Books4Tomorrow: QUICK REVIEW: "Thicker than Blood" (Marchwood Vampires, book 2)

“THICKER THAN BLOOD”

(Marchwood Vampires, book 2)

by Shalini Boland

REVIEWED BY: Ellen Fritz

OVERVIEW

Aelia lives in 6th century Byzantium. She is sixteen years old and her life is about to change forever. She doesn't yet know it, but she holds the fate of thousands in her hands and her actions will echo across the centuries.

Fourteen hundred years later the lives of Madison and Alexandre are once again plunged into danger. To save Madison, Alexandre is forced back to a world he thought was dead and buried. But time is running out. The chase is on...

Chilling and fast-paced, Thicker Than Blood is the supernatural sequel to Hidden. It combines passion and drama with a historical twist.

REVIEW

If Madison and Alexandre thought their troubles were over, they were sadly mistaken. In “Thicker than Blood” they, together with their families, are once again plunged into a world of adventure, danger and life threatening situations. On the other hand we have Elia's story which is set in sixth century Byzantium. Finally it looks as though we are going to get some answers to questions which arose in “Hidden”, the first book of the Marchwood Vampire series. Answers that fill us in on how exactly the vampires came to Byzantium and what caused the strange sleeping disease that had disabled so many vampires for fourteen centuries. Not having had much time to experience life as vampires when they were newly created in the nineteenth century, Alexandre and the other Marchwood vampires only knew that sunshine - and now ultra violet light - can kill them. In this book they also discover other dangers to their existence, as well as the possibility of being put back to sleep if they are not careful.

Once I started reading, I simply could not put this book down. With action and adventure and fear for these beloved characters' lives and well-being from the very first few pages, combined with suspense that just never lets up until the final page, it is not surprising that the author - who is a genius with cliff-hanger chapter endings - switches back and forth between sixth century Byzantium and modern day Cappadocia and England, with ease; thus ensuring that the reader keeps turning the pages.

The characters truly come to life - Alexandre, still the nineteenth century French aristocrat, Freddy, the British aristocrat of the same time period and on the modern end of the scale, Madison and her brother Ben. Add to this variety of characters a few sixth century individuals and the story is as colorful as it gets. As all the characters are realistic - not all good or bad - the suspense becomes unbearable when a traitor seems to be working with the enemy.

The author's comfortable story telling ability combined with her extremely neat writing, makes “Thicker than Blood” sheer pleasure to read. For those who love a bit of romance, the love between Madison and Alexandre is beautifully and tastefully described and will definitely touch your heart.

This thrilling and beautiful book deserves more than 5 stars, and will have the reader looking forward to many more from Shalini Boland.