Sunday, January 4, 2015

Review: Bloodsick - Melissa F. Olson

Bloodsick
Melissa F. Olson 
Series: Scarlett Bernard, #0.1
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: So Great
Goodreads | Amazon

Thanks to Melissa F. Olson and Westmarch Publishing for the review copy!

When I received an email from Melissa F. Olson asking me if I would post an honest review in exchange for a review copy of Bloodsick, I knew I had to say yes! I'm a HUGE fan of her Scarlett Bernard series (review of Trail of Dead hereHunter's Trail here, and Sell-By Date here) and I was definitely a huge fan of Bloodsick!

While the Scarlett Bernard series follows, well, Scarlett Bernard (with Sell-By Date following her roommate, Molly), Bloodsick goes back in time a bit to follow Sashi Noring and Will Carling. If you've read any of the Scarlett Bernard series, these names may sound a bit familiar, which is part of why I loved this so much. It was so great to see some of the background that led to character dynamics in the Scarlett Bernard series while also coming to love these characters in a way I may not have been able to in the Scarlett Bernard series since they weren't quite in the spotlight.

Despite some of my love for this coming from having read Dead Spots and the rest of the series, there is plenty to love about this for someone who has not. One thing to love: the characters.

Sashi is a character we do not mean in the Scarlett Bernard series and I absolutely loved her! Sashi is a thaumaturge witch, meaning that she has healing magic. Throughout the story, we get to see how the healing magic works as well as how she deals with her mother's expectations. Sashi is so determined and passionate throughout the story that I just had to love her. She's definitely on par with Scarlett Bernard in the awesomeness department.

While Sashi is the main point of view for the novella, we also get some of Astrid's point of view. Astrid is a werewolf who is being abused by her pack Alpha. Astrid is a character who continues to fight despite the odds and her continual suffering. I loved Astrid's point of view because we actually got a look into the mind of a werewolf when she changed.

Overall, Bloodsick was captivating and intense, keeping me enchanted by the story all the way to the end. While I knew in part what would happen at the end based on the Scarlett Bernard series, I was still shocked and emotional about the whole thing. It's a bit of a heavy story, but it was so worth it. I'd also like to mention that while this is a novella, it's pretty meaty - it's not one of those 30 page novellas, it's 175 pages of totally new work. I enjoyed every moment of this novella and I highly recommend it to fans of fantasy and especially fans of Scarlett Bernard!

- Kiersten

Do you like prequel novellas?
Let us know in the comments!

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