Bonds and Blood by XL'anna Brooks

morgan_ofriel

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"Entertaining Characters"

Bonds and Blood opens up on the main characters surveying potential juniors (apprentices to higher level, though not necessarily older, vampire hunters), badgering one another, and worrying about who they will be assigned to train. As far as I've seen, the hunters are part of some sort of hierarchical order that trains men (or, at least, only men have been shown) to hunt vampires. The world appears to be slightly different from our own, though I can't be sure since there wasn't much shown of the larger world outside of a club, the order's facilities, and an apartment. There's also a definite anime feel to this series, right down to silver hair on a young vampire.

There's nothing particularly unique about the opening, but the characters themselves were animated and lively enough to draw me in. They remain so through-out the nine available pieces, and are admittedly a large part of why I continued reading.

Fun is probably the best word to describe Bonds and Blood. Even during dramatic scenes, there's always a hint of playfulness, of light-hearted humor that livens things up and keeps the tone from getting too heavy. While the main cast isn't notably three-dimensional, they are amusing, and their intricate relationships and power dynamics make even some of their ho-hum interactions a joy to read.

While all of the cast is entertaining in their own way, I have to say that Saire is my favorite. We open on things from his point of view, and I connected with his awkwardness right off the bat. Of the rest of the characters, Hazel and Manelin also intrigue me, though neither of them have been shown much.

Technically, there are several spelling and grammar errors per part, though it doesn't detract from the flow of the story. The language also gets repetitive in places. Another problem, at least initially, was that Sirrie and Saire have such similar names. It was confusing at first, especially since they're both main characters, the later having been trained under the former. After awhile it became easier to parse them out, but only because they weren't often speaking to one another.

The series hasn't been updated since April, and no hiatus notice has been placed up. It is a carefree and relaxing diversion to read, so I hope it hasn't been abandoned. After all, I'd really like to know more about the characters, their history, and their world.

Rating: 7 / 10