Larna Collins has never understood why her dad skipped out on her and her mother when she was twelve years old. Until then, he was a devoted and loving father. But six years later, during a renovation of her childhood home, she unearths her father's journal from under a floorboard. According to his final entry before he left, he had recently visited a small parish in England. The entries drew her to this seemingly quaint village, which Larna discovers isn't as charming as its blood-craving inhabitants want her to believe, and she learns that she isn't the only one trying to track her father down. Could this explain her father's disappearance? Or was placing her in the center of danger her dad's master plan all along?
Plot
The beginning of this book is mostly mundane. A bullied girl, Larna Collins, graduates from high school and sets off to find her missing father in England. However, things quickly take off when she arrives, as mysterious characters abound. I was quickly pulled into the plot and had a hard time putting this book down. There are some surprising twists in the story, but overall, the books strength is in it’s emotional secondary story of a daughter trying to reconnect with her father.
Characters
The main character, Larna, has a strong voice in the story, that I found almost as endearing as her chemistry with the male characters in the book. While the antagonist and his ground of cronies were somewhat predictable and one-dimensional, Larna, her friends and her father’s crew were well developed and I enjoyed seeing them work together and change over the course of the novel. I’d definitely read the next book in this series, just to spend some more time getting to know Larna and her unique mind.
Setting
A large portion of the book takes places in a small English town. The author clearly did a great job researching this town, as it is based on a real town and feels like the scenes there have been written by a native. Although, I learned in my interview with the author that she’s never been there before. The rules of the magic in this world were unique and interesting and I’d look forward to learning more about them in future books. One of my only complaints with this book is that a large amount of traveling was done, so it was hard to feel very grounded in one location, other than the small town Larna visits.
My Recommendation
The Outcasts is a must-read for fans of the vampire genre. The author does a great job offering a unique take on what can be an over-done trope. This is helped immensely by a one-of-a-king protagonist, Larna, and her strong voice and presence throughout the story. The Outcasts and the rest of the BLOOD DAGGER series is available now.
