This was a fun and fast read. I really enjoyed the cast of characters especially genderqueer Felix. If you enjoy vampires and vampire hunter stories but wish they were more queer, check out this book. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

I would class this book as "just okay". It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't knock my socks off good. The plot was excellent, and the concept of all the magical/mystical characters was well done, in my opinion. However, the pacing of this book was a little strange for me. We start right in and it felt like I was jumping into chapter 5 or 6 of a book. Then it slows down to world build a bit, but not until 30-50% of the book. There's a huge build-up to the final fight, and it sounds like it will be really intense, but then it...wasn't. The ending fell flat for me as the final battle wasn't as intense as I expected.

I wanted to feel more connected to the characters, but there were so many of them that were underdeveloped due to the lack of time given to them, that I really struggled with this. I adored Martin, one of the main two characters, but couldn't stand Kingston and don't know if that's just personal preference or how he was written. Lovable gruff asshole was the intention, but all I got was an asshole in the end.

Again, the plot and world were really good, but it all could have had a little extra added to it.

I read the summary of this book and I was intrigued. I’m such a sucker for Vampires and it had a lil romance; sign me up.
This book follows the story of 2 vampire hunters Kingston and Martin in a city, things change when Kingston becomes a vampire. Reading this book too me felt a little too much. There is mention of too many creatures from lore to make seem more put together. And at times it felt too instant, from rage to remorse or hate to a friendship. I found it was a little too easy. The changing of emotions too quickly would get on my nerves.
But I liked the essence of the story, it’s a really good idea in need of some polishing but still entertaining. The minor characters made it more fun to read. Martin being a witch is genius. I think this book will also appeal to movie and book nerds cause it’s has references that make it more fun. Think Sam and Dean from supernatural kicking butt but not brothers and in love. It worth a read.
#VeryTadaReviews

I had the privilege of reading this book on NetGalley.

This was a very different kind of Gay Urban Fantasy story, and I loved it. Alice G. Holmes is a master at creating characters with backgrounds, dreams, and fears. I fell in love with the characters here, even the two-paragraph side characters. They all were so interesting and different. Another thing that surprised me is that there was no sex in the book between the love interests. I'm so used to the MC's having sex at least once in gay romances, it was actually a little nice to be able to just read a good fantasy with gay MC's. I kept having these expectations about how this story would go because it feels like I have read stories similar to this so many times, but none of those expectations became reality. This was a wholly original delightful story.

My one issue and the reason for four stars was the inclusiveness the author added into every nook and cranny. It feels really weird saying this is a bad thing, but nearly every character is gay, genderqueer or trans. That's all fine and lovely, and I think it would have been refreshing if it wasn't brought up nearly every page. That character you just met, surprise! their trans, that other character you just met he's gay. I don't think that's how it happens in real life, "Hi my name is Mark and I'm trans, let's go break into this building to save people..." It was just a little over the top.

Overall this is a fantastic story and I enjoyed every minute of it, and I will definitely be on the lookout for more books from this author.

This is the kind of vampire urban fantasy I can get behind. I feel like I need a prequel to understand some of the characters in this story, but I like the character depth given to the various relationships between everyone. The antagonist, Caleb, was an obviously transparent representation of many negative personalities rolled into one dislikable character, providing a bit of catharsis for certain readers, me included, when the ending occurs. I look forward to seeing more from this author as they are able to bring the humanity in characters to life (pun intended).

Kingston and Martin are two of the most estimated vampire hunters. Their lives totally change when Kingston is transformed into a vampire, while at the same time all the city is taken over by the vampires.
Kingston will have to not hate himself for being a vampire and at the same time cooperate with this creature to save the city from the man that is transforming it in his nazi-like reign. Martin at the same time will discover magic and learn how to use it.
All of this while also trying to understand the love they prove to each other.

I think we could totally name the genre for this book something like Fang & Sorcery. I really like the lore behind the main story and I think the author really built an interesting world. I appreciated that the book wasn’t only focused on the vampires; yes, they are the main theme, but I found really good the fact that other entities, like witches and other mythological creatures, are also included in this world. Sometimes I found a bit dull and annoying, especially with vampires that nowadays are really abused, that only one kind of supernatural beings is included in a story, but luckily this wasn’t the case.

This book is filled with references to the LGBT+ community and I found really cool how these fuse themselves with the rest of the story.
There are also lots of allusions to the pop culture and I found some of them really hilarious. Speaking about hilarious things, keep an eye on the character named Felix; I really loved everything of him, from his appearance to the personality. He made me laugh a lot during the book and quickly became my favorite character.

I found really interesting the choice to have the story narrated from both the protagonists, alternating the point of view of Kingston and Martin between the various chapter.

Speaking about the story, at the beginning I was thinking that making Martin become a vampire instead of Kingston would have lead to a development of the plot with more suspense and critical moment, but I changed my mind while reading the book. Having Kingston as the vampire lead to a series of internal dilemmas and twist that made it very interesting; Unfortunately in the second half of the book this part seemed a bit neglected and I think the author haven’t fully exploited it.

Kingston parts seemed all a bit dull from a certain point while Martin’s ones rapidly become more and more interesting ending up being the only ones that really caught me up.

The final part of the book disappointed me a bit. It seemed as wrote hastily and as the events weren’t fully developed. I would totally have preferred if more space was dedicated to the these acts as the story is really good and it’s a shame to have the last part as the most weak of the book.

There is really a lot of interesting lore created for this book and I really hope in a sequel or a side story to have it developed even ore. There are lots of faces of this universe that I would love to see explored.

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

”One good thing about throwing stakes at a target? Not a lot of room in your brain for much else..”

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was interesting and I loved the plot. It had the potential to be great but it lacked a few things.

The world building was a bit confusing and we kind of didn’t get much info about the world until farther in the book then I expected.

A vampire hunter becoming a vampire was such an amazing plot and I thought it was well written but I wanted it to be more intense. Overall this book kept my interest but it could’ve been a bit more developed.

This book is like a breath of fresh air in many ways. It has an interesting premise with a twist on the typical "hunter" trope. It's chalk full of unique vampire lore and intriguing forms of magic. And it has an amazing amount of representation both in race and sexuality.

I enjoyed that the main protagonists have that opposites-attract quality to them and therefore are able to balance each other out. Where Kingston is strong and aggressive, Martin is sweeter and more on the nurturing side. While Kingston forms opinions and refuses to budge on them, Martin prefers to learn about the subject and offer chances when deserved. Kingston is incredibly stubborn and he is lucky that Martin is exceedingly patient in return. Kingston's struggle with his new identity thanks to the newly self-appointed vampire dictator of Phoenix is a prominent feature of the book and I really enjoyed watching him work through his struggles and prejudices against those he'd been fighting against for so long. It's another version of the don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover and I always love when characters are able to soften and evolve in a book.

One of my favorite parts was Martin's journey with his magic. It was a nice balance to Kingston's training story line and I found myself looking forward to his parts of the story to see how he was progressing. The entirety of the magical aspects of this book were so intriguing and I really admired Martin's determination to find a way to help the others take back the city. Watching the pair use their own strengths to fight Caleb, the vampire dictator, was incredibly fun and helped emphasize the great team the two make. And their struggles with their feelings for each other only heightened the tense atmosphere that lives among the book as the characters fight for their lives and the lives of others.

Although many characters felt like a placeholder in a lot of aspects, especially the supporting characters' significant others of which nearly all were in a relationship, I did appreciate the diversity and representation they brought to the book. And while it lagged a few times in pacing, it did keep me reading and wanting to know what happened next. I do wish the lore and the backstories of the characters would've been shown a bit more rather than the repeated scenarios we faced where a character would dump a bunch of information all at once on another one in a "teaching" scene. And it was a bit difficult to picture a scary, bloodthirsty vampire dictator who enjoyed wearing a white cowboy hat at all times who then took it so far as to demand his followers wear identical cowboy hats. But overall I did enjoy the story and felt it had a satisfying ending. I especially liked that Holmes chose to jump forward a few months and give us one last glimpse at our characters before the book came to a close. It's hard to find a new take on vampires nowadays but this book certainly delivered.

*I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

** spoiler alert ** Thank you to Alice G. Holmes, NineStar Press and Netgalley for the review copy in return for an honest review.

Plot: This book follows Vampire hunters Martin and Kingston. One night, Kingston is bitten and turned into a vampire and discover that an old vampire is trying to take over the city.

Diversity: Wide range of LGBTQIA+ characters, characters of colour
Trigger Warnings : Racist and Homophobic behaviour, Violence and Beheadings

I did enjoy the plot. There was a lot of intrigued where it was going. Caleb was a good villain, his regime felt a lot like the NAZI regime. The final battle did let me down. We are the most part of the story working up to this big battle and it was finished in like 3 pages.

Writing: I did really enjoy the writing style. It was fast paced and easy to read. There were some things that got repetitive and could maybe have been edited down.

Worldbuilding: The lore in this story is on one side really great and lacks on some other fronts. There was a lot of information about the different kind of vampires and witches and other paranormal creatures. But a new witch could find new spells, potions that suddenly make the life of the vampires 10x easier, while they are already living this way for 100s of years.

Characters: In this story you follow the POV of Martin and Kingston. I really enjoyed Martin's POV and his route to magic. I did not enjoy Martin. I felt he was too much an asshole and was just constantly of two minds with himself and it got a bit tiring to read. I found the love for his partner from his POV a bit cliché written, but from Kingston pov more nuanced. and for me, i did not see enough of their interactions to really believe the love for each other. From the beginning of the story, it was told instead of shown.

Overall I did enjoy the story and wanted to keep reading. And not having read a vampire book in a long time, it was a nice change.

This was a fun fast read about a vampire hunter turned vampire and his best friend/sort-off witchy boyfriend.
I went into this with zero expectations - and then I couldn’t put it down and read it in more or less one sitting.

I wasn’t aware going in that there was going to be a major outing of the vampire race and evil vampires overtaking Phoenix - but I was THERE for it.
I did think it was at some points rushed and I would have liked to be more on the forefront of the rebellion, but since both Kingston and Martin had to go into hiding in the beginning of the story you don’t really get to see much of the impact of the city-wide war humans vs. vampires; you only get to hear about it.

The plot centers more on the relationship between these two colleagues/best friends who we find out really early on feel more for each other than either one wants to admit. The chemestry is so stinking cute, it made up for a lot of things plot-wise.

I loved how diverse the cast of characters was (to a point where you start to wonder if there is even one hetero cis person there ^^) and how diverse the MAGICAL beings were - the author took what we know of vampires and put their own spin on it.

The ending felt a little rushed, I would have liked for a bit … MORE. But all in all it was hella entertaining.
Highly recommend, if you just want to dive back into all things vampire and you like witty banter and fun characters.

Even if there is a lot of potential the book somehow felt incomplete, just a draft and it didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

**Thank you Netgalley for providing an E-arc for an honest review.

Sorcery of the Blood is a fast-paced romp in a new vampire world. It is a story populated with delightfully vivid main and side characters and the plot, though somewhat superficial and unevenly paced, is compulsively readable. I tore through the story in mere hours and enjoyed every moment of it. Kingston and Martin are the narrative lynchpins, with the story unfurling in a newly altered reality that is precipitated by Kingston (a vampire hunter) being turned into a vampire. I loved the dynamic of these two characters and how they gave voice to their love amidst the ensuing chaos.
The biggest issue with the novel is how loosely everything is strung together. There is little depth, with information introduced and then rapidly built upon. The beginning proceeds at a slower pace, leading to an ending that arrived much too soon. The story would benefit from further fleshing out, but the bones are solid and robust.

This didn't feel like reading a whole book. It felt like the last half of a book or fanfiction. I liked the two main characters but I don't think there was enough interaction between them to care about their relationship. It felt like there were too many underdeveloped side characters. Overall, it wasn't terrible but it could have been better.

So I finished this in 1 sitting and LOVED it. Vampires, Witches and a nice boy on boy romance, yes please. Besides the fact that I saw vampires in the synopsis, I really didnt know what to expect. The first chapter drew me straight in and I could see that every chapter would end in a way that would make me not want to put the book down. I have no fault with the characters (I think they balanced each other out), no fault with the LGBT portrayed in the storyline and no faults with how the narrative was written. Overall a very good and enjoyable fantasy romance story.

Sorcery of the Blood was a fun and intense read. It's essentially about Vampire Hunters Kingston and Martin who are trying to make Phoenix a safer place for humans once again. But then, Kingston gets bitten by an old vampire and turns. With the help of Martin and some vampires who rely on donor blood instead of killing humans willy-nilly, he is brought to a safe-place to come to terms with his new undead-ness. In the meantime, the vampire who turned Kingston takes over the city dictator-style and Martin discovers something about himself: he has magic.

Together, they try to undo the evil vampire regime by joining forces, learning and teaching how to fight and, Kingston and Martin try to navigate the romantic feelings they have for each other which seem to become stronger than ever.

I liked the dynamics between the characters and I really loved the diversity. While there are not only characters of every ethnicity and sexual orientation, there are lovely human/vampire relationships that explore the issues that arise when one partner is immortal and one isn't. The pining between Martin and Kingston was absolutely lovely and I was rooting for them from the first second on.

The villain was of a very good-old-fashioned kind of villain sort: hella racist, hella homophobic, and unapologetically evil. You are immediately hell set against him because he does not have a single shred of decency.

So, the villain is a white cishet male who is fighting queer vampires of all genders and sexualities (except straight) and there are some nods to Nazi Germany and I thought that I would've loved to see a little more variety. I would have loved to see some white cishet human/vampire allys on the good side and maybe some influences from some other terrible dictorial regimes in there. The latter would have appealed to the history nerd in me, and since the villain is a couple of hundred years old, I would've loved a backstory of how he became evil and how he travelled the world to be part of all the regimes. Just to hate him a little bit more (even though he is already up there with Umbridge from Harry Potter tbh.) But these are very minor complaints because as I said, I enjoyed the characters a LOT, they were quite lovely and fleshed out :)

The pacing was great, up until the 'big fight' between good and evil. I thought that the fight, as well as the aftermath was pretty quickly resolved - too quickly almost for the foreboding and panic and anxiety that was around the whole time. I felt as if I was waiting for the Supermario Superboss to show up and the ending was a little more fireball spewing plant.

All in all, I did enjoy this though and I can't wait to see what Alice G. Holmes does next! Their writing was lovely all throughout and the world building was also fantastic. I'd recommend this to everyone who is into vampire novels first of all and pining second of all because... the amount of love and pining in this book is just great!