I'm absolutely loving the Marvel Heroines series as it unfolds, and this book is no exception. It's a real pleasure to read about superheroes who go under the radar, when they should be getting far more attention, and I'm glad to recommend this series far and wide!

I had very little knowledge of Elsa Bloodstone before picking this book up, but reading it made me check out her comic-book history - and she's quickly become a favourite character. Very British, non-nonsense and badass, she's fearless and strong in every way, with a complex history that as it unfolds here, shows her human side underneath, kept hidden for the sake of herself and her loved ones.

Elsa is the daughter of (late) adventurer Ulysses Bloodstone, whose bloodstone shard gives her strength, longevity and all the heroic attributes that she wields so well. However, there are apparently other shards in the world, and someone is trying to acquire them - so the game is afoot as Elsa travels the globe to get to the bottom of the mystery before the shards are used for nefarious purposes.

Not only is Elsa a great character, but the supporting folks are as well. From Adam, her monstrous butler, to her vampire lawyer, to super-friends such as Dr Strange and Stark Industries popping up to return favours, this is absolutely part of the now-famous Marvel multiverse. Unlike the movies, though, the book format allows the adventure to breathe, inside the heads of characters and visiting locations previously only seen in the comics, such as The Savage Lands.

Comic - sorry, graphic novel - fans will find much to enjoy here, as well readers new to this world (if anyone still isn't aware of Marvel by now!). I really do hope we hear more about Elsa in the future, with her love of restorative tea, protective trenchcoat and kickass boots. Definitely a heroine for our times.

Thank you to Aconyte Books and the author for sending me a review copy of this book via Netgalley for an honest review.

First of all, I just wanted to say that I love the character of Elsa, she’s confident, sarcastic. In all honesty she initially reminds me of…me.

Except I don’t hunt monsters – just good books to read.

Elsa is different to other Marvel female heroines I’ve seen and it’s refreshing. She’s definitely not without her flaws (she can be rude, hostile, self centred etc.) despite being a great monster hunter. I actually found her to be quite funny although that could just be my weird sense of humour.

But this isn’t your typical cheery Marvel read, this is much more down-to-earth and gritty. Albeit, I found the character voice to be ironic and funny. I love sarcasm in a book.

I wasn’t actually familiar with Elsa or her backstory when I started this and it didn’t give me much clues when reading this in the beginning (I was like “Bloodstone? What’s a Bloodstone??” – perhaps I just couldn’t understand the info that the blurb gave me). However, soon after starting the book I did a little research on her and here’s what I found:

Elsa is a monster hunter who has superpowers such as regenerating and superstrength which she mostly gains from the Bloodstone piece that she wears as a necklace.

The Wikipedia info was a bit confusing but I got the gist and simplified it for you.

Anyway, this particular book tells us the story of how Elsa is working on a case to get rid of some Ratmen when she gets attacked by mysterious armed men who want her Bloodstone. However, she’s soon discovers some secrets and family that she never knew existed…

I’m going to end that explanation there because I want to keep this mainly spoiler free.

But I really liked the plot and the author’s style. The character development was also interesting. I can’t comment too much on this without giving anything away but Elsa started off as a confident, cocky, somewhat selfish character. She doesn’t have an unrealistic, 360° personality change, she has a small change in her mindset which I love because it makes her feel more real and down to earth.

The actual pacing of the book was a bit slow in the beginning for me but that may have been because I was unfamiliar with the whole Bloodstone thing and so I kept losing interest until about Chapter 4.

The writing style was ironic and witty. I love how it gave the character a voice and personality through the writing. It’s written in first person. There’s lots of dialogue but it’s fairly easy to see who said what. I sort imagined this in a cinematic way as I read it and it definitely has some great action sequences.

Overall, this was a good read and I’d recommend it if you’re familiar with Elsa Bloodstone or you want to find a new Marvel Heroine.

Elsa Bloodstone is a badass monster hunter just like her father was. When she's attacked by a group of mercenaries who attempt to take her bloodstone shard, she takes it personally. She along with a new familiar character go after the mercenaries to find out who is behind it all and put a stop to them.

Using Elsa Bloodstone in a novel was smart. She's a little used Marvel character with limited backstory so you don't have to worry much about offending the continuity gods. She's a great character. A take charge, doesn't put up with any nonsense kind of women. I did enjoy all the little nods to the Marvel universe inserted into the book and especially the references to past continuity like her brother Cullen's time trapped in Murderworld in Avengers Arena.

Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest, written by Cath Lauria, is the latest Marvel Aconyte novel, and since it covers one of my favorite Marvel heroines, I just knew that I had to read it. If you enjoyed the heroine run of novels, make sure to also check out Rogue's new novel, as well as Domino's.

Elsa Bloodstone is a famous monster hunter. More than that, she comes from a family famous for their monster hunting abilities. It's that very family which is about to force her latest adventure on her.

Somebody just tried very hard to steal Elsa's Bloodstone shard, the source of her powers. While they failed to grab hers, they succeeded in getting her sister's Bloodstone shard. A sister that Elsa didn't know about, right up until she arrived at her doorstep begging for help.

“Ready for some bloodshed, boys? They'd be getting their fill of entertainment before long.”

Elsa Bloodstone is one of my favorite Marvel characters, one that I personally consider to be seriously underrated on the whole. Naturally, I was absolutely thrilled to hear about Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest. I couldn't have grabbed this book faster if I tried.

Bequest is a fantastic and approachable introduction to Elsa's character, not to mention the whole convoluted family history. Her monster hunting days are fairly clear in this book, as she gets into (and out of) more than one adventure.

More than that, her personality shines through. Okay, most of her personality could be described as sass and frustration, but I swear that's half the reason I adore her. That and she is a truly impressive combatant.

I knew going into this (thanks to the description) that family drama would be a major part of the story, yet even I was surprised by the level it went to and just how complex it truly got before it was all said and done. It helped to round out Elsa's story.

Truth be told, I was actually pretty sad when this story came to a close. Not because the ending was depressing, but because I had been really enjoying the narrative all the way through. I don't know how likely it is for there to be a sequel, but a girl can hope.

Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest, by Cath Lauria is one of the newest releases in Aconyte’s Marvel Heroines series, once again putting a relatively minor character in the spotlight and giving her the chance to tell a fuller version of her story than the average reader is likely to be familiar with. Elsa Bloodstone is one of Marvel’s newer characters, having first made her appearance in 2001, although she carries on the family tradition of her father, Ulysses Bloodstone, a supposedly-immortal-but-now-dead monster hunter who has been around in the comics since the 1970s.

Elsa is essentially a mercenary, although like any good hero, she’ll take on a job that’s for a worthy enough cause without making too much of a fuss about the money. Always very distinctively drawn, the novel does a good job of what might otherwise appear to be a fairly impractical signature wardrobe: the stiletto boots are specially made/reinforced, and she takes great pleasure in skewering monsters with the heels as she performs various high kicks and twists. As she points out, only a stiletto can generate fifteen hundred pounds of pressure per square inch. Equally iconic are her long, flapping trench-coat and high, red pony-tail: Elsa’s strong sense of style notwithstanding, both are explained as a deliberately obscuring her silhouette from anyone trying to take a ranged shot at a more vital spot such as an internal organ.

Visuals aside, one part of Elsa’s characterisation which I found a bit off-putting was her supposed nationality: early on in the book, Lauria (herself a US native) makes a point of having Elsa inadvertently refer to a bin as a “trash can” then curse herself for spending too much time in America. However, the next few pages are littered with Americanisms, and a lot of the time Elsa’s Britishness seems to boil down to using the words “bollocks” and “wanker” along with a fondness for drinking Earl Grey. As an Englishman, this was definitely an aspect of the book that I could have lived without, and I definitely spent most of the first chapter or so mentally noting down extraneous Americanisms and being irked by them. Fortunately, the plot of Bequest is good enough that I soon stop noticing this sort of thing, and was able to enjoy the story.

Elsa’s power comes primarily from the eponymous Bloodstone shard, a fragment of a meteorite which gave her father his powers and extraordinarily long-lie, but has now been passed down to her. She has enhanced strength, sense, reflexes, and a very strong healing factor – it’s not quite Deadpool level, but it’s certainly a major element, and the only real drawback to it seems to be that it makes her incredibly hungry after shrugging off a series of wounds. She lives in a house that formerly belonged to her father, and is currently run by her butler Adam, who just happens to be Frankenstein’s Monster.

One aspect of Elsa’s backstory which the book refers to at various points but never really unpacks, is the notion that her memories may not be entirely accurate – essentially, the idea seems to be that her actual contact with her father was rather limited, but that he (somehow?) implanted various memories in her of him passing on his skills. A sort of psychically reconstructed training montage which gave her the knowhow needed to make a living as a monster hunter.

The other main character in the story is Mihaela Zamfir, an older, East European woman who arrives unexpectedly at Elsa’s home, and introduces herself as Elsa’s (half-sister). As far as I can tell, Mihaela is an entirely original character, unique to Aconyte’s Earth-618 setting, but we immediately get a strong sense of her: stern, determined, and unrelentingly single-minded: neither age, nor the lack of a Bloodstone shard is going to see her admit to Elsa that she might be struggling to keep up with the unrelenting pace set by the younger sister. As the story is told entirely in first-person fashion from Elsa’s perspective, there’s always an extent to which the reader is left in the dark about Mihaela’s motivations. Lauria goes fairly heavy on the foreshadowing, so it’s made very obvious quite early on that there is something more than meets the eye about her, but it takes a while for the answer to reveal itself, and still longer for the ramifications to be worked out.

Together, Elsa and Mihaela must go on a globe-trotting adventure, desperately trying (and largely failing) to get ahead of their mysterious adversaries, searching their father’s network of abandoned bases for any possible remaining Bloodstone shards. Whilst each location presented its own unique challenges, and a very different unfolding of events, the strength of the book is definitely in how the events in each locale impact the relationships between the core characters, rather than the action for its own sake.

Whilst several Marvel big names are referenced at various points (Wolverine, Tony Stark, Dr Strange), there is only one figure that the casual comic reader is likely to be familiar with who makes an appearance. Misty Knight – ex-cop and Hero for Hire feels like a good choice for one of Elsa’s erstwhile sisters in arms, and whilst Elsa is somewhat ambivalent about whether she and Misty would consider each other friends, there’s a definitely level of professional respect between them, not to mention a fair amount of one-upwomanship going on.

Ultimately, a lot of the action of Bequest is driven by the villain, a shadowy figure who remains off-screen and unknown until the very final act, their identity and motivations a mystery. I don’t want to give too much away in terms of spoilers, but Elsa and Mihaela repeatedly find themselves three steps behind, and are constantly battling to catch up. All I will say for the villain is that they were a character that I had some awareness of, although not a great deal of knowledge, and I thought that the portrayal was done well, with both their motivations and the question of how good a match-up for Elsa they were carefully thought through and presented.

Overall, I thought that Bequest was a solid story: the strongest element is definitely the way it explores Elsa’s relationships: with figures like Misty, who are clearly among a select few who might cautiously be called friends and, increasingly, with the woman she now finds herself calling sister. Again, I don’t want to spoil too much about the ongoing rollercoaster of suspicion, growing bonds and the spectre of betrayal, but I found it very satisfyingly depicted.

Inevitably a prose novel is going to struggle to give a comic-book character better action-sequences than their original graphic setting, but the action here is competently described, and Lauria certainly manages to find challenges that are sufficient to give genuine pause to even a heroine with enhanced strength, senses, and a super-enhanced healing factor. Ultimately though, I think that Bequest is a success because it gives us a deeper insight into the characters and their relationships. In this respect, Bequest is a resounding success: I have far more of a sense of Elsa Bloodstone after reading this, and the book has immediately catapulted her towards the top of a list of characters who I would be interested in reading more about.

This review was based on a free advance eBook given to me by Aconyte for Review purposes.

Elsa Bloodstone was a character I knew little to nothing to about prior to requesting this through Netgalley. I knew that she is sometimes tied to Deadpool, a plus, and is a monster hunter, a major plus. So, this was an excellent chance to learn more about a new character for me. I loved this addition to the Marvel Heroines series and felt like it was super accessible to me as someone who knew very little about Bloodstone prior to starting it.

The Husband pointed this book out to me on Netgalley, but I was kinda hesitant to request it. Mainly because that cover is Horrible. But I do have a weak for some Marvel ladies, and I was unfamiliar with Elsa so I went for it anyway. And I am really happy I did!

Elsa is described in the book as:

You move like a cat and fight like a wolverine, and you do it all in heels and toting more guns than most people can even name. You’re a stone cold badass, Elsa Bloodstone.

And that is pretty accurate. We are introduced to her by a massive shootout in a graveyard, in which she kills a ratman by kicking him in the throat with her stilettos. Yes, Elsa is a monster hunter who lives in a manor house with a Frankenstein creature for a butler (who is brilliant by the way). And yes the manor has massive underground shooting range in which she tests out her vast array of custom made weapons. She also has a bloodstone shard which gives her super strenght, ‘spider sense’, and regenerative powers. She is also incredibly snarky, has a pretty decent ego and likes to kick balls. Did I mention that she is great?

We follow Elsa and her halfsister as they travel around the world looking for their father’s hidded bases and possible other bloodstone shards. Along the way they come across a bunch of monsters to slay. And these aren’t just your typical vampires etc. Lauria has used creatures from Slavic, Zulu and Swahili mythology and lore, among others, and I loved this so much!

This book had quite a different tone to the ‘usual’ Marvel stuff and for the most part read like its own thing – apart from the few mentions of for example Wakanda or Stark Industries. Because of that I feel you can very easily read this without much more than some basic knowledge from the movies.

I was disappointed with the main villain though, but this may just be a personal thing. I was familiar with them from a different comic in which I already didn’t like them, so being confronted with them at the end of this book I hugely enjoyed wasn’t a nice surprise.

I had a blast with this book and have found a new heroine to look out for. I am definitely going to pick up some comics Elsa features in soon! She is So Much Fun!!!

Elsa Boodstone: Bequest was my first experience with the character of Elsa Bloodstone, and as such I had no idea what to expect from this book. Instead of the usual super hero fare readers get presented with a kick-ass action heroine fighting monsters and the creatures of the night in a story that feels more like Urban Fantasy than a Marvel story; and because of that it stands out as a truly unique and exciting addition the the Marvel Heroines line.

The story follows Elsa Bloodstone, daughter of the immortal monster hunter Ulysses Bloodstone. Thanks to her father's genes, and the powers of the mystical Bloodstone shard she wears around her neck, Elsa has gained superhuman powers of super strength and regeneration; allowing her to follow in her father's footsteps and fight the creatures of the night that haunt the Marvel Universe.

When dealing with what should have been a relatively easy case in Glasgow Elsa is attacked by a group of armed assailants after her Bloodstone shard. After defeating them and making her way back home to Boston Elsa learns that there's another person in the world with a Bloodstone shard, who's just had it stolen; and what's even more surprising, the person who just had their shard stolen is her sister, Mihaela.

Despite not wanting anything to do with this sister she never even knew existed, and doesn't really like much, she agrees that it's dangerous for anyone to possess a piece of the Bloodstone, and sets out on a journey across the globe with Mihaela that will see the two of them seeking out their fathers hidden bases. Their journey will take them to New York, Mombasa, and the Arctic, and will see them having to confront a bevy of monsters, traps, and armed men as they fight to find out who's behind the theft.

From the very first moments of the book it's clear that this isn't going to be like most comic stories. There's no brightly costumed heroes, no villains with odd gimmicks. Instead we meet Elsa as she enters a Glasgow cemetery armed with a variety of weapons and a shovel as she tries to clear out an infestation of rat men. The book feels much more down to earth at time, which is odd considering Elsa jumps around the globe fighting monsters, but this certainly feels like a more street level story; and fans of characters like Blade or Jessica Jones will definitely find something to like here.

Elsa isn't really in this for the adventure, she doesn't really hang out with big name heroes, or fights flashy villains. Instead, she sees herself as more of a pest controller, going around killing monsters in the shadows, unseen and unthanked because it's the right thing to do. In a lot of ways she feels like a more moral hero that most, despite the fact that she kills a lot, because she's never in the public light, and has committed herself to a cause that will never see her showered in praise like people like Iron-Man or the Avengers.

That being said, Elsa isn't perfect, and at times she comes across as a bit of a bitch. And I loved it. Cath Luria manages to make Elsa into the kind of person you'd want at your back in a fight, but one who you might not get on with. She's catty and judgemental, and she's flawed. It makes her all the more relatable, and means that she gets a lot of opportunity to grow across the book; something that's really used in regards to her relationship with her new sister.

The sisters and the way they evolve with each other over the course of the book is one of the best parts of the story. It's nice to get to see how these two people who clearly hate each other and don't want to be friends at the start slowly come to respect each other, and even begin to care. Both of the characters come with a lot of baggage, and seeing them work through that is at times even better than the monster killing action. Mihaela's backstory is particularly interesting, and discovering her secrets across the narrative is a highlight.

The book is also packed with action, and instead of it just being flashy characters punching each other and throwing villains through buildings things have a much more realistic edge to them. Despite her enhanced strength Elsa has to rely on weapons to help her fight her foes, and it's great seeing her having to figure out the best methods of dispatching the strange monsters she comes across in the book. Elsa never feels overly powerful, and despite being able to do things that no human ever could she always feels just a rung or two under her foes, meaning that she really has to struggle to survive some of these encounters.

Cath Lauria has managed to craft an engaging super hero story that's made for people who have probably never picked up a comic before in their lives. Yes, some big named heroes get mentioned here and there, and a few recognisable names make an appearance, but this is a book that could easily exist outside of the Marvel Universe with a couple of tiny tweaks and still stand on it's own. It has great character focus, leads who are able to change and evolve, interesting monsters, and a plot that will go in directions that you'll not be expecting. Thanks to this book I've discovered an awesome new hero, one that I hope I get to see Lauria write again for one day.

I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Marvel Heroines book Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest by Cath Lauria, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.

So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.

I am going to try my best to not let this cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.

What is Marvel
Look at this point I would bore you with a bit of background to the game/universe, but lets not, you all know the Marvel Universe, if you don’t have you been living under a rock!

The Marvel Heroines series focuses on the female hero’s of the Marvel universe, the first two books in the series, Domino Strays and Rogue Untouched were extremly good, so I was looking forward to this.

The Story
So I think its best to introduce Elsa Bloodstrone first, she is a monster hunting heroine introduced to the Marvel universe by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. She is the daughter of Ulysses Bloodstone and follows in his footsteps of protecting the world from vampires, demons and monsters. Very much a Buffy type character.

She is British, loves her tea and doesn’t take s**t from anyone, and likes to keep people at a distance, but all that changes when a woman turns up on her doorstep claiming to be her half sister who has had her Bloodstone shard stolen, the Bloodstone being what grands Elsa her powers of superhuman strength, healing and endurance.

The core of this story is less so the adventure they are on, but the relationship between Elsa and Mihaela as they travel across thje world, investigating Ulysses old bases of operation to ensure he hasn’t left anymore Bloodstone shards lying around, lest what could happen if they ended up in the hands of evil doers.

We start off being very distrust of Mihaela, who lacks the same strength and attitude as Elsa and its very much an odd couple kind of relationship, with them constantly at each others throats, in more ways than one!

Mihaelas comments about Elsas attitude and recklessness are meet with very witty, sarcastic and snarky comebacks, even in the middle of a battle. Lauria does an excellent job of getting into Elsas head, we slowly get to see more and more about why she prefers to work alone and more about why she doesn’t want her sister in her life.

Conclusion
This book is really really good, and its refreshing to get a good book about one of Marvels lesser known heroes, and I really hope that Lauria is allowed to continue this storyline as the conclusion sets up some cool possibilities.

The backstory for Elsa and Mihaela is explored very well, so if you have never heard about Elsa before, then you will have no issues enjoying this book.

Overall its a fantastic pulpy adventure with cameos by a couple of other heroes on the trek around the world and a rather cool twist that turns everything around very nicely.

This is a brilliant book, full of background, but done in such a way as to not overwhelm and crammed full of comic book style action.

Solid 5 out of 5 stars from me!

The eBook is released on the 4th May and the paperback hits the shelves on 22nd July.

Enjoyed this story set in the Marvel universe very much. Elsa was a badass, witty and snarky in equal measure and able to back up her threats/promises with action.
We follow Elsa as she tries help her half-sister retrieve a stolen family heirloom, and tries to stay alive and stay a step ahead of those trying to keep said heirloom for themselves.
This was an adventure story a la Lara Croft, the pace was fast and the action constant. The side characters were fun and familiar Marvel staples and fit nicely into the story.
If you are looking for a fun, quick adventure read with a badass female lead, check this one out.

In my opinion, Elsa Bloodstone is criminally underrated.
This was a very fun read and Lauria's voice for Elsa was extremely entertaining and snarky, which is exactly what you would expect from a monster hunter who doesn't put up with anyone she doesn't have to. I was familiar with Elsa before reading this novel but she was very much underused in the Marvel universe and this provided her with wonderful depth that still felt familiar to the fact that I knew. For fans who are looking for more of Elsa or just fans who wish to have a good time reading, this is definitely the book for you. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this!

Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest is written by Cath Lauria and published by Acontye Books, an imprint of Asmodee Entertainment. Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest is part of the Marvel Heroines line alongside titles like Rogue: Untouched and Domino: Strays. Elsa is living the best life a superpowered monster hunter can live. But when the half-sister she never knew she had shows up at Bloodstone Manor, everything comes to a screeching halt.

Elsa’s introduction to her half-sister, Mihaela Zamfir, is a rough one. Mihaela begs Elsa to help her retrieve her Bloodstone shard, the one memento she has left from their deceased father. Unfortunately, Elsa doesn’t have the same fond opinion of Ulysses Bloodstone that her dear sister does. While Mihaela views Ulysses as a distant but heroic figure, Elsa saw him as a selfish, careless man.

Despite her distrust of Mihaela, Elsa agrees to help her hunt down her Bloodstone shard because she fears that Ulysses may have left other shards behind. Elsa’s Bloodstone shard gives her superhuman abilities such as accelerated healing, enhanced senses, super strength, and inhuman durability. If one of those shards fell into the wrong hands, it could prove to be disastrous.

Elsa and Mihaela’s very different personalities and opinions on their father cause tension at the start of their journey. Mihaela is constantly exasperated at how Elsa behaves, believing that she’s too nonchalant and not taking things seriously. In contrast, Elsa is frustrated with Mihaela’s lack of monster hunting skill and insistence that Ulysses wasn’t just as bad as the monsters he hunted. Lauria does such a good job of characterizing them both and writing Elsa’s voice that it’s easy for the reader to dislike Mihaela at first. Just the same way Elsa does.

However, as Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest goes on, Elsa’s view of Mihaela begins to change, and therefore, so does the way the reader views her. Mihaela isn’t strong in the same way that Elsa is; she doesn’t have superhuman powers, nor does she have years of monster-hunting experience, but she’s not weak. And she’s not useless. It takes Elsa a while to recognize this and to, initially grudgingly, respect Mihaela. But once they mutually recognize each other’s strengths, Elsa and Mihaela make a badass fighting team.

The voice that Lauria gives Elsa is the best part of Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest. It’s a lot of fun to read from her point of view. Elsa is hilarious. Snarky and sarcastic, she always has a witty comeback or quip ready, even when she’s in battle. Lauria gives Elsa a very distinct and memorable voice.

It would’ve been easy for Lauria to write Elsa as a one-dimensional character, snarky comic relief with no depth. Thankfully, Lauria does not go this route. Throughout Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest, it becomes clear that Elsa’s acerbic attitude and bravado act as a self-defense mechanism. People who end up in Elsa’s life, be it teammates, love interests, or friends, never stick around for long. They die, they kick her off the team, they have a falling out, etc. And Elsa always ends up alone. Though she would never admit it out loud because Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest is written from Elsa’s point of view, Lauria gives the reader a front-row seat to her admissions of loneliness and need for genuine, meaningful connection.

Once Lauria starts to reveal these aspects of Elsa’s character, it explains why she’s so resistant to letting Mihaela in her life in any way. It’s much easier for her to keep putting up walls and pretend that Mihaela is a nuisance, and she wants nothing more than to finish the mission and then go their separate ways. To pretend she doesn’t have a half-sister. And this adds a very human element to Elsa’s character and the story as a whole.

Overall, Lauria does a wonderful job balancing the various elements within the story and making Elsa and Mihaela fully realized characters. Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest is a monstrously good time to read, with laugh-out-loud moments, meaningful family bonding, memorable characters, and plenty of comic book-level action. Even if you’ve never read an Elsa Bloodstone comic, this novel will entertain and amuse you and provide plenty of character background so you won’t be lost.

I loved the Marvel Heroines Rogue novel and was excited to read this one about Elsa Bloodstone. To be honest, while I’m a major Marvel fan (my daughters named after Marvel), I didn’t know anything about Elsa. But my goodness is she awesome! This is such a great novel for introducing the character to more people and open a gateway to more of the Marvel heroines we don’t hear about often.

Reminding me of Van Helsing mixed with Buffy, Elsa is a monster hunter who possesses a bloodstone she inherited from her father. It gives her inhuman abilities that help her in her endeavors. This novel follows Elsa as she helps her newfound long lost sister find her own stolen bloodstone as they traipse around the world.

With fun calls to other Marvel characters, it’s a familiar world that was fun to get lost in.

Part of the Marvel: Heroines series from Aconyte Books, Cath Lauria’s Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest is a madcap thrill-ride full of monster battles, jet-setting and bickering siblings. Elsa Bloodstone – badass monster hunter, daughter of the famed Ulysses Bloodstone, definitely not a team player – is quite content with her life spent travelling the world, slaying assorted horrors for money. When a simple monster hunt is interrupted by mercenaries wanting her bloodstone shard, however, it seems as though her life is about to get a bit more complicated, an impression only reinforced by the appearance of a previously unknown half-sister asking for help in recovering her own, recently-lost bloodstone. Begrudgingly, Elsa agrees to help Mihaela, and the two of them set out to track down whoever’s behind the bloodstone theft.

What ensues is a pacy, action-packed adventure as Elsa and Mihaela search for their late father’s old bases in the hope of finding hidden bloodstones, the mercenaries who attacked Elsa and stole Mihaela’s shard, or – ideally – both. Setting out from Elsa’s home in Boston they race across the globe, from relatively civilised locales like New York and Mombasa to the wildernesses of Antarctica and the immodestly-named Bloodstone Isle, facing up against all manner of dangers and winding each other up like only siblings can. There’s little that Elsa can’t handle on her own, with her bloodstone-granted powers, hard-earned skills and considerable arsenal (including, brilliantly a ‘pillow gun’), but a few names from the wider Marvel universe pop up in brief supporting cameos now and then to lend a hand, and over time Elsa has to concede that there are occasionally benefits to be had in working alongside her sister. Occasionally.

Both strong-willed, no-nonsense women with their own secrets and motivations, for all their apparent differences – age, career, upbringing, opinion of their father, attitudes towards monsters – Elsa and Mihaela have plenty in common too. While Elsa takes great pleasure in baiting the older woman whenever possible, as the story progresses the way they act towards each other gradually develops into something neither of them expected. It’s this relationship which makes the book sing, the two characters bouncing off each other in entertaining fashion while bullets, blades and razor-sharp words fly. Elsa is an absolute badass and it’s a delight to watch her work, but with all her abilities there’s little that can pose a real danger to her – she can, after all, heal pretty much anything. As such, the disturbance in her comfortable life that Mihaela causes adds valuable tension to the story, not just in terms of Elsa keeping her sister alive but also in the way that Mihaela’s outlook on their family causes Elsa to reconsider a few things as well.

If you’ll forgive me a break from third to first person, I should point out here that I had never come across Elsa Bloodstone before, so had little idea of what to expect when I picked this up…but I was delighted to find that I loved both Elsa and the story! I enjoyed the way Lauria dropped in occasional references to Elsa’s earlier life and previous adventures, and likewise the connections to the wider Marvel universe, all of which combine to give a satisfying sense of shared history and a decent grounding in the character. More than that, with her sharp wit and determination to always speak her mind, Elsa is just tremendously entertaining to read about. There’s a slightly strange mix of English and American in her voice, which perhaps represents the author too but ultimately works in context of her character, and really what’s not to like about someone described thus: “You move like a cat and fight like a wolverine, and you do it all in heels and toting more guns than most people can even name.”?

It’s fun to read about high-profile characters from the Marvel universe, but there’s something to be said for the slightly less well-known names like Elsa Bloodstone who – for someone like me who’s mostly familiar with Marvel from the movies rather than the comic books – can bring something a bit different to the table. To my mind, this is a great example of how much fun superheroes can be, but at the same time how important it is that their stories are grounded in character first and foremost. What makes Elsa really interesting to read about is her relationship with her family, not her powers, and while I loved all the action and the wisecracks, I also cared about Elsa, and Mihaela too! If you’re on the lookout for a pulpy action adventure with a Marvel character who deserves much more attention (and lots more stories after this), I can heartily recommend you give this a go.

If there is any area it would be logical for tie-in books to excel in it’s in lesser known characters. Think about the space they provide. I don’t need a mountain of exposition on Batman to enjoy a novel about him. A novel about Doctor Fate would be far more useful. I get why there aren’t more novels on unfamiliar heroes, they don’t sell, but it’s a wasted opportunity.

Or it would be. This is my fourth review of a Marvel/Aconyte book and so far 3 of the 4 have centered on characters with much lower profiles. Aconyte has done novels on Rogue, Doctor Doom, and Domino with Dark Avengers getting an eagerly anticipated book this summer. But mostly we’re seeing the spotlight shine on characters who need it.

Elsa Bloodstone shouldn’t be though. She’s a badass character, a member of a line of monster hunters. She’s been in titles such as the beloved by all who read it Nextwave, Monsters Unleashed, and the really underrated Battleworld: Marvel Zombies miniseries. She’s a tough as nails heroine who deserves far more than her fairly scant appearances.

So let’s look at Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest by Cath Lauria, a rare solo story for the character. In fact it’s only her second name in the title story and third where she’s directly centered.

Here’s the plot synopsis from the publisher: “Elsa Bloodstone just can’t catch a break. She’s barely finished shutting down a hive of ratmen when a special ops squad turns up guns blazing – and they’re shooting at her! It’s nothing a good grenade can’t sort out though. When Elsa returns home, she discovers an unexpected guest claiming to be her long-lost sister, seeking her own stolen Bloodstone shard. The Bloodstone is the secret to Elsa’s superhuman powers, and a shard in villainous hands is seriously bad news. Cue globetrotting adventures full of monster-smashing. But danger stays one step ahead of them as Elsa realizes her sister isn’t quite what she seems, and an old enemy with a secret about her family’s past could overturn everything Elsa’s ever believed.”

We are in a mountain of tie-in tropes today but thankfully good ones. There’s a lost sister (who isn’t what she seems but not in the usual way.) There’s a villain connected to the past, a good one too. There’s a solid fetch quest plot. This is as well built as a tie-in on a new character gets.

And that’s a good review of the book. This is a solid tale through the Marvel monster side. But it hit me as I was reading it this is a bit bare bones. It does the trick but it doesn’t have the flourish I might expect. There’s none of the style of the X-Men books from Aconyte. Don’t get me wrong. It’s well written. It’s just that it’s merely good enough but kinda generic.

I think that’s down to the challenge of writing about a newer heroine. Elsa Bloodstone doesn’t have the material for an endless well of lore. There’s not many more appearances than you’d find in a standard Epic Collection It is a limiting factor for her book. Almost every shard of her lore is here. And while I dig the character, she lacks say the mental health problems Nadia Van Dyne had to give the Unstoppable Wasp book distinction. This is just a good monster book.

However that’s enough. This isn’t a messy read. It’s a solid down the line read. I definitely recommend it. It lands May 4.

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Did I say it was amazing? I will read anything that deals with Marvel. Another great one!