Ronan Truelove is just an ordinary thirteen year old, with very ordinary parents - or so he believes, until one day when his mother 'abducts' him from school and tears off on a high speed car chase. His father, she informs Ronan, has been kidnapped, and those kidnappers are now after Ronan as well. Kidnapped? His boring, nerdy dad?
Ronan's mother is not the ordinary soccer mom that Ronan thought. She is actually a member of an ancient, sword-wielding order of knights known as the Blood Guard, bound to protect the Pure - a specific number of individuals on whose shoulders lie the fate of the world.

Suddenly Ronan understands why his mother had him enrolled in after-school classes of gymnastics, martial arts, survival training, etc. He has been groomed to take on the mantle of a Blood Guard!

His mother sets him off on his own and he joins forces with two unlikely individuals - Greta, a girl from his school who he never really liked very much, and Jack, a teenaged pick-pocket. His mother's parting words were 'trust no one' - but Ronan will need to rely on his own instincts and trust his companions in order to avoid the decidedly evil organization out to kidnap him.

This book is an exciting adventure tale. Secret organizations and spies, swords and the supernatural - this hits all the right marks to draw in a lot of middle grade/YA readers. Ronan is precisely the kind of protagonist a lot of young readers would fantasize themselves as being (like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson) - someone who thought they were ordinary but are part of something much larger and only just now learning about it. His partners (like Hermione and Ron or Grover and Annabeth - to stay with the previous two examples) are more than just sidekicks, but integral to his ability to achieve his goals.

The action is pretty much non-stop from the very first page and author Carter Roy really does a fine job of building the story amid constant chases and character development.

I enjoyed this a lot and have actively sought out subsequent volumes in the series (sadly, it's only a trilogy as far as I can tell).

Looking for a good book? The Blood Guard by Carter Roy is a fast-paced, high-action story for middle grade and YA readers that should be recommended for anyone asking what to read after reading Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Not a bad book by any means, but I wasn't really impressed either. This book is what I'd classify as "competent" - the plot is decent, the characters are decent, the world is decent, but "decent" isn't what I look for when I read. I want to be wowed,and this book just didn't hit the mark for me personally.

One aspect that I did think was really well done was how the magic/fantasy side of the story was written into a more modern setting. It was handled very well, which is something you don't see that much in YA novels. I did feel the book was very much aimed toward male readers though.

I'd have this book in my classroom, as I think it does have appeal, but I also think there is a slew of better books out there geared toward the same age range.

Thank you to NetGalley and Two Lions for an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I've read several childrens/teen adventure books with my son and this one would definitely rate at the top... I definitely would enjoy continuing this series. This was a fun and exciting adventure book that was well thought out with relatable characters who left you wanting more.
A great read for any girl or boy!

Nice start to this fantasy hero book. Enjoyable read. Really think that children will enjoy this. Will check out the next book.

This book grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. This is a children's action movie crammed into a book. From page one the story gets rolling and it keep rolling and rolling without stop till we get to the end, and then it promises us more rolls!

Car chases, judo chops and gymnastics oh my!

One thing that I appreciated about Enders Game and the Hunger Games was that those books featured children in horrible situations not being spared anything because they were children. In literary fiction this would churn my stomach and turn me off, but in fantasy I can deal with it, and its ok. I don't know why my mind draws that line in the sand but there it is and here I am. No one held their punches back because they were facing off with a kid and the kid in turn didn't spare anything either.

This was a great read and I look forward to the rest of the series.

Cleaning up my netgalley still of some of the books that didn't get downloaded or just are not on my kindle for some reason. Sorry I didn't get to this book.