Review: great start to new series
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 13, 2013
Blood Gift (The Circle). Amy Lee Burgess.Review from Jeannie Zelos Book reviews.Wow! With this new series Amy does it again! I love her wolf series The Wolf Within and she's brought the same fabulous writing style to this new series about vampires. I really enjoyed this novel, though its part of a series, its a complete story in itself, no awful, horrible, hateful cliffhangers :)So, this book, what did I like? Well, Claire the lead character – she reminds me in many ways of Stanzie from the wolf series. Amy's heroines aren't strong, mouthy kick ar$e characters but flawed people, like us, like our friends, people with problems and backgrounds that are less than perfect. Its far easier I find to identity with these characters, than the perfect ones too often seen. I need to feel I’m there in the story, and with leads like this I can so easily get into their mindset. Poor Claire had a really tough upbringing, I get the sense all she was looking for was for someone to love her, and as time went by she seemed to feel more and more worthless. The transition to vampire was to be a second chance for her but wasn't working that way. Parker her master, what a conundrum he was. Perfect on the outside, flawed and cruel inside, but she's stuck with him, obeying everything he asks of her. Andre – he was a real star, that type of mystery man always appeals. There were others too in the London Circle, headed by Oliver. They’re a good mix of people, and this was a great introduction to them. This novel focusses mainly on Parker, Claire and Andre but we get to see the others within the framework of how the Circle works. I liked that it was set in London too – not many books are UK based, US seems to dominate and as a UK reader its fun to see something closer to home, to imagine it could be real.Its a very sensual, sexual book, very graphic but the scenes fit Amy's characters and the plot of the novel. Each author puts their own spin on supernatural creatures, and sex is important for Amy's vampires and for the storyline. Its not sex for the sake of adding spice to a story but sex that’s integral to the tale. Its a lighter overall feel than the wolf series, but has the same intense characters and quality writing – Amy doesn't leave you thinking “what happened there? Why did he/she do that?”  but ensures everything works together perfectly and everything is part of the whole storyline, no fluff and fillers just to pad out a story. Its shorter than the wolf within series too at 205 pages, but still long enough to fulfil the promise of a decent plot and ensure reality in the characters.I really enjoyed this, its not deep and dark, but sensual and seductive with a storyline that’s at times very emotional. I liked that it all wrapped up in this book, working to a climatic finish. I look forward to reading more of this series.Stars: five – fabulous read.ARC supplied by Publisher