I had high hopes for this book after starting it. Both main characters are strong, interesting and flawed, and the plot really intrigued me. I mean, vampire x vampire hunter is an elite trope. The secret order of vampire hunters had me hooked, but it didn’t take very long before I kinda fell out of the story. The romance bit between the women is complicated as heck obviously, which is okay, but I didn’t really feel any <i>chemistry</i> between them.

The external plot is sort of two-sided. One part completely external, and one part closely related to both MCs. Sadly, I didn’t care much about the latter. The ending is a big cliffhanger, and if I’d been more invested throughout the story, it could’ve devastated me. I felt mildly shocked, but that was really it.

It’s not a case of bad writing or anything, and I really enjoyed the narration — Laura Horowitz is super talented. I just think this is a case of ‘not for me’.

If you enjoy enemies to lovers that spans a long time and doesn’t get completely resolved in the first book, and fantasy/paranormal, then for sure give it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and MC Hutson Press for the ALC.

Ok. I felt the story had a lot of promise and it was done...fine. I thought I'd enjoy the premise of an enemies-to-lovers half-vampire/sorceress and revenge seeking orphan, but I ended up getting bored after a while.

The VA was ok. I think I would've liked it more if Petra was given more personality rather an being an aggressive and constantly reactive individual. I can't tell if that's a flawed of the writing or the VA though at this point. Vi's voice didn't really fit well either, she was constantly scared and came off as demure so much of the time but then she'd said lines like "fuck me" which came off as disjointed.

I don't really understand how Petra joined the organisation despite having finished the book. Like, not WHY she joined but rather HOW she managed to do so. It seems like everyone else in the organisation is a nepo baby besides her so how?

I didn't really appreciate the use of the word "fucktard" considering the connotations and semantics of the word. It really, really bothered me.

Overall, I think it was a fine read. Not my favourite, but it was ok. I would usually write something positive, but I'm struggling to find something I was more than apathetic about and I'm failing. Hopefully this book reaches an audience that enjoys it more. 2.5 Stars rounded to 3.

Born of Blood and Magic had some great moments, especially the banter between characters which felt sharp and natural. The storyline had potential and there were parts where I was genuinely drawn in, curious to see what would happen next. The pacing was steady and the world-building had a unique flair that could really appeal to the right reader.

That said, the book just wasn’t for me. I kept hoping I’d connect with it more as the story unfolded, but something didn’t quite click. It might be one of those books that depends a lot on personal taste. I can see why others would love it, especially for the snappy dialogue and imaginative plot, but I didn’t fully enjoy the experience. Still, I’m glad I gave it a try.

I was able to listen to this as an audio. This is an FF romance. Our two FMC‘s have a disastrous past together with our human SMC watching our vampire FMC kill her mother(this happens within the first two chapters) as the story progresses we watch as our human FMC comes to grips with her mother‘s very Catholic mindset, dealing with the guilt of having lost your mother and kind of being the cause of why our mother was out to be killed. Well, also trying to get revenge for her mother.
Our vampire FMC is not just a normal vampire. She is what they call an ill blood meaning that she is two separate supernaturals in one. This story takes us on the adventure of our human FMC having her chance at revenge on the vampire FMC but working around that to get to the end of the story which I don’t want to spoil so I will leave that there.

CW: sexual harassment, rape threats directed towards a lesbian, attempted rape of a lesbian by a man on page, transphobic jokes not addressed by the narrative

Before I rant about this book, I want to say that the audiobook narrator did a solid job and none of my critiques are targeted towards their performance.

This book needed to have a major content warning for sexual assault and threats of rape towards queer women. With the first rape joke I thought it was in extreme poor taste and it only got worse when one of our main characters who is presented as a lesbian was almost raped while being held in jail. If you are dealing with these topics your book should begin with a content warning or it should be very clear within the goodreads summary that these issues will arise in the story. This book is self published so it is on the author to include those warnings within the audiobook, it's possible that there is a cw in the kindle edition but I did not read that version.

I also think that the author needs to make a major change to a line in this book that reads as quite transphobic. Petra says something to the effect that her guy friend can't come into the sapphic club with her because he has a dick. Equating genitals with one's gender is pretty gross to me and made my terf alarms go off. It's possible that this was just a misguided line on the part of the author but it doesn't read like Petra is in the wrong or undereducated. My lesbianism includes trans women regardless of their genitals so this line put a pretty bad taste in my mouth.

Finally, there is just no chemistry between these characters. I don't understand why I'm supposed to root for their relationship because there were no efforts to develop their bond. These girls barely know each other and aside from their traumatic childhoods I don't feel like they're fully formed characters. I probably won't read another book from this author because those earlier writing choices made me really uncomfortable as a reader. As a lesbian I don't want to open a book and without warning have to read about sexual violence targeted towards my identity.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so much fun! We a sapphic urban fantasy romance. I loved the different types of magical creatures like vampires, hoppers, and sorcerers. The third person POV gave us a true scope of all the characters involved and I loved that. The romance was beautifully cruel and I really liked how it ended. We also get an interracial relationship which I can appreciate. The narrator did an amazing job portraying both main characters. The plot was interesting and unique. The pacing was done very well, and I felt like the book flowed perfectly. This was a good time.

3.5 stars
Loved the narration for this book! The cover drew my attention & I was not passing up on a sapphic romantasy plot! I enjoyed the world building as it was easy to follow. I liked the characters and was rooting for the ETL storyline!

This book includes:
- sapphic love
- vampires
- family trauma

I like the premise of this book, but found it very difficult to connect with this story or its characters. The writing was good, just perhaps not a match with my reading style. I think I will probably revisit this book in the future and give it another shot. I am happy to see that this book has a lot of fans tho and think it is worth others giving it a read.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, MC Hutson, and MC Press for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863 and it will be posted to my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/ and booktok https://www.tiktok.com/@tinynightingales?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

This was such a gripping story I enjoyed learning all about the vampires and other creatures in this book and I love that most of the characters are lgbt I very much enjoyed the audiobook as it kept me gripped and entertained

I love a fast paced book. In this case, it was a bit too fast, but I still enjoyed the story! And the audiobook being narrated by Laura Horowitz made it even better!

Vampire assassin x vampire is an interesting pairing that I am starting to enjoy in the books I read! Especially when they start as enemies. This is one of the instances where a fast paced book doesn't do them justice. It did feel a bit rushed for me, that is to say, I would have loved to see them pining for each other for a bit longer. A slow burn would have been brilliant for Petra and Vy.

The last few chapters were a chaotic rollercoaster! (In a good way!) And that ending?? 😭😭😭 I'm definitely looking forward to the next book! I need to know how things will proceed!

The ALC was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

For an enemies to lovers story, the romance was WAY too fast paced for me they just seemed to go from meeting to fighting to kissing in seconds and one of the last chapters literally says they only knew each other for a week and there just wasn’t enough tension and guilt and temptation and yearning for me.

The second half of the book also felt very rushed in general.

That said, I did enjoy the multiple unique magic systems as well as the general plot and concept!

Thank you Netgalley for my ALC copy!

This audiobook was a mixed experience for me. The story had a lot of interesting elements—magic, mystery, and a compelling main character—but it ended up feeling a bit too crowded. There were so many plot threads introduced that by the end, it became hard to follow and a bit overwhelming. The ending, in particular, felt rushed and overly convoluted, leaving me more confused than satisfied.

That said, the real standout was Laura Horowitz’s narration. She brought the characters to life with distinct voices and emotion, and her performance kept me engaged even when the plot got tangled. Her voice added a layer of polish and energy that made the audiobook experience much more enjoyable.

Overall, while the story didn’t fully land for me, the narration was top-tier and made it worth the listen.

Born of Blood and Magic is set up with an interesting magic system and world building. I always like seeing unique urban fantasy. The book did the slow-burn correctly for an enemies to lovers trope. Vy and Petra actively dislike each other (for very legitimate reasons) the majority of the book.

Where things start to fall apart is pacing. Vy spends most of the book doubting the reason she’s interested in Petra. Petra in turn still disparages Vy 97% into the book. A lot of action and plot is pushed into the last third if the story. It very much reads as the first part of a longer series. While it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger per se, it still leaves a lot of the story unanswered.

It’s difficult to get into many of the issues without spoiling the story, so I’ll just say that I didn’t find the ending very satisfying.

Laura Horowitz did a great job and her narration added nice depth to the story.

Overall rating: 2.5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for the ALC and the opportunity to leave an honest review.

I went into Born of Blood and Magic hoping for an immersive fantasy experience, but unfortunately, it didn’t manage to hold my interest. The premise had potential — a world steeped in magic, conflict, and legacy — yet the execution fell flat for me.

One of the main issues was the pacing. The story took too long to build momentum, and by the time things started to happen, I had already begun to disengage. There were moments of intrigue, but they were too few and far between to maintain a compelling narrative.
The characters also didn’t quite click. While I could see the outlines of interesting development, I never felt truly invested in their journeys or emotions. It was difficult to connect with them or care deeply about their outcomes, which made the stakes feel low even during climactic scenes.
The writing itself wasn’t bad, but it lacked the spark or vividness needed to bring this kind of fantasy world to life. At times, the prose felt weighed down by exposition, which further dragged the story.

Overall, Born of Blood and Magic just didn’t engage me the way I hoped. It’s clear that M.C. Hudson put a lot of thought into the world and lore, but without a more gripping story or more compelling characters, it didn’t leave a lasting impression.

I liked a lot about this book, mostly Laura Horowitz' fabulous narration. Anything narrated by her is an instant favourite for me and this was no exception.

I also really appreciated the representation, as I don't recall ever reading a F/F urban fantasy before, and urban fantasy is a genre I don't gravitate towards. The first half of the book had me hooked, if not a little confused, and I liked the complexity of the characters.

That said, I found some of the dialogue and character actions to be a bit cheesy and predictable, but this didn't take too much away from my enjoyment.

Overall, it's a well written book but probably not a genre I'm into, but I appreciate the audio ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and M.C Hutson for the ALC

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the narration of this story, Laura Horowitz did a beautiful job. But the story itself I'm just not sure it was for me. I'm not always the biggest fan of urban fantasy, sometimes they work for me sometimes they don't, and I don't think this one did unfortunately.

It was slow to get into the beginning of the story for me and I felt like the ending could have done with more, it was a big wtf moment & I feel like some parts of it were rushed to get there.

This was a wild ride and I really enjoyed listening to this urban fantasy. I am not really into fantasy but this one worked for me. There were lost of action and plot twists that I did not see coming. However, I would have liked more romance and I had some issues to really connect to the MC's. Then WTF about the ending, that was not what I wanted for sure, the whole time travelling and changing the past and thus the present did not work for me.

It was entertaining but now that I finished it, I couldn't tell you what happened in the book, weird feeling

thank you net galley for the copy

I devoured this audiobook. I really enjoyed the story, the magic, the world, the characters, the Sapphic romance, the quest. But omg that ending! It was a sad one and I need book 2 ASAP!!



Minor Cons. I felt the multiple POV was a bit confusing at fist, there's a few chapters I had to start over to better understand but I got the hang of it haha also it was very fast paced, it jumped around quickly. Some elements could've been longer. Especially towards the end, the last 20% approximately.

Great debute. I needed more Sapphic fantasy 👌

Thank you to NetGalley and M.C. Hutson Press for the audiobook ARC of Born of Blood and Magic by @mchutsonbooks — narrated flawlessly by Laura Horowitz. 🎧💥
If you're a fan of Arcane—especially if you shipped CaitVi but secretly craved ViMel energy—this one’s for you. In this sapphic urban fantasy, Vy gives Mel vibes, Petra is Vi coded (ear tuck), and together? Chef’s kiss.
🩸Vy is a half-vampire, hated for being “other” in a world that barely tolerates difference.
🔥Petra is a human monster hunter whose mother was killed by a vampire, and she’s out for revenge.
This is true enemies-to-lovers tension. I was yelling in my car listening to their arguments one minute and swooning the next. (There’s a one bed at the inn moment, and yes—I was kicking my feet.)
The only reason I gave this 4⭐️ instead of 5 is totally a me problem: I’m not a huge fan of urban fantasy set in real cities—it takes me out of the story when I get distracted by the geography. But everything else? Absolutely delicious.
⚠️ TW for attempted SA around the 80% mark — page 314 on Kindle.
✨Dark, romantic, action-packed, and unapologetically sapphic. I cannot wait to get a physical copy of this gem.