The Bleeders

Daemons of London #1

by Michaela Haze

Soho barmaid, Fia Taylor, unwittingly hires a hitman to kill the two murderers of her sister Melanie - only to find that Henry Blaire, the man she hired, is a centuries old incubus with a lust for human life and a mission to end anyone that knows his secret. Fia must run for her life. Will she survive? That is not the question...why does she end up in an insane asylum, muttering only his name? That is the more pressing matter...

Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Paranormal Romance

201 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 2010

About the author

Michaela Haze is a dog lover, mum of two, and a writer of paranormal, urban fantasy romance. In her spare time, she eats copious amounts of Japanese food.

Instagram: @michaelahaze
Facebook: www.facebook.com/theofficialmichaelahaze
Twitter: @michaelahaze
Website: www.michaelahaze.com

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled to rate this book and I'm still not entirely sure I made the right decision. But I found that in the end I couldn't give a higher rating to a novel that is so full of some of the most basic mistakes like spelling/grammatical errors, repeated words and clumsily worded sentences. There were a lot of problems with this book but nearly every single one could have been easily solved with some good editing. I felt like they probably just gave the writing a quick once over and didn't thoroughly examine it - if they had, it would have been a much better book.

Michaela Haze has the potential to be a great novel writer, I really liked her style of writing that was quite dark, honest and sometimes rather grotesquely beautiful (like the way she describes the self-harming scenes). I also enjoyed the story and found the dreary, Misfits-style settings and characters to be a refreshing change to the usually sparkly prettiness that is the paranormal romance genre. Haze's characters are all imperfect, they are poor, rough and they smoke cheap cigarettes. The setting she creates is also very bleak but very effective for it. There's a melancholy feeling to the whole novel that I think really worked well.

However, amid all this darkness, I kept coming across more and more stupid mistakes in the book and it's so off-putting when the author's building up the tension to a very crucial part of the story and suddenly... two words are the wrong way around in a sentence. So, I have to stop in my tension-building tracks and read the sentence again to try and make sense of it. Then, when I've done that, the mood's gone... all because of the bloody lousy editing. Is it too much to ask for a proof read before you publish a novel?

I don't blame the author and I think she has so much more to give but unfortunately was let down by her publishers. The Bleeders is worth a read and I will definitely look out for more of Michaela Haze's work in the future, I just wish silly errors weren't standing in the way of this book earning a greater amount of praise.

[Natalie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried reading this one before but didn’t get past chapter four. I just hadn’t been in the mood. Tried again and it was fine. Fia and Henry were sweet, the story was interesting. The blood drinking was where things got weird. Felt sorry for Chris. Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

[Casey Ann Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I sit in my flat in London at 4AM after just finishing “The Bleeders” I just want to say before I actually start properly reviewing this book that this is one of the best books I have read in a LONG time and a book that actually has left me thinking and wanting more!
There might be a few spoilers but I will try my best!. At the start of the book it has you hooked. The pace, the tone the way the characters talk especially Sophia aka Fia. She is not your typical damsel in distress. She is not your typical girl who falls in love and it's happily ever after, just like most lead girls end up in paranormal romances novels. Her sister has died and Fia is going through all these emotions and trying to block it out by drinking accessibly and smoking till her lungs are as black as night. But that all changes when  she meets Henry a hit man she's hired to kill her sisters murders...

The story starts of in a mental institution with Fia a patient in her room talking to a doctor she calls Henry. Behind this man is her Daemon, Henry who she is in love with and her dead sister they are... lets say ghosts or Illusions she can only see. This had me defiantly hooked. I think starting the story off in this way is going to have you wondering through out the book how the hell did she end up in there? It also makes you question through out the whole book is Henry actually real or is it just Fia's imagination trying to get over her sisters death in some way.

One of my favorite parts in the book was actually the part were Fia becomes a “Bleeder” (hence the title of the book) The Bleeders are humans who kill Daemons and drink their blood you can also get addicted to it. I have never heard anything like this in any paranormal books I have read and thought this was a fantastic twist to the book.

The relationship between Henry and Fia is so Love/Hate. One minute she hates him then one minute she cant get enough. Every scene they had together I was shouting at the book “JUST KISS JUST KISS” so much sexual tension it was unreal. These two are defiantly one of my favorite couples I have come across in the books I have read. The one scene that had me jump out of my seat was when them two actually do the deed I had to put the book down after that scene and catch my breath!

It is amazingly written. Fia is a confused character who in the end figures everything out. I thought the idea of a Henry drinking blood but not being a Vampire but a Daemon was really cool, and the twists and turns in the plot kept me guessing on what was going to happen in the end. I did not see any of it coming it was SO unpredictable and had me crying every third chapter, which always makes a good book even better.

I want to say that Michaela Haze is a FANTASTIC writer and I truly hope she writes a second book following “The Bleeders” because it's truly amazing. I actually have nothing bad to say about this book and that is shocking coming from me XD. So now its 5am after writing this review I think I shall go to bed goodnight. Buy the book You will not be disappointed!

[Gemma F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author, Michaela Haze for sending me a review copy of this book.

I spent the day reading The Bleeders and I have to say it intrigued me as it consisted of a story about Incubuses in London. The story of Sophia and Henry really intrigued and pulled me in me as the protagonist, Sophia had undergone so much after her sister's death. I liked how the story was separated into the past and present and how it flowed well. This book definitely made me want more and was a little confusing at times – due to the protagonist's mind frame.

However, as the book progresses, we got to see what happened in the past which led to Sophia's meeting with Henry, the Incubus and their story. I liked the dark-fantasy-romance part of it and the world of the Daemons in London.

Looking forward to reading Book 2 :)

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

www.booksforcompany.com
This is a book l started not knowing anything about the author and pretty much nothing about the book but from what the blurb said. The blurb is the sort of blurb l love, one that leaves you guessing and wondering what the book is about. A blurb should tell you as little as possible but still leave you wanting to read the book. This book did that!
The main character, Sophie is a great main character that l straight away felt sorry for. The start of the book is not something l expected but straight away made me want to find out what has happened and how she got into the situation she is in. Sadly the further l got into the book the more l started to be confused by her, her feelings and what had happened. One minute she hated Henry and the next minute she loved him. This kind of made me feel like the author didn’t know whether to make Sophie love or hate him. Because of this l felt everything was the wrong way around, l felt like l knew Sophie better at the beginning and the further it got into the book the more she confused me. The ending was really good and this made me think even better of the book. It definitely showed off Michaela’s writing skills.
My main problem with this book is how at some points it felt very random and certain sentences were unnecessary. It seemed a bit like ‘rambling’ in the nicest way. For example there were times when certain things needed to be explained and while being explained some things were repeated. Sometimes it was repeated but explained in a different way and other times it felt like l was reading a line l had already read. In other places l felt there wasn’t enough explaining and l often didn’t understand what was going on.
Another huge thing with this book which meant the storyline didn’t get to live up the potential was the editing. I believe this is quite a new publisher starting up and maybe this book was a bit rushed to get out there but it has numerous places where there were mistakes which were easy to edit. These mistakes, for me, ruined a lot of the book. I find it impossible to get lost in a book when there are mistakes in a lot of places. Simple things such as spellings, wrong words and mixed up sentences.
I think with a little bit of editing and cutting of certain parts which were a bit unnecessary then this book could easily be up there in my top reads but for this reason l just can’t give it over 4 stars. Michaela is a great author who is very creative and added great twists to this book making it unique amongst the huge amount of paranormal books out of there.
Overall this is a great debut book, Michaela has a lot of potential and l will be looking out for more of her books. It’s sad that the editing let this book down as it really is a great new twist on the paranormal world but l can see that people may not give this a go because of the mistakes. All l can say is this a book you should definitely give a go. It mixes the paranormal world with the world of a girl struggling with depression while adding little ‘spices’ throughout the book.

[Olga Miret · Rating 3 out of 5]

For lovers of paranormal romance with dark touches and a subtext of mental illness I write this review as a member of Rosie's Book Review Team. Thanks to Rosie (check here if you’re an author seeking reviews) and to the author for sending me an ARC copy of this book that I freely chose to review.
When the author contacted me, she made a very good case for me to read and review this book. A book where the protagonist self-harmed, had mental health problems and believed she was in love with an incubus and it was mutual, seemed very appropriate for me. I am not a big reader of paranormal books (I love horror, but have found that a lot of paranormal books focus more on romance and erotica, both genres, particularly erotica, that I don’t usually read). Unfortunately for me, the book had a fair amount of paranormal elements, well, the version of paranormal that I’m not so fond of and that outweighed (at least for me) the other aspects.
The story is told in several parts, always in the first person, from the point of view of Sofia (she prefers to be called Fia, and insists on it for much of the book). In the first part, we meet her when she is at a mental health facility and she is introduced to a new doctor that reminds her of a man from her past, Henry. At the insistence of this new doctor (she seems to be experiencing hallucinations, as she sees the Henry from her past and her sister, Melanie, who died some time back, while she is conversing with the doctor), she starts telling the story of how she got there.
Hers seems to be a story of grief and revenge. Sofia’s sister, Melanie, died in suspicious circumstances (of a Heroin overdose but the details are not straightforward), and she blames two men whom she is determined to get revenge on. To that effect, she visits a strange character, Henry. The rest of this part is the story of her obsession (that seems mutual) with this man she knows little about, but the more she learns, the weirder it gets. Sofia is grieving for her sister’s death, and self-harms (this part is graphic and realistic), smokes, drinks, hardly eats and seems to barely function. Her life is on a downward spiral until she meets Henry. And then things get… well, much worse. I know some readers don’t appreciate first person narrations, and although I normally don’t have any issues with them, this one I had difficulty with. Although I empathise with the protagonist’s predicament, her sudden love for a guy who is, at best a contract killer, and at worse… a demon, I did not find it that easy to understand (I know is standard fare in the genre, but perhaps that is one of the reasons why I don’t read it, as I find the suspension of disbelief a bit beyond me). Although we are not told her age, to me she seemed to act younger than the rest of the details of the story indicated she was. Perhaps it is to do with something she herself comments later in the book. She states she cannot remember who she was before all changed and we are not given any indication of the type of person she was, making it difficult to create a clear psychological picture in our minds. Of course, that is not helped by her mental state. Her constant mentions of the way the man looks, how attractive he is, his mahogany hair (I almost stopped reading when I read about it for the umpteenth time), and also the way she always describes herself by contemplating herself in a mirror and never just talks (but mutters, scowls, groans, hisses…), and uses adjectives and adverbs randomly (and some wrongly) made it a hard read for me. (It made me think of much of the advice written about how to improve one’s writing that needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.) I appreciate the author’s note saying that she did the correcting herself and that this was the second edition, but it would benefit from some professional editing. (I have noticed that the book has now a new cover, so it might be that there is a more recent version that has corrected some of these issues).
Part 2 shows us (after a brief interlude in the present day) Sofia a year later when Henry has left her life and she has become a Bleeder. I won’t describe the entire plot in detail, but let’s say that Henry isn’t quite gone and she ends up near Doncaster and…
Part 3. We are back in the mental health institution and Sofia makes some interesting discoveries about the doctor she has been talking to that make her question her insanity.
If you follow my blog and my reviews, you’ll know that I am always intrigued by narrators, especially unreliable narrators, and due to her mental state, Sofia is very unreliable. I have mentioned my difficulties with the writing style (that might have been solved and I know some of the issues are personal, so, do check the book and see what you think). It is difficult to talk about the characters as everything is filtered through Sofia’s disturbed mind. I have already talked about her. Henry, well, due to her adoration it is difficult to get any clear sense of what he is like (a dark hero, I guess). I liked his friend William much better. He is politically incorrect and has a sense of humour, something that gives us a bit of breathing space from the emotionally charged story that dominates most of the book. Some aspects of the plot are intriguing, and the UK locations and the idea of folds in space where our world connects to ‘Hell’ I found interesting, but I felt that the book would be better appreciated by younger readers and those more interested in the romantic and paranormal aspects of the story.
From the point of view of the mental health issues, I think the book might be difficult to read for people who self-harm and who have lost somebody recently. Some of the descriptive writing is well achieved, especially when Sofia finds herself lost in the woods, and the first person writing makes us share in her confusion and fear. As a psychiatrist, I must clarify that some of the events described would never take place in a hospital, but this is a novel.
From reading the reviews I know that many readers love this novel and the series, so don’t let me put you off. I would advise you to check a sample of the book and to try it if you enjoy paranormal novels with a big dose of romance and you don’t mind first-person narrations. Ah, there is some sexual content, although not extremely explicit (and it does not take up much of the book).
 
 

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this is one of the darkest, sexiest, romantic novels ever. It is definitely not suitable for younger readers. The Bleeders deals with death and addictions but is dealt in a practical matter than helps the story move forward. It wasn’t just added just because; there was a perfectly good reason for it. I loved Sophia’s character. She was so complex and even if she is addicted to Henry, I didn’t find her annoying like I do with some characters. I like how the story went from present day Sophia then to Sophia telling us about her past it was a nice change of pace through the novel. The way Michaela ended the story made me go “What!! I NEED more” I can’t wait to see what is in store for The Human Herders.
If you are a fan of darker novels you will for sure enjoy The Bleeders.

[Fangs for the Fantasy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sophia was a barmaid in London. She had a life, friends, a job, a family

And then her sister died. Sophia fell into a deep, dark depression to which she is sure only vengeance against her sister’s murderers can possibly release her.


The hitman she reaches out to is a daemon - and though he is able and willing to do what she asks, in doing so she risks dragging herself, mind and soul, even further into the darkness

This book is a somewhat hard one to review - which is appropriate because it is a hard book to read.


The book is… powerful. Powerful is a good word: because it’s not fun. It’s not an easy story to read. It isn’t packed with action or even, for that much of plot or world building. Both are certainly there and create the setting and background for Sophia, but this book is about Sophia and her journey


Sophia does not lead an easy life. She suffers from extreme mental illness - depression, schizophrenia. She is pulled down by alcoholism. Most of this is triggered by the tragic death of her pregnant sister and her inability to get over this as well as her rage at the men she considers responsible for this. Sophia is a deeply damaged and hurting person and a lot of the book examines this. Her struggle with her mother, her struggle with mental illness, her alcoholism, self-harming, pushing friends away who care for her, her house denuded of all furniture for fear of invoking her sister’s memory while still maintaining a shrine to her sister.


The book is told from two different time periods - the present when Sophia is confined to a mental institution, suffering from some severe hallucinations and recounting her past while plagued by delusions and hallucinations. The other is the actual past she’s describing, drowning in depression and pain. Both are stark, brutal and very powerful


This continues when she find Henry and she starts to move out of her pain - and I admit I have a big note here screaming “gah, magical healing penis!” because she seems to be getting over her issues quickly. I then crossed it out - partly because of the woo-woo, but mainly because this is the next stage of her rollercoaster ride: obsession with him, abandonment, another addiction and hitting a whole new low of rock bottom as she transmutes her issues from one to another which does an excellent job of subverting the idea of romance healing all mental health issues


I also really like how even the base of her tragedy - her sister’s death and even her mother’s callousness are all just a bit more complex than she initially presents in her complete obsession. I like that, I like that things aren’t as simple as her angry, hurting mind portrays and that there are layers to her experiences which go beyond simplistic villains who hurt her.


Her obsession over Henry leads her to another, far darker place, one of addiction and desperation and again there’s a lot of interesting layers here. On the surface it feels almost empowered, she’s strong and capable and determined, she has friends, she knows what she wats and aggressively pursues it. But her friends are fellow addicts and she would willingly discard any of them if she had to. Ultimately when she is not feeding her addiction her life feels empty and broken and she hits a terrible level which shows just how hollow her apparent strength is. It’s teased out in excellent scene after scene as addiction, obsession and delusion combine toxically for her and bring her down again and again.


Of course, there is a supernatural world - particularly with Henry. An incubus, a creature driven to feed on people, a man trying to find a moral way to do so; a moral way to kill as best he can. Alongside him are appearances from William which sets up a somewhat cliched, old-as-the-genre moral monster vs immoral monster. We have an interesting hierarchy among the demons which suggests a wider and deeper world which may be explored once Sophia moves on to a different chapter of her life. But in this book I think the woo-woo is more an introduction and a backdrop to Sophia and her origin than anything else. Effectively, with relatively few modifications, I think changing Henry to any dangerous man Sophia was obsessed with and her addiction to heroin instead of magical blood and we’d still be telling a story that is very similar to this one - but it wouldn’t be a story that led to what is clearly coming in the series


Read More

[Poulami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on Daydreaming Book.

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review.*

This blurb of this book was quite intriguing which prompted me to pick up the book when the author requested it and I'm glad to say it didn't disappoint. I didn't know what to expect from this book and I went in blind not knowing that I was in for a wild ride.

Sophia or Fia isn't the same after her sister's death and the only thing she wants is revenge by killing the two men she suspects for her sister's murder. There is something off about Henry, the hitman she hires for the killings and it doesn't take her much time to figure the truth out. Henry is not a human, he is an incubus feeding on the life force of people he murders and she is horrified when she realises that she is actually attracted to him. It's up to Fia to turn the other direction or face the truth.

The Bleeders was indeed an intriguing read. I was engaged from the very first page which remained so till I turned the last one. This book starts with Fia in an asylum which managed to catch me off-guard and my interest was peaked. As the story proceeds, the readers are kept guessing whether the incidents that are happening are even real or not.

Fia's backstory was another interesting aspect of this book which we begin to learn from her own mouth when she in the asylum. Fia never recovered from her sister's death, to cope with all the emotions she was feeling, she took refuge in alcohol. Meeting Henry wasn't a life-changing event for her, instead, it gave her another thing to be addicted to. When she learns Henry's true nature, that he is an incubus, a daemon, and after the first few moments of horrifying disgust, she doesn't shy away from him. She finally finds a refuge in him as he finds in her. 

“Once you realise you love someone is when it is all over.”

Their story was indeed a little strange but addicting as ever. Henry although being an incubus never took the life of an innocent. His professional job as a hitman worked in favour for him till Fia found out his secret. Henry tried to stay away from her because of his touch was life-threatening but with Fia, he wanted to break all the rules. I loved their whirlwind romance but too soon to end with things took a totally different turn and I was totally not expecting that twist.  

Another one of the interesting aspects of this book was when Fia became a "bleeder". The bleeders were the ones who survived by drinking the blood of the daemons. She never accepted the fact that she was actually an addict then and an addict now, just the major ingredients differed. The story ended on a pretty intriguing note, Fia is still in the asylum but she realises something big, something that could change her life. I definitely can;t wait to find out more!!

Overall, The Bleeders was a great read! The plot kept me glued to the book and I couldn't put it down and the characters were as interesting as ever. The writing was beautiful and easy to read and it was past-faced throughout the book. I can't wait to find out what happens next in this series!

Recommend it?

Yes!

[BookSLoth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bloody good

Despite it having a few typos, it's not nearly enough to distract from enjoying this book. I love the world-building that the author has built within not only this series but has woven throughout her Daemon-related books. This story was a fun read because it was unexpected in the direction it took. Though there was times that Fits drive me crazy because she was all over the place, her attitude seemed to fit with her addictive personality. I'm really looking forward to the next book.

[Squeak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark!
Check your trigger warnings before reading this book.
After reading a few of her books. I tried figuring out an order to this world she has built and found this to be the beginning. This was so much darker and more twisted than her books I have read to this point. The unreliable narrator make the beginning and end of this feel so difficult of what is real and not. I was so engrossed in this. Feeling for these characters and at times wanting to smack the main on the back of her head. I am curious how the rest of this series will go.

[Jennifer Bryner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bleeders is a psychological thriller in which a young woman tells her story of how she hired a daemon to kill her sister's killers. She falls in love with him, and after learning he is a daemon, she wants to become one herself.
Does she? What happens to her? Does she get her daemon lover? How does her story end?
This is only the first book in a 3 part series. I liked this book, and I give it 4 stars.
I would also like to read books 2 & 3.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bleeders is a novel about a girl that falls deeply in love. So deeply that she goes bonkers. Or does she? I have to say that this was unique. It was different I really liked the love story of Henry and Sophia. I loved that he was willing to give her up even though he loved her.

I really liked Sophia also, I loved that she didn’t want to share her thoughts because she didn’t want people to think that she was crazy, because eventually if people tell you, you’re crazy all the time, you will start believing it. I really liked that even though she lost her sister, she wanted to bring her murderers to justice. If she didn’t I think the story would have been completely different.

I also really liked the plot. I loved that flashback effect. I loved how the novel started and ended with her being in a mental institution. I also really liked the storyteller effect. And a lot of the details made the story come to life! There were moments where I was laughing and moments when I cried. The emotions that are described are so pure and the description is just incredible!

The ending was totally awesome. I love that that happened (I don’t want to give it away!) I didn’t think that would happen. I also really liked that through out the novel, if you are listening to what to doctors are saying, that maybe Sophia is making everything up. Is she making everything up? That all that happened was just that a story? Because she is the storyteller.

[Alison Haysman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't wait for the sequal

[Amanda]

DNF for now, but it is something I would most likely return to for another try.

[Coco.V]

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