Publisher: - (Indie)
Publication date: April 29, 2014
Words: 53,100
Synopsis:
Raya Sarian has always known she was different. The water calls to her in a way that isn't human. She has seen things that would scar anyone for life. And her father has been non existent in her childhood.
Because he is a Siren.
A blood drinker.
A monster.
And now she must live with him in a world populated with enemies and dangerous friends. Can she survive the year?
My thoughts:
In Samantha Coville's book we get into a world where blood-sucking Sirens exist next to humans, living underground, only visiting the top side once in a while to grab someone to eat. And there are Halflings, too, creatures who are half human and half Siren. We have Raya, a Halfling in her teenage years who has to go to live with her father and the other Sirens in their subterranean compound.
This book was a really nice reading. It was different from the usual YA fantasy/paranormal books I read, it was much calmer, there was less violent action in it, yet it was not at all boring. It kept me eager to find out all along until the end when all the pieces of information got to be put together, with its twists and sporadic little, furtive hints that were geniusly placed to keep up the interest and strike the utmost that was possible. Still there are things waiting to be found out in the next book.
The characters completely matched with the story. Raya, the slightly naiv but courageous protagonist, Drew, his devoted boyfriend, and her other rather supporive friends. Of course, there weren't everything and everybody safe and sound, living happily, loving one another. Haters made the story even more exciting and intricate, more realistic even, jeopardizing the peace inside the compound.
Yet I took away half a mark and here is why. The relationships seemed a tiny bit less worked out, a little too quickly changing from bad or neutral to great and over the moon. Aprt from that there were very wee awrinesses which could have been solved better, but these were minor wrongs, they did not bear influence over the joy of the book.
On the whole, it was a captivating, heart-warming story, I would recommend it for all younger readers who are fond of paranormal creatures and crimes.
Pre-order: Nook I Smashwords
Rating: 4.5/5
About the author:
Samantha Coville is an editor and literary critic at her website, Sammy the Bookworm. She’s been writing short stories for six years and has appeared in magazines, both in print and online. When she’s not doing something book related, she is singing in her church choir or enjoying one of the theme parks in her home state of Florida.Interview:
It's very nice to have Samantha Coville here today, the author of Blood Oath. Her debut novel will release on 29th of April, very soon, and so she gave us a throughout interview about her book and more.
1. How long have you been writing and how did you start to write?
I've been writing for about six years now and it all began with a short story about a girl living in a magical library. I had never written anything before, but the story popped into my head and my sister didn't feel like listening to me drone on. So I took out a paper and pen and wrote it out by hand. I've been writing ever since!
2. When and why did you decide to be an author?
I joined a creative writing group a few years ago and they had weekly prompts for short stories. I did all of them and found myself enjoying the process of imagining and writing. I started to share my work and the response was all great. I knew right then that I wanted to be an author as a career. I wanted to find a path that would provide and yet be something I could love and writing was that path.
3. What inspired you to write this book?
I decided to tackle National Novel Writing Month last year, 2013. The goal is write 50,000 words in 30 days and I figured that would be a fun challenge to get my creative juices flowing. About a week before I was trying to decide what to write and Sirens popped into my head. I wrote out an rough outline, casted my characters and prepared for the month ahead.
Afterward, I was looking through my computer and found a document from 2008. It held only one paragraph; a short synopsis for a Siren novel. I think it's pretty amazing that my characters have stuck with me for so long. I believe that's proof there's something special here.
4. How came the basic idea of the story? Why did you choose to write about sirens?
I wanted my story to be unique and different from everything else on the YA Paranormal market and Sirens begged to be my stars. I've always had a love for Greek and Roman mythology and they were a perfect fit for my book. They're beautiful, magical and deadly. In mythology, they sang to sailors and crashed their ships on the rocks before eating them. I couldn't pass up on a chance to imagine them in our modern world.
5. What kind of books did you grow up on?
I will read just about anything and I always have had an open mind to all genres. One moment I would be reading Maximum Ride by James Patterson and the next I'd be crying over The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Just like my writing, I never confine myself to reading one genre. I will explore and read what piques my interest.
6. Are your characters based on real-life persons or they are
completely your imagination's creatures?
The characters in Blood Oath are all from my messed up imagination, but, like any author, real people influenced my imagination. When it came to how my Sirens looked, I was heavily influenced by actors or characters from movies. Drew, for example, was based off of the physical appearance of Lucas Till. And Emma is based on Chloe Grace Moretz.
7. Is your book going to have any installments? If so, could you give us a short summary of how the story will go on in the next book?
Blood Oath is book one in a series of four. (Or, at least, that's the plan!) Book two, Blood Island, will begin with the rising threat of the enemy. For her own safety, Raya is moved to an unmarked island where Sirens roam free. But is she truly safe amid these unrestrained blood drinkers?
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