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Blood Heavy #1
Blood Heavy
It's all fun and games until someone gets eaten.
Seventeen year old Daniel ‘Jerry’ Jericho’s life is thrown into a blender made of claws and fangs when he’s dragged into the middle of the supernatural world he never knew existed.
After it’s discovered that his blood has the ability to remove the age old weaknesses from which vampires have always suffered, he becomes the most valuable human on the planet. Drinking his blood makes them immune to silver, stakes and even sunlight. But the door swings both ways and locked inside his veins might be the key to creating a permanent cure that would completely eradicate the species.
Now he’s being hunted by a group of sadistic bloodsuckers, studied by witches, psychics and professors while being protected by a pair of vampire sisters who are constantly on the verge of killing each other. On top of all that he has to deal with teenage hormones and loyal but worried friends as he tries desperately hard to find out what makes his blood so special.
However, the supernatural world might be in for a shock because this kid isn’t going to be a vampire’s happy meal without putting up one hell of a fight. From here on out it’s hunt or be hunted and Daniel Jericho is armed, grinning and ready for some monster killing. But going up against an undead army led by a souped-up ubervamp isn’t exactly a two for one special at the Playboy mansion.
It’s going to get bloody, but that’s okay because Jerry is blood heavy.
1/8 of the Blood Heavy Series.
WARNING: This novel contains strong violence, mild language and sexual scenes.
Seventeen year old Daniel ‘Jerry’ Jericho’s life is thrown into a blender made of claws and fangs when he’s dragged into the middle of the supernatural world he never knew existed.
After it’s discovered that his blood has the ability to remove the age old weaknesses from which vampires have always suffered, he becomes the most valuable human on the planet. Drinking his blood makes them immune to silver, stakes and even sunlight. But the door swings both ways and locked inside his veins might be the key to creating a permanent cure that would completely eradicate the species.
Now he’s being hunted by a group of sadistic bloodsuckers, studied by witches, psychics and professors while being protected by a pair of vampire sisters who are constantly on the verge of killing each other. On top of all that he has to deal with teenage hormones and loyal but worried friends as he tries desperately hard to find out what makes his blood so special.
However, the supernatural world might be in for a shock because this kid isn’t going to be a vampire’s happy meal without putting up one hell of a fight. From here on out it’s hunt or be hunted and Daniel Jericho is armed, grinning and ready for some monster killing. But going up against an undead army led by a souped-up ubervamp isn’t exactly a two for one special at the Playboy mansion.
It’s going to get bloody, but that’s okay because Jerry is blood heavy.
1/8 of the Blood Heavy Series.
WARNING: This novel contains strong violence, mild language and sexual scenes.
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 3, 2011
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295 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
July 21, 2011
Blood Heavy has now become one of my favorite books to date.
It is also one of the reasons why I wish I were a publisher, this book deserves to be showcased!
The story is chocked full of quick wit, snappy comebacks and sarcasm; which I think is a under appreciated art form.
Oh yeah, and it's got Vamps the way they were intended to be.
Not a single sparkle to be found here.
Shortt writes a tale that is not only humorous but suspenseful with shocking twists and turns that will have you ripping through the pages.
Most importantly, Blood Heavy has heart.
Shortt acknowledges the fact that his inspiration for this book came from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, Firefly, and the director of The Avengers.
That alone should clue you in to how great this book is.
While they may have been his inspirations, he was still able to make this story his own and shows amazing talent.
I encourage you to give this book a try.
If you are a lover of paranormal, you will not regret it!!!
It is also one of the reasons why I wish I were a publisher, this book deserves to be showcased!
The story is chocked full of quick wit, snappy comebacks and sarcasm; which I think is a under appreciated art form.
Oh yeah, and it's got Vamps the way they were intended to be.
Not a single sparkle to be found here.
Shortt writes a tale that is not only humorous but suspenseful with shocking twists and turns that will have you ripping through the pages.
Most importantly, Blood Heavy has heart.
Shortt acknowledges the fact that his inspiration for this book came from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, Firefly, and the director of The Avengers.
That alone should clue you in to how great this book is.
While they may have been his inspirations, he was still able to make this story his own and shows amazing talent.
I encourage you to give this book a try.
If you are a lover of paranormal, you will not regret it!!!
April 24, 2013
I got a copy for review in exchange for an honest review.
It is a good book, but just not my kind of book. What attracted me to this book was the original sounding blurb, and this certainly is one of the strong points of this book. The story is very original and if you have enough of vampires being romantized you should pick up this book, the vampires here are mostly evil and aggressive.
The prequel of this book realy captured my attention and immediately I was interested in reading more about this special blood. Too bad that after the prequel the story starts off a bit slow. It took me some time to get into the story. The story itself was interesting and I really liked the idea of a boy having blood that has such strange effects. So the story was good, but I still feel like something was missing. I also expected the focus to be more on Jerry's strange blood and them running from people who wanted it, but instead the focus was more on the action and fighting.
This book is full of action, a bit too much for my taste. And the story contains many arguments and screaming between the characters. Also I think there was a bit too much info about guns and cars, expecially when you are not interested in things like that. I did thought the book was nice read, it was kinda refreshing to see evil vampires and big fights for a change. It also it obvious that a male had written it and it has a male POV, for those who are interested in that. It also has a bit of a dark feel to it.
Another thing that captured my attention was the strange POV. It mostly is told from Jerry's POV, but more in a way like someone else sees it all happening and also other persons POV are described. And there where some sentences like: character X acted like that, but Jerry didn't notice it. I think this was a bit strange, but luckily sentences like that weren't used that often.
Then I still want to say a bit about the characters and the world building. In my opinion the world building was very limited, we get to know a bit about the vampires and hear there are other things out there, but not much more. I would've liked seeing more world building, but I also think that maybe it wouldn't really fit in with the rest of the story. I just wished we would've gotten a bit more of the overal picture.
Now about the characters, I did like the characters, but again there was something missing. I couldn't really connect with the characters, they didn't seem like people I would like knowing. I also didn't like the way the characters quickly went over to arguments and screaming and being a bit too emotional and dramatic at times. We did get an idea what went on in jerry's head, but I still didn't like him. I also think he made some rushed and stupid descisions.
To conclude: a nice and original book, but not really a book for me. It contained a bit too less world building and character depth and too much focus on the action, agression, guns and cars. It certainly has an original plot, but somehow it just isn't my type of book.
It is a good book, but just not my kind of book. What attracted me to this book was the original sounding blurb, and this certainly is one of the strong points of this book. The story is very original and if you have enough of vampires being romantized you should pick up this book, the vampires here are mostly evil and aggressive.
The prequel of this book realy captured my attention and immediately I was interested in reading more about this special blood. Too bad that after the prequel the story starts off a bit slow. It took me some time to get into the story. The story itself was interesting and I really liked the idea of a boy having blood that has such strange effects. So the story was good, but I still feel like something was missing. I also expected the focus to be more on Jerry's strange blood and them running from people who wanted it, but instead the focus was more on the action and fighting.
This book is full of action, a bit too much for my taste. And the story contains many arguments and screaming between the characters. Also I think there was a bit too much info about guns and cars, expecially when you are not interested in things like that. I did thought the book was nice read, it was kinda refreshing to see evil vampires and big fights for a change. It also it obvious that a male had written it and it has a male POV, for those who are interested in that. It also has a bit of a dark feel to it.
Another thing that captured my attention was the strange POV. It mostly is told from Jerry's POV, but more in a way like someone else sees it all happening and also other persons POV are described. And there where some sentences like: character X acted like that, but Jerry didn't notice it. I think this was a bit strange, but luckily sentences like that weren't used that often.
Then I still want to say a bit about the characters and the world building. In my opinion the world building was very limited, we get to know a bit about the vampires and hear there are other things out there, but not much more. I would've liked seeing more world building, but I also think that maybe it wouldn't really fit in with the rest of the story. I just wished we would've gotten a bit more of the overal picture.
Now about the characters, I did like the characters, but again there was something missing. I couldn't really connect with the characters, they didn't seem like people I would like knowing. I also didn't like the way the characters quickly went over to arguments and screaming and being a bit too emotional and dramatic at times. We did get an idea what went on in jerry's head, but I still didn't like him. I also think he made some rushed and stupid descisions.
To conclude: a nice and original book, but not really a book for me. It contained a bit too less world building and character depth and too much focus on the action, agression, guns and cars. It certainly has an original plot, but somehow it just isn't my type of book.
September 14, 2011
Daniel “Jerry” Jericho is being raised by his uncle Joe – his mother died in childbirth and his father died when he was 9. He’s a normal, 17-year-old kid, full of testosterone, fascinated by cars and circuits, and trying to do as little as possible to get through school. Everything changes when he and his friends are attacked by vampires, and he discovers that not only are vampires real, but that they are all after him because his blood has special properties – in the short term, it increases their strength exponentially and makes them practically invincible. There are some vampires who have chosen to not drink from humans and they hope that they can figure out how to use Jerry’s blood to heal themselves – turn themselves human again. Most vampires, however, just want his blood for the power.
Overall I liked the story. There were definitely faults, not the least of which was a definite need for additional editing. While all the characters were well described and given defining characteristics that should have made them quite unique, they were all written in such a way that they sounded and acted pretty much the same. It’s unfortunate that Shortt didn’t take the characteristics that were given to each character and refine it further so that they each had their own, individual “voice.” Also there were a few plot holes – the biggest one was saying that a trip from St. Cloud, MN to Sioux Falls, SD could be done in two hours – it would take more like 4 ½ hours. Shortt is from UK and, although it was obvious there were attempts to make the story sound properly American, since it was set in Minnesota, many Britishism still slipped in – not just in spelling, but also grammatical structure. Overall, the story would have been greatly improved with the help of an American editor to catch these, as well as the many usage and grammatical mistakes that were rife in the book.
That said, the story itself is fast-paced and was definitely engaging. If you can overlook the faults, it is an enjoyable story and one I could recommend to fans of Buffy and the like.
Overall I liked the story. There were definitely faults, not the least of which was a definite need for additional editing. While all the characters were well described and given defining characteristics that should have made them quite unique, they were all written in such a way that they sounded and acted pretty much the same. It’s unfortunate that Shortt didn’t take the characteristics that were given to each character and refine it further so that they each had their own, individual “voice.” Also there were a few plot holes – the biggest one was saying that a trip from St. Cloud, MN to Sioux Falls, SD could be done in two hours – it would take more like 4 ½ hours. Shortt is from UK and, although it was obvious there were attempts to make the story sound properly American, since it was set in Minnesota, many Britishism still slipped in – not just in spelling, but also grammatical structure. Overall, the story would have been greatly improved with the help of an American editor to catch these, as well as the many usage and grammatical mistakes that were rife in the book.
That said, the story itself is fast-paced and was definitely engaging. If you can overlook the faults, it is an enjoyable story and one I could recommend to fans of Buffy and the like.
June 16, 2012
I had the opportunity to read Blood Heavy this past week through GoodReads R2R. My review is unbiased though. This book starts with 17 yr old orphaned Daniel finishing his junior in high school with his best friend Goose. They’re typical teenage boys, until they discover that there is something mysterious is Daniel’s blood. It causes vampires, to become uber-powerful.
Up until he was attacked Daniel had no idea that anything like vampires, werewolves, fairies, etc existed. He is shoved into this world and will have to learn to swim on his own, well with the help of his uncle Joe and close friends. He is aided by a powerful pureblood vampire, Sophinia and those vampires who are under her, while another pureblood Selena rules over a mercenary group called Black Forest that will stop at nothing to obtain Daniel.
I read a lot of fantasy books, and this is one of a handful that focuses on boys as the heroes vs girls. I think it’s a great market that isn’t completely saturated. The story line itself was interesting, in the fact the Daniel’s blood can make vampires even more powerful, his saliva and scent is a powerful aphrodisiac, and when his blood is out of body it will explode when exposed to electricity. That being said, I felt like the boys in this book were extremely immature. Goose is a walking bag of hormones, and Daniel takes no time to think about what repercussions his actions will cause. They seemed closer to 14 than almost 18. The other YA books I’ve read that feature a boy as the protagonist incorporate girls into the story as well, and that seems to provide a good offset to the lack of maturity on the boys’ part. For whatever reason, I had a difficult time connecting to the characters in this book. I’m not sure if it’s because they weren’t fully developed, or because the author didn’t share what Daniel and his friends were really feeling. The author shared that he wanted Daniel to share some of the same characteristics that Dean from Supernatural has; however in Daniel it just came across as immaturity. Although, the one-liners from Daniel and Cass were hilarious! Hopefully the 2nd book will show Daniel and Goose in a slightly more mature light.
I do think the mystery surrounding the woman in the white business suit that made an appearance at the end of the book will be enough to keep readers hooked. My guess is that is Daniel’s mother, or relative from her side. I am curious to find out who she is. She seemed to want to protect Daniel, yet she also seems to be a monster in her own right given her actions with the vampires. It will be interesting to find out what Daniel is; is a human hybrid or just a human that inherited some interesting blood?
You can definitely see the influence of the TV show Supernatural in the book, as well as True Blood (even if the author didn’t intend for the 2nd part).
There were numerous typos in the book. Words that should have been plural missing the letter “s” as well as words that didn’t belong in the sentence at all. I’m guessing Word changed “typos” into these words, instead of the proper word. It wasn’t a huge deal, but enough that it was distracting.
While I won’t be rushing out to get the 2nd book once it comes out, hopefully it will appeal to younger boys.
Up until he was attacked Daniel had no idea that anything like vampires, werewolves, fairies, etc existed. He is shoved into this world and will have to learn to swim on his own, well with the help of his uncle Joe and close friends. He is aided by a powerful pureblood vampire, Sophinia and those vampires who are under her, while another pureblood Selena rules over a mercenary group called Black Forest that will stop at nothing to obtain Daniel.
I read a lot of fantasy books, and this is one of a handful that focuses on boys as the heroes vs girls. I think it’s a great market that isn’t completely saturated. The story line itself was interesting, in the fact the Daniel’s blood can make vampires even more powerful, his saliva and scent is a powerful aphrodisiac, and when his blood is out of body it will explode when exposed to electricity. That being said, I felt like the boys in this book were extremely immature. Goose is a walking bag of hormones, and Daniel takes no time to think about what repercussions his actions will cause. They seemed closer to 14 than almost 18. The other YA books I’ve read that feature a boy as the protagonist incorporate girls into the story as well, and that seems to provide a good offset to the lack of maturity on the boys’ part. For whatever reason, I had a difficult time connecting to the characters in this book. I’m not sure if it’s because they weren’t fully developed, or because the author didn’t share what Daniel and his friends were really feeling. The author shared that he wanted Daniel to share some of the same characteristics that Dean from Supernatural has; however in Daniel it just came across as immaturity. Although, the one-liners from Daniel and Cass were hilarious! Hopefully the 2nd book will show Daniel and Goose in a slightly more mature light.
I do think the mystery surrounding the woman in the white business suit that made an appearance at the end of the book will be enough to keep readers hooked. My guess is that is Daniel’s mother, or relative from her side. I am curious to find out who she is. She seemed to want to protect Daniel, yet she also seems to be a monster in her own right given her actions with the vampires. It will be interesting to find out what Daniel is; is a human hybrid or just a human that inherited some interesting blood?
You can definitely see the influence of the TV show Supernatural in the book, as well as True Blood (even if the author didn’t intend for the 2nd part).
There were numerous typos in the book. Words that should have been plural missing the letter “s” as well as words that didn’t belong in the sentence at all. I’m guessing Word changed “typos” into these words, instead of the proper word. It wasn’t a huge deal, but enough that it was distracting.
While I won’t be rushing out to get the 2nd book once it comes out, hopefully it will appeal to younger boys.
June 6, 2012
This novel is an absolute must read for all who enjoy reading about Vampires and the supernatural.
This story follows Jerry, who to all intents and purposes, looks just like a normal boy. Little does he know that he in fact has special blood, which is like steroids for Vampires. He is at a party when he cuts himself and on his way to the hospital his world is turned upside down when he is attacked by a group of Vampires who want to use his blood to create an army to kill off the human race. Jerry is saved by a female vampire, Cass, who tastes his blood in order to defeat his attackers. Cass is part of a group of Vampires who believe that Jerry's blood could result in finidng a cure for their disease and enable them to become human once again (although Cass is sceptical of whether this is realisitic). Jerry and his friends soon have to decide whether to stand and fight or whether to give in to the inevitability of death.
This novel is a superb twist on the Vampire genre and it is nice to see a different exploration of the theme. I enjoyed the characters and thought that Cass & Claire's relationship pretty much sums up siblings relationships - they fight about everything and hold grudges against each other, but when it comes to it they will always have each other's backs. I also really liked the theme of friendship and love throughout the novel as Jerry's friends and family refuse to let him suffer alone and are with him through the thick of it all.
During the novel we lose some characters that we have really learnt to love, and I definitely teared up a number of times.
I think there is huge potential for a sequel and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more novels by S.L.J. Shortt.
All in all, this book was superbly written and I couldn't put it down once I had started it.
This story follows Jerry, who to all intents and purposes, looks just like a normal boy. Little does he know that he in fact has special blood, which is like steroids for Vampires. He is at a party when he cuts himself and on his way to the hospital his world is turned upside down when he is attacked by a group of Vampires who want to use his blood to create an army to kill off the human race. Jerry is saved by a female vampire, Cass, who tastes his blood in order to defeat his attackers. Cass is part of a group of Vampires who believe that Jerry's blood could result in finidng a cure for their disease and enable them to become human once again (although Cass is sceptical of whether this is realisitic). Jerry and his friends soon have to decide whether to stand and fight or whether to give in to the inevitability of death.
This novel is a superb twist on the Vampire genre and it is nice to see a different exploration of the theme. I enjoyed the characters and thought that Cass & Claire's relationship pretty much sums up siblings relationships - they fight about everything and hold grudges against each other, but when it comes to it they will always have each other's backs. I also really liked the theme of friendship and love throughout the novel as Jerry's friends and family refuse to let him suffer alone and are with him through the thick of it all.
During the novel we lose some characters that we have really learnt to love, and I definitely teared up a number of times.
I think there is huge potential for a sequel and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more novels by S.L.J. Shortt.
All in all, this book was superbly written and I couldn't put it down once I had started it.
August 26, 2012
Review first appeared on my blog: Book Addict 24-7
I received this novel from the author for review.
First thoughts when I finished reading Blood Heavy by S.L.J. Shortt: This story isn't complete.
Blood Heavy has so much potential. It has a strong storyline, witty dialogue, and sexy characters, but it has one major flaw: horrible editing.
The characters themselves help carry the story. The author's inspiration is Eric Kripke's Supernatural and I definitely noted that before it was mentioned at the end of the novel, but I can't look past the editing.
Another issue I have with this novel is how unorganized it is. Though the storyline is promising and intriguing, the plot is all over the place. I would stop reading just to understand what was happening during certain moments in the book.
Also, the protagonist has two names because his first given name is apparently too common in the world that Shortt has created, but no other characters are introduced with that particular name. As a result, there are moments where the narrator refers to the protagonist one way, while the other characters call him by a different name.
As it is, I don't know if I could recommend this book to future readers. I don't think it is complete. Blood Heavy needs extensive editing and I find the lack of editing very distracting and annoying.
I'm not giving Blood Heavy one star out of five because the storyline is strong and promising, but instead two stars because it is incomplete.
I received this novel from the author for review.
First thoughts when I finished reading Blood Heavy by S.L.J. Shortt: This story isn't complete.
Blood Heavy has so much potential. It has a strong storyline, witty dialogue, and sexy characters, but it has one major flaw: horrible editing.
The characters themselves help carry the story. The author's inspiration is Eric Kripke's Supernatural and I definitely noted that before it was mentioned at the end of the novel, but I can't look past the editing.
Another issue I have with this novel is how unorganized it is. Though the storyline is promising and intriguing, the plot is all over the place. I would stop reading just to understand what was happening during certain moments in the book.
Also, the protagonist has two names because his first given name is apparently too common in the world that Shortt has created, but no other characters are introduced with that particular name. As a result, there are moments where the narrator refers to the protagonist one way, while the other characters call him by a different name.
As it is, I don't know if I could recommend this book to future readers. I don't think it is complete. Blood Heavy needs extensive editing and I find the lack of editing very distracting and annoying.
I'm not giving Blood Heavy one star out of five because the storyline is strong and promising, but instead two stars because it is incomplete.
May 9, 2013
Before I critique anything about this novel, I have to say I really enjoyed the story and the dialogue was downright hilarious and witty.
If it were not for the poor editing, I would have rated this book a 5 star. All in all I only had two major issues with the edits. First, being the grammar. I found myself having to re-read passages more than once and sometimes twice because I didn't know or understand who was talking or what they were trying to say...though sometimes, I didn't mind because the dialogue and creative expletives were quite enjoyable.
The second issue I had with the edits were the use of nicknames; specifically the main character. The author begins by referring to a character using one name, then switches back over to the nickname (which isn't an intuitive nickname) and the characters do the same. Though I like the main character's nickname, I feel a simplification of his name would make it MUCH less confusing when there are multiple people in a structured dialogue.
The story revolves around a young man named Daniel (Jerry for short), who has something unique about his blood that drives the supernatural world insane. Because of this revelation about his blood, the supernatural world clashes with the human world.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I think the author has a fun and interesting take on vampirism and it was exciting to see how the story unfolded. Though it did drag a bit in the middle when the plot was thickening and the back story of major characters was coming to light.
I would HIGHLY recommend this book, so long as grammar, punctuation, syntax, and editing doesn't bother you as much as it tends to get under my skin.
If it were not for the poor editing, I would have rated this book a 5 star. All in all I only had two major issues with the edits. First, being the grammar. I found myself having to re-read passages more than once and sometimes twice because I didn't know or understand who was talking or what they were trying to say...though sometimes, I didn't mind because the dialogue and creative expletives were quite enjoyable.
The second issue I had with the edits were the use of nicknames; specifically the main character. The author begins by referring to a character using one name, then switches back over to the nickname (which isn't an intuitive nickname) and the characters do the same. Though I like the main character's nickname, I feel a simplification of his name would make it MUCH less confusing when there are multiple people in a structured dialogue.
The story revolves around a young man named Daniel (Jerry for short), who has something unique about his blood that drives the supernatural world insane. Because of this revelation about his blood, the supernatural world clashes with the human world.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I think the author has a fun and interesting take on vampirism and it was exciting to see how the story unfolded. Though it did drag a bit in the middle when the plot was thickening and the back story of major characters was coming to light.
I would HIGHLY recommend this book, so long as grammar, punctuation, syntax, and editing doesn't bother you as much as it tends to get under my skin.
June 2, 2012
I would like to thank the Nexus for giving me a copy to read. This was a fun read. First, the dialog cracked me up! Such fun insults flying around lol and such a different concept dealing with vampires.
Daniel is a human kid, who has very special blood. All the vampires want him!! The nice vampires want him to help find a cure and the mean vampires wanna eat him. It all starts with an accident that has everything spinning out of control for Daniel. This accident introduces him to the world of supernatural beings.
I will say Cassandra and Uncle Joe are my favorite characters. Cass because she has the most obscene attitude, but she's always there for you. Uncle Joe because he's the cool headed military guy who's in charge with no monkey business allowed! LOL! I will say there are so many characters that I really liked in this book. Goose gets my honorable mention hehehe
I liked the style of writing. Things were explained without a complete dumping of info. It gets a little boring when an author dumps too much info or detail all at once. :) also, the story line is pretty great if I do say so. And though you wanna slap Daniel for some of his choices, I do completely understand, which makes the main character more likable and the story has more connection to the reader.
I really look forward to seeing where this story is going to go and continue. I can't wait for book 2!! 4 PAWS for me!
Daniel is a human kid, who has very special blood. All the vampires want him!! The nice vampires want him to help find a cure and the mean vampires wanna eat him. It all starts with an accident that has everything spinning out of control for Daniel. This accident introduces him to the world of supernatural beings.
I will say Cassandra and Uncle Joe are my favorite characters. Cass because she has the most obscene attitude, but she's always there for you. Uncle Joe because he's the cool headed military guy who's in charge with no monkey business allowed! LOL! I will say there are so many characters that I really liked in this book. Goose gets my honorable mention hehehe
I liked the style of writing. Things were explained without a complete dumping of info. It gets a little boring when an author dumps too much info or detail all at once. :) also, the story line is pretty great if I do say so. And though you wanna slap Daniel for some of his choices, I do completely understand, which makes the main character more likable and the story has more connection to the reader.
I really look forward to seeing where this story is going to go and continue. I can't wait for book 2!! 4 PAWS for me!
September 6, 2012
This book is definitely not your average vampire tale. For one it is told in the male POV, which I have found like I am liking more and more in this genre. It is so nice and refreshing to have books told from this point of view. And while there were some slight issues with the story changing perspectives suddenly, for the most part it was told through Jerry's POV.
Also, this book was way funny. I really enjoyed all the heavy (and light) banter between the friends. Yes, there was some foul language and even some crude jokes but these are boys and as they say, boys will be boys.
I really liked the way this story went. It was a different spin on an old tale. Yes there were vampires, some good and some bad but the angle of the story was different, Jerry was different. He had flaws and he knew it. No one expected him to be perfect. His friends and family weren't perfect and that was okay. The flaws worked.
I really enjoyed the background info on the vamps, how they were born and how they were created (some of it was even a little humorous). Even the spiritual beliefs were interesting.
Really this made for a fun read that was definitely entertaining. And while the story wasn't perfect and did have some slight issues overall I think this was a good read and one that vampire lovers really should give a try.
I rate this one 3.5 Stars!
Also, this book was way funny. I really enjoyed all the heavy (and light) banter between the friends. Yes, there was some foul language and even some crude jokes but these are boys and as they say, boys will be boys.
I really liked the way this story went. It was a different spin on an old tale. Yes there were vampires, some good and some bad but the angle of the story was different, Jerry was different. He had flaws and he knew it. No one expected him to be perfect. His friends and family weren't perfect and that was okay. The flaws worked.
I really enjoyed the background info on the vamps, how they were born and how they were created (some of it was even a little humorous). Even the spiritual beliefs were interesting.
Really this made for a fun read that was definitely entertaining. And while the story wasn't perfect and did have some slight issues overall I think this was a good read and one that vampire lovers really should give a try.
I rate this one 3.5 Stars!
May 15, 2012
Please note that my review of this book is subjective to my likes and dislikes.
Heavy Blood was a good, entertaining read. If you like vampires then this book is for you. The author has taken a genre that is overwhelmed with new books and given it his own twist; Jerry’s unique blood and for me I like his depiction of Pureblood vampires.
Heavy Blood was a good, entertaining read. If you like vampires then this book is for you. The author has taken a genre that is overwhelmed with new books and given it his own twist; Jerry’s unique blood and for me I like his depiction of Pureblood vampires.
The characters are developed fairly fast leaving a few gaps which can easily be overlooked; however, the characters of Jerry and Goose were a bit exaggerated – read for yourself and decide if you agree or not. The characters of Steve, Sarah and Joe were believable; with Joe it would have been nice to see a bit more backstory.
The pace of the story is rapid, with a bit of a lull two thirds of the way in, then picks up to the climax. The book has its share of humor and sarcasm mostly seen in the interplays between Jerry, Goose, Claire and Cassandra.
There is at least one thread for which I would have liked to seen resolution: the red head woman at the end…maybe we’ll learn more about her in his second book.
May 13, 2012
First of all, I would like to say that participating in ARR and Read and Reap really pays off. Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read this book!
Look out Supernatural...here comes Blood Heavy. This book is about a seventeen year old teenage boy that unbeknownst to him has a rare element in his bodily fluids especially his blood and vampires can't wait to get their hands on him. This book took a hold of me and did not let go until I finished it. Blood Heavy has a little bit of everything in it all rolled into one; humor, action, horror, drama, sex, some tender moments, and some tears. The characters were well developed although I did find the main character a little flat at times; the plot read like something out of a Supernatural episode with twists and turns every time you turned the page. I have to say I really enjoyed this book and although there were editing issues and some grammar issues, I was so into it that I was able to look past it. It was a good read!
Look out Supernatural...here comes Blood Heavy. This book is about a seventeen year old teenage boy that unbeknownst to him has a rare element in his bodily fluids especially his blood and vampires can't wait to get their hands on him. This book took a hold of me and did not let go until I finished it. Blood Heavy has a little bit of everything in it all rolled into one; humor, action, horror, drama, sex, some tender moments, and some tears. The characters were well developed although I did find the main character a little flat at times; the plot read like something out of a Supernatural episode with twists and turns every time you turned the page. I have to say I really enjoyed this book and although there were editing issues and some grammar issues, I was so into it that I was able to look past it. It was a good read!
May 16, 2013
I was gifted Blood Heavy for an honest review by the Author.
Blood Heavy is about a normal kid who suddenly is thrown into the paranormal world with the revelation of his blood/body containing mysterious powers. The story tells how he copes with this new found ability and all the interesting "beings" he is introduced to by way of trying to kill him or trying to protect him.
This was a great story. There were several characters, but the Author did a great job with each one and I enjoyed the characters in this book; with my favorite being Jerry, Goose, and Cass. The banter between them was funny and witty. The book had great action and was very visual.
You know that Jerry is special and he is connected to the strange woman who comes to his rescue a couple of times. You automatically want to assume this is his mother; but at the same time you don't know this persons true intentions with Jerry. I can't wait to read more!
Blood Heavy is about a normal kid who suddenly is thrown into the paranormal world with the revelation of his blood/body containing mysterious powers. The story tells how he copes with this new found ability and all the interesting "beings" he is introduced to by way of trying to kill him or trying to protect him.
This was a great story. There were several characters, but the Author did a great job with each one and I enjoyed the characters in this book; with my favorite being Jerry, Goose, and Cass. The banter between them was funny and witty. The book had great action and was very visual.
You know that Jerry is special and he is connected to the strange woman who comes to his rescue a couple of times. You automatically want to assume this is his mother; but at the same time you don't know this persons true intentions with Jerry. I can't wait to read more!
May 27, 2012
Thanks first to Making Connections for letting me read this book and congratulations to the author for writing a thoroughly enjoyable story!
Blood Heavy was a fun read, full of humor and sarcastic characters. The dialog between the characters was full of funny one-liners. The story is about a young man Daniel (Jerry) Jericho whose blood is both addicting and toxic to Vampires. He had half of the vampires of the world protecting him and the other half trying to drain him. Jerry had a tight knit group of friends and family members to help him go on the offensive and take the fight to the Vampires. Lots of action, energy and the pace of the book was excellent.
There were some grammatical and editorial errors, but I didn’t reduce stars on my review for them because they didn’t take away from the story. All-in-all – I would definitely recommend this book to friends.
Blood Heavy was a fun read, full of humor and sarcastic characters. The dialog between the characters was full of funny one-liners. The story is about a young man Daniel (Jerry) Jericho whose blood is both addicting and toxic to Vampires. He had half of the vampires of the world protecting him and the other half trying to drain him. Jerry had a tight knit group of friends and family members to help him go on the offensive and take the fight to the Vampires. Lots of action, energy and the pace of the book was excellent.
There were some grammatical and editorial errors, but I didn’t reduce stars on my review for them because they didn’t take away from the story. All-in-all – I would definitely recommend this book to friends.
May 21, 2012
I agreed to read an advanced copy of "Blood Heavy" and I am so happy that I did. I absolutely loved it! It was full of action, suspense, young love, and just plain good writing.
"Blood Heavy" is the story about Daniel Jericho. There is something terribly soecial about Daniel, "Jerry", and it is the blood flowing in his body. It can definitely superchrage a vampire's strength, but there is a chance that it can restore them to their human selves. He now has two types of people hunting him and this is that story. The book is chocked full of interesting characters and their backgrounds all described in detail.
I absolutely can not wait for Jerry's story to be continued. There were so many twists and turns at the end that I was left hanging on the edge just wanting to read more.
"Blood Heavy" is the story about Daniel Jericho. There is something terribly soecial about Daniel, "Jerry", and it is the blood flowing in his body. It can definitely superchrage a vampire's strength, but there is a chance that it can restore them to their human selves. He now has two types of people hunting him and this is that story. The book is chocked full of interesting characters and their backgrounds all described in detail.
I absolutely can not wait for Jerry's story to be continued. There were so many twists and turns at the end that I was left hanging on the edge just wanting to read more.
April 12, 2012
The title for this book is perfect. Daniel (Jerry) Jericho's blood is unique and the vampires want it. His blood will enable them to overcome their weaknesses and make them almost impossible to destroy. But there are some vampires that believe his blood could hold a cure, make them human.
Up until the age of 17, he didn't even know that vampires existed. Now he is fighting for his life.
The authors writing shines, with well placed humor and sarcasm and a whole lot of action. Fans of Buffy and Angel will want to read this. If you like the vampires of old, the not so nice ones, this book is for you.
Up until the age of 17, he didn't even know that vampires existed. Now he is fighting for his life.
The authors writing shines, with well placed humor and sarcasm and a whole lot of action. Fans of Buffy and Angel will want to read this. If you like the vampires of old, the not so nice ones, this book is for you.
June 2, 2012
I went into reading this book not sure what it would be like. I read the synopsis and thought it sounded good. I'm reaaly glad I read it. The author has taken the normal romantic vampire stories and flipped it upside down. It isn't a girl falling in love with a vampire boy, but a look at what happens when the boy is human and the vampires want him (in a sense!). Blood Heavy was filled with many intersting characters, an original plot line, and action. It was nice to read a book that wasn't all "lovey" about vampires, but put some of the ugly back into what vampires are. I'm looking forward to the next installment to see what happens!
July 25, 2011
This is not just yet another book for fans of the paranormal - it‘s hilarious!
In a change from the usual corny, soppy love scenes full of teenage angst its full of dramatic action and clever insults from a pair of vampire sisters whose fights are as funny as they are vicious.
This book flows along, an easy reading action packed adventure - full of
dramatic twists and heavy fights but never losing its humour even while
confronting some of life's deeper mysteries.
In a change from the usual corny, soppy love scenes full of teenage angst its full of dramatic action and clever insults from a pair of vampire sisters whose fights are as funny as they are vicious.
This book flows along, an easy reading action packed adventure - full of
dramatic twists and heavy fights but never losing its humour even while
confronting some of life's deeper mysteries.
August 15, 2011
Ok, this book was awesome! All you people out there with Nooks better hope this guy gets it out in epub form! I don't like to give anything away in my reviews, but it is about vampires, but it actually makes fun of Twilight, which I found funny (and I loved Twilight). This author has a great sense of humor and I thought the sarcastic parts were hilarious. READ IT! ASAP!
August 21, 2012
I was given this book to read through The Nexus group for an honest review. Thank you.
EDIT: Please read edited comment about the book cover.
The book blurb does a good job of describing what the book is about so I won’t go into much detail.
Jerry is a teenage boy that has special blood that makes vampires turn into supervamps and makes them impervious to the age-old vampire problems, like dying from sunlight or stakes. There are two factions of vampires, those that believe that Jerry’s blood holds the key for them regaining their humanity, and those that wish to use Jerry’s blood to create a supervamp army to rule over humans. And so the battle against the renegade sect of vampires begins.
EDIT: Please read edited comment about the book cover.
The book blurb does a good job of describing what the book is about so I won’t go into much detail.
Jerry is a teenage boy that has special blood that makes vampires turn into supervamps and makes them impervious to the age-old vampire problems, like dying from sunlight or stakes. There are two factions of vampires, those that believe that Jerry’s blood holds the key for them regaining their humanity, and those that wish to use Jerry’s blood to create a supervamp army to rule over humans. And so the battle against the renegade sect of vampires begins.
November 5, 2012
I received this copy in order to give back an honest review which I will.
In summary:
“Daniel Jericho,” is a 17 year old guy. He lives in a house with his uncle “Joe.” He has special blood, with especial powers effects the undead of the vampires. One day those vampires crashes into their car he and his two friends “goose and Steve.” a vampire female saves his life” Cassandra,” and then she bit him sucking his blood, which gave her incredible strength to kill the attackers. His friends took him to the hospital and there he meets another vampire girl “Claire.” She tells him about how important his blood is.
Later she visits him and his friend in his house and he decide to help them in exchange they should protect his family and friends. He had one uncle his dad died long time ago and his mom died giving him birth.
He meets the pureblood Sophinia, and discovers more important things about his blood. He knew that the vampires believed that someday the human being will kill them and they wanted the solution, they wanted to be humans again. Yet there were another group wanted jerry only to make themselves stronger against human beings, and he get to hide his blood smell.
He gets kidnapped with Cass buy the black forest group. And he had to give Cass his blood so they get out of prison. A violent conflict happens between the pureblood and Cass who turns equal to a pureblood power. His friends come to rescue him when Cass loses her control over herself she attacks him again.
He falls into a coma, some unknown person saves his life, and he woke up, and run to destroy the evil pureblood himself. Another heavy violent conflict happens between the good vamps and the bad on the prom night. Some of his friends dies, he finally comes, drags Selena into a fight. She drinks from his neck, and when the lightning strokes her she dies. He fell into the river when some other female saves his life. This stranger women demands one of the last black forest to send a massage concluding that jerry belongs to her not to them. Sophinia gets information says that his mother could be alive.
The begging is so exciting it really had me to read more.
There were several points I want to comment on. First, usually in vamps stories the girl is the important part, and she is the one who got bitten by vamps males, while this one the hero is the one whose blood sucked. I like the breaking of the usual vamps stories. It is amazing a male teenager has the special blood, being attacked from vampire females.
Second. The hero’s name was “Daniel Jericho,” but they called him jerry. I loved Daniel more; it was more like him in different ways. His passion about cars really resembles Dean’s passion in “supranational.” He is funny sometimes, sometimes he gets emotional. His taunted answers, and his spells, made him like a teenage Dean Winchester.
There are too many especial ideas about him, the main idea which is his blood- I love it- it contains Steroids that make the vamps strong, powerful, with the other sad effects, like having too much of his blood will kill the vampire. His saliva and scent made them horny, His beautiful green eyes which had charmed very much everybody in the story. However the idea about what makes his blood special, made me read more and more wanting to discover what does his blood do, and why him?
The events is very catchy, however there are three events I loved the most “when first Cassandra sucked his blood” it was such great scene. I was melting in this scene, I was engaged with this scene with all me senses, and I really felt Cass’s joy and jerry’s fear in the same time.” The pain mixed with pleasure, awesome. The second event was when he and Cassandra had sex, the way they drunk, her powers forcing him into the thing and his desire as well. The third was when he ended up Selena’s life after she tugged her fangs into his neck. It was very exciting.
But, I really felt bored in some points, I felt the events are walking slowly, and there were too much long conversations. Don’t get me wrong I like conversations in a novel, It is my favorite writing style, but sometimes I feel I’m losing my will to continue reading, especially when I feel that the conversation is just talk leading to nowhere. There were couple of very interesting conversations though, between Selena and Jerry, the arguing between the two vamps sisters, and the conversation considering jerry’s blood.
I really like the idea of the pureblood females, “Sophinia” and “Selena,” which represents the good side and evil side and their internal fight. Sophinia’s character, the calm, serious one, the blond long hair, and her style “dresses”, and the one who don’t like to show her bat like wings. Selena the sarcastic one, the way she laughs, giggles and taunts. She is merciless, pitiful, and proud, her dark brown eyes, white hair, her casual style, unlike her enemy she unfolds her wings smugly, and how she considers human beings are only the vamps food, the way she sees the human beings shows that she is holding own to her being as a vampire.
There was something I didn’t like I felt that male present isn’t important as the females in the book, “the two vampire sisters, and the purebloods” are more important that the rest of the males in the novel, however I’m not sure, it is just my feeling about it.
The cover is very cool. And the plot is very interesting.
My rating is four stars;
• One for the great cover.
• The second is for the blood idea.
• The Third is for the characters of the pureblood females.
• And the forth is for the plot.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK “S.LJ.SHORTT” FOR THE FREE COPY.
In summary:
“Daniel Jericho,” is a 17 year old guy. He lives in a house with his uncle “Joe.” He has special blood, with especial powers effects the undead of the vampires. One day those vampires crashes into their car he and his two friends “goose and Steve.” a vampire female saves his life” Cassandra,” and then she bit him sucking his blood, which gave her incredible strength to kill the attackers. His friends took him to the hospital and there he meets another vampire girl “Claire.” She tells him about how important his blood is.
Later she visits him and his friend in his house and he decide to help them in exchange they should protect his family and friends. He had one uncle his dad died long time ago and his mom died giving him birth.
He meets the pureblood Sophinia, and discovers more important things about his blood. He knew that the vampires believed that someday the human being will kill them and they wanted the solution, they wanted to be humans again. Yet there were another group wanted jerry only to make themselves stronger against human beings, and he get to hide his blood smell.
He gets kidnapped with Cass buy the black forest group. And he had to give Cass his blood so they get out of prison. A violent conflict happens between the pureblood and Cass who turns equal to a pureblood power. His friends come to rescue him when Cass loses her control over herself she attacks him again.
He falls into a coma, some unknown person saves his life, and he woke up, and run to destroy the evil pureblood himself. Another heavy violent conflict happens between the good vamps and the bad on the prom night. Some of his friends dies, he finally comes, drags Selena into a fight. She drinks from his neck, and when the lightning strokes her she dies. He fell into the river when some other female saves his life. This stranger women demands one of the last black forest to send a massage concluding that jerry belongs to her not to them. Sophinia gets information says that his mother could be alive.
The begging is so exciting it really had me to read more.
There were several points I want to comment on. First, usually in vamps stories the girl is the important part, and she is the one who got bitten by vamps males, while this one the hero is the one whose blood sucked. I like the breaking of the usual vamps stories. It is amazing a male teenager has the special blood, being attacked from vampire females.
Second. The hero’s name was “Daniel Jericho,” but they called him jerry. I loved Daniel more; it was more like him in different ways. His passion about cars really resembles Dean’s passion in “supranational.” He is funny sometimes, sometimes he gets emotional. His taunted answers, and his spells, made him like a teenage Dean Winchester.
There are too many especial ideas about him, the main idea which is his blood- I love it- it contains Steroids that make the vamps strong, powerful, with the other sad effects, like having too much of his blood will kill the vampire. His saliva and scent made them horny, His beautiful green eyes which had charmed very much everybody in the story. However the idea about what makes his blood special, made me read more and more wanting to discover what does his blood do, and why him?
The events is very catchy, however there are three events I loved the most “when first Cassandra sucked his blood” it was such great scene. I was melting in this scene, I was engaged with this scene with all me senses, and I really felt Cass’s joy and jerry’s fear in the same time.” The pain mixed with pleasure, awesome. The second event was when he and Cassandra had sex, the way they drunk, her powers forcing him into the thing and his desire as well. The third was when he ended up Selena’s life after she tugged her fangs into his neck. It was very exciting.
But, I really felt bored in some points, I felt the events are walking slowly, and there were too much long conversations. Don’t get me wrong I like conversations in a novel, It is my favorite writing style, but sometimes I feel I’m losing my will to continue reading, especially when I feel that the conversation is just talk leading to nowhere. There were couple of very interesting conversations though, between Selena and Jerry, the arguing between the two vamps sisters, and the conversation considering jerry’s blood.
I really like the idea of the pureblood females, “Sophinia” and “Selena,” which represents the good side and evil side and their internal fight. Sophinia’s character, the calm, serious one, the blond long hair, and her style “dresses”, and the one who don’t like to show her bat like wings. Selena the sarcastic one, the way she laughs, giggles and taunts. She is merciless, pitiful, and proud, her dark brown eyes, white hair, her casual style, unlike her enemy she unfolds her wings smugly, and how she considers human beings are only the vamps food, the way she sees the human beings shows that she is holding own to her being as a vampire.
There was something I didn’t like I felt that male present isn’t important as the females in the book, “the two vampire sisters, and the purebloods” are more important that the rest of the males in the novel, however I’m not sure, it is just my feeling about it.
The cover is very cool. And the plot is very interesting.
My rating is four stars;
• One for the great cover.
• The second is for the blood idea.
• The Third is for the characters of the pureblood females.
• And the forth is for the plot.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK “S.LJ.SHORTT” FOR THE FREE COPY.
August 29, 2012
3.5 stars Warning possible spoilers.
This book had a lot of potential and I was a bit disappointed because I had heard great things about this series. I don’t rehash the blurb, fyi. It took me a while to read for there was no real direction for a long time in the story but it does have some awesome vampires and fight scenes. I am sad to say those were the good parts.
The prologue was awesome; it pulls you in and wets your appetite for a mighty action filled read. Unfortunately, the story does not continue with this voice and completely leaves me baffled on how such an amazing, heart-stopping start makes the rest of the book not so uniform with it.
What was wrong with the rest of it? I know a lot of readers like dialogue. I personally don’t, unless it is done well. But, and that is a big ‘but’, I was starting to cringe whenever the dialogue started yet again in this story. It is saturated with too much witty dialogue, teen slang and constant, repetitive arguments between the same characters over and over again. It was the main thing that turned me off about the story, yes, there was too much of a good thing.
Otherwise, I enjoyed the characters. My favorite one was Uncle Joe. He was a tough as nails ex-military man, but did speak with some uncommon military language that did not seem to fit the scenes at times. Claire, the main protector of Daniel, seemed to be tagged the mother hen of the group and was fine when her sister Cassandra wasn’t around. Then she would morph into an immature resentful brat alongside her sister and their constant bickering was exhausting. Sure Cassandra had a good reason to hate Claire, but when it’s been centuries since the event, you’d think that they would act a bit less like teens and more like ancient vampires.
Then there is Jerry (Daniel) or whatever it is at a particular moment. It goes back and forth between these names throughout the book and there is no good reason for the main character Daniel to call himself Jerry except it was a personal preference. It was a bit distracting. At the beginning, I thought he was two different people. Not good when the cast of characters is large to begin with. I thought Daniel’s (or is it Jerry?) friends were pretty well written though I was kind of sad about what happened in the end to them. Jerry himself was not well written, more so annoying with his constant whining and heroic antics, which led him into trouble that he miraculously would conveniently live through. Roach was an intriguing guy but his role was almost nonexistent and could have been a lot more.
I did not like that it seems everyone knew about the supernatural world around them except of course for Daniel and his friends. Funny how people in general seemed to be oblivious to all the killings, flying vampires in the middle of town and vampire fights in the middle of the high school and streets. It had some plot holes and tangents throughout that led nowhere but I did finish it, which says that it kept my interest.
I did like the idea of his blood being special, (able to pump up a vampire’s strength and blow them up too if ingested) and marking him as some kind of hybrid. Though otherwise, he seemed pretty frail for a special, supernatural guy.
I don’t think I will read the next book in the series. It’s not the worst book with vampires but there are others I’d read before getting back to this series.
I did not include editing or typos in my rating.
This book was received free for an honest review via Basically Books ARR progam on goodreads.com
This book had a lot of potential and I was a bit disappointed because I had heard great things about this series. I don’t rehash the blurb, fyi. It took me a while to read for there was no real direction for a long time in the story but it does have some awesome vampires and fight scenes. I am sad to say those were the good parts.
The prologue was awesome; it pulls you in and wets your appetite for a mighty action filled read. Unfortunately, the story does not continue with this voice and completely leaves me baffled on how such an amazing, heart-stopping start makes the rest of the book not so uniform with it.
What was wrong with the rest of it? I know a lot of readers like dialogue. I personally don’t, unless it is done well. But, and that is a big ‘but’, I was starting to cringe whenever the dialogue started yet again in this story. It is saturated with too much witty dialogue, teen slang and constant, repetitive arguments between the same characters over and over again. It was the main thing that turned me off about the story, yes, there was too much of a good thing.
Otherwise, I enjoyed the characters. My favorite one was Uncle Joe. He was a tough as nails ex-military man, but did speak with some uncommon military language that did not seem to fit the scenes at times. Claire, the main protector of Daniel, seemed to be tagged the mother hen of the group and was fine when her sister Cassandra wasn’t around. Then she would morph into an immature resentful brat alongside her sister and their constant bickering was exhausting. Sure Cassandra had a good reason to hate Claire, but when it’s been centuries since the event, you’d think that they would act a bit less like teens and more like ancient vampires.
Then there is Jerry (Daniel) or whatever it is at a particular moment. It goes back and forth between these names throughout the book and there is no good reason for the main character Daniel to call himself Jerry except it was a personal preference. It was a bit distracting. At the beginning, I thought he was two different people. Not good when the cast of characters is large to begin with. I thought Daniel’s (or is it Jerry?) friends were pretty well written though I was kind of sad about what happened in the end to them. Jerry himself was not well written, more so annoying with his constant whining and heroic antics, which led him into trouble that he miraculously would conveniently live through. Roach was an intriguing guy but his role was almost nonexistent and could have been a lot more.
I did not like that it seems everyone knew about the supernatural world around them except of course for Daniel and his friends. Funny how people in general seemed to be oblivious to all the killings, flying vampires in the middle of town and vampire fights in the middle of the high school and streets. It had some plot holes and tangents throughout that led nowhere but I did finish it, which says that it kept my interest.
I did like the idea of his blood being special, (able to pump up a vampire’s strength and blow them up too if ingested) and marking him as some kind of hybrid. Though otherwise, he seemed pretty frail for a special, supernatural guy.
I don’t think I will read the next book in the series. It’s not the worst book with vampires but there are others I’d read before getting back to this series.
I did not include editing or typos in my rating.
This book was received free for an honest review via Basically Books ARR progam on goodreads.com
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2012
I got my copy of ”Blood heavy” through a R2R here on Goodreads, and I don’t really think I can fully express the joy I felt for choosing this book over the others offered! I gave this book 4 stars out of 5, because I think there is still room here for improvement, but I enjoyed reading it so much, I actually read it twice, to be able to, once again, appreciate all the things I loved reading it the first time!
There were some things about this book that were great: I loved the fact that the main character in this VAMPIRE THEMED NOVEL is MALE. Yup, you heard me. It’s a (very special) boy by the name of Daniel Jericho. And he has a slight vampire problem, as in, they are after him, and everyone he knows and loves is in danger because of it - hot vampire sisters and impending prom included. Heavy action ensues and rocks the boat of vampire chick flicks! After all these YA books about teenage girls that are waiting for their vampire prince on a black stallion called “Nightshade”, this was a breath of fresh air. No girly angst, no pinning, no whining, no sickening “ Why, oh why doesn’t he love meee”, in fact, the existing pining was so realistic and down-to-earth, interwoven with a completely normal sexual desire of a 16 year old male, that it almost came out anticlimactic! Because as many WOMEN authors that write in this genre tend to forget, the point is not just the romance, but also the mystery, the ACTION (they always skimp on the action), and this book is chock full of it! As Shortt is influenced by Joss Whedon, it is not surprising that the action part of this novel is greatly depicted.
The dialogue is one of the best qualities of this book, although, the thing that bothered me most was how juvenile the main characters sometimes sounded. Ok, I get that every teenage boy wants to be “tough”, fight the bad guys, get the girl (eternal love and marriage not included since the sexual revolution of the 1960s, “Twilight” and its clones notwithstanding), but the amount of “toughness” certain characters possessed was a bit over the top in my opinion. Another ting I liked, no, scratch that – LOVED, were some of the most hilarious Harry Potter references I have seen in a long time! There were not that many, but I squealed like a Kpop fangirl every time one magically appeared (pun intended), and this gets me to one of the biggest pluses of this novel: the dialogue.
The writer has his own unique writing style when it comes to action and humor, and that is what made me read it twice. The sheer amount of LOL- ing was considerably higher than any other book I have read in this genre, and the interaction between characters is witty, humorous and perfectly placed. Shortt is good at reading the atmosphere and even better at delivering the punch lines. I was smiling so often during reading, I looked like I swallowed a ruler! Yet another thing I have noticed is the way the writing style and the text itself changes and matures after about the first third of the book, like the writer himself got more into the story and the more he got into it, the better the story became. It truly enhanced the reading experience for me. If you are looking for a change in the genre, or just plain like action and a movie style atmosphere, this is definitely a book I recommend.
There were some things about this book that were great: I loved the fact that the main character in this VAMPIRE THEMED NOVEL is MALE. Yup, you heard me. It’s a (very special) boy by the name of Daniel Jericho. And he has a slight vampire problem, as in, they are after him, and everyone he knows and loves is in danger because of it - hot vampire sisters and impending prom included. Heavy action ensues and rocks the boat of vampire chick flicks! After all these YA books about teenage girls that are waiting for their vampire prince on a black stallion called “Nightshade”, this was a breath of fresh air. No girly angst, no pinning, no whining, no sickening “ Why, oh why doesn’t he love meee”, in fact, the existing pining was so realistic and down-to-earth, interwoven with a completely normal sexual desire of a 16 year old male, that it almost came out anticlimactic! Because as many WOMEN authors that write in this genre tend to forget, the point is not just the romance, but also the mystery, the ACTION (they always skimp on the action), and this book is chock full of it! As Shortt is influenced by Joss Whedon, it is not surprising that the action part of this novel is greatly depicted.
The dialogue is one of the best qualities of this book, although, the thing that bothered me most was how juvenile the main characters sometimes sounded. Ok, I get that every teenage boy wants to be “tough”, fight the bad guys, get the girl (eternal love and marriage not included since the sexual revolution of the 1960s, “Twilight” and its clones notwithstanding), but the amount of “toughness” certain characters possessed was a bit over the top in my opinion. Another ting I liked, no, scratch that – LOVED, were some of the most hilarious Harry Potter references I have seen in a long time! There were not that many, but I squealed like a Kpop fangirl every time one magically appeared (pun intended), and this gets me to one of the biggest pluses of this novel: the dialogue.
The writer has his own unique writing style when it comes to action and humor, and that is what made me read it twice. The sheer amount of LOL- ing was considerably higher than any other book I have read in this genre, and the interaction between characters is witty, humorous and perfectly placed. Shortt is good at reading the atmosphere and even better at delivering the punch lines. I was smiling so often during reading, I looked like I swallowed a ruler! Yet another thing I have noticed is the way the writing style and the text itself changes and matures after about the first third of the book, like the writer himself got more into the story and the more he got into it, the better the story became. It truly enhanced the reading experience for me. If you are looking for a change in the genre, or just plain like action and a movie style atmosphere, this is definitely a book I recommend.
May 20, 2012
Originally posted on my blog http://ufreview.com/2012/05/19/blood-...
First things first, I received a copy of Blood Heavy from the Making Connections group on Goodreads, so thanks to the mods and the author for giving book junkies like me their fix. Secondly, this book was awesome!!!! I don’t review a lot of YA books because…well….*looks to see who is listening*…I hate YA. Yup you heard me I hate YA, teenage angst gets on my last nerve and YA romance bores me stupid and don’t even get me started on the characters…ugh. YA teenagers never drink, smoke have inappropriate sex or have any decent flaws making them interesting, angst aside. So when I read the blurb on this book I thought hmmmm maybe this one will be different. It was, it pushed all the happy buttons I have when reading urban fantasy.
The hero, Daniel (Jerry) Jericho is an orphan living with his uncle Joe aside from that he is pretty much your typical teen guy, into muscle cars and electronics, full of raging hormones and trying to make it through school without getting kicked out. After leaving a party with some friends Jerry is attacked by vampires. He learns of a whole supernatural world he had never believed in before. The action never stopped after this, both the good and bad vampires are after Jerry for his unique blood for their own ends. Jerry has no intention of being a bystander in the battle that follows.
I loved Jerry, he is snarky, sarcastic and loyal to the point of being suicidal. He is also surrounded by a great cast of supporting characters and enough weapons to invade a small country. He has a great group of friends from school that stick with him til the end and two beautiful vampire sisters tasked with protecting him, when they stop trying to kill each other. The vampires were what vamps are supposed to be scary, ruthless and vicious in reaching their goals, the bad ones that is. There was not sparkling to be found and the author managed to discretely throw in a couple of Twilight digs .
The author has said that he has been influenced by the TV show Supernatural, Joss Whedon from Buffy and Angel and the movie the Avengers. I can definitely see the Joss Whedon influences. It reminded me of both Buffy and Angel by the way Jerry and his friends interacted together, bith the TV shows and the book have a strong central character who relies heavily on his group of friends to help beat the bad guys. If you’re a fan of Joss Whedon and the vampire genre without the sparkles definitely give this book a go it was great. I will be grabbing book two asap!
First things first, I received a copy of Blood Heavy from the Making Connections group on Goodreads, so thanks to the mods and the author for giving book junkies like me their fix. Secondly, this book was awesome!!!! I don’t review a lot of YA books because…well….*looks to see who is listening*…I hate YA. Yup you heard me I hate YA, teenage angst gets on my last nerve and YA romance bores me stupid and don’t even get me started on the characters…ugh. YA teenagers never drink, smoke have inappropriate sex or have any decent flaws making them interesting, angst aside. So when I read the blurb on this book I thought hmmmm maybe this one will be different. It was, it pushed all the happy buttons I have when reading urban fantasy.
The hero, Daniel (Jerry) Jericho is an orphan living with his uncle Joe aside from that he is pretty much your typical teen guy, into muscle cars and electronics, full of raging hormones and trying to make it through school without getting kicked out. After leaving a party with some friends Jerry is attacked by vampires. He learns of a whole supernatural world he had never believed in before. The action never stopped after this, both the good and bad vampires are after Jerry for his unique blood for their own ends. Jerry has no intention of being a bystander in the battle that follows.
I loved Jerry, he is snarky, sarcastic and loyal to the point of being suicidal. He is also surrounded by a great cast of supporting characters and enough weapons to invade a small country. He has a great group of friends from school that stick with him til the end and two beautiful vampire sisters tasked with protecting him, when they stop trying to kill each other. The vampires were what vamps are supposed to be scary, ruthless and vicious in reaching their goals, the bad ones that is. There was not sparkling to be found and the author managed to discretely throw in a couple of Twilight digs .
The author has said that he has been influenced by the TV show Supernatural, Joss Whedon from Buffy and Angel and the movie the Avengers. I can definitely see the Joss Whedon influences. It reminded me of both Buffy and Angel by the way Jerry and his friends interacted together, bith the TV shows and the book have a strong central character who relies heavily on his group of friends to help beat the bad guys. If you’re a fan of Joss Whedon and the vampire genre without the sparkles definitely give this book a go it was great. I will be grabbing book two asap!
July 25, 2013
First I want to thank S.L.J. Shortt for gifting this book as part of the Read4Review programme on Goodreads.
I'm not going to include a plot summary, as I think the one the book provides is really appropriate.
I love the premise of the book as I love supernatural fiction. It's good to see some foreshadowing going on. I want to say it's a little on the predictable side, but given that I only think I know where it's going, I'll reserve judgment on that. It all depends on whether details revealed near the end are red herrings or not. I'm really hoping they are as I like to be surprised by a book and this didn't achieve that, but the second one may. I like the relationship and banter between Jerry and Cass; it was good fun.
I think the author would have benefitted from having a better editor and proofreader. Unfortunately (or not depending upon various opinions) I'm a bit of a pedant when it comes to the mechanics of writing, so random capital letters, incorrectly used colons and a couple of continuity errors (wrong character names) were distracting in the early chapters. Also, I encountered a 'defiantly' where a 'definitely' was needed. Oh the horror! *cue dramatic hand to forehead and a genteel faint onto a conveniently placed chaise longue *
I also think that at times the book didn't flow as well as it could have. Details would drag and then suddenly jump too quickly, especially in terms of emotional transitions. The construction of characters was heavy handed at times; details could have been revealed more subtly, especially in the early stages, i.e. the introductory stages of Jerry (aka Daniel), Goose, Steve and Sarah. This got better as the book progressed. The same goes for the verbs that occasionally accompanied the dialogue: 'tweeted' doesn't work for me, a 400 year old vampire shouldn't 'giggle' ( or maybe that's my issue not the book's) and characters moved from being quite calm to 'yelling' details that would have been more effective delivered in other manners.
However, I do like the characters. I find them entertaining and engaging, and the vampires are better constructed. I also really enjoyed encountering a supernatural fiction novel with a male protagonist. This is a first for me and there should be more of them. I love a kick-arse-take-no-prisoners female protagonist, but it's great to see something new. Shortt has constructed an interesting supernatural world that I would be happy to return to, but I would like to see someone exert more finesse over the technical aspects mentioned above for the next book. The story line is engaging and I think this series has real promise.
I'm not going to include a plot summary, as I think the one the book provides is really appropriate.
I love the premise of the book as I love supernatural fiction. It's good to see some foreshadowing going on. I want to say it's a little on the predictable side, but given that I only think I know where it's going, I'll reserve judgment on that. It all depends on whether details revealed near the end are red herrings or not. I'm really hoping they are as I like to be surprised by a book and this didn't achieve that, but the second one may. I like the relationship and banter between Jerry and Cass; it was good fun.
I think the author would have benefitted from having a better editor and proofreader. Unfortunately (or not depending upon various opinions) I'm a bit of a pedant when it comes to the mechanics of writing, so random capital letters, incorrectly used colons and a couple of continuity errors (wrong character names) were distracting in the early chapters. Also, I encountered a 'defiantly' where a 'definitely' was needed. Oh the horror! *cue dramatic hand to forehead and a genteel faint onto a conveniently placed chaise longue *
I also think that at times the book didn't flow as well as it could have. Details would drag and then suddenly jump too quickly, especially in terms of emotional transitions. The construction of characters was heavy handed at times; details could have been revealed more subtly, especially in the early stages, i.e. the introductory stages of Jerry (aka Daniel), Goose, Steve and Sarah. This got better as the book progressed. The same goes for the verbs that occasionally accompanied the dialogue: 'tweeted' doesn't work for me, a 400 year old vampire shouldn't 'giggle' ( or maybe that's my issue not the book's) and characters moved from being quite calm to 'yelling' details that would have been more effective delivered in other manners.
However, I do like the characters. I find them entertaining and engaging, and the vampires are better constructed. I also really enjoyed encountering a supernatural fiction novel with a male protagonist. This is a first for me and there should be more of them. I love a kick-arse-take-no-prisoners female protagonist, but it's great to see something new. Shortt has constructed an interesting supernatural world that I would be happy to return to, but I would like to see someone exert more finesse over the technical aspects mentioned above for the next book. The story line is engaging and I think this series has real promise.
July 10, 2017
Quick Summary:
Jerry thinks he's just your average guy. That is until he's bitten by two different vampires in the same night. Vampires who don't even spare a glance for the two other guys with him. Jerry soon finds out that there's something special about his blood. Something that could cure all vampires, or create a super race of them.
What I didn't like:
I read this book in ebook form and the errors were extremely distracting. Every single apostrophe was replace with a quotation mark. The paragraphs would end mid sentence and pick up where they left off in the next paragraph. Or someone would finish a sentence and the paragraph would end, but the next paragraph was still a part of that person's conversation. I got confused. A lot. There were grammatical errors like using the word "was" instead of "were" and a decent number of words were misspelled. There were times when the narration would jump from one person in one paragraph, to another in the next, and then back to the first narrator again. I know this book is self published so without a good editor I would expect some errors, but there were too many in this book for me to overlook.
What I liked:
The story line is really good. It's fast paced, really interesting and overall entertaining. There were some parts where I literally laughed out loud. The characters are relatable. I had no problem connecting with them and caring about what happened to them. The story line, while it's been done before, was really well thought out and enjoyable. I didn't get bored or annoyed with the story or characters. It really, really was a good story.
Overall:
If all of the errors in this book were corrected then it would receive 4 stars from me. As it stands now, I have no idea what rating to give it. I'm going with a two because the errors bothered me that much, but it really makes me sad to rate it so low because the story is so good! If it's ever revised or I get a hard copy then my rating will change. But the errors are so bad that it kind of ruined the book for me. I would like to read book 2, but I won't do that until I confirm through someone who has already read it that the errors aren't even half as bad as the errors in Blood Heavy.
Jerry thinks he's just your average guy. That is until he's bitten by two different vampires in the same night. Vampires who don't even spare a glance for the two other guys with him. Jerry soon finds out that there's something special about his blood. Something that could cure all vampires, or create a super race of them.
What I didn't like:
I read this book in ebook form and the errors were extremely distracting. Every single apostrophe was replace with a quotation mark. The paragraphs would end mid sentence and pick up where they left off in the next paragraph. Or someone would finish a sentence and the paragraph would end, but the next paragraph was still a part of that person's conversation. I got confused. A lot. There were grammatical errors like using the word "was" instead of "were" and a decent number of words were misspelled. There were times when the narration would jump from one person in one paragraph, to another in the next, and then back to the first narrator again. I know this book is self published so without a good editor I would expect some errors, but there were too many in this book for me to overlook.
What I liked:
The story line is really good. It's fast paced, really interesting and overall entertaining. There were some parts where I literally laughed out loud. The characters are relatable. I had no problem connecting with them and caring about what happened to them. The story line, while it's been done before, was really well thought out and enjoyable. I didn't get bored or annoyed with the story or characters. It really, really was a good story.
Overall:
If all of the errors in this book were corrected then it would receive 4 stars from me. As it stands now, I have no idea what rating to give it. I'm going with a two because the errors bothered me that much, but it really makes me sad to rate it so low because the story is so good! If it's ever revised or I get a hard copy then my rating will change. But the errors are so bad that it kind of ruined the book for me. I would like to read book 2, but I won't do that until I confirm through someone who has already read it that the errors aren't even half as bad as the errors in Blood Heavy.
July 29, 2013
*I received a copy of this book from the author through Never too old for YA in exchange for an honest review*
Jerry is a normal teenage boy until he is attacked by a group of vampires who have discovered that his blood makes them invincible. A rival vampire group hope that his blood could be a cure and they swear to protect him.
I liked this book. The story was a different twist on vampires with Jerry's blood being precious to the sides of good and evil for different reasons. I liked the idea of the cure vs evil drugged up monsters thing, depending on who got to Jerry. There is an interesting mixture of characters, including Uncle Joe the ex-military man, Parker the biology teacher, Cassandra and Claire the vampire sisters, Rachel the psychic child and his human friends. It's not a complicated story and it moves at good speed through each new crisis that Jerry and the gang face. It certainly keeps you interested without boring you with things that don't really matter, and new twists to Jerry's situation happen constantly. There was some humour and pop culture references though it. There is certainly potential for sequels which I'd be interested in looking at.
The one negative for me was the way Jerry was acting like a jackass in the middle part of the book. His 'I'm Rambo hear me roar' attitude really annoyed me. I know it was important to the author for plot purposes but he was just getting on my nerves and the consequences were fatal due to his lack of planning. It didn't stop me liking the book but I hope he stops acting like that in the next one! The only other thing I don't like is named chapter headings. These are like spoilers and I don't really like them in a book. And however much I try not to, me eyes keep going to them! Again it's just personal preference and I would never mark a book down for a little niggle like that. I didn't like the continual musical soundtrack either but it's another minor niggle. The book would benefit from a re-editing as there were continuity errors(characters names being mixed up) plus spelling and other errors.
SPOILER!!!!
So who would this book appeal to? I think fans of YA paranormal, NA paranormal, UF fans, vampire fans and those who like a good story with a paranormal twist to it. Overall a good read.
Jerry is a normal teenage boy until he is attacked by a group of vampires who have discovered that his blood makes them invincible. A rival vampire group hope that his blood could be a cure and they swear to protect him.
I liked this book. The story was a different twist on vampires with Jerry's blood being precious to the sides of good and evil for different reasons. I liked the idea of the cure vs evil drugged up monsters thing, depending on who got to Jerry. There is an interesting mixture of characters, including Uncle Joe the ex-military man, Parker the biology teacher, Cassandra and Claire the vampire sisters, Rachel the psychic child and his human friends. It's not a complicated story and it moves at good speed through each new crisis that Jerry and the gang face. It certainly keeps you interested without boring you with things that don't really matter, and new twists to Jerry's situation happen constantly. There was some humour and pop culture references though it. There is certainly potential for sequels which I'd be interested in looking at.
The one negative for me was the way Jerry was acting like a jackass in the middle part of the book. His 'I'm Rambo hear me roar' attitude really annoyed me. I know it was important to the author for plot purposes but he was just getting on my nerves and the consequences were fatal due to his lack of planning. It didn't stop me liking the book but I hope he stops acting like that in the next one! The only other thing I don't like is named chapter headings. These are like spoilers and I don't really like them in a book. And however much I try not to, me eyes keep going to them! Again it's just personal preference and I would never mark a book down for a little niggle like that. I didn't like the continual musical soundtrack either but it's another minor niggle. The book would benefit from a re-editing as there were continuity errors(characters names being mixed up) plus spelling and other errors.
SPOILER!!!!
So who would this book appeal to? I think fans of YA paranormal, NA paranormal, UF fans, vampire fans and those who like a good story with a paranormal twist to it. Overall a good read.
August 12, 2012
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Dawn
Daniel Jericho aka Jerry is a teenager one day and a hot commodity the next. His blood is like an addictive drug to vampires; addictive but also dangerous. Black Forrest, Vampire Al Qaeda, will do anything to find Jerry. Jerry and his group are exposed to a new world filled with many supernatural creatures and dangers.
Jerry has lost both his parents; he currently lives with Uncle Joe. Joe is a human lie detector as well as a veteran and a very practical man. I enjoyed the maybe budding romance between he and Claire (a vamp).
Jerry’s best friend Goose is like the dumb blonde (not in a bad way) of the group. He is pretty damn funny. Each character has a distinctive personality that helps you keep them straight.
The snark, the snark, I cannot say enough about the snarky humor throughout the book. The book is peppered with it, clever conversations, witty comebacks. (The Fangs and the Furious LOL!!!). Farting, chest hair, vampire Viagra, Blood Heavy is heavy on the banter. The insults exchanged kept me fully entertained throughout the book. I never grew out of the “bodily functions are hysterical” phase, so this book is right up my alley. I especially liked the Dick Cheney insult. Shortt also made fun of Twilight *smile* The humor jumped out at me until I was laughing so hard I cried. Example: “We‟re traveling incognito.” reply “We‟re traveling incrapnito!”
From beginning to end, I was dying to know who Jerry is and where he came from. How did he end up with special blood? The mystery leaves tantalizing clues along the way. Despite it not being revealed by the end of the book, I did not feel cheated nor did it drag on. In fact, I feel quite the opposite – I want more!!! I *think* I may have figured it out, but I will have to read more to know for sure.
Some friends were lost in the final battle in the book. I mourned their loss because I feel like I knew them. Their loss devastating to Jerry because he tried so hard to protect them. He turned into a bad-ass after his 2nd hospital stay. He was willing to do anything to protect his loved ones.
The first 40 pages or so are a bit bogged down with too much information. That was my only issue with Blood Heavy.
Between the action, character development and brilliant dialogue, Blood Heavy is a good book. I recommend it to men/boys and tomboys lol.
http://openbooksociety.com/article/bl...
Daniel Jericho aka Jerry is a teenager one day and a hot commodity the next. His blood is like an addictive drug to vampires; addictive but also dangerous. Black Forrest, Vampire Al Qaeda, will do anything to find Jerry. Jerry and his group are exposed to a new world filled with many supernatural creatures and dangers.
Jerry has lost both his parents; he currently lives with Uncle Joe. Joe is a human lie detector as well as a veteran and a very practical man. I enjoyed the maybe budding romance between he and Claire (a vamp).
Jerry’s best friend Goose is like the dumb blonde (not in a bad way) of the group. He is pretty damn funny. Each character has a distinctive personality that helps you keep them straight.
The snark, the snark, I cannot say enough about the snarky humor throughout the book. The book is peppered with it, clever conversations, witty comebacks. (The Fangs and the Furious LOL!!!). Farting, chest hair, vampire Viagra, Blood Heavy is heavy on the banter. The insults exchanged kept me fully entertained throughout the book. I never grew out of the “bodily functions are hysterical” phase, so this book is right up my alley. I especially liked the Dick Cheney insult. Shortt also made fun of Twilight *smile* The humor jumped out at me until I was laughing so hard I cried. Example: “We‟re traveling incognito.” reply “We‟re traveling incrapnito!”
From beginning to end, I was dying to know who Jerry is and where he came from. How did he end up with special blood? The mystery leaves tantalizing clues along the way. Despite it not being revealed by the end of the book, I did not feel cheated nor did it drag on. In fact, I feel quite the opposite – I want more!!! I *think* I may have figured it out, but I will have to read more to know for sure.
Some friends were lost in the final battle in the book. I mourned their loss because I feel like I knew them. Their loss devastating to Jerry because he tried so hard to protect them. He turned into a bad-ass after his 2nd hospital stay. He was willing to do anything to protect his loved ones.
The first 40 pages or so are a bit bogged down with too much information. That was my only issue with Blood Heavy.
Between the action, character development and brilliant dialogue, Blood Heavy is a good book. I recommend it to men/boys and tomboys lol.
http://openbooksociety.com/article/bl...
September 8, 2012
I was given this book through a R2R here on Goodreads for an honest review.
This was my first time reading a self-published book but I knew to expect some minor typos, which are present but completely understandable, as well as issues with the way the story was told. Self-published authors don't have a team of people behind their book helping them smooth out the story, so these are some things I think could have been fixed up with some more editing. I wasn't a big fan of the dialogue it seemed a little unnatural to me at times, mostly in the beginning when Jerry and his friends were talking together. The book was definitely heavy on the dialogue which isn't a bad thing as far as I'm concerned. There was also a lot of descriptions on people's physical form in which 'sexy' was used far to often. Also the book's narrative prospective could have used some more focus, for the most part we were on Jerry but it would often jump around to different character within a single page with out a lot of flow. For the author's growth I would suggest focusing more on putting life into descriptions and the main character, I felt like I was just being told how he felt all the time, so I didn't really get to know him.
Now for the story, which was good, and picked up a lot in the ending, mostly I had one issue with the story in that it is so painfully obvious to me since almost the beginning of the book as to why Jerry has special blood and so I kept waiting for him, anyone, to discover the reason and no one ever does. Not even at the very end. So I found that a little frustrating, but I guess it could be something other people don't pick up on, but I did and every tiny clue towards that just made me crazy. Anyways, boy with blood that affects vampires [and other things] in new and strange ways with each passing chapter, he's being hunted by one team of vampires and the other team believes he can cure them of their vampirism. He's not exactly thrilled by his current situation and handles it in a variety of different ways throughout the book. I liked the vampires, the characters and the mythology of them, it made, sense? Like how different types of blood will affect them - human blood makes them more human, religious things don't hurt them, they cannot glamour people, etc. And there was a lot of interesting insights the ways of humans and what happens when they live far beyond their expiration date, how their beliefs change.
This was my first time reading a self-published book but I knew to expect some minor typos, which are present but completely understandable, as well as issues with the way the story was told. Self-published authors don't have a team of people behind their book helping them smooth out the story, so these are some things I think could have been fixed up with some more editing. I wasn't a big fan of the dialogue it seemed a little unnatural to me at times, mostly in the beginning when Jerry and his friends were talking together. The book was definitely heavy on the dialogue which isn't a bad thing as far as I'm concerned. There was also a lot of descriptions on people's physical form in which 'sexy' was used far to often. Also the book's narrative prospective could have used some more focus, for the most part we were on Jerry but it would often jump around to different character within a single page with out a lot of flow. For the author's growth I would suggest focusing more on putting life into descriptions and the main character, I felt like I was just being told how he felt all the time, so I didn't really get to know him.
Now for the story, which was good, and picked up a lot in the ending, mostly I had one issue with the story in that it is so painfully obvious to me since almost the beginning of the book as to why Jerry has special blood and so I kept waiting for him, anyone, to discover the reason and no one ever does. Not even at the very end. So I found that a little frustrating, but I guess it could be something other people don't pick up on, but I did and every tiny clue towards that just made me crazy. Anyways, boy with blood that affects vampires [and other things] in new and strange ways with each passing chapter, he's being hunted by one team of vampires and the other team believes he can cure them of their vampirism. He's not exactly thrilled by his current situation and handles it in a variety of different ways throughout the book. I liked the vampires, the characters and the mythology of them, it made, sense? Like how different types of blood will affect them - human blood makes them more human, religious things don't hurt them, they cannot glamour people, etc. And there was a lot of interesting insights the ways of humans and what happens when they live far beyond their expiration date, how their beliefs change.
September 17, 2012
Opening Sentence Teaser
Ironically, If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It) by AC/DC was the song that blared out of Daniel Jericho‟s alarm clock waking him up. He moaned and stretched for a few moments before finally getting out of bed.
Review
I received this book as part of a R2R from the author in return for a honest review. Jerry is you typical high school trying to make it through his days to graduation. One night Jerry along with his two best friends Steve and Goose are attacked by vampires. Thankfully he is always saved by a vampire as well but in the process he ends up getting bit not once but twice by the bad vampire as well as the good vampire. Jerry wakes up in the hospital with memories of being attacked by vampires, they all know vampires aren't real, until Clair shows up at the hospital asking for his help because he has special blood. His blood could be the cure to turn all the vampires into humans.
When vampires drink Jerry's blood they get a short term increase of power plus loose all their weakness's that all vampires have. The bad vampires are called Black Forest they want to harvest Jerry's blood to make them more powerful. The good vampires in this case who are looking for a cure don't drink human blood anymore they survive on animal blood. Something in Jerry's blood calls to them, his scent draws them out and the good vampires have to protect him till they can find a cure. However with Black Forest vampires on the hunt for him, the only way to stay safe is train to use weapons and fight. Thankfully his uncle Joe is their to teach him and his friends how to protect themselves, plus they have a couple powerful vampires to protect them.
It's a fast paced story that drew me in right from the start and I had a hard time putting it down. Jerry doesn't read like a teenager he and his friends come across a lot more mature so it's easy for teens and adults to relate to him. The characters in the story are well created, you get a good sense who they are, and I feel like I could visualize them. I really liked the concept that Jerry has special blood that can change the balance for the vampires forever. Blood Heavy is a unique twist on vampires that keeps you entertained through the whole book and left me wanting more. I look forward to seeing what happen next in the series.
Ironically, If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It) by AC/DC was the song that blared out of Daniel Jericho‟s alarm clock waking him up. He moaned and stretched for a few moments before finally getting out of bed.
Review
I received this book as part of a R2R from the author in return for a honest review. Jerry is you typical high school trying to make it through his days to graduation. One night Jerry along with his two best friends Steve and Goose are attacked by vampires. Thankfully he is always saved by a vampire as well but in the process he ends up getting bit not once but twice by the bad vampire as well as the good vampire. Jerry wakes up in the hospital with memories of being attacked by vampires, they all know vampires aren't real, until Clair shows up at the hospital asking for his help because he has special blood. His blood could be the cure to turn all the vampires into humans.
When vampires drink Jerry's blood they get a short term increase of power plus loose all their weakness's that all vampires have. The bad vampires are called Black Forest they want to harvest Jerry's blood to make them more powerful. The good vampires in this case who are looking for a cure don't drink human blood anymore they survive on animal blood. Something in Jerry's blood calls to them, his scent draws them out and the good vampires have to protect him till they can find a cure. However with Black Forest vampires on the hunt for him, the only way to stay safe is train to use weapons and fight. Thankfully his uncle Joe is their to teach him and his friends how to protect themselves, plus they have a couple powerful vampires to protect them.
It's a fast paced story that drew me in right from the start and I had a hard time putting it down. Jerry doesn't read like a teenager he and his friends come across a lot more mature so it's easy for teens and adults to relate to him. The characters in the story are well created, you get a good sense who they are, and I feel like I could visualize them. I really liked the concept that Jerry has special blood that can change the balance for the vampires forever. Blood Heavy is a unique twist on vampires that keeps you entertained through the whole book and left me wanting more. I look forward to seeing what happen next in the series.
October 26, 2012
Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will love this!
Daniel Jericho/ Jerry is a normal teenage boy worrying about acne and getting a date to prom. His parents both died when he was young and he lives with his uncle Joe, an army vet. One minute Jerry and his friends are driving home drunk from a party and the next Jerry finds himself the target of things that he thought only existed in books and movies. Jerry soon learns that his blood is like vampire Redbull and everyone wants a sip, the bad vampires/ Black forest want to his blood so they can Hulk out and gain temporary immunity to iron and sunlight and the good vampires want to test him for a vampirism cure. In order to protect his friends and family he allies with the good vampires and decides that he won't be a sitting duck for Black Forest and then all hell breaks loose...
OK so this is not my typical read, but I really enjoyed this and will definitely read the sequel. I loved the loyalty shown by Jerry's friends and his uncle, everyone wants friends like that. I liked that we got to see how this knowledge of supernatural beings effected Jerry, I hate when you read books and there is like no reaction from the characters after they come face to face with a monster hell bent on sucking you dry. Even though Jerry put up a strong front for his family he was truly dealing with things emotionally like a NORMAL person would. I loved the snarky attitudes and comments, they added some comedic relief to the book, and everyone loves some flirty bitching especially between Cass and Jerry. The book is face- paced and you won't want to put it down.
In short the author created an entertaining take on vampires and their history and is weaving his way into making his characters kick-ass vampire slayers, and you will want to stick around so see what type of situation they get into in the future.
Solid 4 stars.
Daniel Jericho/ Jerry is a normal teenage boy worrying about acne and getting a date to prom. His parents both died when he was young and he lives with his uncle Joe, an army vet. One minute Jerry and his friends are driving home drunk from a party and the next Jerry finds himself the target of things that he thought only existed in books and movies. Jerry soon learns that his blood is like vampire Redbull and everyone wants a sip, the bad vampires/ Black forest want to his blood so they can Hulk out and gain temporary immunity to iron and sunlight and the good vampires want to test him for a vampirism cure. In order to protect his friends and family he allies with the good vampires and decides that he won't be a sitting duck for Black Forest and then all hell breaks loose...
OK so this is not my typical read, but I really enjoyed this and will definitely read the sequel. I loved the loyalty shown by Jerry's friends and his uncle, everyone wants friends like that. I liked that we got to see how this knowledge of supernatural beings effected Jerry, I hate when you read books and there is like no reaction from the characters after they come face to face with a monster hell bent on sucking you dry. Even though Jerry put up a strong front for his family he was truly dealing with things emotionally like a NORMAL person would. I loved the snarky attitudes and comments, they added some comedic relief to the book, and everyone loves some flirty bitching especially between Cass and Jerry. The book is face- paced and you won't want to put it down.
In short the author created an entertaining take on vampires and their history and is weaving his way into making his characters kick-ass vampire slayers, and you will want to stick around so see what type of situation they get into in the future.
Solid 4 stars.
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