Review: Blood Coven (Blood Bound series Book One) by Sabrina Voerman
Available from Quill & Crow Publishing & Barnes & Noble on 13th September 2023
Sabrina Voerman's stunning novel "Blood Coven" is set in a believable world where we see the story of Red Riding Hood stretched and distorted and grown into something other, both the main characters - Red, an abused child and descendant of a witch, and Matthias, also the son of a witch - given their own sympathetic viewpoint and intriguing backstory, along with other characters such as Alina, (Red's love interest), Sorin, and Azalea (a highly seasoned witch and wickedly controlling mother). We find ourselves caring about Matthias (the Wolf) equally as much as we care about Red... but is the Wolf really the bad guy?
Morke Forest, which constantly looms close in the characters' thoughts as well as in the proximity of Silvania and Ocleau, takes on a menacing enough presence for the reader and becomes almost a character in its own right. We liked the author's use of pathetic fallacy (the weather and surroundings reflecting the characters' changing emotions) and her descriptions of the location and characters. The author engages all of the reader's senses.
The story contains witches (their rites and potion-making in the novel were simultaneously riveting and spine-chilling) as well as werewolves, which we found a lively combination, and it has a strong thread of female empowerment in spite of a patriarchal society. There is also a blossoming LGBTQ romance in the face of adversity. Within its pages you may also find a secret child, mysterious doppelgänger women, and characters you may have had sympathy for making surprisingly callous decisions.
There were a few run-on sentences in the final chapters, but other than that, this first tome in the Blood Bound series was well-written and absorbing.
Trigger warning: though this is based on a fairy tale, don't expect any happily-ever-afters. Contains abuse and gory murder.
Morke Forest, which constantly looms close in the characters' thoughts as well as in the proximity of Silvania and Ocleau, takes on a menacing enough presence for the reader and becomes almost a character in its own right. We liked the author's use of pathetic fallacy (the weather and surroundings reflecting the characters' changing emotions) and her descriptions of the location and characters. The author engages all of the reader's senses.
The story contains witches (their rites and potion-making in the novel were simultaneously riveting and spine-chilling) as well as werewolves, which we found a lively combination, and it has a strong thread of female empowerment in spite of a patriarchal society. There is also a blossoming LGBTQ romance in the face of adversity. Within its pages you may also find a secret child, mysterious doppelgänger women, and characters you may have had sympathy for making surprisingly callous decisions.
There were a few run-on sentences in the final chapters, but other than that, this first tome in the Blood Bound series was well-written and absorbing.
Trigger warning: though this is based on a fairy tale, don't expect any happily-ever-afters. Contains abuse and gory murder.