Nocturnal Blood: Villimey Mist
Reviewed By Steve Stred
One thing I’ve come to find is that there are two distinct groups of indie authors. One group of authors frequently tweets/posts about their releases, while the other very seldom does. Now, I’m not saying either is a bad thing (I typically fall into the seldom category), but because of this, oftentimes I’ll have no idea that someone I interact with frequently and engage with on social media even has a book out, let alone two!
Such was the case with Villimey Mist. It was only last week that I saw her sharing some info on her debut – Nocturnal Blood – and I felt like a jerk for not having shown it any support before then. I snagged it off Amazon and immediately dove in.
What I liked: ‘Nocturnal Blood’ follows Leia, a young woman who struggles with her OCD tendencies and constant anxiety. She lives with her family (parents and brother) in Alaska. While in high school, she meets Sophie and becomes good friends. Unfortunately, Sophie moves away and they lose touch. It isn’t until Sophie returns while a few horrific murders have occurred that things take a turn.
Vampire based fiction has never really been something I enjoy or seek out, but Mist does a great job of creating tension throughout and making this a survival story about two friends who’ll do whatever it takes to protect the other one. When Sophie and Leia are forced to flee, we get some great, emotionally charged scenes and can feel the bond the two of them have.
The vampire lore here is great, and as the story goes on, Mist keeps the gore coming and the buckets of blood splattering. The ending is a gut punch and Mist sets it up to be read either as a stand-alone or as the first in the series, which I always appreciate for novels.
What I didn’t like: I struggled with a lot of Leia’s dialogue. I had a tough time determining if she was 12 or 22, which really threw me for a loop in some scenes. I’m not sure if it was supposed to be due to her tendencies or naivety to the world, but I felt like she frequently returned to being completely innocent and shocked, even if it was moments after killing a blood-thirsty creature.
Why you should buy this: This was a great opening chapter to what looks like a trilogy at this point. Mist fills this with tension, carnage and drama and we get some great secondary characters along the way. I think this is a perfect introduction to Mist’s work and if you’re a fan of vampire fiction, this will be a fun one right up your alley.
Nocturnal Blood
Anchorage, Alaska. A place where people don’t care if someone goes missing. A place where Leia Walker tries her hardest to hide from the world, wanting a normal life without anxiety and OCD.
But Leia’s bubble pops when an old friend is back in town and twists Leia’s reality . A bloody event proves what Leia is scared to learn—Sophie Gardner, her old high school friend and saviour from the bullies, is a vampire.
Forced to run away with Sophie, Leia’s life takes a terrifying turn when vampires and hunters come after them.
The only thing preventing them from losing themselves is their friendship..
But will it be enough to escape the inevitable blood bath?
You can buy Nocturnal Blood from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Steve Stred
Steve Stred is the author of a number of novels, novellas and collections. He has appeared in anthologies with some of Horror’s heaviest hitters.
He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with his wife, son and their dog OJ.
You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred
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You can visit Steve’s Official website here
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