Giveaway: Strigoi The Blood Bond by Ron D. Voigts

Oct 23

Posted by brriske

Strigoi: The Blood Bond

Tales of the Strigoi

Book 1

Ron D. Voigts

Genre: Paranormal, Horror

Publisher: Night Wings Publishing

ASIN: B00LQRJBZ6

Number of pages: 231

Word Count: 72,000

Cover Artist: Rachel R. Colon

Book Description:

On the verge of suicide after his wife leaves him, Alex Regal learns he has inherited property located in a small town deep within the mountains. Putting things on hold, he heads to Glade, hoping for something positive in his life. Getting there is easy but leaving proves to be impossible. A spell exists, keeping everyone captive in this hidden place.

The town of Glade is run by a Shapeshifter called the Strigoi. The creature needs to drink human blood to survive. In folklore, taking the form of a man or an animal, the Strigoi became the basis of stories about vampires or werewolves. Now Alex must discover a dark secret before he becomes the vampire’s next meal.

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/8wo4l7U-Xm4

Available at Amazon

For the next hour, I laid in the armchair, trying to sober up while listening for the typical noises of the night. A barking dog. Crickets chirping. Tree frogs croaking. But the air had been devoid of any sound except the ticking of the clock. Then something outside thudded.

I pulled back the drape and peeked out the front window. The dim light of the desk lamp made it difficult to see anything, except my own reflection. I reached for the lamp’s switch, hesitated, and then turned it, plunging the room into darkness.

An impenetrable gloom surrounded me. If I focused for a moment, I could see the outlines of things outside, but the exact shapes remained indiscernible. The silhouette of a tree loomed just to the left. The edge of the fence contrasted against the road. Shrubs dotted the grass along the front walk. But did I really see them or did my imagination put them there? Perhaps the noise I heard earlier was just another trick of the night, or a product of my ability to fill in details.

But something moved. A figure so dark it contrasted even against the shadows of the night. The movement made me think of a cat, but the size would make it a lion or something larger. In an easy bound it leaped, cleared the fence, and landed effortlessly in the yard.

My heart raced. I glanced at the front door to be sure I had pushed the two double bolts in place. The size of the creature outside left little doubt that it could easily crash through the door and get inside.

For a moment, the beast seemed motionless, and I wondered if my imagination had played another trick on me. Tired eyes. A long day. Too much to drink. Perhaps I only thought I saw something, and the outline near the fence was a cluster of bushes.

But then it moved again, stepping slowly toward the side of the house as if taking in the surroundings, surveying the place. The dark form vanished, and I realized it was headed for the backyard.

I bolted for the kitchen. My right leg caught the desk chair and knocked it over. Books lying on the floor flew as I kicked them. I aimed for the dim rectangle that was the doorway to the kitchen. Keeping my hands outstretched, I found the kitchen table and maneuvered around it. I peered out the back door’s window, frightened by what might look back.

In the dim glow, I could see the chopping block, the wood pile, and where the forest’s edge began. Then the creature appeared, taking easy steps. The shape reminded me of a dog of an enormous size. The largest dog I’d ever seen was a mastiff, and this creature easily dwarfed that breed. The only thing bigger was a wolf.

I thought of the handgun in the box back home and how I’d almost ended my life with it. I’d put it back, thinking how stupid the idea had been. I’d vowed never to touch it again. Now I wished I had the gun.

When the wolf reached midway between the house and forest’s edge, it paused, turned its head, and stood motionless. I wondered if it saw me through the window pane. Not sure, I stepped back until I was out of sight.

Would it come toward the house? Burst through the door? My heart hammered hard. I felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of my face. The air felt cold and clammy. When I could no longer wait, I stepped forward and looked outside again.

The creature was gone.

Alex Regal finds himself at a crossroads: his wife has left him and he is right in the middle of attempting to kill himself when he is interrupted by a man who gives him news that will change his life forever: Alex has been named as the sole beneficiary of his distant relative’s estate in a town called Glade. Unfortunately for Alex and the girlfriend of the man who served Alex with the notification, Glade isn’t anything close to what it first appears. You see, Glade is a town that is sort of a cross between Brigadoon and Hotel California where you simply don’t stumble upon it and, if you do, you can never leave — alive, at any rate.

I’m a long-time reader of vampire fiction; I cut my teeth on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I’ve read many different takes on the lore of the vampire and Ron D. Voigts has given us something that I wasn’t sure was still possible: a fresh look at the lore. I loved the fact that the book was definitely a stand-alone, but that Voigts left the ending open enough that there could be future books set in the same world. The characters are flawed in a way that makes them very human, and very believable. The only reason that I’m giving the book 4.5 out of 5 is because the character of Krebs, and what happens to him, is very confusing to me. I wasn’t sure, exactly, what was going on with him and that was kind of distracting.

While there are romantic elements, I don’t know that I could really call this a romance novel. Any sexual situations are handled relatively discreetly and it would really be the episodes of violence that would discourage me from recommending the book to anyone under 17. The story was well-crafted and I felt like I could really visualize the town and the people in it.

Well done.

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1073073033?book_show_action=false
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3P42CTQN7J72I/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00LQRJBZ6

About the Author:

Originally from the Midwest, Ron D. Voigts now call North Carolina home where he and his wife have a small house off the Neuse River. Ron’s writing credits include the Penelope Mystery Series for middle-grade readers and the dark mystery thriller, Claws of the Griffin. His reading taste is eclectic and depends if the first sentence captures his interest. When not writing and reading, he enjoys watching gritty movies, cooking gourmet food, and playing games on his PC.

http://rondvoigts.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @RonDVoigts

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRonDVoigts

https://www.goodreads.com/RonDVoigts

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