Thank you Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book for my honest review!

Honestly, I was really excited for this book, it sounded so good and it was to some degree, but it would have been even better if I'd known that it was a spin-off of a series. There's almost no character development or backstory because again, its a spinoff so you'd get that in the original series, but I had no knowledge and found myself getting really confused at times due to lack of context. I did like some parts, but I wish I'd read the first series because I think this one has potential that I didn't really get to experience this time around.

2.5 stars ⭐️

On the front cover, above the butterfly it says All that glitters is deadly.
Isn't that grammatically incorrect? I rated this book 4/5 stars because I greatly enjoyed it. I liked the touch of romance between Nolan Storm and Serena Rogue. I loved the idea of the true borns. I think L.E. Sterling spun a masterful tale with this book I would definitely recommend this book to anyone I talk to.

While A Glamour of Blood is technically a standalone, it is a spin-off of LE Sterling’s previous series, The True Born trilogy, and I highly recommend reading that series first because A Glamour of Blood seems to pick up right in the middle of The True Born’s story so a lot of the backstory isn’t there in this book, making it harder to grasp what is going on.

Although I felt like the character introduction was lacking (again, from being a spin-off I’m sure), the character- and world-building was beautiful. It’s clear that LE Sterling puts in a lot of thought in work in creating a beautiful, complex world and characters, and I’m sure I would’ve liked the book so much more had I had a better understanding of what I was reading (again, I highly recommend reading the True Born trilogy first!). All in all I’d say it’s definitely a solid read if you’re into YA, dystopian, fantasy, and unique magic!

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the eARC of A Glamour of Blood. All opinions are my own.

I should start by saying I'm not generally a fan of the dystopian genre... well I didn't think I was, but now I'm second-guessing a lot of what I thought I liked and this book has me thinking about what I enjoy reading.

Serena is one of those characters that just makes you feel for her, she goes from one extreme to another and then another, and at every turn, some people want to help or hurt her and she's constantly wondering who is who.

Helping the kids, and finding out who's behind it before the literal end of the world is what's driving her, Trying to keep herself and those she loves is a close second on the priority list, and let's not forget her family, they just had to show up at the worst possible time, didn't they...

Overall I really liked this book, the storytelling, the detail, the complex relationships between characters, This book has it all, and was an engaging read.
Lastly, I just have to mention this cover art, it is spectacular, and drew me in the instant I saw it, It's truly beautiful and makes you want to know what fantastical story lies within its pages.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for providing an Advance copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wonderful world building with strong female lead and lots of magical intrigue. A real page turner, can’t wait for the next one of a series ! Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy

A glamour of Blood is a spin-off from the True blood trilogy. I wish I had known this before reading, since it really looked like it is a standalone. This book contains lots of references to the trilogy, which makes it difficult to read for those who haven't read the other books. I was one of the readers who hasn't read the trilogy, which made I found this book difficult to read. After a while I got the hang of it and started to understand the different groups. However I still struggled during the entire book with getting through the story. The storyline itself contains lots of twists making it sometimes hard to understand what is going on. In addition I would have loved to know more about the characters, since it seems like knowledge of them is required to understand their full relationship. For me it seemed like a love-hate relationship, with two groups behind them making their friendship or maybe even affair almost impossible.
I did enjoy the storyline, but because this book is just way to difficult to read as a standalone I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. Therefore my reading experience was disappointing, resulting into only 2 stars since I can really see the potential

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Soft DNF at 15%.

What I did read of this I did enjoy, however the magic system was really difficult for me to get my head around.

Though this is a stand alone, I think reading the series that this is linked to would have helped this make more sense which is why this as a soft DNF because I think I would really enjoy it!

Thank you NetGalley and entangled publishing for the ARC

I have included the below review on Goodreads:

DNF at 20%

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for the ARC. L.E. Sterling has the beginnings of a really fascinating and complex world but I am quite lost in it. This book primarily suffers from a lack of world building and its introduction of an intricate magic system and magical characters that I did not have the context for. I believe this is meant to be a stand alone book but I imagine the True Born trilogy contains all of the information I found missing in this installation.

L.E.'s writing quality is fine. The primary issue is with the plot's structure and flow. We begin the novel almost as if we are picking up where a cliff hanger left off in some previous book. It's a confusing start, with references made to some other plot points that would have been compelling to experience and would have helped to raise the stakes. Serena's motives aren't particularly clear and she appears to change her mind randomly and largely in the absence of true inciting incidents.

"A Glamour of Blood" has a lot of potential but if L.E. is going for the cult following status, she should consider making this world a little easier for readers to get into.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was very confusing to me from the start. The main character can’t see some things but can see others? She utilizes this lack of vision to her advantage sometimes but then argues with other characters when they try to use her lack of vision against her. Then she doesn’t “want to be a damsel” but is reliant on others to literally walk through areas so she does not trip. It was a slow read that just lead to a lot of confusion for me.

I loved Divergent and Blade Runner so this mashup is just right up my alley.

This was a riveting dystopian thriller that takes readers on a rollercoaster ride through the ruins of Dominion City. In a world ravaged by the plague and hunger, Serena Rogue, a resilient bounty hunter, embarks on a relentless quest to save kidnapped children from the city's perilous streets.

What makes this novel truly captivating is the complex dynamic between Serena and Nolan Storm, a man with a deep-seated grudge against her. Forced into an uneasy alliance, their enmity and undeniable attraction create an electrifying tension.

If you watched the movies like Ultraviolet or read manga like The Ghost Shell and Blood: The Last Vampire; this book has that badassasery vibes that would work for urban and paranormal thriller-fantasy lovers.

Ok, so this book was really confusing for me at the beginning. Like the first 5 to 6 chapters took me a while to get through because I just didn’t understand what True Borns are and what Dominion was all about and the plague that happened. Though the author does mention that there is a series before this (which now I’m going to have to read) I should be able to read this book and understand it without any problems. This didn’t happen to me until like chapter 8. I love the action in this book and the back story of the main character Ser, but Carl is one of my favorites. I love how the author describes in detail what Ser can see with her eyes and how her past makes her to what she is today. I can’t wait for the next book to come out. I want more romance between Ser and Storm. I want to know what is going to happen to Ser’s stepmom and I think that her stepmom is more involvement with the death of Ser’s mother. The fighting scenes in the book are described in great detail that makes you wan to keep reading. I enjoyed this book a lot, so keep reading and push through the beginning chapters, it will all make sense!

When I read the blurb for A Glamour of Blood, I was immediately intrigued and couldn’t wait to dive into it and I’m super grateful to Entangled Publishing for giving me this opportunity! However, this has in no way affected my review, which is solely based only on my own opinion.

At the very beginning of the book the author explains that this book is a spin-off of another series they’d written. I was surprised because I had had no idea of that, but I wasn’t too concerned about it. There are about a million spin-offs that we’ve all dived into as readers and enjoyed just the same.

However, from the very moment the book started, the best way I can describe my experience is that it was like being thrown into the midst of a full-blown war with my eyes tied. The world was fully established, but it was done outside the awareness of the new reader and I had to grapple to make sense of what was happening and what the rules were. I still don’t think that, even by the end of the book, I am 100% sure of everything I’ve put together from what I’ve read. The world-building in the book, for me, was probably the most difficult part of it. I would personally recommend that this book be read after the series is read, or as part of the series.

However, that being said, the world—whatever I’ve understood of it—was very very different from anything I read before. The author gets lots of points for creating and weaving a story in a world so unique and never-seen-before. I think as readers we’ve never truly minded too much to find similarities between the worlds of fiction, but finding a world so different was really surprising and refreshing.

What the world-building lacked (for me) the writing certainly elevated. The writing, I think, was the strongest suit of this story. Often when you don’t understand the world, you lose interest in the book, but L.E. Sterling’s writing held me through it all and had me coming back. Perhaps an additional postive factor for me was that the book read a little like the urban fantasy series that Ilona Andrews have written. The main characters felt a little similar to them as well (to me).

The characters I felt had a certain backstory to them that I wish I knew, because again, it was like walking into a movie mid-way with the limited information we had. The FMC was written with an emotion that I can respect. This is the third character I’m reading whose physical struggles the author mirrors after their own pain and condition. Seeing the author represent themselves and do it with fantasy is always something that will be close to my heart and it was also very interesting to see how they choose to represent given the circumstances. Serena brings a lot of strength and grit to the screen and I definitely liked being in her head.

The MMC also brought to the table something very interesting, both personality wise and how the character is written. Usually, I don’t feel like I want to hear what the male interest is thinking (I like a little mystery, thank you very much), but with Nolan I was curious what was happening with him and what his thoughts were like. While I wasn’t aware that there was a certain equation that existed between the main characters before this book, the relationship that is created in this book is very visible.

The secondary characters were few, but they were fairly well written and brought their own brand of personality, humour and/or purpose to the story. Some we love, some we’ll hate, but they’ll all leave some mark on the reader in someway or the other.

The plot is something that, again, reminded me of something Ilona Andrews would’ve written. It had the same emotion, forced-alliance-formation, action, magic and story unravelling style that reminded me of them. Not so much that it came in the way of my experience of reading, but just enough that there’s a familiarity. The plot is definitely strong, I would’ve enjoyed it more if I had read the series properly, though. *Sigh*, my own fault, I guess.

A Glamour of Blood had a lot of heart and I think it’s something that will stay with me in its own way. Three and a half stars. Happy reading! Check trigger warnings! The book is violent, with kidnapping, gore, death etc.

I really enjoyed the banter and push and pull of Nolan Storm and Serena. They had such fun chemistry on page. I just wanted more of them.

I would also love to see some character art of the how Serena sees the world. And what Nolan looks like to Serena.

It was an interesting take on the magic with the talismans and blood. Pretty much what everything that Serena could see.

It was fun trying to figure out the mystery of missing the kids.

This is a YA urban fantasy filled with action and magic. This book is about Serena, she is a bounty hunter. She ends up teaming up with Nolan even though they are rivals to find the local children that keep going missing and to find who’s behind this.

Before starting this book I recommend reading the True Born Trilogy. This is a spin off series of her previous series and is kinda confusing and lost without it. If I would have read the True Born Trilogy I would have enjoyed reading this book more. The storyline was interesting and the tension between the main characters was great!

4.75 out of 5 stars!

This was a engrossing dystopian urban fantasy featuring talisman magic and those with talisman based blood. The point of view is of Serena, a blind girl with an unique sight of the world, she can only see those are True-Blood or those exposed to talismans. This book takes place after L.E. Sterling's True Born trilogy, so I recommend reading that first, but I didn't read them and picked up things fairly quickly, and since I've read a bunch of futuristic/dystopian urban magical based books, there's a lot of similarities within the genre, so it that is your jam, then you will probably enjoy this book.

Serena is interesting, she balances her past with her present, and comes across as snarky but willing to go out on the olive branch with a former enemy to save the city that they are both living in because Serena's past is coming back. Her enemy Nolan Storm is True Born, in fact he resembles an old god, complete with horns, and the power of storms, and he shines in Serena's sight. They have to work together to figure out what's going on.

A lot of mystery, little bit of magic, little bit of fanatical cult, and a little bit of romance.

Thank you to Entangled Teen for the free eARC. This is my honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley, Entangled Publishing, and author for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to like this book so much, but I had a hard time getting into it because it feels like I started reading in the middle of a series. Now, I love fast-paced books, but this felt like I was missing something. So much so that I went back to make sure this could be read as a standalone.
There was so much that I didn't understand about the world that it seemed to expect me to know. (like what's a splicer?) There also wasn't a lot of character descriptions so it was really hard for me to visualize anything about the book.
The rivalry between Nolan and Serena was great, but I think that's the only really great part about the book.

I wish I had read L.E. Sterling's previous series - the True Born trilogy prior to reading A Glamour of Blood. I was a bit lost on the backstory going through the beginning as this is technically a spin-off series. You are thrown right in the middle of the story at the beginning of the book. I would've loved a bit more introduction to the characters in the beginning to avoid feeling so lost.

3.75⭐️

Still extremely enjoyable read once you get into the plot of this urban fantasy. The story follows Serena and her best friend Carl on a mission to find the missing street kids. Her mission is intertwined with Nolan Storm, someone she considers her rival (maybe even an enemy) and the leader of the True Born. The two of them share a history and it is not always pleasant. But Serena does NOT back down - there is banter and an undeniable attraction.
I can definitely see the potential of this and am excited to read more in the future.

Read if you love:
Urban fantasy
Enemies to Lovers
Strong Female leads
Dystopian Young Adult romance

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled: Teen for this eARC to review!

This was a dystopian read that was definitely fast paced. There was a lot happening since our FMC notices children are going missing right at the onset and takes on the job to figure out why.
But then there's other political plays at work. There's some slow burn love, some challenges, knife fights, betrayal, snarky friends that are cats. (So many cats in books I've read lately, not complaining)
There were talismans used that some were real and some were counterfeit that made a person stronger, faster, etc.
This had a unique magic system with the talismans and the True Born. She also has some disabilities due to her station but she's also not letting them stop her.
Love how it ended with her philosophy on where she wanted their society headed. Cause if you read it the people that were vying for power were doing some awful stuff. But most do to get on top strangely.

Read if you like:
✨ Dystopian
✨ Enemies to lovers
✨ Slow burn
✨ Urban Fantasy
✨ Unique magic system


Thank you entangledteen for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
It is filled with magic, lots of action, and has some incredible world-building. I could not put it down and can’t wait for the next book.