3.75

The voice acting in this one is excellent, I really enjoyed the performance.

The story was quickly paced but not to fast. I enjoyed Vy and Petras relationship. The yearning/not so secret attraction was good. I appreciate that who killed Petras parents wasn't the twist.

All in all it was a pretty solid debut and first book to a series.

(Advance Listening Copy (ALC) courtesy of NetGalley and MC Press.)

(Putting the TL;DR at the top this time because there's <b>spoilers</b> below.)

TL;DR: The author shows a tremendous amount of promise, especially with the world-building, but if you're here at all for *romance* then this title just doesn't come together in the end.

2⭐

Let’s kick it off with the positive: world-building.

Sure, the whole “secret human organization holding back a superhuman flood” thing is a familiar trope, but this felt fresh in a way that’s hard to describe. Also, the vampire-who-swore-off-human-blood setup? Usually cliché as hell. But in this story? Surprisingly well-executed and honestly refreshing. The author has genuinely good ideas for her world.

Now, onto why this is a 2⭐ read for me.
<b>⚠️ WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠️</b>

The main character starts the book in love with her best friend. One traumatic event leads to another, and years later, she ends up in an enemies-to-lovers arc with a different girl. It works. It’s compelling. You get invested.

But it all leads to time shenanigans and the MC ends up back in time with the original best friend. I found that deeply unsatisfying. And worse? It’s a series. So now I’m left wondering—are we going to undo the new/old romance? Are we doing more time shenanigans? Is another new romance going to be introduced? I can’t bring myself to read on and find out.

Connected to that, I really appreciated that the MC had trained hard and bulked up, such a rare and cool body type for a lead. (Think Vi from Arcane, and the cover art reinforced this too.) But of course, with the time travel reset, she doesn’t go through that same transformation. And that loss really undercut part of what made her so compelling.

🎧 AUDIO-SPECIFIC:
There were four or five female POVs in this book, and it often took me an uncomfortably long time after each chapter break to figure out whose perspective I was in. I’m not sure if that’s a writing issue or a writing and narration issue, but either way—it pulled me out of the story.

The narrator didn’t do enough to differentiate the voices. From one angle, I get it: you’ve got three young women, close in age. It's probably difficult to make them sound completely unique. But then you’ve also got a fourth, older military character (who could have been old enough to be all their moms) and she should sound completely different... Yet she still blended in vocally with the others.

⚠️ CW: rape threats directed towards a lesbian, attempted rape of a lesbian by a man (on page), sexual harassment, transphobic jokes

⭐️ /5 and DNF

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to audiobook.

Firstly the narrator did a great job and i look forward to listening to more books narrated by them in the future.

The idea of vampire x vampire hunter is a trope i often love so i was excited to listed to this audiobook but It felt very underwhelming to me, I didn't find it entertaining and it felt like it dragged on. The world building didn't feel original at all instead felt like parts were ripped from other places. i also felt the the characters lacked chemistry, and as a result i wasn't rooting for their relationship.

⚠️ This book need to include the correct content warnings. I only found the content mentioned in reviews when I went searching for them. there was no mention of content warnings in the audiobook, on goodreads and the notes from the publisher on Netgalley wasn't complete (This audiobook contains: profanity, violence, gore, drug use, homophobia, and explicit sex scenes.). i have no idea if it is listed as a content warning in the kindle/ ebook/ physical edition as i received the audiobook.

⚠️ This book includes sexual assault and threats of and attempted rape towards a lesbian character. There is also a line in this book that to me read as incredible transphobic. Essentially it says that the MCs male friend can't come with them to the sapphic club because he has a dick and as a book about queer people i would expect better than this and it made me uncomfortable as a queer person myself who supports all trans people.

⚠️ While I do occasionally read books that contain mentions of SA/ rape they always have content warnings so i can expect to come across them, can make sure i'm in the correct headspace, and prepared to read that content, however when it isn't listed in the warnings or when no content warnings given on audiobooks and then it to happen during the story is just not ok to do and I have lost all trust in this author and won't be reading anything else they publish.

This one was not a vibe.
At the first 'rape joke' I was uncomfortable. There were no content warnings, which is highly irresponsible, since there was sexual assault as well.
The narrator did a lovely job - that isn't on them. It's on the author, and audiobook publisher, to have those content warnings there.

This was a fast paced sapphic true enemies to lovers slow burn romance.
This one took me a minute to get into and once I did I was sad that it was over. I enjoyed the overall story and the unique magic system. The story did take detours with filler that didn’t really need to be there. Which left me confused at times. But I liked Violet and Petra’s chemistry.

I also really liked the narration. I don’t normally love single narrator audios but this one was well done.

I listened to an excellent audiobook production A hatred to needed conspirators, to lover and needed left behind time travel altering fantasy. Plenty of action, and consequences for Vy - unwilling vampire, and Petra - assassin and avowed to destroy the vampire that killed her mother, who just happens to be Vy. What are they to do? Kill each other or help turn back time. Thank you to MC Press and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

This book is so interesting. It felt like it's a great example of urban fantasy. The characters were very interesting to delve into and the questions that the author stirred about them were definitely strong enough to pull me into the story. The twists were great and honestly I did not expect the ending to be what it was. I look forward to what comes next in the series!
The only drawback was that after the prologue it felt slow for a few chapters. The prologue drew me in enough that I definitely wanted to keep going and then it definitely picked up. By the end I didn't want to pause for anything.
The narrator of the audiobook does a great job of shifting voices so that it's an immersive experience and obviously when different characters speak and when the perspective shifts.

There’s a lot of promise in Born of Blood and Magic. The magical system was one of the highlights for me—unique enough to hold my interest and definitely a reason I’m considering continuing the series. I’m curious to see how the author builds it out.

That said, the narration made it hard to fully settle into the story. The narrator added a lot of personality—too much, honestly. There were multiple moments where Petra’s dialogue or internal monologue felt overly dramatized, and I caught myself cringing at some of her reactions purely because of the delivery.

The ending left me a little disappointed. I was rooting for the women to end up together, and without Petra continuing as a vampire hunter, I’m not sure how the author will bring them back into each other’s orbit—if she even plans to.

Overall, a solid debut in the genre. There’s enough here to pique my interest for book two, but I’ll probably opt for a print or ebook format next time.

Born of Blood and Magic was my first foray into what I would call “big girl” fantasy. It is so much more than just a vampire novel. The world building, contemporary fantasy, and magic that Hutson has created is so intricate and unique, yet you can still clearly understand and follow the elements.

I listened to this one on audio and the narrator was easy to listen to. I feel the world building is likely easier to follow when reading on page than audio, but I felt immersed in the world around me with the audio.

And not to mention the romance between Vy and Petra… I’m a sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers and this one has just as much hatred as it does longing. Overall, I am looking forward to the next book in this series and happy to finally have a high fantasy sapphic read!

Decent book with sizzling chemistry. Ending felt a bit rushed and time travel was meh at best. Might check out the next one but idk.

Listened to this in one setting and this sapphic urban fantasy totally stole my heart. The slow-burn chemistry between Vy—a cursed half-vampire who can’t even drink blood—and assassin Petra is just chef’s kiss 💋🔥. Their enemies-to-lovers arc is bold, and really magnetic.

The magic system is clever—just enough depth without bogging things down. I loved the fresh twist on vampire lore, especially Vy’s tragic flaw. Some early sections felt a bit filler-y, in my opinion. The story took a tiny detour before really getting cooking. A few side plot threads and world-building elements could have been fleshed out more to make everything feel fully polished.

Pacing has its peaks—it's smoother in places—but the payoff is worth it, especially toward the end. Narration-wise, Laura Horowitz’s voice performance comes highly praised too.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook!

An interesting urban fantasy with interesting world building and an enemies to lovers sapphic romance. I will say the romance did kick off really quickly, and was definitely anywhere near as slow burn as I'd expect for someone who murdered someone else's mom.

There were also some really odd side tangents about food or neighborhood descriptions, like a tourism ad for Japan in the middle. There was A LOT happening so I would have preferred less of that and more world building / plot. Overall I enjoyed the story even if there were parts I was thinking please be serious are y'all NOT on a timeline?? There are things you need to be getting done asap.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and would like to see where it can go. I am intrigued by the science and what all the experiments are about. I'm also a sucker for a good vampire vs vampire hunter story. It creates a true enemies to lovers romance. However, I did feel that the story was a bit lacking. The beginning was really strong and then it felt rushed and the story became convoluted. I'm not sure the POVs outside of Vi and and Petra were exactly needed. I actually felt like they took away from some of the story.

As for the narration, it's just not for me.

This review has been posted across multiple socials.

Fast paced. Great characters and world.
Especially the vibe was spectacular.
I had really fun with this one.

Thank you NetGalley, MC Press, and MC Hutson for the ARC.

This is a fast paced action filled adventure. There are multiple 3 person povs that can be hard to keep up with during the audio. Please be aware of the triggers in this book before you start.

3.5⭐️

Born of Blood and Magic by MC Hutson
Narrated by Laura Horowitz
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

It feels like it's been so long since I read such a well done, urban fantasy romance! Make it sapphic on top of that and I'm in love.
The tension between Vy and Petra was palpable from the beginning, both because of their shared past and their sexual tension. Their progression felt natural and believable, which really added to their enemies to lovers vibe.
The world building and backstories sucked me in and I'm already chomping at the bit for book two. Without spoiling anything, I am DYING to know what is in store for our two lovely ladies because they went through so much in this first book!

Laura Horowitz did an amazing job bringing the characters to life, and let each character show their distinct personalities through her performance. I follow her on social media, and now I can't wait to listen to more of her work!

Thank you NetGalley, MC Press, and MC Hutson for the ARC.
All opinions expressed in this review are mine and have not been influenced by anyone or anything.

First and foremost let me thank NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this audio ARC.

I had attempted to read this book twice in the physical format and just couldn't get through it. Sometimes the audio book helps me bust through and find a great story at the end... I would not classify this as a great story.. but it was a story.

There are a couple of jokes about things that well I don't joke about. Sexual assault and trans matters. At one point the MC makes a comment about how their friend couldn't go to a sapphic club bc they had a dick between their legs. That feels terfy as hell! and I honestly just can't get past it.

My stars here are for the world building like I would love to know more there. But leave the "jokes" behind pls.

My Initial Thoughts
Straight away was ready for an adventure and this didn’t disappoint, to an extent. It did take me a while to settle into this audiobook and I found it hard to understand what was happening at first, it was made more difficult by the fact there is 4 POVs but its in 3rd person.
Plot
I really enjoyed the plot and the danger and intensity of the storyline. This would make a good film/series. Once I was fully emersed into the world of the lightless I could follow along easier and fully understand what was happening. That being said, the ending wasn’t for me and fell flat in my opinion.
Characters
There is so many different characters which all have very different personalities. I think Violet was my favourite, such a misunderstood character. Also Dustin… why.
Recommend
If you’re a fan of urban fantasy with a touch of romance then try this!
Narrating
I was able to keep up with the narrator and the full story and I feel like they did a great job, considering they had to voice 4 MCs.
Overall Wrap up
This did take me a while to warm up to and I enjoyed the middle and the adventure and danger that Petra and Vi went on together, the push and the pull of the relationship, discovering truths hidden under lies. The ending however, I was not a fan of and that really let it down for me, it just felt ok, nothing terrible but also nothing to shout about either. Also Dustin.. poor soul, there is always one. I hated some of the characters with a passion, but I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series, however I’m unsure as to where that might lead at the moment, but there is a few things left unanswered.
Stars & Spice – 3.75 stars and 2 chilli spices.

Book Information – Born Of Blood And Magic by M.C.Hutson.

Narrators – Narrated by Laura Horowitz.

Genre – Urban fantasy with a side of romance.

Length of audiobook – 10hrs 3 minutes.

Tropes –
LGBTQ+ rep.
Magical creatures.
Enemies to lovers.
Rewriting history.
Found family.
Available on Kindle Unlimited – Born Of Blood And Magic is available on kindle unlimited.

Available Formats – Available on kindle, audiobook and in paperback.

Publishing Information – Published on 13th August 2024 by MC Hutson Press INC.

Format in Which I Read – Audiobook.

Where my copy come From – Netgallery.

POVs – There is four POVs – Petra, Violet. Olivia and the general.

Single/Dual/Multiple Timelines – Written on a single timeline.

1st or 3rd Person – Written in 3rd person.

HEA, HFN or Cliff hanger – Open ended. I don’t see how the story can carry on from this ending ? Unless it’s a series of interconnected standalones with different MCs?

Series or Standalone – Book 1 of The Lightless series.

Trigger Warnings – Please check content warnings before reading if necessary and please always remember that your mental health matters.

Text-
This gave me vibes from something but for the life of me I can’t place it. If anyone has thoughts on it, let me know. But anyways I liked it.

I was surprised this had Multiple POVs. I feel the most you normally get is two. It was really interesting to get the other POVs.

Overall, I feel like this was pretty fast paced. A lot of stuff happened and honestly it got a little crazy. With the ending, I’m really curious what happens in the next book…

Audiobook-
I really like Laura Horowitz. I think she’s a great narrator and she does an awesome job. Would recommend!

First up, this book is a side-step to my usual literary fodder but I’ve been specifically looking for more queer-relationship focused books, especially ones where ‘coming out’ isn’t the story arc. And that seems to happen most in fantasy books.
I’d also been on the look out for a sapphic ‘romantasy’ for a friend.
So that led me here.
The narration is slow and sultry, if that’s your bag, you’re gonna love it. For me it grated so I sped up to 1.25 and that got me past the hurdle of it being too slow for my brain.
The atmosphere through the book is anger and revenge. A lot of anger and a lot of revenge. Everyone is pissed. And everyone is pissed off at each other.
The plot itself is good, goes through some twists and turns and does a good job of world building without it being tedious or repetitive.
It definitely could have more sex in it, there’s a lot of opportunity for it, and there are some nice sapphic sex scenes, but honestly I was left wanting more.
I reckon it would make a great animation or graphic novel, there’s loads of scope for the visual imagery and it would be sexy as hell at times.
As an audiobook, it was good, but not great. And really I don’t want to spend that much time with so much anger and hatred!