Siren

Golden Blood #2

by S.J. Patrick

When haematologist-turned-vampire David Reynolds killed his vampiric father and brother in a bloody showdown, he thought he had rid the world of the vampire menace. Aside from himself, that is.

Recruited for a top-secret case to study the ancient vampire Csanád Farkas, a freak accident resulted in David’s conversion into the very creature that he was trying to understand. Accompanying this change was a dramatic shift in personality and an ever-growing lust for blood and destruction. Only through the compassion of an unlikely accomplice was David able to maintain the humanity within him for long enough to complete his mission and ensure the vampiric scourge was no more.

Or so he thought …

One more vampire has appeared. A vampire with a terrifying connection to his own twisted vampiric family tree.

The Siren has arrived, and she is out for blood.

Genres: Vampires, Horror

459 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2024

About the author

From a young age S.J. Patrick has been an avid reader, with loves spanning between fantasy, science fiction, and especially horror. As a published scientific author, he branched out into fiction in 2021 and had a blast doing so!

Released in 2023 were his first two novels, DARK MATTER and THE SENTIENCE, each combining his dual loves of science and horror into plots both thrilling and scientifically accurate.

In 2024 came an homage to his favourite horror niche, vampires! EXHUMED has become an instant hit in the genre, with a sequel, SIREN, releasing later in the year.

Finally in 2025 released GOLDEN BLOOD which brought the Exhumed trilogy to a thrilling conclusion!

Reviews

[Carl Bluesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows the first one very well. The characters grow from the first one but faithful to who they were. This villains become more of a threat. In the lore becomes deeper.

I think the extra death into the lore was what I like most about this book. It already added the world, another story and the connection to the vampires. This was a great sequel book one and I can’t wait to start the next one!

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for the ARC of this book. It is out November 1st.

This is the second book in the series, but could be read as a standalone. The first two chapters catch you up to speed with 'Exhumed'. However, I recommend reading Exhumed first. It's a fantastic vampire story that feels very classical, and once you've finished it, you'll be all the more excited for this one.

Siren is just as good as the first book. Similar to it, we have present day timelines and past day timelines. This really adds to the story, and the character development. Plus, it's really fascinating. It feels like you're reading a book that was released years ago when you're in those past sections. I really appreciated and enjoyed that element.

It was of course great to follow David again in the present day, as he navigates his life and all the drama and chaos that comes with it. There is some intense moments right from the very beginning that have you on edge.

Overall, this is a really fascinating book with memorable characters. The writing style is brilliant, and as I always say with this series, feels very old school classical. That's what makes this unique for me.

If this sounds like your thing, you deffo got to give it a go! Take my advice and grab the first book, then come back for this one!

[Kate | Date With A Thriller · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent follow up to Exhumed!! This is the kind of vampire read I enjoy and I inhaled it!! We get to see the characters grow and I loved seeing the evolution of the relationship between the two couples over time! 🙌

While it is book 2 in the series, you can easily read it as a standalone thanks to the two prelude chapters that catch you up on who’s who and the timeline of events! However, the first book, Exhumed, was so good, I highly recommend starting with it first!! Either way, you’re in for an action-packed ride!! 👏

[Angela Pearse · Rating 5 out of 5]

After eagerly awaiting book 2 in the Golden Blood series by S.J. Patrick, let me tell you that it did not disappoint, and actually exceeded my expectations. 'Siren' continues on from the thrilling conclusion of 'Exhumed', where David Reynolds, now a vampire, is grappling with his unholy desire to feed on love interest Gabriela. But unfortunately, he's also come to the attention of Aalis - the Siren - an ancient female vampire who's hellbent on revenging the death of her lover Iuliu, and her fangs are lethal (nb: this book is not for the squeamish!)

There are two timelines in Siren; present day which follows David and Gabriela's subsequent hunt for Aalis across Europe and the backstory of Iuliu which starts in AD 927 and depicts how he meets prostitute Aalis and decides to turn her into a vampire. Siren was as action packed, gripping and fascinating as the first book, but focusing on the relationships between the two couples was clever, and it definitely added an extra something for me - especially the vampiric love story set over millennia.

At 360 pages I wasn't expecting Siren to be a quick read but I tore through it in a couple of days because there are plenty of twists and turns that keep you wanting to know what happens next; the author has done a fantastic job, it's definitely a page turner. There is a quick recap in the front of the book if you want to skip over Exhumed and get stuck into Siren, but I highly recommend reading both!

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the author for an ARC of Siren, what a wild ride that continued on from the first book Exhumed.

This vampire was even more evil than the other ones. Again the history and research was fantastic and I learnt a lot about some really interesting times. The story kept me on my toes from start to finish!

It was a full on ride and even though I'm not a vampire lover, I can't wait for the next book in the series because I've really fallen in love with the characters and setting.

S.J. Patrick is a very good writer and I really enjoy the style he brings to his stories.

[Jonas Maes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished Reading:
Siren by S. J. Patrick
__________

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Pages: 362
Format: e-book
Genre: Horror / Vampires
2nd book in the Golden Blood Trilogy
__________

When haematologist-turned-vampire David Reynolds killed his vampiric father and brother in a bloody showdown, he thought he had rid the world of the vampire menace. Aside from himself, that is. Or so he thought …

One more vampire has appeared. A vampire with a terrifying connection to his own twisted vampiric family tree.

The Siren has arrived, and she is out for blood.
__________

First of all, thank you @sj_patrick_horror for providing me with a copy of Siren in exchange for an honest review and also thank you to @momsterreadsandreviews for re-reading this one with me, with our eyes on Golden Bloods next 👀

I'm going to completely honest here. When I first received Siren, Kiki and I decided to also read it together, but I was going through a lot at that time, and decided to pause the read, because I just couldn't get into it...

Then, Golden Blood came knocking on my door and I just knew I wanted to finish reading Siren, before starting this one with Kiki and well... I was 30% in when I put it aside and I continued from there and I finished the book in 3 days... Which, trust me, is an achievement for me 😂

I flew through the book and it had everything the first book had! It had blood, gore, action,... I loved it. However, I also felt like it was a bit repetitive at times. Some things were repeated more than it was needed in my opinion.

It was also slower paced than the first book in the series. We have 3 different timelines throughout the book, and even though it is very clear when is when and who's timeline it is, so there is no confusion, it broke the pace a few times for me.

All in all, I did still enjoy this one and the ending was EXTREMELY satisfying!!! I reveled in it and I think it was a very fitting ending for this book!

Thank you Kiki for reading again with me and I cannot wait to start the third book in the series with you 🥰

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

Thank you so much to the author for copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and I apologize that this has taken me this long to read and review it! I really appreciate your patience.

Siren is book 2 of 3 in the Golden Blood vampire series. It picks up right where we left off following book 1 (Exhumed), and in this story we are introduced to a new, female vampire with a different, unique subset of powers for David and Gabriela to figure out and fight back against.

I really liked this new vampire, Aalis, and her story. I actually felt bad for her, and had a lot more empathy for her situation, even though she was still a monster. I got a lot more out of her backstory than I did in the previous novel with Csanad's. I can't say too much about David and Gabriela without giving away any spoilers, but their journey has definitely ramped up in this book as well, and it was a fun, wild ride.

I did feel like this felt a little repetitive at parts, such as when other previous events were brought up from the first book (this doesn't include the book 1 summary at the beginning of the story, which I did feel was useful, especially if you read several books before jumping into the sequel). I also felt like the full sections with multiple chapters jumping back and forth between Aalis's past and the present took me out of both stories a little bit. I almost think with the length of this one, it would have been more beneficial for a separate novel prequel for Aalis, because her story had so much depth and character development.

Overall, I really thought this was a solid sequel. I loved the gore and violence of the vampires, I love seeing how Daniel keeps learning how to survive as a vampire, and I really appreciated all of the care and detail that went into the histories of the origins of all of the vampires. Highly recommend this for anyone who loves a great vampire/adventure novel.

[Mandee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying the series! My single complaint is that every single time someone is angry at a female, which is often, they use the word slut. Every time. I’ve just started Golden Blood and on the first dang page man, I had to come back and write a full review because of it.…I’m not sensitive to the word, it’s just that there are a lot of other words in English to insult a woman. Also, towards the end, I noticed way more typos/missing words!

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing else to say that it was an awesome read. Bring on the next volume!

[S.J. Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it because I wrote it, but I wrote it because I'm a huge fan of the genre and these are stories I wish I could read! Also I had too much fun with Exhumed to stop there!

[paganfrogs_bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siren, book 2 of the Golden Blood saga, the first book is entitled “Exhumed”.
Although I haven’t yet read the first book, the author has made Siren a self contained story with some recaps making it possible to read without reading the first book. But if you are anything like me, now that I’ve read this book to review for the author, I now want to read from the very beginning 🤓
Siren continues to follow the protagonist David, a scientist, and his struggles after he has been turned into a vampire.
The story was well written with good backstories with some factual history laying the path for the bloodthirsty foes.

[Brandy Brusseau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this sequel to “Exhumed”. Can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend checking out the first book before reading this one. Well-written with an excellent storyline and I loved the characters.