Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart (Young Adult, Fantasy)

Sept 2011, Random House
290, Paperback
Review copy

YA fantasy
Occasional mild violence, a kiss or two

Summary from Random House Australia:

When her sister becomes betrothed to a prince in a northern nation, Zeraphina's only consolations are that her loyal animal companions are by her side - and that her burning hunger to travel north is finally being sated.

Already her black hair and pale eyes mark her out as different, but now Zeraphina must be even more careful to keep her secret safe. Craving blood is not considered normal behaviour for anyone, let alone a princess. So when the king's advisor, Rodden, seems to know more about her condition than she does, Zeraphina is determined to find out more.

Zeraphina must be willing to sacrifice everything if she's to uncover the truth - but what if the truth is beyond her worst nightmares?

Amy's Thoughts:
I must confess, my thoughts as I waded through the first three chapters of this book were - oh no, not another 'Just Another Vampire Story' (J.A.V.S.). Somehow, I'd missed the (totally obvious) references in the back cover copy and HELLO, THE TITLE, and I was worried I wouldn't enjoy the book after all. But I DID like the back cover copy, and that kept me going.

I'm so, SO glad I did. As soon as the MMC is introduced somewhere around chapter 4 or 5, this book morphed from being my few-pages-every-few-days bathroom book to an un-put-down-able story that I HAD to finish RIGHT THEN. Rodden, the MMC? SO. MUCH. AWESOME. He and the FMC Zeraphina play off each other perfectly, and there's snark, and attraction, and it's just all so shiny.

Plus, the books is definitely NOT a J.A.V.S. Hart's take on 'vampires' is refreshing (more in line with historical perspectives of vampirism, not the new-fangled vampires-are-sparkly-and-sexy) and fits well into her original world building. Plus, hello, telepathic connections with animals. I'm in. (That's part of what attracted me to the story in the first place).

Final Conclusion:
I'll be looking out for the next book in the series, for sure. This was a fun read :)

Find out more about Blood Song and Rhiannon Hart at her blog, Dangers Untold and Hardships Unnumbered.