"Vaughan clearly has a big vision for his BloodStorm series..."

• ASIN: ‎ B0C7NDS4PC
• Publisher: ‎ Fair Folio (31 July 2023)
• Language: ‎ English
• Print length: ‎ 326 pages
• Page numbers source ISBN: ‎ 1922569003
• Genre: Urban Fantasy Series

The BookViral Review:

With far too many Urban Fantasy authors paying superficial homage to originality, it’s rare to find a writer who manifests diversity in thought whilst avoiding the pitfalls of overt imitation.

Bringing a distinctive voice to the genre, Vaughan W Smith sets himself apart with his first book in The BloodStorm series with plotting that is fast-paced and compelling with a propulsive story that encompasses all the requisites of popular Urban Fantasy.

It isn’t an easy genre for authors to distinguish themselves in and competition remains fierce, but Smith instinctively understands the devices of his chosen genre and what it takes to stand out. There’s no cheese, corny dialogue or creaky characters or an abundance of trite and tired tropes and he doesn’t feel the need to overreach for the shock factor. More importantly, he’s careful to balance narrative twists with scenes that set up the emotional stakes for his key characters.

With a colorfully kinetic imagination that seldom lets up Smith introduces us to Maya and Anders with Maya’s backstory revealed through disparate timelines as she finds herself locked on a trajectory from which there seems little chance of escape.

Despite the ever-popular pull of the genre there are surprisingly few Urban Fantasy novels that create reralistic relationships between key characters, but Smith has pitched it perfectly and the burgeoning friendships between Maya, Anders, Beth and Glen are authentically rendered and feel very real as they find themselves with a host of obstacles for them to overcome.

Vaughan clearly has a big vision for his BloodStorm series with his narrative building momentum with every chapter as he continues to feed us tantalizing morsels of information about the BloodStorm event Maya unwittingly unleashed and the seven bloodlines. His plot is smart and fun and refreshingly extends beyond a skilled slice of juvenilia with real emotional and thematic underpinnings punctuated by viscerally exciting bursts of combat as Maya comes to terms with the true extent of her fused bloodlines.

An edge of your seat read with broad appeal to fans of the Urban Fantasy Genre Awakened sets the bar for future releases in Smith’s Bloodstorm series and is highly recommended!