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Blood & Ancient Scrolls #3.5
Blood Triad: Stories in the Blood & Ancient Scrolls Series
"Blood Triad is a must-read for fans of vampire fiction and historical fantasy, especially those who value meticulously researched narratives that deliver immersive world-building, nuanced character dynamics and diverse perspectives, and thought-provoking explorations of love and resilience." — Booklife Reviews
"Blood Triad sweeps readers across eras and locations, from the ancient Norsemen and Picts of the 900s, to the turbulent colonial history of Haiti, to Prohibition-era Philadelphia, infusing each of these periods with her unique vampiric lore. Belasco’s action scenes are brisk, and her carefully-researched characters are memorable. Her vampires are so much more than the violence of their history—within their bloody hearts, they retain their humanity." — Tara Campbell, author of City of Dancing Gargoyles and TreeVolution
BLOOD TRIAD is a collection of three novellas from the Blood & Ancient Scrolls series by Raven Belasco, giving a more intimate view into the lives of some of the am’r (the vampires’ name for themselves) that readers have met along the way. Standalone novellas, each story can be enjoyed without having previously read any of the series.
TEETH ARE BONES is set after the events of Blood Ad Infinitum. Librarian Anushka “Noosh” Rossetti finds herself on a yacht with Zoraida, a mysterious am’r she admires but barely knows. To pass the time, Zoraida confides the story of her life first as a human and then an am’r, through the bloody events of the Haitian Revolution through the U.S. Occupation of Haiti, profound love and devastating loss made only more intense by the passion of a vampire’s heart.
In BLOOD BROTHERS, Noosh finally gets Wulfhram and Dubhghall to confide in her the tale of their centuries-long-partnership. Meeting in opposing sides of a battle in the A.D. 900s, the two men take an unlikely path to both the am’r life and to a lasting love, fighting together as mercenaries across Europe and the Middle East in the last century of the first millennium before nearly losing each other in their calamitous transformation into am’r.
ABYSSINIA is a story from the life of Astryiah, a powerful and important am’r. Set in 1930’s Philadelphia, Palmina is working at the Nabisco factory…and helping women who are “in a fix.” Palmina is feeling run down by all the pressures in her life…until a striking, mysterious woman shows up to change her life in astonishing, sensual, and dangerous ways. Palmina is confronted by the seductive power of the am’r world. Will she choose to join the am’r for strength, autonomy, and eternal life…or will she choose to stay in the human world, helping those in need?
"Blood Triad sweeps readers across eras and locations, from the ancient Norsemen and Picts of the 900s, to the turbulent colonial history of Haiti, to Prohibition-era Philadelphia, infusing each of these periods with her unique vampiric lore. Belasco’s action scenes are brisk, and her carefully-researched characters are memorable. Her vampires are so much more than the violence of their history—within their bloody hearts, they retain their humanity." — Tara Campbell, author of City of Dancing Gargoyles and TreeVolution
BLOOD TRIAD is a collection of three novellas from the Blood & Ancient Scrolls series by Raven Belasco, giving a more intimate view into the lives of some of the am’r (the vampires’ name for themselves) that readers have met along the way. Standalone novellas, each story can be enjoyed without having previously read any of the series.
TEETH ARE BONES is set after the events of Blood Ad Infinitum. Librarian Anushka “Noosh” Rossetti finds herself on a yacht with Zoraida, a mysterious am’r she admires but barely knows. To pass the time, Zoraida confides the story of her life first as a human and then an am’r, through the bloody events of the Haitian Revolution through the U.S. Occupation of Haiti, profound love and devastating loss made only more intense by the passion of a vampire’s heart.
In BLOOD BROTHERS, Noosh finally gets Wulfhram and Dubhghall to confide in her the tale of their centuries-long-partnership. Meeting in opposing sides of a battle in the A.D. 900s, the two men take an unlikely path to both the am’r life and to a lasting love, fighting together as mercenaries across Europe and the Middle East in the last century of the first millennium before nearly losing each other in their calamitous transformation into am’r.
ABYSSINIA is a story from the life of Astryiah, a powerful and important am’r. Set in 1930’s Philadelphia, Palmina is working at the Nabisco factory…and helping women who are “in a fix.” Palmina is feeling run down by all the pressures in her life…until a striking, mysterious woman shows up to change her life in astonishing, sensual, and dangerous ways. Palmina is confronted by the seductive power of the am’r world. Will she choose to join the am’r for strength, autonomy, and eternal life…or will she choose to stay in the human world, helping those in need?
188 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 9, 2024
3 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Raven Belasco
11 books30 followersRaven Belasco wanted to be an author since she was a little eight year old bookworm. When she turned seventeen she became chronically ill, and reading and writing “saved” her. After college, she worked as an editor and a myriad of her articles and short stories were published. But she wanted more, and in 2019 her first novel, Blood Ex Libris, was finally published after years of rejection letter after rejection letter.
Belasco’s writing style has been described as both “darkly lyrical” and at the same time “an easy, breezy writing style; a more colloquial and relaxed John Scalzi.” Her influences from a degree in Comparative literature and a lifetime devotion to genre fiction fused this unique style: constructed with the same dedication as literary fiction, yet easily accessible for any reader.
Belasco writes about the complexities of being human as viewed through a dark mirror. She is known for a dedication in keeping the monstrous aspects in vampire fiction, for exploring themes of love and resilience, immersive world-building, nuanced character dynamics, and diverse perspectives.
Raven Belasco is also known for a deep connection with her readers through a very personal newsletter, regularly asking for their input on which characters they want her to write about next. Her Blood & Ancient Scrolls Series has a deeply loyal fan base who are equally enthusiastic about both the characters and their author.
Belasco’s writing style has been described as both “darkly lyrical” and at the same time “an easy, breezy writing style; a more colloquial and relaxed John Scalzi.” Her influences from a degree in Comparative literature and a lifetime devotion to genre fiction fused this unique style: constructed with the same dedication as literary fiction, yet easily accessible for any reader.
Belasco writes about the complexities of being human as viewed through a dark mirror. She is known for a dedication in keeping the monstrous aspects in vampire fiction, for exploring themes of love and resilience, immersive world-building, nuanced character dynamics, and diverse perspectives.
Raven Belasco is also known for a deep connection with her readers through a very personal newsletter, regularly asking for their input on which characters they want her to write about next. Her Blood & Ancient Scrolls Series has a deeply loyal fan base who are equally enthusiastic about both the characters and their author.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 10, 2024
Review originally on JamReads
Blood Triad is a collection of three short novellas set in the shared universe of the Blood and Ancient Scrolls Series, written by Raven Belasco. A great introduction to her world, that allows us to know more about the background of the characters through stories that put an incredible attention to the setting, and that are put together in a really smooth way, using the resource of the story into the bigger story.
Three novellas that share the intensity and the well-researched historical setting; sometimes going into how the characters became am'r (vampires in this universe), but also putting a big emphasis on the personal relationships.
Not especially long pieces, well paced, and that also proves Belasco's talent to write well depicted action scenes; you might feel a bit confused with some terms, but my recommendation is to use the glossary that is part of the book (however, some discovery might be good to the experience).
A sweet and intense collection that can be read as an introduction to Raven Belasco's universe; definitely I have curiosity to know more about the am'r, so it won't be my last foray into her books.
Blood Triad is a collection of three short novellas set in the shared universe of the Blood and Ancient Scrolls Series, written by Raven Belasco. A great introduction to her world, that allows us to know more about the background of the characters through stories that put an incredible attention to the setting, and that are put together in a really smooth way, using the resource of the story into the bigger story.
Three novellas that share the intensity and the well-researched historical setting; sometimes going into how the characters became am'r (vampires in this universe), but also putting a big emphasis on the personal relationships.
Not especially long pieces, well paced, and that also proves Belasco's talent to write well depicted action scenes; you might feel a bit confused with some terms, but my recommendation is to use the glossary that is part of the book (however, some discovery might be good to the experience).
A sweet and intense collection that can be read as an introduction to Raven Belasco's universe; definitely I have curiosity to know more about the am'r, so it won't be my last foray into her books.
June 20, 2024
This is a collection of three stories set in the world of the Blood and Ancient Scrolls series by the author. While these stories supplement the series, they were advertised as being perfectly fine to read as a standalone. I somewhat agree with this. I still enjoyed them with no prior knowledge of the series, but it seemed like there are major spoilers included in the first two of these short stories and references to the books that would be more meaningful if you’d read the series.
Teeth Are Bones – 3 stars – This story follows Noosh, the protagonist of the series as she finds herself sailing across the ocean with Zoraida, a mysterious am’r (vampire) who keeps to herself. But the more that’s revealed, the more Noosh realizes Zoraida’s past is steeped in defiance, love, and revolution. Told in the first person, this story included a lot of fascinating history about Haiti. But there were so many words that needed defining and random phrases and references to the series that it wasn’t as engaging for me as I hoped it would be and felt a bit disjointed. I mostly only rated it so high because I loved how the history was incorporated with the supernatural aspects.
Blood Brothers – 3 stars – Noosh manages to hear the story of two am’r who were sworn enemies in the A.D. 900s during their lives, but became brothers during their deaths. Also told in the first person, I liked this one a bit more. The personalities of the characters were well written, shining strongly through their words. There were a few less terms that needed defining in this one, which made it feel less disjointed than the previous one.
Abyssinia – 4 stars – A young woman in Philadelphia during the 1930s helps other women who find themselves in trouble. But she encounters a mysterious and charming figure who offers her a seemingly unbelievable solution to her problems. This story is told in the third-person and was the strongest of the three. The characters felt more engaging as did the plot, and I enjoyed that there were no real references to the series.
All three stories had excellent historical detail incorporated throughout, especially the first two. This was honestly where my greatest enjoyment came from. There’s a glossary of all foreign and fictionalized terms in the story, though they were often defined in the text itself as well. Overall, this was a good collection of short stories that I imagine will be five-star reads for those who have read and love the author’s series. My thanks to BookSirens and the author for allowing me to read this work.
Teeth Are Bones – 3 stars – This story follows Noosh, the protagonist of the series as she finds herself sailing across the ocean with Zoraida, a mysterious am’r (vampire) who keeps to herself. But the more that’s revealed, the more Noosh realizes Zoraida’s past is steeped in defiance, love, and revolution. Told in the first person, this story included a lot of fascinating history about Haiti. But there were so many words that needed defining and random phrases and references to the series that it wasn’t as engaging for me as I hoped it would be and felt a bit disjointed. I mostly only rated it so high because I loved how the history was incorporated with the supernatural aspects.
Blood Brothers – 3 stars – Noosh manages to hear the story of two am’r who were sworn enemies in the A.D. 900s during their lives, but became brothers during their deaths. Also told in the first person, I liked this one a bit more. The personalities of the characters were well written, shining strongly through their words. There were a few less terms that needed defining in this one, which made it feel less disjointed than the previous one.
Abyssinia – 4 stars – A young woman in Philadelphia during the 1930s helps other women who find themselves in trouble. But she encounters a mysterious and charming figure who offers her a seemingly unbelievable solution to her problems. This story is told in the third-person and was the strongest of the three. The characters felt more engaging as did the plot, and I enjoyed that there were no real references to the series.
All three stories had excellent historical detail incorporated throughout, especially the first two. This was honestly where my greatest enjoyment came from. There’s a glossary of all foreign and fictionalized terms in the story, though they were often defined in the text itself as well. Overall, this was a good collection of short stories that I imagine will be five-star reads for those who have read and love the author’s series. My thanks to BookSirens and the author for allowing me to read this work.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews