blo Teens Read and Write: Blood Feud Review & Two Contests

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Blood Feud Review & Two Contests

Blood Feud
by Alyxandra Harvey
pub: 6/22/10 - Bloomsbury
Teen Fiction

Summary:

The action and romance continue as the Drakes face a new vampire with a 200-year-old grudge. It’s been centuries since Isabeau St. Croix barely survived the French Revolution. Now she’s made her way back to the living and she must face the ultimate test by confronting the evil British lord who left her for dead the day she turned into a vampire. That’s if she can control her affection for Logan Drake, a vampire whose bite is as sweet as the revenge she seeks.

The clans are gathering for Helena’s royal coronation as the next vampire queen, and new alliances are beginning to form now that the old rifts of Lady Natasha’s reign have started to heal. But with a new common enemy, Leander Montmarte—a vicious leader who hopes to force Solange to marry him and usurp the power of the throne for himself—the clans must stand together to preserve the peace he threatens to destroy. 

I enjoyed Alyxandra Harvey's first book in the Drake Family Chronicles, Hearts at Stake (see my review) and always worry that a sequel won't live up to expectations. But once again, Harvey has delivered a fast-paced fun romp full of interesting characters that make you laugh, and a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. 

Logan is one of the gorgeous Drake brothers who likes dressing up in vintage clothing - frock coats, frilly lace-cuffed shirts - looking like a dashing character from a romance novel. Along comes Isabeau who just happens to be from times of the French Revolution and been locked up in a coffin for a few hundred years since she was turned at the ripe old age of eighteen.

She's a hard case and a very sympathetic character. Her life as a French aristocrat came crashing down when her parents were guillotined during the Revolution and she is left to fend for herself on the streets posing as a young boy. She becomes adept at stealing and gets enough for a trip to England where she is taken in by her aunt and uncle. Just as she gets back to the good life and is enjoying her coming out ball, the nefarious Greyhaven turns her into a vamp and shoves her underground without a second thought.

Hundreds of years later she is rescued by the Hounds, a rather wild vamp clan that is big on magic. The lady in charge takes her under her wing and then sends Isabeau as her ambassador to forge an alliance with the Drake clan. Helena Drake became the new Queen of Vamps at the end of Hearts at Stake. 

The tale is told in alternating first person point of view between Logan and Isabeau, and then you get several third person chapters when Isabeau is reminiscing about her time in France.

The romance between Isabeau and Logan is entertaining. He's trying to win her over and she's determined not to like him. Typical push/pull thing but it's fun. I enjoy Harvey's snappy dialogue and you get lots of action.

Isabeau is a kick-butt fighter with a spiritual connection to dogs - I love her big hound, Charlemagne - and tough as nails, but Logan brings about her softer side. Logan is dashing, an adept fighter and also comes off as a bit of a goof at times, which just makes you love him more. 

Solange, Lucy, Nicholas and Kieran from the first book make brief appearances but it's fun when they show up. The Drake family is still tight-knit and loving - when they aren't snarking at each other. One gripe I have is that one of my favorite characters, Mama Drake, Helena, isn't in it enough. She is such a crazy, "Let's kill them all and ask questions later," kind of character, I really miss not having her around.

ROMANCE: Okay, so their romance is one of those "Instant in love, Destined to be Together" type of things and all happens very fast but, hey, I still enjoyed it. Call me sappy. There's kissing but no other sexual aspect happening so it's a very clean read. A few curse words but very minimal so I can recommend this to younger readers. 

BOTTOMLINE: This is a fun, light entertaining read full of swashbuckling action, snappy dialogue and all around good times. I know vamps are saturating the book market, but this one is a blast, and a good read for both younger and older teens.
 
THE COVER: I don't like it. I don't care for the models and it doesn't give me any sense of the fun action-packed romantic adventure that's inside the pages. Which is why - if you read further - you'll find a Re-Cover Lover Contest for those of you with the guts and talent to give it a go. 

The Author:
Alyxandra Harvey lives in a stone Victorian house in Ontario, Canada with a few resident ghosts who are allowed to stay as they keep company manners. She loves medieval dresses, used to be able to recite all of The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson, and has been accused, more than once, of being born in the wrong century. She believes this to be mostly true except for the fact that she really likes running water, women’s rights, and ice cream.
 
Alyxandra Harvey on the Web:

 Re-Cover Lover Contest

We don't like the cover so here's your chance to show off your design talent. Re-do the cover art for Blood Feud! 

!!Fill Out This FORM to Enter!!

- The contest will run until June 27, 2010 Midnight PST -
- Depending on how many entries we receive, we'll either have a one-time voting or break it down into Rounds. We've never done this before so we'll play it by ear and keep you posted.  -
  - We won't be judging - we'll put up the entries and let everyone vote - 
 -The Winner will receive any book they like from Book Depository (or Amazon) up to $15 -
This is open to folks anywhere Book Depository ships

Win Blood Feud Today!

We have two copies of Blood Feud to giveaway TODAY!

!! Fill Out This FORM To Enter !!

You must be a Follower
You must leave a comment
 -The Contest is only open for 24 hours - You must enter by Midnight PST 6/14/10 -
It's international
Winners will be announced tomorrow

Check in tomorrow for the next contest and...

From Sunday's Contest

Remember to enter to win goodies from the ABC Family hits, Pretty Little Liars and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.





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51 comments:

Jessica said...

Great idea! I wish I had the talent to do the re-cover :) I like the idea of having rounds though.

Thanks for the giveaways!

Julie@My5monkeys said...

great giveaway and yes I agree with models and books don't always agree with me too.

Beleth said...

I would love to read this book even if i didnt really like the cover either.

Spav said...

I can't wait to read this book. Personally, I think the UK cover is worst than this one.

The Book Owl said...

Awesome giveaway! I loved Hearts at Stake, so I'm excited to read this.

Thuy said...

I actually liked the UK cover more.
Would love to have participate in the re-cover..but I don't have the artistic talent.

Josette said...

French revolution, British lord, vampire queen? Sounds like a fun read to me but the cover certainly does not reflect all that! All the best to those redesigning the cover! :)

Hannah S. said...

This sounds like a super fun read! Thanks for this giveaway!
Love, Hannah

Dazzling Mage said...

Yeah, the cover doesn't do it for me either. There's another cover I saw that's reeeeally identical to the Twilight series though- the all too familiar black and red.

Woohoo! Contest! =D

Cherry said...

Please count me in!

I'm an oooolllldd follower :)

Had to enter the "follower + comment" contest because I'm not very artistic :(

But looking forward to your posts of the re-make covers! That sounds like fun :)

Cherry Mischievous

Cherry said...

Re-posted your contest at: http://contests-freebies.blogspot.com/2010/06/win-blood-feud-at-teens-read-and-write.html

Twitted: http://twitter.com/cherrymischivus/status/16133892548

Cherry Mischievous

Splendibird said...

Oooh, I loved My Love Lies Bleeding (which is what the first book was released as here in the UK) and am looking forward to reading Blood Feud, especially after your excellent review!

sRy_ said...

I can't wait to read this book, thanks for the contest! :)

sRy_ said...

Twitted:
http://twitter.com/sRy_/status/16135927125

Alison Can Read said...

Thanks for dropping by my blog. I haven't heard of this series before. It sounds really interesting. I'll have to check out the first book.

Anonymous said...

Cool contest. I have no artistic talent, so I'll just enter the follower giveaway, but looking forward to seeing the cover entries!

Kulsuma said...

Great giveaway! Thanks for the chance:)

k_anon@hotmail.co.uk

Fi-chan said...

oh oh enter me! thanks! btw I love the pink in her hair!!!

feeyonachan at gmail dot com

Donna said...

I like the UK cover for this one better.

Thanks for the giveaway! :)

Wicked Walker said...

great review! i have been dying to read this one since I read the first one!

Crystal said...

I'm looking forward to reading this book!

Orchid said...

The cover is kind of a turn off, but I'veread books with worse overs ands enjoyed them. Sounds like an interesting series, I'll definitely have to look into reading the first book. :)

Blodeuedd said...

Sounds like a great read :D
Love the cover, dunno if I could make it even a bit good if I made a new one

Kulsuma said...

Hey, I made a cover as well which I've given the link of in the form. Let me know if the link works. If it doesn't, I'll try to send it another way. I know it's not very good, but it's one of my first attempts lol;/

k_anon@hotmail.co.uk

Candace said...

I'm really excited to read this series! Thanks for the contest!

elaing8 said...

Awesome giveaway.
I actually like the UK cover better than this one.

andrea b said...

not a fan of the cover, that's for sure... thanks for the giveaway!

andrea

Anonymous said...

Gals you are amazing!
The book sounds like a fun read. Not very artistic but the contest is really a nice idea. May enter if I find an idea!
Thanks fot the giveaway!

I'm a follower by mail. Does that count?
Guess I followed with my Twitter account llunalila It's the one I use more.

Mary not so Contrary said...

Great idea. This cover is kind of blah. I loved the first book and I can't wait to read this one. Great review and thanks for the giveaway. Awesome idea for the cover redo.

Jen said...

I'm so excited about this contest. I own Heart at Stakes and I absolutely loved it. The cover I think is kind of not exciting but it's very similar to the cover of the first one. I hope I win!

Angela @ Reading Angels said...

Thanks for the giveaway

Melissa @ Mel's Books and Info said...

I loved Hearts at Stake and can't wait to read this one. Thanks for the giveaway!

Lucía said...

Oh great! I'm reading Hearts at stake, I'd love to win Blood Feud! Thanks :D

Mandy said...

I've been wanting to read this one since I finished hearts at stake (:

Ashley said...

I'm entering, thanks!

Cassay said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cassay said...

Thanks for the contest

Cassie C

Khelsea @ Once upon a review said...

If only i had talent to do the recover :P
great contest! thanks!

Unknown said...

This looks like a great read. Thanks for the giveaway.

Kelly said...

Awesome giveaway! Thanks so much for hosting! :D

angie said...

I have heard such great things about this book! I can't wait to read it! Thanks for the giveaway!

Eternal Night said...

This book is going to be on my TBR pile as soon as I can get my hands on it. And your so right about the cover. Anyway thanks for the contest. =)

Kate said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I cant wait to read Blood Feud! :)

Llehn said...

I'm intrigued by the premise!

Sharli said...

Awesome book! I'm really looking forward to reading it! Thanks for the giveaway!

Tales of Whimsy said...

Fab review! I have this one waiting for me :)

Stacey Brucale said...

Great contests! Thanks for the chance to win!

Michikit said...

Entered. Thank you for the chance to win such a wonderful book. Good luck everyone!!!(^_^)

Unknown said...

I loved this book that I'm going to go read it again and again. It was lovely to the core that I don't want to put it down I absolutely loved it. So now I'm gonna read it again and again until my hearts content.

Zia
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