Review: The Blood Guard by Carter Roy

" It wasn't me who burned down our house.  I wasn't even supposed to be there.  I'd been sent home from school with a fever, and I'd taken a nap.  Next thing I knew, flames were licking under my door and white smoke was filling the room..."

Evelyn Ronan Truelove's mom calls all the shots. Since he was little, he's been enrolled in every self defense class imaginable.  When Ronan's father is mysteriously kidnapped, Ronan and his mother try to flee to safety.  While on the run, Ronan's mother confides that she is a member of a secret society called the Blood Guard, who are protector's to one of the thirty-six pure spirits. There is also an evil organization called the Bend Sinister, which is bent on destroying the pure ones, the world and now seem to be after Ronan as well.  To keep him safe, Ronan's mom puts him on a train leading out of town with her last words being "Trust no one." At the train station, Ronan is to meet up with a Blood Guard and be taken to safety.  On the train he finds Jack Dawkins,  but he also finds Greta Susterman, a girl he used to go to school with. Once the Bend Sinister catch up to them, the trio continue to try and evade them until Dawkins is killed and they land in even more hot water.  Ronan and Greta try to make their way to Greta's father in Roanke but there are still many obstacles that will stand in their way. 

My Thoughts:  The Blood Guard is a fast paced good versus evil story with plenty of action and escape scenes.  From the opening lines to the very last page, there are car chases, scenes on trains, and even sneaking in secret passageways.  Not only that, there are really cool weapons like Tesla guns, sword fights and hidden powers possessed by the Blood Guard.  The lore behind the thirty six pure ones was also interesting to read about on Mr. Roy's webpage.  My favorite character was Jack Dawkins, I especially liked his humor and pick pocketing skills.  I wish the evil organization had more interesting character names versus "The Head" and "Ms. Hand",  but it fit into the scheme of their powers.  Overall, a very enjoyable adventure  story.   Many thanks to the publishers The Inkhouse and Two Lions, as well as Goodreads for this first reads giveaway.    


To listen to the Prologue and first chapter of the book go to Carter Roy's Website