The Secrets of Blood and Bone by Rebecca Alexander

3.5 out of 5 stars

*I received this book from Blogging for Books, but this doesn't influence my review at the all.

Okay, so this was an interesting book, with a slightly new take on vampires and supernatural creatures. One thing I would have to say was a con for me was the writing. Partly because the writing was British English, so I couldn't understand some of the words or phrases used. For example, the word "bramble" wasn't one I was familiar with. It googled the definition and found that it's a prickly scrambling vine or shrub. So, there's that and also, the wording for some sentences was kind of weird too. For example, (boy, I'm just filled with criticism today, aren't I?) "...tucked her fair hair into her collar in case it case it touched anything." I have a problem with that sentence because "in case" wasn't used in the correct context. The correct way is "...tucked her fair hair into her collar so it wouldn't touch anything.". I don't know, maybe it's just a British thing.

Anyway, so overall I thought the story was pretty good, especially the Dannick Lions anecdote, that was fascinating. Also, the POV shifts were fun to follow. I liked how Jackdaw, Sadie, and Felix's point of views were in third-person, while Edward Kelley's POV was the main perspective, in first-person.

Only after receiving this book, when I was just going to begin reading it, did I find out that it's actually a sequel. The first book, The Secrets of Life and Death, also follows Jackdaw Hammond but with a different rival, Elizabeth Bathory, whom we see portrayed in this book in Edward Kelley's prospective. I mention this because, despite the fact that I hadn't read the first book prior to reading the second one, it wasn't hard to understand what was going on. About fifty pages in, and I think I knew what was going on. Three and half stars. Good book
stars. Good book.