Book of the Month

May 2020 - Bloodlines

By ESHurricane

Reviewed by Rasha007

ESHurricane is one of my favorite writers on Wattpad. Let me tell you why.

I am no feminist. To be completely honest, I quite like my man to be manly and being able to be a woman next to him. I don't believe we are the same, we are male and female of the same species, not hermaphrodites. So it would be a little bit strange if we were completely the same.

What I believe in though, is that a woman can be as strong as a man, if not stronger, without losing her feminine side. Because strength is not always about muscles.

That's why I love Emily's stories. They are full of female badass heroines who feel real. Who use their head but also their heart. Who don't cover when facing obstacles the life put in front of them. Add amazing writing, smart plots and twists, lovable supporting characters and voila; you have a masterpiece that you can't help but binge read. At least I couldn't XD

That all goes for Bloodlines too. So, find a comfy chair and let's talk about the pandemic apocalypse!

ATTENTION, SPOILERS COMING YOUR WAY.

I know what you think, "Ha, pandemic, what a topic to write about at this time!" Believe it or not, Emily was a little psychic and actually started this story way before we heard a new virus in our world exists. Though seeing the increasing numbers of reads, people are hardcore and much like Em's heroin don't shy away from topics that might be uncomfortable. Congratulations Emily!

Back to the story.

If you are one of the people who read the blurb, the tags, and ask around before starting a story, the first twist won't be a big surprise for you. It was for me though.

We first meet Daphne when the epidemic starts, we hear about a horrible disease spreading all around the world. People dying away suffering inhuman pain. The despair is real. Daphne first loses her father, then her mother, and soon, she's the only one left with only crows as her companions.

To make this time even more troubled for our heroin, in a deathbed confession, her mother gives her a letter. Yes, she's a coward and won't look her in the eye when telling her the truth, which is, Daphne's dad is not her biological dad. Her real dad (although the word "real" is very relative here) is some no-name guy her mom met in a biker bar that one time she got drunk and was unfaithful to her husband. A random guy who never left a name, only a silver pendant.

Way to piss on the memory of the recently deceased man who raised her daughter.

It was a hard blow in the guts but maybe, just maybe, this stranger could hold answers to why she is still standing. Why does she never get sick? Why is she so strong? Could it be that her father had something inhuman about him? Animals don't get sick after all. So many questions and only one clue to get any answer.

The pendant.

We never know how good we have it, unless a privilege we take for granted is taken away. Like many other things like her favorite coffee which is now not delivered, the internet and all the information it provides for us is such a privilege. Remember google image recognition search? Gone!

Daphne hits the library but she gets nothing. Some Celtic symbols but nothing like her bio-dad's pendant.

Quote: But they were blood. And if he had answers, it would be worth seeking him out. Even if he didn't have answers, if he were still alive, then she'd have somebody to take some of her anger out on, instead of herself. Flashes from wanting to die in the ocean flitted through her head and left a bad taste in her mouth, muck and ash and shame swirling on her tongue.

Now more than ever, we can all relate to the emotions she's experiencing due to the isolation she's going through. Maybe that's why the first part of the story hit me so hard. The way she's holding on to the last straw of hope of finding somebody!

This takes us to the second part of the story where everything changes.

I, personally, was first waiting for the zombies to show up. What can I say, I am a zombie fan. When that didn't happen and Daphne's bio-dad came into the picture, I thought there might be aliens involved. Somehow, even though it was hinted there might be some animal part involved, werewolves never crossed my mind.

Once Daphne decided to not give up, leave the town with her black flying companion in her tow, and try to find some answers, it quite literally hit her in the face. Not only she is not the only survivor. The rest of the human-like creatures still alive on the planet Earth are werewolves. She is partially one as well. From her father's side, of course.

This is where the story does a 180-degree turn. This is also, where the story becomes very unique. At least for me, it did.

Since this moment, we are taken on a rollercoaster of events of her trying to be accepted into the pack that found her while learning about the politics between the packs, what made this particular one special, and we hadn't even scratched the surface.

I fell in love with the mythology of the werewolf world in Bloodlines. Like in an actual pack, everybody somehow knows their place. Everybody is born to do certain things. But not everything is as simple as it seems at first sight.

Based on the initial information about the werewolf pack hierarchy, Daphne shouldn't have a shot to become anything but the lowest of the lowests. She is, after all, only half breed. Not a full wolf, who can't even shift. Something that leaves everyone in the pack perplexed. A wolf who can't shift? That's unheard of.

But here's where the other side of the coin comes in. We are not only our roots, but we also have some control over our fate and we have the power to change it. The background for this is simple.

You are what you think you deserve.

There is so much truth behind the idea fueling this story. We see it in our lives every day. How many times have you heard "we accept the love we think we deserve," I won't even attempt to count. Our mindset is such a powerful tool. If we start something thinking we won't succeed, chances are we really won't, because we gave up even before trying. If we keep our thoughts positive, it will mirror in how we act, how others perceive us, and most importantly, how we feel about ourselves.

I absolutely love this analogy of being responsible for your own happiness, which Bloodlines carries through the whole ride.

We also don't see a damsel in distress, Daphne doesn't need any man to walk her through the bad times. She's her own woman and she knows when to let a guy go to not lose herself.

I don't want to go into the details from now on, because even though I warned you about spoilers, if you were to go and check out the story, I wouldn't want to take away that feeling of absolute joy from some of the later events.

Take my word for it. You won't be disappointed.