The Blood Lure

The Hidden Land #1

by Peter Meredith

By all logic, Ella should not have magical abilities—she was born in Idaho of all places.
But once she's swept off her feet by the mysterious Eireden, this average American girl finds herself thrown into a perilous adventure that will push her to find the source of her hidden magic. Only once she does, her life takes a terrifying turn as she becomes enmeshed in a deadly, magical game where lives and hidden kingdoms hang in the balance and where no one asks who she is, instead they wonder what she is.

To be precise, she is bait.

Beautifully written, deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, The Blood Lure captures the struggle of a girl who is forced by fate into the hardest of choices: love or honor.

What the readers say about The Blood Lure:

"A beautiful love story..."

"I thought I was done with the whole "love triangle" business, but The Blood Lure brings it back nicely."

"Meredith spins a magical, adventurous tale of love that hits home..."

Genres: Fantasy

306 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Peter Meredith is the multi-genre author of an author of 35 novels in a variety of genres: Horror, zombies, post-apocalypse and Fantasy. Some of his creative work includes The Trilogy of Void, The Hidden Lands series, The Sacrificial Daughter, A Perfect America, Sprite and The Apocalypse Undead World.
Having tried his hand in real estate, as an emergency room nurse, and a CEO of a national lighting company, he has come to find that his true addiction is as an author.

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a "quieter" fairy (fey) fantasy novel when I began this book. Instead, it was a fantasy in the style of Tolkien. Which is good--I like Tolkien!!! There is a love triangle romance woven throughout. Not so much to put off those who do not enjoy romance but definitely more than you will find in The Lord of the Rings.

It begins with a young woman, raised as a human, having no idea she possesses fey abilities. Those who recognize these qualities in her manage to convince her she is not merely human and so begins her journey into their world....

If you enjoy audiobooks, I think you will enjoy listening to this one. The narration is perspicuous!! And, if you enjoy listening at a higher playback speed this narration is still very clear at double playback.

I enjoyed this book and am interested to see the continuation of the journey!!

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ella is your normal average girl well above average in the looks department. Anyway she is really sweet, caring and a little naive. She lives in the world as we know it, has wonderful parents, a job she loves and a life she enjoys. Then in one night her reality is knocked upside down and nothing is as it should be. Her parents are not her birth parents, a strange man is telling her strange stories about the world she lives in. This strange man also wants to take her to this strange land The Hiddenlands. Without to much difficulty and out of frustration at her parents/lack there of Ella decides to go to The Hiddenlands. Eirden/Gada is the strange handsome gentleman and protector of the boarders of the two worlds. He tells her she can not leave the Hiddenlands once she enters. From the moment they enter this magical land one adventure or another is constantly at their heals. Eireden is trying to help Ella figure out who and what she is, he wants to take her back to his homeland where his people the Den live. Aric is fey and they stumble upon him while having car trouble. Aric believes Ella to be Fey and he wants to take her to his lands to determine who she is. One problem leads to another they find themselves in all manner of danger as they try to determine the true heritage of Ella.
This was a fun story to read if you love fantasy worlds. Mr. Meredith creates an interesting world with interesting characters. Some of my other favorites were Furen the dwarf he was just kind of dorky and always wanted to protect Ella. Whip-whip the fairy her and her people were just the funnest little fairies.
On to the love triangle and oh what a mess. Eirden or Aric,and well I am team Eirden I like him better. Aric seems a little sneaky and not very trustworthy. Who will she end up with? Also who keeps making their lives so difficult? The biggest question of all who is Ella?
Over all a good read there were a few slow parts, and romance was a little to light for my liking. The writing is beautiful and eloquent and the story is interesting especially if you love fantasy.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing fantasy novel! It all starts with Ella, who has been raised by humans in the forbidden lands. Little does she know, but she has magic brewing inside of her. She meets two men from the hidden lands who convince her that she has some fey within her. This is where her journey begins as she is taken into the hidden lands. Is she fey or human? The book revolves around this question. It has a love triangle in the book, but not overly done. I don't like a lot of romance in my books and I still really enjoyed this one!

Fred does an awesome job with the narration! There were many times I felt like I was a part of the story while listening!

[Sara Smolarek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook version of this.

Ihave only recently begun listening to audiobooks, due to vision issues. I am also new to Peter Meredith's books, having found them through another fan.

I like to read a variety of genres, and although I love the notion of elves, fairies, dwarves, and the like, I often find that fantasy seems to be written only for a somewhat less mature audience. The Blood Lure: The Hidden Lands Book 1, I am very happy to say, is not. I don't want to say it is written for adults because that brings up images of erotica, and that is not the case. Although there is definitely some romance, it is not explicit. Maybe I should say there is a more "grownup" feel than I am used to finding in fantasy, which to me is a good thing.

Descriptions are clear, without being too flowery. The play-by-play of the fight scenes is extremely well-done. I often have trouble following and visualizing such things, but not in this case. I could really see myself right there in the cities and forests with the characters, who are very likeable and engaging - even the dentist! (Now that's a REAL fantasy, lol!)

I cannot comment on proofing or editing because I only had an audiobook version of this.

My take on the audio part:
I was a little surprised that the narrator has a British accent, given that the initial setting is Washington state, in the US. That was ok though, after the initial exposure. I did feel that the narrator started out a little stiff or formal, almost as if he was doing Shakespeare on a stage. Once he got into it, it flowed much better.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed the story, and will definitely be picking up Book 2, because I want to know who Ella ends up with, what the secret of her backstory is, and because Book 1 is a cliffhanger!

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable beginning to a series. I thought I was done with the whole "love triangle" business, but The Feylands brings it back nicely.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story that most of wish for--a hidden, magical world just within reach. But as with all wishes there are strings attached.

[Kris Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It drew me in from the beginning and I could not stop turning the pages. I look forward to reading Book Two.

[Michael Keller]

Elves and fairies, goblins and fey, oh my!

Eleanor Belmont met a man, but not a man. She could tell by looking at him that he wasn't human but couldn't really see what he was. "I am Fey," he told her. But what exactly that was, she couldn't quite grasp. Then he told her that she was also Fey, and that did it. She was human with human parents not anything like this pointy-eared stranger. Yet there was something about him . . . something not quite right. Then another stranger, a bum that she had recently befriended, began a fight with the Fey, who said his name was Aric Anoria. The other introduced himself as Gada (meaning 'nobody'). Things became puzzling after that.

Ella, Aric and Gada are the main characters in this fantasy adventure. Magic, rules, and fairytales have set the board and placed the pieces at odds with the others - goblins, ogres and a demon. The board portrays the Hidden Lands, where magic and mysticism are the rule, staying apart is the law. Something is stirring the goblins to action, bringing them to fight against the Den. The Den are enforcers of the law, keeping the Fey to the Hidden Lands and the goblins at bay. The Den are magic users and warriors. Long ago, the Fey were Elven, but a split separated the two until they were different races. Strange and enchanting are the Hidden Lands and the races that inhabit them. Now something is coming, something powerful and new. Something that will change their world forever.

The story of Aric, Ella, Whip-wip (the Fairy) and Gada has begun, the stage is set for a mighty battle. The performers are unsure and puzzled, with no script to follow. But the die is cast and the players are staged. Let the games begin!

[E.D. Robson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of this author's earliest books he acknowledges his respect for Tolkien and despite an original and interesting start, it shows as more of the fantasy elements are introduced. However, this feature does not intrude on what I found a fast paced and entertaining tale based on Ella, a modern American girl forced to flee to a magical world and the romantic and political dilemmas she encounters there. I found the cliff-hanger ending a bit too blatant for my liking, but as the first in four reasonably short volumes I will probably continue with the full box set.

[Donna Polston · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fey

Awesome fantasy story, I have had this story in my kindle for quite some time now and as Peter is one of my favorite authors I finally got the chance to read this book and did it in three days.It was a great read. Lots of action and mystery and great characters that you will come to love. Most especially Whip wip the wee 🧚‍♂️ fairy. I could hardly put it down .

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Adventure

I liked the characters and story. I really want to read all three books in a row. This book is for those who enjoy the stories of Tolkien and Terry Brooks with long odds, good people, bad situations and dwarves, elves, knights and goblins.

[Veronik Durocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good!

Even if fantasy is really not my cup of tea, I really had fun reading it. Good trilogy. Try it!

[Lisa Kissee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Feylands by Peter Meredith Ella is boring but beautiful. In her 30s, she works, has a circle of friends, talks with her parents regularly, and flosses. Her life is dull. But then one night, a mysterious man tells her she is something more. Soon she is swept up into a magical land where she faces both dangers and beauties she never thought possible.
This story started off intriguing. I liked that the main heroine was an adult, and well into adulthood. She has already lived a chunk of life so she has a frame of reference for right and wrong, bad and good situations. Once she meets Gada (who we learn very late in the book is called Eireden but you’re told this in the description of the book so I don’t feel bad mentioning it here), Ella’s world starts to unfurl. She has questions for her parents and she is saddened by the answers.
Then the two travel to the Feylands where Ella meets many fantastical beings. She befriends a little fairy who she calls Wipwip. Furan the dwarf is on a quest to find a very rare flower and Ella will do her best to help him. Later on she meets some elf warriors such as Aurok and Generi. There’s also evil beings (most of which are nameless) such as ogres, goblins, and seven evil horse riders. Overall, it had a very Tolkienesque feel to it. While this made it easy to slip into the story, it also made it predictable.
There are very few female characters. For the longest time, it is just Ella and of course every man adores her in some way. Some fuss is made about her virginity early on. Wipwip is female, but not treated as such. Generi is also female, and a warrior scout. I very much liked her character… until she ended up in a love triangle. That was a bit cliched. There’s a few more but largely, only Ella is plot important and she spends most of her time being carried by one male character or another from scene to scene. She does eventually step up a bit and has to do a little slaying, but it is putting down those nameless, evil beings that are already laying out on the ground.
The romance is strong in this story but it also felt predictable. At first, I thought it was sweet. Ella finally has some stirrings for a man and he seems like a worthy catch. But then it becomes this long, drawn out affair. Eventually we get that love triangle, and then a quadrangle, which I felt was just too many angles without any satisfaction. I suppose it was to be dramatic and perhaps tragic, but I yawned through much of the romance. In the beginning, the romance added to the plot, then it became a distraction from the plot, and sadly, it finally became the plot.
Gada/Eireden is our tragic hero. Perhaps half way through the book, we learn that ‘Gada’ is not his name but rather a caste designation. Eireden did something in the past that greatly dishonored himself so he was demoted by society to the lowest of lows, the Gada. Much was made about honor and this lowest caste and I just couldn’t get into it. The whole thing seemed overdone, over dramatic to me.
We keep being told that there is this horrible evil lead by a powerful demon. However, there are only a few fight scenes. There isn’t much military planning or coordinating going on. Essentially, we have this massive horde of nameless evil for the good guys to slaughter… and we got to spend time on Ella’s love life or Gada’s irked pride. I wanted to know more about this powerful demon and his motivations. I wanted bad guys with names and personal vendettas. Basically, I wanted more depth to what I had hoped would be the central plot of the story.
I really wanted to get into this book. It’s narrated by a personal favorite narrator, I listened to the audio clip and liked it, and I read other reviews and liked what I saw. I typically quite enjoy epic fantasy. I went into this novel fully expecting to be entertained. Sadly, this book was not the book for me.
I received a copy of this audiobook from the narrator at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
Narration: Fred Wolinsky did a great job with this cast of characters. His voice for Ella was quite believable and he had a nice, firm, strong voice for Eireden. I liked that he employed several accents for the various types of beings. His accent for Furan was great and his child-like voice for the little fairy Wipwip was spot on.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ella is boring but beautiful. In her 30s, she works, has a circle of friends, talks with her parents regularly, and flosses. Her life is dull. But then one night, a mysterious man tells her she is something more. Soon she is swept up into a magical land where she faces both dangers and beauties she never thought possible.

This story started off intriguing. I liked that the main heroine was an adult, and well into adulthood. She has already lived a chunk of life so she has a frame of reference for right and wrong, bad and good situations. Once she meets Gada (who we learn very late in the book is called Eireden but you’re told this in the description of the book so I don’t feel bad mentioning it here), Ella’s world starts to unfurl. She has questions for her parents and she is saddened by the answers.

Then the two travel to the Feylands where Ella meets many fantastical beings. She befriends a little fairy who she calls Wipwip. Furan the dwarf is on a quest to find a very rare flower and Ella will do her best to help him. Later on she meets some elf warriors such as Aurok and Generi. There’s also evil beings (most of which are nameless) such as ogres, goblins, and seven evil horse riders. Overall, it had a very Tolkienesque feel to it. While this made it easy to slip into the story, it also made it predictable.

There are very few female characters. For the longest time, it is just Ella and of course every man adores her in some way. Some fuss is made about her virginity early on. Wipwip is female, but not treated as such. Generi is also female, and a warrior scout. I very much liked her character… until she ended up in a love triangle. That was a bit cliched. There’s a few more but largely, only Ella is plot important and she spends most of her time being carried by one male character or another from scene to scene. She does eventually step up a bit and has to do a little slaying, but it is putting down those nameless, evil beings that are already laying out on the ground.

The romance is strong in this story but it also felt predictable. At first, I thought it was sweet. Ella finally has some stirrings for a man and he seems like a worthy catch. But then it becomes this long, drawn out affair. Eventually we get that love triangle, and then a quadrangle, which I felt was just too many angles without any satisfaction. I suppose it was to be dramatic and perhaps tragic, but I yawned through much of the romance. In the beginning, the romance added to the plot, then it became a distraction from the plot, and sadly, it finally became the plot.

Gada/Eireden is our tragic hero. Perhaps half way through the book, we learn that ‘Gada’ is not his name but rather a caste designation. Eireden did something in the past that greatly dishonored himself so he was demoted by society to the lowest of lows, the Gada. Much was made about honor and this lowest caste and I just couldn’t get into it. The whole thing seemed overdone, over dramatic to me.

We keep being told that there is this horrible evil lead by a powerful demon. However, there are only a few fight scenes. There isn’t much military planning or coordinating going on. Essentially, we have this massive horde of nameless evil for the good guys to slaughter… and we got to spend time on Ella’s love life or Gada’s irked pride. I wanted to know more about this powerful demon and his motivations. I wanted bad guys with names and personal vendettas. Basically, I wanted more depth to what I had hoped would be the central plot of the story.

I really wanted to get into this book. It’s narrated by a personal favorite narrator, I listened to the audio clip and liked it, and I read other reviews and liked what I saw. I typically quite enjoy epic fantasy. I went into this novel fully expecting to be entertained. Sadly, this book was not the book for me.

I received a copy of this audiobook from the narrator at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

Narration: Fred Wolinsky did a great job with this cast of characters. His voice for Ella was quite believable and he had a nice, firm, strong voice for Eireden. I liked that he employed several accents for the various types of beings. His accent for Furan was great and his child-like voice for the little fairy Wipwip was spot on.

[Got My Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to begin by saying that I enjoyed the story in this book, I really did…

We start the story with Gada, and I liked him right away. I was hoping that he wouldn’t turn out to be a bad guy. I also liked Ella, but felt like we didn’t get to know her as well despite her being a pov character. We didn’t really get to know Aric, the other guy in the love triangle, at all.

Which brings me to the worst part of the story: InstaLove, plus Love Triangle, plus absolutely no real development of the “romance” = 3 strikes & you’re out on that aspect of the book. I wasn’t really sure why she & Gada were “in love,” but I liked their interactions anyway. I was completely clueless as to why she might “love” Aric. Unfortunately, this all took up a lot of space in the story without any real payoff.

The ending was a giant cliffhanger.

Cautions: Native Americans might find some of his comments about the earlier inhabitants of America to be insulting. / There was a brief non-explicit description of a multi-person sexual encounter. It may have been rape or prostitution (it was never made clear); but, more importantly, it was taking place in front of children.

NARRATION: Sadly, I didn’t like it at all. The phrasing and rhythm seemed very odd to me. I really disliked listening on regular speed (but was asked to do so when I accepted a review copy). Even when I checked to see what 1.25 speed sounded like, it wasn’t great. There were several mispronunciations as well. I took a half star off my rating (which would have been 3.5*) because it was so hard to listen to.

I received this book free in return for an honest review, courtesy of Audiobook Jukebox.

[Absurd Book Nerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning of an epic fantasy, in The Feylands we meet Ella, Gada, and Aric. Ella is a human (or is she) from modern day America. She is thrown into the into the world of the hidden lands after a series of events that bring her into the presence of the Gada (a Den) and Aric (a Fey), both of which find themselves inexplicitly drawn to Ella. They are constantly being dogged by danger as they travel, and the excitement just doesn't stop. Along the way, we even get to meet fairies and the always playful Whip-Whip; plus the loveably awkward dwarf, Furen. This is just the first book in the series and ends in a cliffhanger. You better bet I'll be ready book #2, ASAP!

Fred Wolinsky's narration was spot on. I'll admit that at first I was not sure about his style, but after the first fifteen minutes I couldn't imagine any other narrator. I hope they release book #2 on audiobook soon, with Wolinsky as the narrator of course!

So for all my fantasy loving friends out there, go get a copy of this one. It's definitely one you will want to add to your library.

Originally posted at The Absurd Book Nerd. I received this audiobook for free in return for my honest review.

[Absurd Book Nerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning of an epic fantasy, in The Feylands we meet Ella, Gada, and Aric. Ella is a human (or is she) from modern day America. She is thrown into the into the world of the hidden lands after a series of events that bring her into the presence of the Gada (a Den) and Aric (a Fey), both of which find themselves inexplicitly drawn to Ella. They are constantly being dogged by danger as they travel, and the excitement just doesn't stop. Along the way, we even get to meet fairies and the always playful Whip-Whip; plus the loveably awkward dwarf, Furen. This is just the first book in the series and ends in a cliffhanger. You better bet I'll be ready book #2, ASAP!

Fred Wolinsky's narration was spot on. I'll admit that at first I was not sure about his style, but after the first fifteen minutes I couldn't imagine any other narrator. I hope they release book #2 on audiobook soon, with Wolinsky as the narrator of course!

So for all my fantasy loving friends out there, go get a copy of this one. It's definitely one you will want to add to your library.

Originally posted at The Absurd Book Nerd. I received this audiobook for free in return for my honest review.

[Jan farnworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is Ella a Fey or a Human? This is the central part of the story. You really get involved in the story line because you want that question answered. I love the added parts of the goblins, the fairies helping fight the goblins, and most of all how Gada the Dishonored gains his honor back right at the very end of the book.

The ending left me completly blown away because they struggle and claw their way to the Feylands to find out if Ella is human as the Fey character Aric thinks she is to only discover that it was all a trap. It completely left me in shock and amazement. It was like all the blood shed and struggles were almost for nothing. I totally want to read the next book and see what will happen to Ella now that she knows what she knows. I do wish though that the answer would have come much earlier in the book rather than right at the very end.

Rating : 3.5 frogs

Content: A bit of sexual tension between characters, but nothing over the top; lots of blood shed and violence.

Source: Given the book by the author for an honest review

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

About a third through and loving it.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book Loved the back and forth in the love triangle. Loved the battles and the fairies and the creatures. I even loved the dwarf, Furen the "Beareded Pin cushion" On to the second book!

[William Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good read. The characters are developed and a good plot.

I think it drops off too fast at the end, but that's probably for another book.

I'd recommend it.

[Sara Cleveland · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing that drove me crazy was the misuse of exorcise and exercise. But it was a great story.