A Good Start to a New Series

Silver in the Blood

By Jessica Day George

Series: Silver in the Blood

Hardcover: 368 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (July 7, 2015)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1619634317

ISBN-13: 978-1619634312

Approximate Lexile: 700

Publisher blurb:

As spoiled society girls from New York City circa 1890, Dacia and Lou never desired to know more about their lineage, instead preferring to gossip about their mysterious Romanian relatives, the Florescus. But upon turning seventeen, the girls must return to their homeland to meet their family, find proper husbands, and-most terrifyingly-learn the secrets of The Claw, The Wing, and The Smoke. The Florescus, after all, are shape-shifters, bound by a centuries-old tradition to do the bidding of the royal Dracula family and it is time for Dacia and Lou to take their place among the ranks. But when the devilish heir, Mihai Dracula sets his sights on Dacia as part of his plan to secure power over all of Europe, the girls choose to fight against this cruel inheritance with all their might. Only the dashing Lord Johnny Hardcastle and the mysterious Theophilus Arkady- members of a secret society charged with ridding the world of monsters-can help Dacia and Lou, but breaking the shackles of their upbringing will require more courage than the girls ever imagined. 

The thrilling start to a richly drawn, romance-filled series, this epic adventure of two girls in a battle for their lives will have readers coming back for more.

I have always enjoyed Jessica Day George’s work. I love re-told fairytales. This one branches away from fairytales into another tale—that of Dracula.

This book kept me up late at night. I was immersed from the first chapter. The female protagonists are well-drawn and each is given full scope to change and develop over the course of the book. The characters of Lord Johnny and Theo are a little less developed, but, since this is only the beginning of a series, I am sure they will have plenty of time to become more real. Minor characters, such as Aunt Kate and Cousin Radu fare somewhat better.

My biggest complaint is that I’ll have to wait to see what happens next!

Possible objectionable material: Mild language. Dangerous situations. Family turmoil. Nudity—non-sexual and not described in detail.

Who would like this book: Primarily girls, probably middle grades and up. Anyone who likes adding to a well-known story.