I really wanted to love this book after reading the synopsis which sounded great. Unfortunately I just couldn't find myself hooked and I didn't end up finishing it. I will give it another try at a later date see if anything has changed.

Oh, this was bad. I didn't like the plot and I couldn't care less for those characters. It was entertaining with a lot of drama, action and some random crazy stuff.

This title was a DNF for me. I tried, stopped for a bit, and picked it back up. It's not the writing, it's just not my kind of book. I just couldn't get into it. :(

I tried but I wasn't able to finish reading The Blood Key, the plot was too all over the place for me. I think the premise has potential and it started out pretty good but the story needs tightening.

Very rushed, I didn't like the characters. Very confused as to what was happening, who was who and who was what. Needed more explanations at times.

Zane/Z is freed from an asylum that she had been in since she was in there for three years Z had been falsely imprisoned for the murder of her brother who had gone missing. There were secrets and lies at home. Z comes home from the institution with Izzy who was a employee at the asylum but had become Z’s friend. Strange things started happening as Z and Izzy try to find out what really happened to Z’s brother and about Z herself. Z’s stepmother gave Z her childhood home with the stipulation that she never see Z again. On her way home Z interrupts a robbery and to one of her brother Christopher’s friends Dominic. Z and Dominic start spending time together.
I kinda liked this story but wasn’t really impressed by it though I did finish it. I had mixed feelings about this story. I would have liked more background on Z’s abilities and her background. Z’s dad really irritated me. Some things weren’t as clear as I thought they should be. I also got confused a lot about what was going on. I also would have liked to know more about the alien worlds. There was a lot of drama and action. It was fast paced with a lot of twists and turns that I did like. This was a quick read and at times made me laugh. Still all and all I was disappointed.

Interesting, but I felt like a few things were missing and a bit more of the story could have been told. Nonetheless, the concept itself is worthy of a recommendation.

This could have been so much more. The Blood Key is bogged down with too much history, lore, paranormal happenings, secrets run amuck and liars who lie about lying that it's nearly impossible to follow the main story. Or even decide what is the main story.
Each time I thought I had a handle on things some other weird, crazy, unnecessary wrench was thrown in the mix. I'm all for fast paced books but this was ridiculous. I think a whole trilogy exists in plot within this one 250pg book.

The part that is most frustrating about the over extended plot and cast of characters is that the writing is pretty darn good. Vaun Murphrey has a clear, concise voice but just can't seem to focus enough on any one thing long enough for it to stick.
I felt there was so much that could have been done with the story before any major paranormal happenings occurred. It would have been nice to get to know our characters a little better and feel like we have a solid foundation before everything goes crazy.

Overall a disappointment for me. Maybe a future series when Murphrey has evolved and matured as an author I'd try her out again; but for now I won't continue this series.

3 stars

So, first thing first. Confession time. I requested this for the sole reason that the heroine has my name, Zena. Why the author felt the need to cripple such a historic name by adding Bo in front of it and making it Bozena, I haven't a clue. It admittedly made it a bit weird for me every time I read "Bozena" as it sounded like Boo Zena in my head or worse I kept picturing some kind of detergent instead.

Anyway, to start I'd like to address two things I read in reviews before I opened up the book. One, that it was boring and two, that the heroine and her friends were acting like teenagers/kids.

The book starts with Zena being released from a psychiatric asylum where she was sentenced for a crime she didn't commit. The assumed murder of her brother Christophe.

For me this book is very far from boring. What it is, is convoluted, relentless,twisty with perpetual action and continual world building to the point that I got absolutely exhausted reading it. I wanted the heroine Zena to take some numbers and kick some ass. That didn't exactly happen. So many things happen to this poor girl that she barely has time to breathe. We don't get to know her that well. We don't get to see her process where she actually comes from and what she can do. And we don't get to see her get pass her awful time in the asylum. We just see things happening to her with a few minutes in between where she tries to understand it all and that gets continually interrupted either by her odd thought process or people trying to kill her. I liked the world building, the various worlds and species but it was just too much. If I had started reading it before I went to bed I doubt I would have been able to retain it all. I wanted to know what happened next but around 60% I just wanted to give up not because it wasn't interesting but because too many things kept happening. Friendenemies and family popping in and out, wayward powers and bad guys were unending.

As for the childish behaviour. Zena is barely eighteen. Not only that she has spent the majority of her teens drugged up and abused in an asylum. Her friends aren't that much older. I found her behaviour alright for the most part. I just wanted to see her adjust to it all. So many things happen that we don't see her actually digesting everything. It's more like ok this happened and this and this and this but I gotta keep going to survive. Even at the end we just see her being all peachy before the cliffhanger. No mental issues, anxiety or any negative emotions are discussed. Even when the abuse in the asylum it's mentioned there's no reaction other than she didn't want others to know about it.

I guess I wanted her to grow. To gain perspective. To have some things properly explained and have support from those closest to her. And that could have happened if the author let up on all the intricate plots and gave the characters a moment to settle. It's a unique world that could be lovely to explore if the author lets you.

I really could not get into this one. It was all very messy and all over the place with the plot. I could not follow it at all. Way too much was happening. I did not connect with the MC and found them very childish. Sorry, but I didn't like it and marked it DNF.

Generally I'm a fan of YA, but this one just didn't do it for me.

Zena (Bozena) Skala made me laugh out loud. Despite living in an asylum for years for a crime she didn’t commit (murdering her beloved brother), her sense of humor remains intact. Especially as she finds out that she’s not exactly human. Try dealing with that.

I loved Zena’s character, and her process for learning way more than she wanted. Her love for her best friend, brother, and even her disappeared father is apparent yet she doesn’t hold back on the negative feelings that accompany loving someone for who they really are.

It's not the tightest book regarding plot, and there are a lot more questions raised than answered, but it was a quick and fun read. There was a lot going on in a short period of time, and trying to make sense of it was a bit tough, but it was a good ride.

I’ll read more from Vaun Murphrey for sure.

This is the first book I've read by Vaun Murphrey, and her writing voice instantly stood out. You know when you read the first few sentences and go "yeap!" because you know you're in good hands? I had that feeling.

I enjoyed the tone of the main character introducing us to the story. There's a lot to like about Zena, but there's equally a lot to get frustrated about. She's a tall girl (Amazons represent!) and blase about things enough to be quietly sassy. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind often. For instance, what's the first thing you do when let out of an asylum and left unsupervised? Drink, of course. Especially if you have a dodgy family history.

The main chapter I enjoyed with her was the flashback chapter (disguised as a dream which was kinda sneaky) introducing her brother Christophe - who, I admit, I was instantly drawn to. Vaun's description of him made him an early key player for Book Boyfriend 2017, not gonna lie.

Dominic is equally nice, though a bit underdeveloped. And when the First Big Twist turns up in the first quarter, it seems to be skimmed over so quickly as though it's automatically integrated - not even Zena, who I'd imagine despite being casual about stuff having seen it all before would still be shocked and have some discernible reaction other than "ok gimme food" - and then we're moving on to the next plot point.

While this book isn't perfect, I would pick up something of Vaun Murphrey's again because I did enjoy her writing, I just hope the pacing is more equal.

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers(??).
I requested it on the basis of the title and the description. I haven’t read any Vaun Murphrey books before so I came to this book without expectations. As the story begins, Bozena is being released from a mental institute where has been for 3 years since her brother disappeared and she was blamed. Almost immediately, violent incidents start. Before long we learn of her origins and find out that she is special. On the face of it, this book has all of the usual YA genre tropes; the quirky best friend, the protective guy, the teenager singled out to do something important. What the book lacks is any level of character development. We don’t get to know (or like) any characters, even the main one. Bozena should be a mess of emotional conflicts but we don’t hear any of it. And then there are the aliens. There are aliens coming out of the walls at every turn. There are so many different kind of aliens with only the most cursory explanation of the differences. The book has incident after incident after incident, it is non-stop action but this does have an abrasive feel to it. I like a book that has peaks and flows in the action. I like the build-up in tension that structure creates. This book left me feeling mentally beaten into the ground, which is a shame because the premise had potential. If you are looking for a book with the usual YA fantasy with intense complexities of emotional conflict, you may not get what you need here, but if you are looking for a book that is all action and minimal feelings this would be the book for you.

The premise of this story is very interesting, especially the way it began. A girl with a spunky attitude who was locked away for something she never did? My kind of heroine. I like her best friend, who has a very funny personality but plays the role of a stereotypical Latina ... which I wish hadn't happened. There is a love interest in this story, and for once it isn't a love triangle, so that was quite nice. However, the plot itself seemed disjointed; so many things were happening and nothing was fully explained. I like having details in my novels, not just action, so that definitely made this novel suffer for me. I also found the dialogue to be awkward and stilted between the different characters, especially between Zena and her father. So while this novel had an interesting premise, its execution was lacking. If you like fast-paced stories with a lot of action, then give this book a go!

I am sorry. This was not my type of book. I did not like what the book was about and had I would not read another one in the series.