Review: A Bond of Blood and Fire by Karen Tomlinson

Title: A Bond of Blood and Fire
Author: Karen Tomlinson
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance, Adventure

I received an eARC of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Description from GoodReads
A love bathed in fire. A destiny sealed with blood.

In a world ravaged by war, half blood fae Diamond Gillon must fight to survive.

Becoming a magical weapon for the fae queen is the only way to save her friends from execution, and the people of Valentia from the Wraith Lord and his army of the dead.

Commander Hugo Casimir has been ordered to train her, but Diamond struggles to trust him, and master the force of her own powerful magic. To complicate matters, the two share a rare, magical connection, a bond that will shape their fates and their hearts.

Love and loyalty will be tested as Diamond battles giants, shifters and an army of monsters in her quest to save Valentia. But will she defeat the Wraith Lord to avenge those she has lost, and triumph to save those she loves? Or will the Eight Kingdoms descend into chaos?

My Thoughts

I finished this book two days ago and I'm still trying to catch my breath.  I both love and loathe Tomlinson for her ability to pick up all of my emotions, put them into a tiny bag, and practice her mad kickboxing skills with her homemade punching bag.  I was definitely destroyed at the hands of this book.

After reading the first book, I was in love with Commander Hugo Casimir!  However, in ABOBAF Tomlinson spends the time to explain his past.  This adds a whole new layer of depth to him and it becomes very obvious why he has taken certain actions.  I love that no matter what he does, he puts Diamond before himself.  Even when whatever he's doing is going to hurt her.  He has a bigger goal in mind and definitely always tries to do the right thing.  

Diamond herself grows a lot in this book.  She moves from being a very confused, and somewhat whiny, individual to being a headstrong warrior.  Her strength shines out in this book as she begins to make choices for herself that may, or may not, be what are expected of her.

Despite the amazing character development, I was amazed by Tomlinson's description of each battle.  I was a bit afraid that the focus of this book would be on the romantic aspects and that the battles would simply be skimmed over.  I am so glad that I was wrong!  Tomlinson showed a new side of her artistic skills as each battle explodes into life.  Each scene was so well-written and included so much description that I felt like I was really there.  At one particularly heart-wrenching scene, I was crying so hard that my guy had to reach over and hold my hand.  

The sooner book 3 gets here, the better.

My Rating

About the Author

Karen has always been an avid reader. Her taste in books is eclectic but she likes nothing better than an exciting fantasy, set in a new and magical world. She lives in Derbyshire, England, with her husband, twin girls and her dalmatian, Poppy. Karen trained as a nurse and currently works as a resuscitation and clinical skills trainer, this involves training a wide variety of health care professionals and medical students in acute patient care. In addition to writing, and reading whenever she can, Karen likes to keep active. She has been training at Shotokan karate since being thirteen, likes walking, mountain biking and (for something completely different) cake decorating. She is currently working on book two in the Guardians of The Goddess series.

Review: A Bond of Venom and Magic by Karen Tomlinson

A Bond Of Venom and Magic
Karen Tomlinson
(The Goddess and the Guardians #1)
Publication date: October 14th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Rating: 4/5 "I liked it."

The Wraith Lord is hunting; his prize, the key to unleashing darkness and Chaos upon the eight Kingdoms. 

For Diamond Gillon the war raging in the south seems a remote danger until her home is brutally attacked. Having lost everything she holds dear, Diamond is catapulted into a terrifying new world in which legendary beasts arise, magic is condemned and half blood fae, like her, have no rights. Despite her growing feelings for her saviour, Commander Hugo Casimir, he remains a paradox – not only is he a heartless killer, he is owned by the cruel immortal fae queen; a queen who will murder her own people for magic. 

As Diamond’s circumstances become ever more perilous she is drawn deeper into Hugo’s world and discovers the lengths to which he will go to save what he holds dear. Will Hugo become her friend, her protector, or – an enemy not worthy of her trust? 

A Bond of Venom and Magic is a tale of two people bound by magic and secrets, but trapped in the complexities of love and betrayal. It is the beginning of an epic journey, one that will test Diamond’s resolve and determination to battle an evil that threatens not only her world but that of Eternity, the land of The Guardians and The Goddess.

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My Thoughts

I want to start this review by explaining that I had been expected to read this as part of a recent tour. However, winter roads made it difficult for me to post. I never wanted to skip doing my review. This was a fantastic tale and I truly believe that more people need to be familiar with Tomlinson's writing. I apologize for the late review, but I'm glad that I am able to share it with you now.

I was impressed by Tomlinson's ability to perpetuate a story. For example, there were several times when I thought that there was no way for the story to get more interesting. Then, I watched as it did. Every stinking time she had me excited about what was happening in the novel, she added one more layer to bring even more suspense. I felt that this was especially important because it was never the huge things that increased the excitement. It was always the smallest detail. Sometimes, it was as simple as a statement from a character that never appeared again.

Speaking of characters, I LOVED Hugo. I know that Tomlinson's goal was probably for her readers to love him. Kudos to her for being able to do it! He is such a big lug! I felt like he was highly intelligent because he was forced into being an actor constantly. Not only would he have to confuse his queen, he would have to bewilder Diamond and stay on top of his own stories as he did so. It could not have been an easy task!

On the other hand, I felt that Diamond was a relatively weak main character. She knows tat Hugo is forced into this position of trying to save her. However, she can't see past her own paltry ideas about love and undying devotion. How can she be so blind to Hugo's true intentions? After all of the things that Tomlinson did well, I was surprised that she included such a whiny and unintelligent main character.

Despite a weak main character, I definitely suggest reading this book.  There were several times that my toes curled and I was bound into a ball because I was so intrigued by the story and simply HAD to know what was going to happen next.  I cannot wait for Book Two to be released!

Author Bio:
Karen Tomlinson is the author of The Goddess and the Guardians series of Young Adult fantasy books. Book One: A Bond of Venom and Magic will be released October 14th 2016.
Karen has always been an avid reader. Her taste in books is eclectic but she likes nothing better than an exciting fantasy, set in a new and magical world. She lives in Derbyshire, England, with her husband, twin girls and her dalmatian, Poppy. Karen trained as a nurse and currently works as a resuscitation and clinical skills trainer, this involves training a wide variety of health care professionals and medical students in acute patient care. In addition to writing, and reading whenever she can, Karen likes to keep active. She has been training at Shotokan karate since being thirteen, likes walking, mountain biking and (for something completely different) cake decorating. She is currently working on book two in The Goddess and the Guardians series.
About me!
As soon as I could read I spent hours getting lost in the new worlds books could give me. Spending my pocket money had to be done (obviously) but not on sweets, well, not many…I spent my money on books. Back then it was Enid Blyton’s Famous Five which sparked my young mind. I didn’t rest until I had the whole set, then I migrated to the secret seven…(there was no Harry Potter then) As a teenager I would trawl through all my mum and dad’s discarded books. It was probably highly inappropriate for a thirteen year old to be reading swoony Mills and Boon romances followed by Ian Flemming, Alistair Maclean and Wilbur Smith!
Because I read anything and everything I could get my hands on back then, I now have an eclectic taste in books. I will read anything that catches my eye and absolutely love illustrated book covers! In my late teens I discovered fantasy and that genre has stayed my firm favourite. I am and will always remain a complete sucker for a fantasy with kick ass characters and worlds steeped in magic and romance!

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