The Blood Witch ~ Holly Day
The Story:
Nick Adore has been in hiding for six years. He does his best to pass himself off as human and only wants to be left alone. But one day, he walks in on a robbery. Instead of quietly walking away, he reveals himself as a blood witch, and now the werewolf king demands to see him.
Conri Biast is king. He has been the king of Norbridge for eleven years, but someone is trying to take him down. For months, he's known there's a blood witch in his territory who refuses to pay his respects, and that puts him on the top of his list of suspects. But when he goes to confront the witch, things don't turn out the way he'd planned. The witch is his mate.
Nick doesn't want to be anywhere near Conri. Being close to kings always ends with him getting hurt, but he finds himself sucked into the power struggle. Conri doesn't know who he can trust, but he knows he needs Nick by his side. Together, they're strong, but are they strong enough to keep the throne?
The Blood Witch was written to commemorate I Am In Control Day held each year on 30 March. Just like the day itself, The Blood Witch has two sides to the theme of I am in control. For Nick, it is personal; he is taking back his life after living in truly horrendous captivity for 16 years. For Conri, it is political; he is fighting to keep control of his kingdom, and the only problem is that he doesn't know who he is fighting!
The Blood Witch is one of the longest and most complex stories so far in this series of novellas celebrating national and international ‘day(s) of…’. There is just something about Holly Day's storytelling that resonates with me, and The Blood Witch was no exception. I loved that this story was a little longer as it allowed the characters to be even more developed than usual. Don't get me wrong, Holly's characters are never superficial cardboard cutouts, but the extra page length allowed for more nuances of character to be shown.
My heart broke for poor Nick and everything he'd been through and for Conri, who didn't understand why Nick felt so threatened by him and felt the need to be constantly on the attack. It was lovely to watch Nick slowly learn that not all kings are the same, and likewise for Conri to learn how to best support his mate.
The Blood Witch is action-packed, almost from the beginning. There are ups, downs, and lots of twists and turns. In addition to a great supporting cast, each with their own individual personality.
Even though this story was longer than most, it still felt too short. I didn't want to leave this world and characters! The Blood Witch engaged me from the beginning, and I didn’t want to put it down.
If you enjoy a character-driven paranormal/urban fantasy, particularly if you are looking for a shorter read, I'd highly recommend The Blood Witch.
The Blood Witch is available in ebook.
