New Blood

Amanusa is a half-English, half-Romanian healer/hedge-witch living in a small cottage in the forest in Transylvania. When she was a child her family was killed by the rebels roaming the hills, rebels who still plague her, demanding she tend to their wounds after she learned her skills from the former local wise-woman.

Into her life stumbles Jax, an Englishman and bound servant to the last blood sorceress who, before she was killed in the 1600's, commanded him to search for her apprentice/successor and give her the knowledge she placed in his head. He has been searching for some two centuries. Blood sorcery has a dark reputation, but Jax explains that what most people believe is untrue; it's a magic that works with life and for life, and show more any blood used is minimal and must be freely given. Amanusa does not trust men, due to her horrific past with the rebels, but she no longer wants to be prey to the same vicious men--and she also wants justice for her murdered family.

Together, she and Jax face the rapacious rebels and ruthless Austrian Inquisitors--and the danger of the spreading Dead Zones with their mechanical creatures--and flee to Paris, hoping to claim a position among the Conclave of magic users and help them, despite their hatred of blood sorcerers, to save them all from the Dead Zones.

Both Jax and Amanusa grow as characters and their actions and relationship is fascinating and feels authentic. Despite both being damaged, their hearts are good and they both continue to fight for each other and for what is right. Jax's role as a bound servant to blood sorceresses makes for a very different angle than the typical hero. And it is Amanusa who is the focus and the power in their relationship. The secondary characters are all interesting, too, although a few of the villains tend toward the two-dimensional. The world-building is solid, making for a strong fantasy plot that should please those who wish for a more complex story than just the romance.

I was extremely happy to have stumbled upon this book in the bookstore. It was a very satisfying read, full of danger and adventure and magic and a few steampunk elements, as well as a good romance. I was happy to learn that a sequel is in the works as I did not want the book to end and because there is clearly much more to explore in the world and the events and between the two main characters and their friends. show less

Although Gail Dayton has once again done some fantastic worldbuilding, New Blood is a more simplistic book than her One Rose trilogy. The main characters are well-developed and have solid motivations and backstories, however the secondary and minor characters are rather flat, particularly the villians. In particular I was frustrated by the fact that nobody seems to be suspicious of a long-lost magic with a violent reputation unless they also have a problem with women. Still, I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

New Blood is my first steampunk. For those who don't know, steampunk is fiction involving an alternate vision of the Industrial Age (1800s), usually with more technology or, as in this case, the paranormal. Envision the 1800s if magic had been a fact of life. That's New Blood, perhaps the first steampunk romance I've seen. With all that said, New Blood is a solid read, particularly if character development, unraveling mysteries, and action are a priority for you. A good part of the novel involves Jax and Amanusa on a cross-country journey to escape the villains, and while I don't usually enjoy that particular device in literature too much, these moments with only Jax and Amanusa were some of the best in the book for me. The relationship show more built between these two is natural and unique to them. We don't find here a generic romance formula but a case of circumstance revealing two people's strengths and innermost weaknesses. Naturally, the atmosphere of mortal danger helps to deepen their relationship as they rely on each other to survive. Even as Jax and Amanusa travel together, these characters undergo a personal journey, learning about themselves and their demons and growing as they go on. I thought this was well-written too. Their progress didn't feel contrived; the development was steadily paced, as well it should be at nearly 500 pages, LOL. It was also interesting to read about the other magicians that Jax and Amanusa meet, like Harry, Elinor, and Grey. I thought the care that the author took to develop even these secondary characters and their dilemmas was very well done, and by the end I was ready to read about their adventures. I'll look for them in a sequel. ;)As far as the overarching plot, I felt that the first phase (the bandit camp) did not quite set the scene for the audience. I wasn't sure of the setting or the history between the characters and this phase seemed a little aimless when I saw no indication from the characters that they would eventually move on (dialogue, thoughts, etc.) I was afraid for a little while that Amanusa and Jax would stay there indefinitely. For me, this portion lagged a bit, but the book picked up quickly after this point. I did like the world-building. It was easy to imagine the sinister anti-magic creatures and their danger. I appreciated all the detail taken with the infrastructure of the magicians' society, conclaves and councils, trials and presiding officers and so on. This gave the world more substance, and I definitely liked that the author did not forget the times in which the story is set, including hints of scandal when a magician took a female apprentice, the mode of dress, and of course, the very Victorian title of the magicians' conclave: The International Magicians' Conclave of All Magic, I believe it was.Considering the setting, I could understand Amanusa's struggle for female magicians, but I did feel it became a bit tedious at the end, when the heroine debated with the villains about women's rights. I thought that was a little over the top. I generally prefer any messages or themes I'm taking away from the story to be a little more subtle. I also felt that as a romance novel, the book could perhaps use a little more heat or sexual tension, perhaps a few more of those delightful moments with the finger-licking goodness and Jax's hot eyes, LOL. ;) Overall, however, I enjoyed New Blood. It read a little like an action steampunk flick put to writing, (maybe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?) except with much better character development and I'm looking forward to more work from this author. show less

Random thoughts:

The first chapters were lovely. Made me expect much more than was ultimately delivered.

I loved that the first description of the heroine is that she is strong.

Most sensual and arousing finger licking in the history of finger licking.

Also loved the fact that we see the characters bonding through the course of many weeks. The plot devices used for this needed to be more transparent.

I liked the tentative way in which sexual assault survivors were written.

I did not like that the sex scene of the book was written in a sensual way to titillate the reader while comparing and contrasting every move the male character did with that of Amanusa's rapists.

I also didn't like that from the start I knew that there was going to be show more a public display of how she was raped and abused, in front of important people so she can be exonerated for her alleged crimes. It is a trope we often see in such books and is one that really annoys me.

It skipped and skimmed though important parts of the plot but made sure to reference every wardrobe change, every touch of hands, in detail.

The evil characters were caricatures obsessed with hurting the heroine just because.

Character consistency was nonexistent. The heroine is from a village in Romania but all she needs to be able to blend in high society is just a new dress. She truly is a Mary Sue.

The sexism is over the top absurd. It's ridiculous to think that high society men, even in an alternate reality of the late 19th century, would shout at a woman they just met that she is a whore, while in the presence of other respectable gents.

Again the trope of writing everyone as shitty a person as possible so the heroine can shine.

What about the freaking dead zones then?

Wow I just read 500 pages in a day. I suppose this speaks in favor of the book.

Don't know if I'll read the rest. I'm glad to see they focus on other couples but i heard that the dead zone thing lies still unsolved by the end of the second book. show less

Amazon preorder

Interesting take on magic, liked the blood stuff, wasn't sure I would. No vampires, which I was afraid of. A little heavier on the "we don't let women . . ." meme than I care for, but overall a nicely done story and romance.

This was my first novel by Gail Dayton and I thought it was fantastic.It's not my normal genre but still I found it very compelling.

Didn't even make it past the second page.