire.
Oh, and they are into each other.

As always, it was nice to see the male-male romance included. However, this felt like reading fanfiction. I found it cheesy.