Bookanistas Review: BY BLOOD (By Blood 1) by Tracy E. Banghart

For today’s Bookanistas Review, I have fellow Bookanista Tracy E. Banghart and her very intriguing YA novel BY BLOOD.

For 17-year-old Emma Wong, spending a summer in England should be a dream come true. Gorgeous scenery? Check. Lots of hot guys with accents? Yes, please.

Throw in an estranged mom, annoying new stepdad, and drooling baby half-brother, and it’s a disaster even her favorite cherry red leather jacket can’t fix. Even worse, there’s (hot) live-in research assistant Josh to contend with. The only thing more embarrassing than drunk-kissing him hours after they meet? Knowing he’ll be witness to her family’s dysfunction all. summer. long.

But when Emma meets a mysterious girl who happens to be a Druid, her vacation suddenly promises to be far more intriguing than she anticipated. Powerful rituals, new friends, an intoxicating sense of freedom…and Simon, the sexy foreign stranger she was hoping for. It’s all a perfect distraction from dirty diapers and awkward family dinners.

Trouble is, intriguing doesn’t often mean simple. And Emma is about to discover just how not simple her life really is.

By Blood is a novel about the ways that blood can bind us to others – or tear us apart.

Kimberly’s Review of BY BLOOD:

I really enjoyed BY BLOOD because it walked the line in several unique and wonderful ways. So many books tend to sit in a predictable pocket, but this one did several things I really, really enjoyed.

*My favorite thing about BY BLOOD was that Banghart wrote an ethnic MC that was subtle and natural. We often talk about not just raising kids who are accepting of differences, but rather raising kids who are color blind because they look deeper into a person to discover who they are. In my opinion, Emma Wong was written from that beautiful color blind perspective. Banghart created a feisty, fun and flawed character that carried me through the whole story because she was simply a great character.

*Another thing I really enjoyed about BY BLOOD, was how it was a contemporary novel with a paranormal feel. I think it was very innovative for Banghart to have the depth of an emotionally darker contemporary, the heat of a steamy romance, and the magic, intrigue and mystery of a paranormal through the exploration of the druids. I would consider this a great hybrid read.

*Lastly, the setting was fabulous. You can’t read BY BLOOD and not want to go to England immediately. I wanted to visit pubs, eat the food, see the art and just walk the cobblestone streets.

Can’t wait for MOON CHILD (By Blood 2)

Coming August 2013!

Before Emma’s adventures in Oxford, her best friend Diana came face-to-face with a killer…

Diana Calvert is so over high school. Who cares if Olivia hates her? And David needs to forget about having a crush on her STAT. Even Emma’s crazy fashion choices can’t keep Diana entertained. All she can hope for is a dance scholarship to a college as far away as possible from too-small, too-boring, too-nothing-ever-happens New Freedom, PA.

Then Diana meets Nicholas Woodhaven. He’s pale, angry…yet weirdly charming. The more time they spend together, the more she wonders who – or what – he really is. Because he isn’t anything like the other guys she knows. Not with the whole only-going-out-at-night thing. And living with his creepy aunt. And not going to school.

Just when Diana thinks she’s got Nicholas all figured out, people in her small, nothing-ever-happens town start dying. She has to wonder – can she trust him? And even more alarming – could she be next?

A murder mystery with a paranormal twist, Moon Child is best read under the covers with a flashlight…if you dare!

Tags: Book Review, Bookanistas, By Blood, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Moon Child, Tracy E. Banghart, YA Author, YA Books, YA Novel