Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Genre: YA Fantasy
Hardback: 288 Pages
Publication: May 13, 2013
by Delacorte Press
Vance Ehecatl was raised with every luxury he could imagine in a beautiful greenhouse within the powerful empire of Midnight. Vampires are the only guardians Vance has ever known since he was abandoned by his shapeshifter family as a baby quetzal, and he is grateful to them for generously providing for all of his needs. When an act of violence forces Vance from his sheltered home, he is startled to meet Malachi Obsidian, a fellow shapeshifter with conflicting ideas about Midnight and its leader, Mistress Jeshickah.
Malachi claims Vance is a bloodwitch, who Jeshickah and her trainers, Jaguar and Taro, are trying to control. Vance doesn’t know anything about the rare and destructive magic Malachi says he possesses, and he can’t believe Jeshickah would use it to hurt others. But when his friends begin falling ill, Vance starts to realize his perfect world may not be as flawless as it seems. Now Vance must decide who to trust—the vampires he’s always relied upon, or the shapeshifters who despise them.
Abandoned by his parents at birth, Vance Ehecatl has been raised by powerful vampires at Midnight, a vampire empire ruled by Lady Jeshickah. Vance is a shape-shifter who transforms into a quetzal, a colorful bird, and for as long as he can remember, he has been protected from the outside world and given all the comforts he could want. He is completely loyal to Midnight until he meets Malachi Obsidian, a shape-shifter who hates the vampire empire. Malachi reveals to Vance that he is a bloodwitch with dangerous, unpredictable magic and why Midnight wants him around.
Vance is extremely naïve. He’s always lived life in a bubble, ignorant to the brutal realities of the world. As Midnight desires his powers, they’ve treated him to a luxurious, sheltered life. When he finally learns the truth about how Midnight society works, however, he finds himself questioning the life that he has led and speculating what the truth is and who he can trust. Vance needs to differentiate friends from foe and determine what his identity will be from here on out. Other than Vance, however, there is little character development.
I never quite understood who the vampires are. The vampire characters fell flat, and I never really got to know any of them and what their motivations are. It would have helped if there was more world building. Outside of Vance’s story, all we know about Midnight is that it has conquered most of the shape-shifter tribes except for a few independent, powerful groups. I would have enjoyed the book more if there were more details dedicated to world building and character development. As it is, it doesn’t feel like there is much going on in Bloodwitch.
Bloodwitch is crafts a mysterious paranormal world of shape-shifters, vampires, and witches in creative ways. While Bloodwitch fell flat for me, I have hopes that the second book will greatly expand Vance’s world and develop the plot more. I will be giving it a try to see if it will prove to be better than the first book.
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Author: alice
Alice is a stay-at-home mom of two children. Her favorite books are those send icy tingles down her spine, such as a good mystery or thriller, but she also enjoys a good hear-throbbing romance. She enjoys listening to music and drinking a cup of tea while reading and working.
Christina Fiorelli says
Too bad the characters weren't as deep as you wanted.
The shapeshifters sound unique and it's awesome that the guy is naive!!
Lovely review 🙂