Review: The Blood Key

The Blood Key by Vaun Murphrey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I positively adore Vaun Murphrey’s Weaver series, and upon finding out she had a new book I jumped at the chance to read it. Of course, I was disappointed that it wasn’t the next Weaver book – I have so many questions I need answers to, so many events I’m excited to see play out – but I was intrigued to see what else she had to offer.
 
For me, whilst the first book in the Wander series was an interesting read, it didn’t quite have the charm of the Weaver series. It was an interesting first book, enough to leave me willing to read the rest of the series, but it failed to pull me in as much as the Weaver series.
 
In all honesty, you could say I was a little bit disappointed by this one. I’d expected something more of this, I’d expected a high like the Weaver series, and yet it failed to deliver quite what I had hoped it would give me. A fun read, but nowhere near what I know Vaun Murphrey is capable of giving.
 
The Blood Key has such an interesting premise – our main character is freed from an asylum after false imprisonment for the presumed murder of her brother, secrets and lies at home, and a past looking to catch up with her. You’re not entirely sure what you’re getting involved in, but it sounds like a lot of fun. Having read Vaun Murphrey’s Weaver series I knew there would be many twists and turns, but I still wasn’t quite sure what kinds of twists and turns I would be given. Was this to be another science fiction read or would it be a contemporary read? The name suggested the latter, but the synopsis I read didn’t quite give the alien feel I knew from the Weaver series. It turns out, it is a science fiction read, but not quite in the same league as the Weaver series.
 
I know, I keep referring to the Weaver series, and I do apologise for this. I only do this because the Weaver series is such a strong series, and works to show just how much Vaun Murphrey is truly capable of giving us. As I’m about the explain, The Blood Key failed to hit a few marks for me, and having read her other work I know she is capable of giving us so much more – leaving me with the hope that the rest of the series will fill in the gaps apparent throughout this one.
 
First off, I’ll start with the story telling. Whilst enjoyable, certain parts of the book felt rather disjointed. There were many entertaining scenes – all kind of emotions were pulled at throughout the book – and yet there were times when things were not quite as clear as they could have been. I attribute this to the number of things that occurred throughout the book. So much happened in such a short space of time, that we bounced from one thing to the next at a rapid enough pace to leave you confused as to what was going on. Scenes would shift when we were still trying to wrap our heads around things, and whilst this does tie in with the main character’s lack of understanding, it made it hard to keep up with what was going on. More than once, I found myself going back to double check what was happening within a scene.
 
Additionally, we didn’t find out quite as much about the alien worlds as I’d expected. We know about the big evil that will be present throughout the series. We know about the history, to a degree. We know a little about the different types of aliens. Yet, despite how much we came to see, I feel as though I know nothing at all about the alien worlds. I have more questions than answers. This is all good to leave me curious, it leaves me eager to read the next books, yet I would have liked to have a little bit more understanding. I would have liked to be able to form a better picture than what I currently have, as at the moment there are more blank spaces than I usually like to have.
 
My final complaint is in relation to the relationships in the series. Whilst some were really enjoyable to watch, others felt too forced. The romantic element in particular, failed to do anything for me. I know Vaun Murphrey is capable of writing a wonderful romantic subplot, but for me it felt as though it was thrown in just to ensure certain scenes played out. There was potential for the romantic element, but in this first book it just felt a bit forced.
 
As I’ve said, though, it was an interesting read. It opened up a lot of possibilities of where the series could go and has left me curious as to what is to come next – the ending in particular leaves you on the edge of the seat regarding where the story is to head next. I’m curious to see where things go from here, and my fingers are crossed that the next book lives up to the standard of the Weaver series rather than merely showing glimpses of what Vaun Murphrey is capable of delivering (honestly, there were some four star moments, there simply wasn’t enough for me to give a solid four star rating, hence this rounded down three stars).
 
As a final note, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the chance to read this one.

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