Bloody Good by Georgia Evans

ISBN-13: 9780758234810
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Published: June 2009
314 pgs

Bloody Good is the first novel in Georgia Evan's WWII trilogy of life, death, love, munitions and what else - enemy vampires! Aside from these, English folklore and other mythic 'Others' also come alive in this sparkling debut and I am sure this will appeal to many historical and paranomal fans alike.

Dr. Alice Doyle is the only lady doctor in the village of Brytewood along the English countryside. She considers herself among the most logical of the locals, many of whom treat superstition as fact and folk tales as reality. She is the last person to believe in the supernatural, so when a mysterious injured stranger's improbable overnight recovery is immediately followed by his disappearance, she did not find anything amiss until a farmer is found mysteriously dead and drained of blood.

For the first time in her life, she felt threatened not only for herself and the village of Brytewood, but for her country as well as a war is going on between Great Britain and Germany. Peter Watson, a handsome conscientious objector is assigned to assist her, but she does not have a good impression on him initially, for she thinks his escapade from the war is due to his cowardice but of course he has his reasons. But Alice's opinion on him changes after an incident, and slowly they fell in love with each other.

But no matter how much in love they are, they have to be discreet for they would not want invite gossip and moreover, they have other important issues in mind, such as the invasion of vampires, who are believed to be the agents of Germany as they plan to spy and wreck havoc in Brytewood.

Now Alice needs to get any assistance as she can, even Helen Burrows, her 93-year-old maternal grandmother's advice counts as she claimed to be a Devonshire Pixie, which among other things means she is fast to the point of invisibility and can move things with her mind. And Home Guard's Sergeant Howell Pendragon who is considered an 'Others' and happens to be a shapeshifting dragon.

The battle between the good and the evil begins, and Alice has to accept and comes to terms with her own Pixie powers and fight for her loved ones and her country, together with the help from the 'Others' who comes in various shapeshifting forms.

What can I say? I really enjoyed reading Bloody Good! Being a paranormal fan, I love reading anything about vampires or any other shapeshifting characters but Bloody Good is very different from what I read because it mixes vampires, folklore and historical which I find to be very refreshing and original. There are also mention of fairies but I do not want to elaborate further because their identities and agenda are still being unclear.

All the characters in Bloody Good are engaging; I especially liked Alice, Helen, Peter and Howell Pendragon because they are all brave people. But I have to admit I was quite annoyed with Alice's prejudice against Peter initially, though I understand her doing so because most of the times first impression makes a lasting impression but I was glad her opinion on him changed after an incident. I think Helen and Howell made a fine couple, although they are not romantically linked and related. As for Peter, I just liked the way he is - simple and yes, a great hero in my opinion. His love for Alice is enough to justify my thoughts on him.

The story ends with a cliffhanger and I cannot wait to dive into the next installment. Let's just hope the next novel is as thrilling and entertaining as this one.

Finally, I want to thank Joan Schulhafer for sending this book to me for review!