The Wrath of the Blood Witch: Straying Flames

by Christine Duts

One fire. One mistake. One world drowned in blood.

When Aria’s routine life in modern-day Mexico is shattered by a living flame, she is hurled back to 1709—into a brutal realm of merfolk, sirens, harpies, witches, and ancient magic. Branded a traitor and hunted for crimes she never committed, Aria must survive a world where humans are expendable and power is everything.

Her only allies are Aidan, a gentle merman healer hiding dangerous magic in his blood, and Zora, a feared witch whose past is steeped in destruction. But an even greater horror is rising: a nameless Blood Witch, born of cruelty and vengeance, who feeds on stolen bodies, wings, and souls—and is tearing reality itself apart.

As queens fall, realms collide, and a sea of blood threatens to consume everything, Aria must decide who to trust and how far she’s willing to go to stop a nightmare that refuses to stay buried.

Dark, visceral, and unforgettable, The Wrath of the Blood Witch is an epic fantasy of power, survival, and the cost of vengeance.

Content Warning: This installment includes darker themes, blood magic, and disturbing imagery.

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 27, 2026

About the author

I was born in Germany, my father being an officer in the Belgian Armed Forces stationed in Germany. I grew up in the Belgian military community, and later went to London and then Los Cabos, Mexico, where I eventually settled. I have been writing since the age of six, and I still have the very first story I ever wrote, packed in a tattered suitcase. Unfortunately I have lost the key, and I will have to cut it open to get that story.

I often find inspirations while walking on the beach, sitting on the sand and staring at the waves, or riding my motorcycle; and dreams can inspire me too. Anything can inspire me! :-) My goal is to live off my writing, because it is who I am; if I do not write, I feel like a part of me is being neglected, and I get frustrated and depressed.

I also run a small dog and cat shelter and I am currently working on building an animal sanctuary on my land.

Reviews

[LaurAnde89]

I liked the concept of the story, the plot etc but it just wasn’t executed well. The writing was very choppy, the story was all over the place and very confusing to follow. I understand it’s time travel but it just didn’t flow well. There are so many characters introduced in such a small amount of time I couldn’t keep up with who was who. The writing didn’t read smoothly, and the conversations among characters felt awkward or forced. I feel like a lot of things were explained that we would have already assumed reading the story and at the same time somethings weren’t explained enough. The writing just wasn’t for me or what I’m use to. I needed more world building and more character development and growth. I tried to continue but found myself not wanting to. I gave it 25% but ultimately I made the decision to DNF this book. I think it could have great potential, but as it is right now, I couldn’t recommend this.

Thank you booksirens for the ARC

[Hannah]

I received this book through BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.

Wrath of the Blood Witch was presented as #4 in its series but without prior reading being necessary. And while I agree that prior experience with the series wasn't necessary, it would certainly have been beneficial. I found the pacing and descriptions great. The story moved quickly without getting muddled, and the detail work had the potential to be very immersive if I hadn't been so focused on keeping characters and time periods straight. There's a solid chance I pick up this series from book 1 and read it as it was intended.

The book jumps between multiple time periods and character view points. Between that, and modern refrences, there were times the story felt a bit jarring, but that's my own cross to bear; multi generational POV has never been a favorite of mine.

Overall a solid story, with great atmosphere. Start at the beginning, avoid my mistake, and be prepared for a "happy for now" ending.

[Sophia Moser]

I received this as an ARC and here’s my honest review.
What if we take witches, harpies, sirens, and humans and put them together and one story? That’s what the blood witch was. Add in time, travel blood magic, and found family and old feuds? Drama!
I’ll admit, I was overwhelmed until about halfway through because there was so many point of views, but once all the characters came together, I was along for the ride. The bouncing back between timelines was a little hard to digest, and I don’t think that it really needed to be there, but it didn’t take away from the plot as as much as I thought.
Overall this fantasy was packed with magical creatures, kingdom drama, battles, and found-family vibes. A little all over the place at times but fun and fresh story.
I give it a 3.5 ⭐️

[Chrissi]

I liked this book, though the storyline was a tad confusing to follow with the time jumps. I think I will go back and grab the first few books in this series just to see if that improves the experience.

[Kimberly Salinas]

I loved the pacing of the story. I really enjoyed the characters. I think the writing was good.