I found it quite hard to get through the first half (or more) of this book, which I thought was too cluttered with background story and slighty confusing. Only the last few chapters were interesting and had some action.

The mystery story was usually overshadowed by the character development, resulting in a poorly constructed plot. It was really painful to read sometimes.

Still, overall, I liked the book (more the last part, of course) and the characters (especially the sexy, if cliche, vampire Malik), so I'll probably follow the story. Bear in mind that other than the setting (London) this is your run-of-the-mill urban fantasy.

Cute, easy to read fluff

I enjoyed this book and the characters, but felt as though there were so many "new" ideas and concepts that plot holes might have been there and I didn't even notice. I am ok with revealing a character's backstory slowly, but with some characters (such as Finn) I didn't even understand what they were doing in the story. With the character of Katie, I didn't understand her at all until it was mentioned later that she was only 16. With Holly, it was unclear that she wasn't Aggie's daughter until much later in the book. I will read the sequels to this story and hope that the author starts to realize what to reveal and what to save for later.

Maybe 3.5, I do plan on continuing with the series, I think the next one may be better now that we have the world-building done. Hopefully the series can continue without all of the info-dumps.

A very different book than I normally read, and certainly different than the book I thought it was going to be. Still, beyond the slightly uncomfortable (have to adapt for such frank moments), it was an interesting book. The plot was well-thoughtout. The characters all more than one-dimensional. The world well established in the pages. Can't rule out getting the other books in the series.

I'm still confused after reading this one. There are too many characters to keep track off. You are given hints about important things that define what is happening and what Genny is doing, but never enough to remove the confusion. By the time things are revealed I've forgotten why they're important. I think there's a good world, a good character and a good story in here somewhere but there's so much happening and so little explained that I'm pretty much lost the entire time. Even with the story wrapped up I'm still not sure about half of what happened. All this confusion prevented me from forming a relationship with any of the characters or any sense of excitement because I kept getting distracted by my confusion.

For the record I am not a reader who gets confused easily. Really the opposite - usually I string even the most confusing story around and I'm a long time UF reader so this type of book is nothing new for me. It's just too much at one time for me.

Based in London this is the story of a Sidhe Fae, well a part Sidhe Fae, working for spellcrackers.com, a company that finds magic for people and break or crack it. In a world where Vampires have rights and where becoming a vampire is sought after.

I found it quite a compelling read (I got sucked in and missed sleep over this one) but in some ways frustrating. Things aren't quite spelt out enough to be satisfying, the author doles out information like pennies from a miser so a lot of the conflict is a bit off pace.

I found it interesting though, it's an interesting slant on the world and I'm curious to see what happens next.

First in the Spellcrackers.com urban fantasy series revolving around Genevieve Taylor, half-fae, half-human? -vampire? and her ages-long fight against the 3V and her flight from her prince.


My Take
The premise is good and unique to my reading list, however, McLeod is irritating with her primary character AND the activities that occur throughout the story. It's one thing to tease the reader into continuing to read. It's another thing completely to tease with very little release. It almost reads as though McLeod wrote all sorts of possibilities, cultural traits, character-related flaws onto index cards. She then tore them up, threw them into the air and then picked them up and stuck them into the story any which way. I don't mind being led, being teased, reading snippets of clues, but, eventually, I DO want explanations. I want resolution. I want those snippets to slot into some sort of order, an explanation. Oh, yes, eventually, McLeod resolves the primary picture, but she leaves WAY too much simply hanging whether it's in Hugh's red dust or the Muse's box.

Christ, McLeod has so many rules and conditions for each race and each different set has different interactions with each other. I'm surprised any of the characters can keep 'em straight. Lord knows, I want a cheat sheet!

I am really confused as to just what Genny is. I am also seriously questioning her intelligence. She comes across as a smart person, but you'd think that 10 years of experience would have made her more aware of her disability's weaknesses. And when those weaknesses are as deadly as hers, well, why hasn't she, why doesn't she, take more care???

I don't understand her relationship with Finn. He appears fascinated by her, but I have to wonder if I'm being set up. All the other relationships in this story are setups, why would this one be any different. Why does Gen feel a need to have this magic body disguise?

Salt interferes with a person's magic and Genny's magic is non-existent at worst and unreliable at best. Genny eats chips and bacon every single day. Hmmm, what parallel would you draw?

I swear this is like a vampiric Keystone Kops. Most of it seems designed to simply throw all sorts of dramatic action around with one or two threads---maybe—holding it together. It's just too convoluted. There are some three separate issues going on with Malik and it's giving me a headache.


The Story
Murder. Mr. October killed his fiancée and Bobby's father wants Genny to find out the truth. But that's not how it works. Everything Genny has built will collapse around her if she takes this case except those five little words are uttered. No fae will renege on a bargain and, besides, Stella seems okay with Genny taking the job.

It's the trip Genevieve and Alan make to the police station to check Melissa's body for concealment spells that starts the trouble rolling for Gen. Three vampires walk into a police station (sounds like the start of a joke, hmmmm)...the fact that two of them hit everyone with a mind lock does not indicate alliance, but it is death for one of their party and almost that for another unless Gen gets real creative, real quick.

It's a down-and-dirty introduction in Sucker Town to a number of players when Gen needs a blood hit. Malik saves her there when she rescues Gazza from a fang gang. Only he thinks she's Rosa---a vamp Malik had turned. In truth, it has all the hallmarks of Rosie, but it's still a blackmarket magic disguise Genny bought.

Then the VIP (full protection) invites arrive: Declan's, the Earl's, and Malik's. The Earl wants proof. Malik wants to work with her. Declan wants an exclusive.


The Characters
Genevieve Taylor is a sidhe fae and part vamp due to the 3V infection she first got when she was fourteen. A blood slave who must avoid sexual connections and vampires. Working for Spellcheckers allows for a subsidy on her apartment. Count Alexandre is her father and a vampire who killed her mother. Matilde is Genny's stepmother.

Katie is a human waitress at Gen's favorite café, the Rosy Lee owned by Freddie, in Covent Garden and she is fascinated by vampires, Mr. October especially. Gazza is the café's latest dishwasher. A Goth who is too fascinated by faeries and vampires.

The Undead Lord, the Earl, is an old vampire who runs the Blue Heart which is managed by Rio and she loves poke, poke, poking at Genny. The Earl is pretty savvy business-wise and his calendar of hot and hunky vamps whom he features at his nightclub is a big draw. He is also pretty hot for Gen's services. Westman is the vampire lawyer Alan rejected. Louis is a French vampire with his own agenda and "owned" by Rio. Red Poet is another of Rio's and the main attraction with the Human victim on stage. And the leader of the Sucker Town fang gang.

Malik al-Khan is another powerful vampire interested in Genny---even the trees are talking of his interest. Declan is the powerful Irish vampire who can steal memories. He and his brothers Seamus and Patrick own the Bloody Shamrock, an Irish pub for the fanged. Mick is a cluricaun and bartends at the Shamrock. Fiona is a vampire who can see the future and who believes she's more powerful than she is with some very wicked plans. She seems to work at the Shamrock.

Mr. October, a.k.a., Roberto, a.k.a., Bobby Hinkly, chose to go vamp to give himself time to look for a cure for the rare blood disease that killed his mother. Alan Hinkley is his devastated father, a journalist, desperate to save his son. He is determined to hire Gen to find out who really murdered Melissa, Bobby's wanna-be-a-vampire fiancée.

Stella Raynham, a witch, is her boss. Finn Panos is a lesser fae, a satyr, and if you look real close, you can just make out his horns. He's also about to become Genny's boss at Spellcrackers. A fact which doesn't prevent his trying to climb into her knickers! He's also played a rather nasty trick on her. Toni is the office manager at Spellcrackers. Real friendly. Agatha Brown is a brownie who has finagled a visit from Genny; she's nursemaid to Lady Meriel of Lake Serpentine's daughter Holly who is in trouble. One problem is Louis, the French Psycho vamp who is her friend.

Sergeant Hugo Munro is a seven-foot granite troll at Scotland Yard. And his advice has always been good. Constables Lamber and Taegrin are more trolls on the force; Constable Janet is a right bitch. Quick to judge and quicker to take advantage. Detective Inspector Helen Crane is the witch, er, cop in charge with a real hate on for Genny.

Sucker Town encounters include:
Cherub Cheeks, ZigZag and Mr. June who keep showing up everywhere including with Declan. Corset Girl, a.k.a., Hannah Ashby, accountant(!), comes onto Gen in her bloodsucker mode. Darius is Rio's toy---god knows why he stays...urgh...

The Soulers believe they must Protect the Soul and they are a right wing religious group who believes newly turned humans are selling their soul to the devil. Melissa's mother, Fran, insists on the Soulers having their way. Neil Banner is the Souler representative with Jeremiah, a Beater Goblin to protect him from vampires and magic.


The Cover
The cover is a somewhat textured black background with a Celtic knot in the upper right. The red-haired Gen is in Corset Girl's costume showcased within a sliver of blue.

The title is about Gen's fight and desire for The Sweet Scent of Blood.

There was a lot that I liked about this book. I liked the world - it was complex and interesting, and it seems like there's a lot of layers to how the supernatural works. There's a lot of potential to do fun stuff in this world.

There's also a lot that I didn't like about this book.

1 - The plot unfolded in a weirdly jumpy fashion for a book written in first person.

Genny leaped to some conclusions in the back third of the book that came out of nowhere ... nothing unfolded to lead her there, and so I felt like I didn't know what was going on. Generally, I don't expect for the hero to know so much more than the audience does when we're riding along on her thoughts and internal monologue. I would have tolerated it better if this was not first person - it's fine for the hero to surprise us - but even then, there'd need to be the explanation of how we got from A to Z.

2 - I didn't like any of the secondary cast.

Literally, none of them. From Finn, with his too-presumptuous douchebaggery

Spoiler

(I'm not convinced that he wasn't in on the setup for her to take the spell in the restaurant, right in the beginning, when he needled her to call all the spells... it was just too convenient)

, to his letting himself into her apartment and demanding information he had no right to. Frankly, Finn feels like he was playing this from a lot of different angles, and he was keeping a lot of secrets and playing Genny like a pawn.

Malik was also a dick, and the shadowy backstory was too shadowy for me to give much of a shit about whatever history was being alluded to. I don't like him, I don't trust him, and I don't want to see Genny do anything with him. I give no fucks about whatever mysterious "connection" they have. None at all.

Katie was a whiny, TSTL twit. Hugh lied to her when it suited him (though I did like Hugh, so maybe he shouldn't be on this list.. though I still don't really trust him). The cops were both inept and corrupt... including Curly-Hair who was practically a 2-dimensional, mustache-twirling villain. The witches all seemed to be outright evil - from the police captain chick to the boss who set her up to deal with the vampires in the first place... and then didn't defend her when it all went to shit... to the mysterious council and their high-and-mighty judgement.

This is a problem, because I'm unlikely to like any of the rest of the books in the series if I don't like the secondary cast. And I really don't. They run the range from imbeciles to hateful, and not a single one of them was redeemed by some action in the end... in fact, the last of them were ruined. It also undercuts Genny, because she allows herself to be treated poorly by this bunch of assclowns. I kept waiting for her to whip out some sidhe magic (given how many times we're told how powerful she is) and beat their asses for their constant dickery. But nope.

3 - The plot, as a whole, felt cheated.

This really points back to #1, but I wanted to highlight it a little. It wasn't just leaps of investigative logic that were short-changed. The big showdown at the end, I was ... I felt like I was running to catch up. There were people showing up that... what the fuck? Who is this person? How did they get here, and why? When did we get to the Thunderdome? What the fuck is happening right now? Odds, bets, what now?

We have to feel like we build up to the finale. It has to feel like a logical progression, so that it caps the book. This felt like ... and now, coming in out of left field, we have a trip to the Thunderdome where all our characters will battle it out to determine the conclusion of the book!! What the actual fuck?

4 - The weight of backstory was too heavy.

I actually looked this series up, about a third of the way in, to see if there was a book before this in the series, because there was... so much weight given to stuff with no explanation. I feel like the author was trying to avoid the info-dumping that generally happens in the first book of a series, but the end result is lots of confusion. I felt like I was swimming in a sea of half-formed elements, because I didn't know how to put pieces together. We were buried under threads of backstory elements that were only half-formed. We have piles of shadowy ideas of Terrible Things that happened in her past, but they're just wisps... impossible to grasp, understand, or put together to form the puzzle of her personality.

So that's where I'm at. I'm undecided about whether to read on... mostly because of issue 2. My severe dislike of everyone in the cast but Genny... it just can't possibly end well.

*shrug*

Genny is sidhe, a noble fae living in London and she has a secret, well perhaps more than one. She works for Spellcrackers, a witch run organisation which helps remove spells for their clients. Genny’s fae magic means she can see the spells and unwrap them but she’s not so good at casting them herself. She blames this on her condition, infected with V3, vampire venom which draws her close to the very creatures she wants to avoid. When a celebrity vampire is accused of murder, she finds herself being coerced into investigating…

The Sweet Scent of Blood marks the start of an addictive urban fantasy series by Suzanne Mcleod. Her world is full of magical creatures but grounded in a very familiar London. There’s plenty of brooding, handsome vampires but Genny doesn’t go all swoony and I love her attitude throughout. Even when she has her moments of weakness, she seems to give herself a mental prod to keep her on the straight and narrow. There’s just the right amount of sexy without it descending into porn.

The plot is twisty and turny, with lots of interesting and potentially suspicious characters. It’s a classic mystery with a supernatural twist and a smattering of humour. I loved that there was an office bet to find out if Finn, the satyr, has a tail underneath his glamour and that the goblins bling themselves up. It’s a fantastical and well thought out world that I just didn’t want to leave.

I liked her use of V3 as a medical condition. Vampires can choose to inject their venom when they feed which creates willing blood slaves. The venom acts as a drug which not only makes them more attracted and attractive to vamps, but affects them physically; causing their red blood cells to multiply…more food for the vamps but also dangerous if they don’t let blood on a regular basis. Of course, Genny being fae, she is extra tasty.