ARC Review: Angeline Kace - Descended by Blood

Angeline Kace - Descended by Blood

• Pub. Date: August 26, 2011
• Publisher: Accendo Press LLC
• Format: ebook 263pp
• Age Range: Young Adult
• ISBN-13: 9780983803713
• ISBN: 0983803714
• Genre: YA paranormal (vampires)

Brooke Keller's a high school junior who never spent much time living in one place. She's finally in a town long enough to almost snag the boy of her dreams, until her life is threatened by a fanged man in his attempt to kidnap her. Brooke begins a dangerous journey to find out who is after her and how to stop them. Thrown into a world with powerful and prejudiced vampires, Brooke must tap into the side of herself that she never knew existed, at the risk of losing her life in order to save it.

I received this book from the author for a blog tour (check back on Wednesday for my stop!). Here is my honest review:

I didn't realize how much I was actually into this book until the very end, where it leaves you with the craziest cliffhanger ever! I couldn't even believe it was over because I just wanted MORE! But let me start from the beginning...

I was very confused by the opening chapter with the mountain lion and trench coat man because the focus shifted to a more normal high school life for Brooke for a few chapters after that. I guess you could say that the pacing felt a little off at the very beginning. However, once the mountain lion/trench coat man linked back into the story with Brooke, her best friend Kaitlynn, and her new boyfriend Jaren, the action took off immediately!

Brooke learns that vampires exist and that she's special. Seems a little like a typical normal-teen-to-superhuman-badass story with action and boy trouble, but Brooke has personality. She grows and changes. Even though her difference is hard for lots of people to accept, it does make a difference to her. Kaitlynn is such a great friend and really accepts it, but Jaren has some reluctance. And then Mirko steps in. Oh, Mirko. *sigh*

It's hard not to compare, and it's hard not to wonder, but I did enjoy this story and wonder where it was going next. Don't make me choose between Team Mirko and Team Jaren. Brooke will have a hard enough time doing that AND juggling the training of her new powers and abilities. Good luck to her in the next installment of this series, which I will definitely be reading. I hope you do too!

What I liked:

• Action. There was a LOT of action when the scenes came around. Fighting, suspense, superpowers, etc etc. Fun stuff!
• Boy drama. I know, it's almost sad that I enjoy it, but Brooke really can't choose between either of these boys yet. I'm not sure which way I'd go either, really.. but Mirko is YUM.

What I didn't like:

• Grammar. While I love ARCs, I'm such a stickler for the editing. Finding the errors is irritating to me, but that's the nature of an ARC. I'm curious to see if these things were fixed before the release date.
• Pacing. I mentioned before that the pacing felt off. Things didn't connect for a while, and usually that's okay if it's hinted at. Things weren't talked about much for a while. It does all come together in the end for that crazy cliffhanger!!

Bottom line: An action-packed, fun vampire read! Not quite light, but not too heavy. Enjoy!

Rating:


3.5 / 5 book sharks!