Review: The Genesis (Blood of Ages Book 1) by K.L. Kerr

 

I received a free copy of the book, but the following review contains my words and opinions only!

 

What they say: An Uncontrollable Power. An Unstoppable Corporation. A Vampire God. The vampires of Dayson city are preparing for war. Having lived in constant fear of the Archway Corporation for decades, desperation has forced them into action. Their solution is to bring the First vampire, Alistair, back from the dead, a warrior famed for eradicating entire armies in the name of his kind.

For fledgling vampire Catrina Malinka, the fabled return of some unknown deity falls low on her list of concerns. Between fending off strangers trying to kill her in her dreams and trying to rein in an uncontrollable power that no one else even understands let alone shares, Catrina is forced to fight her assumed role in the war against Archway, which threatens to send her down a path she doesn't want to travel.

The first book in The Blood of Ages series, "The Genesis" is an urban fantasy about the inescapable nature of Fate and the corruption of power.

What I say: K.L. Kerr's first Blood of Ages book, The Genesis is not your average vampire story. Where others have focused on vampires as all powerful sex symbols, Kerr pays attention to the dark side of being a vampire and the persecution they currently face. Don't get me wrong many of her characters are attractive and there is a hint of a potential love story, but The Genesis is really about the problems in the vampire society.

 

19 year old Catrina (not Cat or Kat) is turned into a vampire at the start of the story and quickly finds herself a key player (or pawn) in the vampire war. She's turned to help the vampire sort-of-King return and lead them to victory. The vampires have a blind faith in the missing King which is almost cult-like, which Catrina finds strange and unsettling.

I was expecting Catrina to swoon over the brooding vampire, Fox, but the story focuses instead on Catrina's introduction to the supernatural world and discovering her place in it. This was a good direction because it made the story so much more believable. That being said I would totally approve of some romance in the next book!

The story takes a dark turn and Kerr isn't afraid of killing off certain characters (don't worry she's not up to Game of Thrones, character killing-off standards just yet). With The Genesis Kerr sets the tone for the rest of the series.

I really liked Catrina and found her to be an intriguing heroine. Fox really grew on me (although not quite in the same way as J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood vamp guys do, but this is a very different series to the BDB). I also really liked Rose and Sonny. Whilst wanting to know more about the mysterious Reuben.

I'm not entirely sure what to class The Genesis as other than urban fantasy. I was expecting a YA novel, but I’m not sure it's really YA, but then it's not really adult either. Hmm let’s say it's a fun mix of all of the above and leave it at that!

4 Stars in my Sky!

My fav non-spoilery quotes:

• Despite the sculpted perfection of his face, arrogance was Fox's most prominent feature.
• "You're a vampire, too?" "Oh yeah, we're everywhere," the girl replied dismissively. "You're never more than six feet away from a vampire. Or maybe that's rats."
• "I can be disciplined, when it's needed. I mean, I spend nearly every night with you, and I haven't put a bullet in either of our heads yet."
• The man that eventually looked up was just as she'd dreaded: empty and hollow and completely destroyed.