The Outcasts: The Blood Dagger

Hi guys, I hope you’re well this holiday season.
Today, i’m reviewing The Outcasts: The Blood Dagger (Volume One), by Misty Hayes.

If you love a good Paranormal Fantasy read, then this may be the one for you.

Story

The Outcasts: The Blood Dagger follows young Larna Collins on a summer trip to England. With her father having left years ago, Larna hopes she can find clues as to his whereabouts. However, upon arriving in England, she finds herself in mysterious company, and soon enough, mortal danger.

Characters

Larna was an interesting character. At first, I wasn’t sure I would grow to like her, however, she soon became a bad-ass and I found myself rooting for her all the way to the end. Both witty and a tactical thinker, she proves her worth again and again. She felt like a real person, like someone you might actually meet in secondary school.

To counter Larna, we have our villain, Gabriel Stanton, a mysterious and charming nightmare of a character. Although Gabriel maintains a pleasant enough façade in public, behind the scenes he is cruel and calculating, willing to do absolutely anything to get what he desires.

Writing Style

The book is narrated in first person, told directly from Larna’s point of view. The story felt personal and relatable. Not only does Larna deal with supernatural phenomena: she also deals with regular high-school drama, like any other teenage girl.

The story moves along steadily, exploring Larna’s thoughts and emotions as the world she thought she knew comes crumbling down around her.

Likes

I loved how close I felt to the characters and how personal the story felt in general.
I also really liked how the author set the scenes up so well, along with how intense the fight scenes were.

Memorable Quotes

As always, I’d like to end with some memorable quotes from the novel.

‘The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance of knowledge: it is the illusion of knowledge.’

‘What you’ve been through and endured- it makes you who you are.’

Both of these quotes caught my attention immediately, the first because of how knowledge seems to be used as a weapon in many instances: ‘knowledge is power’ as the old saying goes. Without it, we would be powerless.

As for who we are, our individual selves are shaped by our early experiences and how we react to them. For the rest of our lives, we react in similar ways, as though a blueprint of behaviour were created for us after those initial years of life experience. Everything we go through makes us the unique individuals we are and I find that beautiful.

Overview

Overall, I loved reading The Outcasts: The Blood Dagger.
It was highly imaginative and entertaining, definitely a book to buy in print.

Rating: 5 stars.
Recommended: For lovers of Paranormal Fantasy, with vampires and kick-ass female protagonists.

To learn more about The Outcasts: The Blood Dagger, please check out its Goodreads page.
To learn more about author, Misty Hayes, please check out her website.

Thank you for joining me for today’s review. I
f you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a comment below, or sharing it across social media.

Until next time, take care,
Dax. xoxo