Bound by Blood

Author: C. H. Scarlett

Publisher: Dark Roast Press

Release date: 2009

458 pdf pages (site says 721)

Dark fantasy/paranormal

Buy link

Reviewed by: Fanny Hill

Author’s Blurb:

There was a time within the awakening of the world TEŔAH when mortal and immortal lived together in harmony. Realms opened to other realms. Portals were but an open entrance to the next dimension, doorways which were never closed. When the Great Goddess was heard clearly and had voice, the Great God looked proudly down upon this entire world and had for it an ear. Such things were known and cherished in the initiation of the world TEŔAH. Such things are forgotten about now– by some but not all. Some remember them always.

Samanthŕa Lampiŕ is High Priestess of twelve powerful and ancient bloodlines which consist of Strygĩ, a type of immortal vampire– and Lycãon, a wolf sharing soul with a male or female human. She has great respect for the Old Ways and their laws. It was her vow when she took her title to restore them to her people. But alas, it seems that the Evil bloodlines which desire the destruction of her world and its realms have become stronger. Her bloodlines are becoming extinct. And the Awakening that she has struggled to prevent because of an age long curse has been triggered, by the return of someone even more cursed…Daŕēus Dracuŕa, the thirteenth bloodline, Father of the Blood.

Daŕēus returns to TEŔAH to find his bloodlines and their realms attacked by an unseen and unnamable force. He is the only one who can protect them, restore them and end this phase of madness and destruction. But in order to do so, he needs his High Priestess at her full power. The problem is that she will not welcome what all others before her have willingly, an Awakening– which he deems will free her and she deems will be her end, and the end of those she loves most.

Can they find the source of Evil’s power, the Dark Matter, before it is too late? How many realms and lives will die before they do? Will Samanthŕa Awaken, and if she does, what will become of her and those who will be affected by the curse? Will Daŕēus even give her a choice for the sake of his blood?

Enter a world before Earth was even thought of. Discover the master bloodlines and the missing link to what humans are now. Walk through the pagães of time without becoming trapped by its enchantment– or can you? Awaken within yourself what those in this novel must first awaken in themselves. Discover the past of TERAH and the true beginning of all things which existed and still exist, if you can handle such truths– can you? If you can then let your journey begin!

Review:

The blurb says it all, so I’ve focused on other things.

The prologue set the book off to a good start. Information needed for the rest of the story was provided, but not in the form of the dreaded information dump. Dialogue was used instead, spoken by a Crone with a delightful voice. In fact, a good, solid voice was present for the whole book. Always a bonus. BUT…a point-of-view switch from the Crone to the youngster jarred, as did point-of-view switches throughout the book.

I spotted a few comma issues, but given the length of the book, they are few and far between. Hyphens missing (seems to be a trend in e-books), double spaces, periods missing at times, double-hyphen em dashes (I find them ugly), and the strange use of bold type for word emphasis when an italic is normally used. (Please note I’m not including the bold type that is meant to be there—I assume it is, anyway.)

Ms. Scarlett nearly has the balance of Show vs. Tell right. However, there are times when show would have been more pleasing for this reader. ‘Was’ and ‘were’ are quite prevalent throughout.

An example of part sentences taken from one paragraph of tell:

“He had long black hair… His skin was bronze… His upper arms were… His face was chisled… He had deep cheekbones… His brows were…”

This gave me a ‘reading a list’ feeling.

Also, I felt let down on Ms. Scarlett’s behalf with repeat words being allowed to go through. They stood out for me and should have been spotted and corrected. ‘Like a disease’ for example. It only appears twice, but the second time stands out.

More examples from pages 24/5 (zoom set to 150%):

“It filled the Great Hall, a very large space…”

“Normally they would have lit the room with large crystals…”

“His throne was large…”

“He was large, but very lean…”

“His large pale blue eyes…”

Examples from page 28:

“She felt him move…”

“She felt his hand…”

“The pit of her stomach felt weak.”

The word ‘felt’ can mark a writer out as a beginner, despite the prose showing signs of the author writing well. Felt appeared 259 times, feel 193 (including feeling). Using show would have reduced them drastically.

There are many characters in Bound by Blood, but at no time did I have to stop and ponder who was who. Their relationship to Samanthra is well documented, so their meaning in her life stuck in my mind, and I remembered them the next time they appeared.

The relationships are well depicted, and Ms. Scarlett has shown one of her strengths—character development. Her world-building skills are more than adequate. Each image brought vivid pictures to mind, and I saw everything as though I was a person in the story. Dialogue is real and fits the time—5 stars! Ms. Scarlett’s imagination is vast. The creation of worlds can sometimes trip an author up, but this author appears to revel in her imagination and allow it the freedom to weave whatever it desires, with good results.

The erotic scenes showed the emotion between the characters, though the headhopping spoiled it for me. Other than that, I enjoyed watching the hero and heroine grow closer, their character arcs develop, and, of course, the must-have dilemma in romance that needs to be overcome. Will she, won’t she? And if she doesn’t, will she lose him forever?

Despite the mention of various gripes—minor when compared to what the rest of the book contains—looking at Bound by Blood as a whole package leaves me pleased. Ms. Scarlett has an obvious love of language, world- and character-building, and the ability to form solid sentences structured in a variety of ways, which kept this reader interested.

If you don’t mind a long book, you like paranormal, you enjoy good writing, prefer action in every chapter, and don’t mind headhopping, then I recommend you try Bound by Blood.

I’m surprised an agent hasn’t snapped this series up and sold it to the highest bidder.

Cover comment:

I like the picture and set-up but hate the font bevel. It doesn’t show up too well here, but stands out in the e-book. The cover is also clearer in general in the book. 

Heat level:  (not added to final grade)

Storyline/plot, characterization, and dialogue: 5

World-building, mood: 5

Overall structure, grammar, punctuation, spelling: 4

Final Grade:

Note: You may find the complete guide to the Cerebral Reviews Rating System on the FAQ page.

Tags: Bound by Blood, C. H. Scarlett, Cerebral Reviews, Dark Roast Press, Fanny Hill