Born of Blood and Magic: The Lightless Series, Book 1

Violet “Vy” Finch is a vampire who is sickened by blood, the one thing she craves. This happens because she is an ill-blood. Vy is not just a vampire, she is a mixed breed and that is what causes her to become sick if she indulges on the blood she craves. Petra Malkovitch had her life turned upside down as a teenager because of Violent Finch and she has vowed revenge since that day. Fast forward to the present, she has become a part of an organization that dedicates itself to hunting these creatures down and ridding society of their presence. Petra gets her chance at revenge but is forced to help Vy on her journey. Can they work together to reach their goals? I listened to this book on audible. I really enjoyed listening to this book. It kept me engaged and I found myself wanting to keep listening. Vy and Petra both have pretty traumatic pasts that have shaped who they are and that plays a large part of this story. The two characters have constant power struggles and it brings a very angsty dynamic. The end does have a conclusion. However, there is definitely an opening for a second book. I definitely recommend this.

Recommend for fans of: The Mercy Thompson Series (Patricia Briggs in general) Five Moons Rising by Lisa MacTeague The Collins Trilogy by Kate Hershberger (fyi, This book is mostly about vampires, witches, and hunters so far, so not many werewolves/shifters, but they do exist in the worldbuilding) F/F enemies to allies to lovers, vampire/hunter slowish burn romance TW for SA, being drugged I really enjoyed this quick urban fantasy/romance! It was exactly what I was looking for. Some nice world building in a short amount of time, adding little changes to the usual urban fantasy setup. I especially liked the spellcaster/witch lore, that's the group of "unhumans" we learn probably the most about in this (hopefully 1st) book. It was fascinating and quite mysterious, so I constantly looked forward to learning more. I feel like the witches are usually kinda cut and dry so this lore did a good job enriching everything, making it fresh but familar. The 2 main characters had some great chemistry immediately (but it avoided feeling like instalove) to go along with their almost crippling amount of angst. The dialogue left a lot to be desired throughout the book (especially amount the military/Order characters) and yet somehow I still fell in love with Petra & Vy's chemistry anyway. I'd say the ending was a tad rushed, especially from Petra's end of things, but I honestly expected it b/c the characters had tangled themselves in a pretty big mess even as things were winding down.…

The audiobook for this story is fantastic, the narrator does agreat job of using different voices for different characters and expressing the emotions the characters are experiencing. This is one of the first times I let a audiobook play at normal speed instead of sped up because it was just so good, I wanted to enjoy it. The story itself is very interesting, this book is unlike any of the other vampire x hunter/ enemies to lover books out there, this story is interesting and refreshing for the genre. The characters were written well, all of the working parts happening as the story goes builds up to epic conclusions, the fact that these MCs are truly enemies and struggle with that. I loved listening to this story, I can't wait to see it continue. Petra's mother was murdered by a vampire before her eyes as a girl and it has haunted her ever since. She's made it her ultimate goal to get her vengeance aand is working topass her exam to become a SOL. Vy had a traumatizing childhood and is seeking her mother, still haunted by the day she killed a innocent woman, a sorceress tells her the only person who can help her get what she seeks is Petra. Petra's final requires her to bring in the vampire that killed her mother alive but once she finds her things don't go as planned. (I received this as a arc)

I see you Hutson. Don't rush it. Nobody who reads this will be able to resist reading the next once you release it. Take the time ya need to get it right! To prospective readers - this works as a stand alone, but leaves a massive potential for more, so no need to wait for the full series to drop to read it. It's dark, with fantastic world building, doesn't infodump, sort of trickles you the info as you need it, and let's you get into the heads of a handful of intriguing characters, but focuses on the POV of the two strong female leads. It avoids tropes except to make fun of them. Not a light fluffy romance, definitely gritty and dark and keeps you wondering what's next. There's nothing overly predictable here, and honestly, I was so engaged, I left off trying guess what came next about halfway through. I highly recommend!

🩸 Bookish Thoughts I’ll never say no to a sapphic vampire book, and Born of Blood and Magic delivered a solid dose of urban fantasy! The worldbuilding was fun, and I liked the overall setup of sapphic cursed bloodlines and magical relics. And I loved Vy from the get go! Petra had her moments, but she was so wishy-washy it started to wear on me. And while the audiobook was easy to follow, there were times the narrator sounded more like she was reading than fully performing, which pulled me out of the story a bit. But if you love sapphic vamps and supernatural urban fantasy definitely read this one! 🖤 What You Can Expect: • Urban fantasy vibes • Sapphic vampire x assassin • Enemies to lovers • Reluctant allies 📖 Final Score: ⭐⭐⭐.75 🎧 Audio Score: ⭐⭐⭐ 🎙️ Narration Style: Solo Thank you to M.C. Hutson Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.