Betrayed by Blood, novella by Tiffany Shand – Book Review

Betrayed by Blood by Tiffany Shand is a novella and the first instalment in The Amaranthine Chronicles.

The book opens with Kaylan Avilion, a magic-wielder with various gifts and a sad past, coordinating with others to capture a sorcerer whom they suspect is selling certain illegal potions. The attempted capture goes bust and Kaylan's fiancé Elijah is presumed dead.

A year later, Kaylan returns to the city she once lived because her sister, Freya, has gone missing. There she learns that Elijah is still alive but has changed significantly.

There is a lot of evil and many mysteries surrounding Elijah, Freya and the Order which governs the city.

We are told that the Amaranthine are another kind of Order that protects the people, albeit secretly.

I felt there needed to be more character development but could understand why this wasn't evident due to the length of the book (80 pages). The beginning was a bit confusing for me. Until the end, I couldn't figure out which characters had what powers or abilities.

Still, Betrayed by Blood has many interesting characters and I liked how Shand revealed certain aspects about her characters through events. A kind of show don't tell technique but through events. She also uses the "throw problems in their way" technique quite well.

There weren't many images or beautiful lines in the novella so there aren't any quotes – there were a few lines but they are mostly spoilers, so I'm not going to quote them.

Quick-paced and exciting, Betrayed by Blood is a suspense-filled urban fantasy novella.

Overall rating: 3.5 stars

Note: I received a free copy of Betrayed by Blood from the author Tiffany Shand in exchange for an honest review)

About the Author:

Tiffany Shand started writing short stories when she was a child. She has always done writing in one form or another and started writing novels in her early teens.

Tiffany loves to read books and discovered her love for fantasy and paranormal romance.  She writes both non-fiction and fiction, and love helping writers to build their author platforms.

After doing a creative writing course in her early 20s, she is now a freelance writer and professional editor.

Tiffany lives in Essex with her two spoiled cats and one very nutty hamster.

Connect with the author via her Website, blog, Eclipse Editing, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.