Oh my gosh, this book is a 4/5 ⭐️ read for me! It’s been a while since I’ve read a book involving vampires, and A Dream of Blood and Magic didn’t disappoint. I love the thought process of the main character as she put others before her, regardless of the consequences. And cute little familiars to help her harness her powers, LOVE.

A young girl who goes by the name Avery has been kept in the dark about her true identity. Her past comes back to haunt her and new enemies come out to play. Her enemy, Kane may be the only person who can help protect her from those way worse. An enemies to lovers this books is rated for 18+.

I really hope the next book is in the works and word of it is released soon, I want to know more about Avery’s powers and familiars. I also want to see where her newfound alliances go.

I finished this book absolutely dying for the next installment, but I will admit that I struggled a bit in the beginning. A Dream of Blood and Magic is a gothic urban fantasy, but we also have some moments set across different lifetimes. In the beginning of this book I was unsure who I was rooting for or if I really even liked many of these characters, that definitely changed by the end.

Our FMC Avery- I just want to protect his poor young woman 😭. She has one friend in the world, her roommate CJ, both of them moved through the foster care system and only have each other to depend on. When we meet Avery she has no idea that she is Spirit Marked, an extremely powerful and rare witch who is about to be at the center of a struggle between multiple dangerous groups.

Kane- Oh my, at first I was a bit on Kane’s side even though I wasn’t really sure what we were working with, but by the end… 🥵

Azreal- Good villain, I found him pompous, arrogant, and absolutely insufferable. His son

There’s a whole host of side characters I won’t go into detail on because I don’t want to give too much away, but I love our little crow sidekick (mentioned in the synopsis), and a few other characters we meet along the way. We got a little bit of 🌶️ towards the end of this book and I can’t wait to see where she’s going with it, in book two. The end of this book absolutely left me excited for book two! With the rocky start (for me) on this one, I think I’d still rate it around 3.75-4⭐️
Please make sure you read the TWs for this, as there are some things that could trigger some readers.
I was given a copy of this via @netgalley, thank you!!

Wow! A Dream of Blood and Magic had me hooked from the prologue at the beginning! I love that Olivia takes us on a journey with Avery trying to unravel who she is. Throw in a few witches and vampires and you have yourself a steamy gothic fantasy 😉 I cannot wait to see where the journey continues in the next book! I hope to see more character development with Kane and Avery as well as some of the other characters who I can’t mention 🤫 definitely worth adding to your reading list!

Thank you, NetGalley and three brothers press for this ark. I thoroughly enjoyed this romantic book because it had so many of my favorite tropes, such as enemies to lovers forced proximity and dual POV’s. It also had vampires and witches throughout the story, which I love to read about. The author did a great job of the character building, I felt for these characters I was invested in knowing more about them, and I will definitely be reading more from this author, hoping her next book comes out soon in the series. I loved Avery and Cain‘s relationship, their chemistry was wonderful. I also love that Avery was not only an independent woman, but she still valued friendship. I thought that was a great part of the book. Unfortunately, it leaves on a cliffhanger, but it only makes me want the next book to come quicker. I highly recommend this to everyone who loves fantasy and romantic books.

The synopsis drew me in immediately. While I do read a lot of fantasy, its typically werewolves, far, or vampires--so a story about witches was a refreshing change of pace(although it does include vamps as well 😉


The characters were relatable to enjoyable to read about. It wasn't confusing who was who, as I find sometimes names and territories in books can become confusing, this was not. I loved Avery the FMC. She was fiery and I enjoyed her and Kane's interactions through the story. The beginning is packed with backstory and world building but the the plot picks up.

Underworld meets Kingdom of the Wicked in this forbidden love, rivals to lovers, high stakes, slow-burn gothic contemporary fantasy romance.

I feel like this would appeal to fans of Hades x Persephone-esque retellings, vampire fans and stories with a lot of lore. I personally loved this book and I'm so intrigued after ending on a huge cliff hanger. I need to know what happens next!

The characters feel so real and relateable even though they're all some kind of spiritual beings. Avery is such a vibe and the mood swings and internal conflict she's going through is heartbreaking. The fact that Kane can feel her emotions as well and emphasise exactly how she's feeling is incredible. The first 30% or so it was hard for me to keep track because of all the visions and situations that happened in the past but around the 75% mark everything started clicking in to place and I formed my own theories, most of which were wrong!

I'm interested to see how the relationship between Avrael, Kane and Luther plays out. I can see some huge tense scenes coming up in the next book and I reckon there may be a bit of a triangle going on with 3 of the main characters, I'm excited!

I am usually not a fan of urban fantasy, but I am truly surprised! While I am a big fantasy reader, never urban fantasy. This book was so captivating and the world was intensely detailed. I highly recommend for all slow burn romance readers. If you like vampires and elemental powers then you will love this book!

I received this ARC in exchange of a honest review.
I actually really enjoyed this book even tho the genre is not really my usual genre to read. This a gothic and supernatural fantasy with hot vampires.🔥
The main female character, Avery was truly a relatable and real character which I loved. Many times I don’t feel connected and interested in the main characters but in this book I could easily do that. The world building was interesting in my opinion and everything was written in much detail, therefore I could picture the world perfectly. I liked the plot and it’s pace throughout the story and I cannot wait for the second book.
Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Right when it was getting better the book ended. I really enjoyed the second half of the book. Kane and Avery’s interactions were the best.
The first half was, for me, very drawn out and long. Some of those flashbacks made no sense and it felt out of order. The writing was confusing in places, it wasn’t until halfway that I understood and started enjoying this.
Overall, the ending got me hooked and would like to read more about Avery.

✨A Dream of Blood and Magic✨
This book was giving me major vampire diaries vibes and I loved it! A Dream of Blood and Magic is a gothic urban fantasy romance that revolves around the rival vampire and witches factions.

Our FMC is Avery, who discovers her role in an ancient prophecy and the immense rare elemental magic she has as a witch. Despite growing up without knowledge of magic, Avery is thrust into a centuries long feud between witches and vampires due to her rare and powerful magic and begins to be hunted by warring vampire/witch alliances each led by an angsty vampire, who just happen to be brothers 🧛

I don’t want to give too much away but this was just fun and I think the way this book sets the stage means the next book is going to be awesome. This is definitely a slow burn so there isn’t much spice but I can see it heating up from here.

Also, Avery has familiars so be ready for a cute crow and fox to grace the pages 🐦‍⬛🦊

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Avery's life is turned upside down by a crow that crashes through her window, she discovers the truth about her life and questions everything she has ever been told. This books is how she begins to find her feet in her powers as a witch, and as she searches for the truth as well as why she has been seeing the lives of others in her dreams, particularly the two vampires who have taken an interest in her and are both on the hunt for her.

This book has SO much context and background woven into the first few chapters that I really felt like all my questions were answered before I even had a change to ask them. All the main characters are introduced quickly and the pace of the book was really fast moving. I liked that the book is in multiple POV, so you really feel like you understand what is happening with everyone as the story progresses. I am fascinated by the dynamic between Kane and Azriel and I feel that as the story progresses there will be so many twists and turns revealed about their shared history that I'm excited to discover. Kane fascinates me in his humanity, and I'm looking forward to see how he deals with Avery and their relationship as it develops.

I have rated this book four stars, I really enjoyed the writing style and found that the story really gripped me once I got into it. I often struggle with the first book in a fantasy series like this one as there is so much world building required but I found that I got into this book faster than normal. I'm eagerly anticipating the release of the rest of this series and I can't wait to see what happens with Avery and Kane!

I really wanted to like this book but ended up disappointed. I found myself getting bored sometimes and then other times I was entertained. I was expecting more romance since that was a major factor in why I was interested in this story but sadly it didn’t really deliver. I will admit there were a few cute moments. I understand that this series isn’t finished and that there will be more information in the next book but I felt like there was certain plots that were given and then never brought up again. For example, Azrael was never seen again or the twin girls from the beginning. I also felt like the ending was too abrupt. We didn’t get a closing or even a cliffhanger, which aren’t my favorite. I think Shadow’s POV at the end would have been a great closing and set up for the next book.

I personally didn’t like this story and won’t be continuing this series but I can see this may appeal to other people.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this e-ARC

A Dream of Blood and Magic (Spirit Marked Book 1) by Olivia Boothe is a romantic fantasy novel. What a well written book. This book was definitely more fantasy than romance but it works for this novel. The plot was amazing and very well fleshed out. It definitely was what a classify as a slow burn paranormal romance.
The author did an effortless job with making timelines flow. The different worlds were described so well.
Avery is our FMC and she is full of depth. There are so many side characters that we meet that are interesting and appear to be important to the story as a whole.
The plot is twisty, the characters full of depth and world building fabulous. I can not wait to read more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Three Brothers Press for an eARC copy of A Dream of Blood and Magic by Olivia Boothe.

While the book started off very promising, it fell flat not long after. Though that is a personal opinion and others may feel differently on that. I wanted more character development, there was a lot of world building and too many introductions to new magical species. The development and world building could have been done so much better, rather than dumping it all right away. That was the real killer for me. Over all, it was hard to get into and aspects were clear enough.

It's hard to believe this is the first book in a new world, usually the intricate world-building feels heavy handed in order to provide enough context, but this felt smooth to read background as Avery discovered at the same time. I kind of liked that it was unclear if Kane or Azrael would be the love interest initially, although it was clear by the end. Avery's determination to get back to her friends were admirable, but I wished she had more than just CJ/more of a life to leave behind, it felt a little one-dimensional. Looking forward to the rest of the series!

I have mixed feelings on this one.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and the characters, but I felt that some characters weren't fully developed, like Azrael. We got a couple of chapters with him, but then he was left alone.

There was a lot of worldbuilding, too, which is good, but it actually detracted, at times, from moving the plot forward.

The ending felt like just a weird stop, kind of like the author didn't know how to conclude the book.

That said, I did enjoy it and will read the next one, as I feel that the family connections are going to get more heated and intense.

I have mixed feelings about this book. There are many aspects I enjoyed, but a few things I didn't. Overall, I'm leaning towards a 3.5 rating. The story started off strong, and I was intrigued by Azrael's point of view. The author excelled at world-building, and the distinct writing style for each perspective made it easy to identify the narrators. However, there is a lot of world-building—so much so that it felt like it took a long time to develop the storyline. Although this is labeled as a romantic fantasy, there's only a hint of romance in the last 20% of the book. The author did mention that the romance wouldn't kick in until the second book, but this one felt like it was just setting the scene for the sequel. Despite that, I had a fun time reading it and was fascinated by the vampires, witches, and spirit guardians. The dynamic between the two brothers slightly reminded me of Damon and Stefan from The Vampire Diaries, which I loved. This book would be ideal for those who enjoy detailed world-building and a large focus on fantasy.

Thank you to Victory Editing Net Galley Co-Op and Net Galley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

If you love reading about vampires, familiars, witches, different worlds, and dream walking, you’ll want to pick this book up.

I found myself enjoying the contemporary gothic fantasy laced with romance book. Avery is the FMC that we follow as she comes into her powers, and is in the middle of a war between witches and vampires. Then there’s Kane, a vampire, in which forbidden love emerges. AKA Enemies - Lovers! Both characters are well written, and all very well thought through.

There’s very low spice in this book, but if you love the agonizing, white knuckled book holding, slow burn.. this book will satisfy that.

There’s so many wonderful twists and turns in this book. I really felt that this is a wonderful solid first book in the series. Boothe did a wonderful job weaving in the romance, fantasy, characters, slow burn tension. The storyline was easy to follow, and world building is super easy to digest for new fantasy readers.

I highly recommend this book!


Thank you NetGalley, and Three Brothers Press for the copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Everything about this sounds wonderful at first thought but I have a hard time really getting into fantasy books that are connected to the real modern world like this. This is not a fault to the book, it just wasn’t for me.

I regretfully stopped reading this book around the 30% mark. While the premise of witches, vampires, and mystery in a gothic urban setting was intriguing, I found that the writing style didn't resonate with me, and I struggled to connect with the characters.

I want to clarify that this is purely a matter of personal preference and not a criticism of the book or its story.