Title: Fire of the Blood
Author: Jasmina Coric
Publisher: Little Lion Press
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
First Publication: 2021
Language: English
Book Summary: Fire of the Blood by Jasmina Coric
It didn’t start with fire and blood.
It started with a man, drinking alone in a bar, thinking about a woman, and whether or not to kill her.
Meet Isabrand and Mallory, siblings separated at a young age. Their family has a few problems.
To start, Isabrand has been hired to assassinate his sister. But overcoming his childhood love for her won’t be as easy as he’d hoped, especially when Mallory begins to tell him her life story: details of a horrific childhood at an orphanage for supernatural beings, called the Academy, before finally being rescued by estranged family.
Yet family is never what it seems, as Mallory discovers she is part of an ancient legacy of dragon shape-shifters and witches known as dragoviks. After a murder takes place in her town, Mallory knows she must act to protect her newfound family and home. Joining forces with a team of fellow dragoviks, she begins down a path that will determine her fate. Her future ahead of her, she must decide whether to move forward or return to her past.
Book Review: Fire of the Blood by Jasmina Coric
Fire of the Blood by Jasmina Coric is a compelling, intriguing, sometimes quirky but deeply moral fantasy story. This is the kind of story that helps us believe that we could stand and be counted if called upon to do so. This is a story that feeds the imagination and stretches the soul and it is a beautiful testimony to the power of family. It is a very good story to have in our moral imaginations.
Mallory and Isabrand are siblings separated from their childhood, Mallory was raised in what can only be described as a horrible orphanage for supernaturals named the Academy, she was rescued by an estranged family later. The whole thing began when Isabrand was hired to assassinate his sister. Mallory’s life story complicates his plans to overcome his childhood love for her. The family who rescued her from the Academy was not what it seems. Then Mallory discovers that she is part of dragoviks, an ancient legacy of dragons and witches. A murder occurs in Mallory’s town, and she feels compelled to take action to protect her new-found family and home. Taking part in a path that determines her fate, she joins forces with a group of fellow dragoviks.
It is clear from the introduction that we have an oppressed people who are living a shadow of real life. We know right away that this is a story about good versus evil and that the characters we are about to fall in love with are suffering. The first portion of the book uses humor and quirkiness to reveal this tension. Like any good story, this fantasy setting is peppered with questions about identity, purpose and intention. The characters are sketched with the promise that they will be filled in as we go – but that they themselves still have much to learn about their history and how that will reveal their future. It is a very good setup and the layers are pulled back slowly.
The quirkiness dissipates when the struggle begins to emerge. What I found particularly rewarding about this book is that it does not hold back on the need for people to behave in heroic ways even when it may cost them everything. This is a dark and dangerous culture war and it requires character, love, faith and hope to survive. The family context is gorgeous. It is so authentic.
One of the highlights of ‘Fire of the Blood’ is the language. Deceptively simple language is used extremely well, creating atmosphere and character that stands out without cumbersome description. There is such a rich atmosphere, and the descriptions left vivid images of the setting in my mind. I felt like I was there in the story, experiencing the world alongside Mallory and Isabrand. From the beginning, they feel like characters you’ve known for years. It’s not that they’re fantasy tropes—far from it—but Jasmina Coric is just so deft at crafting characters that feel fully fleshed-out and more real than reflections in a mirror. There was so much in them, a lifetime’s worth of feeling and yearning concentrated into a single moment at the end, and it made reading this book feel like being locked out of a room while someone you love is trapped inside with unknowable terrors.
While the plot was fantastic and the setting was delectable, I found that the characterization is what really made this book stand out among a sea of fantasy books. The characters are living under the terrible burden of an inescapable legacy during a dark time when evil is winning. Our primary characters are absolutely tested to the breaking point – and all bear awful scars from the choices that they make. But, like any true heroic epic, there is never a moment without hope. There is always a fight to move towards the light and like the plot, the characters are deepened in so doing.
Jasmina Coric is a wonderful writer. Her sentences strung together so fluidly, painting a fitting picture for ‘Fire of the Blood’ world she created. Mallory, Isabrand and other characters jumped off the pages straight away. She wrote such a strong opener with well developed, three-dimensional characters; I was sucked in immediately and had no choice but to stay up and read until the small hours of the morning. The twists were clever and not too over the top, bringing the final chapter to a satisfying conclusion. I know there is a sequel planned, but I felt a good deal of closure with the ending as it is.
