Blood Born by Renee Lake is a YA horror novel that retells the story of Dracula, casting the vampire in the role of a sexy professor at the main character Maddie’s college. The story brings in elements of horror and mythology, and adds a touch of erotica and the paranormal. For the genre, the tone and word choice is spot on, and it is an easy and straightforward read, however I feel the story is trapped between two conflicting ideals.
There are some impressive sections that have been written by Lake, proving that she has the ability to create exciting and fresh worlds. As the story ramps up she documents a pretty horrific event happening inside a house, and the key part here is her ability to withhold information: what we don’t see going on in the house is far more impactive than had we seen it. With a cop running out to be sick and limited further description, our minds run a bit wild thinking about what possibly could have happened. Lake uses tension and mystery to her advantage, making for a thrilling first third of the novel.
I was also impressed by the way Lake switches from third person to first person, especially at the start of each chapter. Lake also mixes up the openings with transcripts of interviews, text messages, extracts from books and other interesting ideas. These were a joy to read and made nice short breaks between the story. I really like this idea.
The story’s weakness is their characters. They come across as shallow and lacking on more than one occasion. Maddie, the book's heroine, regularly comments on her beliefs and opinions (i.e. going to rallys, her views on gender equality), but we never see her actually DO anything about it. This makes her beliefs seem more like flippant comments rather than something that motivates and drives her character. The other characters also seem to be inconsistent too: one minute they love each other, the next they hate each other, and I did not have much of an idea whose side Maddie was on at the end, nor what her main goal or motivation was. Did she side with Duclura at the end, or was she rooting for her friend? Did she love Jo or hate her? I felt the inconsistency was a little difficult to swallow, especially when they happen on the same page.
The plot is also a bit hazardous in parts. For the best part it ticks along at a steady pace, however an info dump at the start (describing the main characters) is redundant and a bit exhaustive. Also, once a key character dies, the rest of the characters go on a crusade to avenge him, however it all feels a bit contrived. Their friendship with him feels forced and they all seem to transform into brave and courageous vampire hunters without much thought as to what they are doing or why, let alone any training or practice. They all seem to have little reason to do what they do! The finale had a good build up, but again it sort of felt anticlimactic in the way it was delivered.
Truth be told, I was left a little confused by this book in the end. Harking back to my opening point, I think that Lake has told two stories: one about erotica and one about YA horror. This means we are caught between the two worlds. I feel like the author needs to pick a direction and run with it, rather than being stuck in the middle.
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