True of Blood

Witch Fairy Series, Book 1

By: Bonnie Lamer

Narrated by: Emily Durante

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

"I have a television so I know what a family is supposed to look like but mine is nothing like that. To begin with, both my parents are dead. Not the kind of dead where you bury them in the ground, say some nice words, cry a lot and then never see them again. Nope, when they died they refused to ‘go into the light’ or whatever it is you’re supposed to do when you die. Instead, they came back home. As ghosts. Have you ever been sent to your room by a parent who has no corporeal form? I have and it sucks..."

Xandra Illuminata Smith has lived for the last three years with ghosts as parents but her life gets even stranger after her seventeenth birthday when she finds out that her mother is actually a Witch in hiding and her biological father, whom she knew nothing about, is a Fairy and King of the Fae realm.

Xandra is the first Witch Fairy to be born in thousands of years for very good reason. No one should be able to control that much magic and Xandra was never meant to be born at all but her mother has managed to keep her hidden away until now.

The Witches want her dead and the Fairies want her blood, for only her blood will reopen the gateway to the Fae realm and allow them back into this realm to take revenge on humans and Witches alike for having banished them hundreds of years ago.

Xandra has very little time to learn how to use her powerful Witch and Fairy magic that has been bound since her birth while running from the Fairies who managed to jump realms and want to take her blood to set the others free. She needs someone to teach her and her parents enlist the help of one powerful Fairy who claims to want to keep the realms closed to each other. He will help keep her safe and alive as she learns, at least that's what he says...

©2011 Bonnie Humbarger Lamer (P)2013 Bonnie Humbarger Lamer

Just not believable. Too contrived

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. It was too contrived. I love fantasy but the situations were too contrived and the Xandra is just not believable as a person. She is too spoiled and dumb. Plus I am so tired of the story line that parents forget or never get around to telling their child they are a world changer and some group is out to kill them. If any such parents leave their child so unprepared then they deserve the death that always happens to them in these stories.

What three words best describe Emily Durante’s performance?

She performed well. She had a good voice and was entertaining but the story was not good.

Did True of Blood inspire you to do anything?

Try to avoid similar works.

Nice read

I'm looking for a new author to read ever since L.A. Banks died. It been hard but I think I can give this series of books a try.

loved it so much

loved it so much cannot wait for the rest of the series it was a lot of fun listening to the story

Loved the story

What made the experience of listening to True of Blood the most enjoyable?

The characters were intriguing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of True of Blood?

When Xandra found out her secret.

What three words best describe Emily Durante’s voice?

Smooth, calm and familiar

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Na

Any additional comments?

There was some redundancy in the story.

great for 12 & up

I originally read this series before I would let my step daughter read it. it's very simple but still entertaining. I would highly recommend it for Yong readers who enjoy witches, fairies and the supernatural. I still listen to it for a low key easy chill time.

twistedly fun if there is such a word.

a very fun story Bonnie Lamer hooks the reader and Emily Durante does the same for the listener. Ghost parents witch's, fairies, kings, a wayward princess. all in a modern society make this a great yarn. It is a young adult book but what could be tacky love scenes are cleverly played out with a clear moral message.

Good Enough to Go On

I liked this YA Contemporary Fantasy better after reading more of the series.

BOOK DETAILS:
True of Blood by Bonnie Lamer, read by Emily Durante, published 2013 / Length: 7 hrs 35 min

SERIES INFO:
This is Book #1 of more than a dozen books in the ongoing "Witch Fairy" series. Books #1-4 are available in audio so far.

SUMMARY:
I had some issues with this book the first time I read it, but I liked it better after reading #1.5 (which tells this part again from Kallen's perspective) and #2. My biggest problem with the book is that it contains one of my strongest pet peeves - parents who keep dangerous, potentially life threatening, secrets from their children. If it weren't for Kallen, her mother's failure to prepare her would have ended with her death on the first day. (I have a rant post planned on this subject, so I won't say more here.)

I chose to read the next books in the first place because, even with the problems, the book had a lot of memorable scenes that I enjoyed.

CHARACTERS:
Xandra: Secretly wanted to be Hermione when she was younger. She strikes me as a very typical teenage girl in a very untypical situation. She makes the best of what she has, and does her best to be a good older sister to her brother. I didn't always agree with her decisions though.

Kallen: A typical YA hero - rude, arrogant, and not unlikely to kill Xandra to stop her from fulfilling the prophecy. He grew on me as the book went along.

Xandra & Kallen: This is not a case of InstaLove, but InstaAttraction with lots of dislike. Nevertheless, the romance does go from 0 to 60 much too fast for my taste, and without enough details regarding why they each develop feelings (other than each is so attractive).

Despite his initial actions, there are several things I like about how Kallen behaves: He owns up to his bad behavior and sincerely apologizes; he doesn't move forward without checking that she is truly has feelings for him; and he makes sure she fully understands the fairy customs and implications of various actions.

WORLDBUILDING:
This is our world with witch & fairy realms within it. Their magics have similar origins but very different methods of use. The geographical setting of the book is very limited (Xandra's house and the mountain where it is located) but well described.

PLOT:
The beginning did a good job of giving the background on their current circumstance and I really like the way the "story" of her parents is told. Everything moves very quickly. The ending resolves the current situation but sets up a cliffhangerish new one.

HIGHLIGHTS / CAUTIONS:

--Her ghostly parents follow the internet connections to make sure her online friends aren't creepers.
--Xandra puts the smackdown on Kallen for his behavior and attitude.
--Her response to the darts.

I COULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT: Minor swearing / All the stuff about the fairies being naked after shifting / Their sleeping together without "sleeping together" - I never think that's a good idea. Plus, they end up pushing things to the point where they could have ended up going further than than they were ready for.

OTHER CAUTIONS(?): Xandra's biological parents weren't married and had barely met. / The witches were going to force an abortion before her mother used violence to escape.

NARRATION:
Character voices differentiated = Yes / Opposite sex voices acceptable = Yes / Phrasing, Pacing & Pronunciation = Good / Emoting = Good, captures Xandra's slight snarkiness / Speed = listened on 1.25, my usual, and it was just a touch fast

More romance than anything else.

Great performance from Emily Durante as usual. This story wasn't listed as a romance, if it had been I wouldn't have chosen it.

It was pretty good considering I got it free

I got this book free for kindle and the audio upgrade was 2 dollars so I figured okay. I liked the story for what it is and I will more than likely read this series of book

Too whiny

I usually enjoy YA books but this one is not one I enjoyed. The main character,Xandra, was unlike able , whiny and too sarcastic. Cannot recommend