Rating: 
Summary: hooked from the prologue
Review: In my opinion, the best of the series. Usually the second installment is the best in any trilogy (Star Wars, Dragonlance...), but when you open this book, it jumps out and grabs you by the throat for the rest of the ride. Some people find it hard to keep characters and relationships straight, but it really doesn't take long to get it clear. I've read the series twice and still, if I sit down and open this one at any random page, I'll be reading for another hour.
Rating:
Summary: Can't wait to read "Heir to the Shadows"!
Review: A great start to what I hope to be a great series! "Daughter of the Blood" is a rich, dark fantasy. The story is unique, creative, and very intriguing. After several hundred years of slavery Daemon, Lucivar, and their estranged father Saetan have finally been gifted with a queen "worth serving". Witch, as she is called, is the most powerful of the Blood (a group of elite witches are warlords), and has come once again to rule the realm. However, hungry to be in service to Witch, the three men are disappointed to find out that she is twelve years old - too young to form her own court. A not quite yet beautiful, golden haired girl named Jaenelle. Jaenelle is a "black jeweled" queen (the most powerful of the Blood). Her magic is unbelievably potent, but she can be reckless and has only a child's capacity to control it. Terribly misunderstood she is abused and outcast by her family. When Daemon is gifted as a "pleasure slave" to Jaenelle's grandmother, he decides that he will do anything in his power to save her from her family. When Daemon is told that Saetan, the High Lord of Hell, is his father he must decide whether or not to rally with or against the powerful Priest. If he becomes an ally, being able to tap Saetan's power and knowledge, he may be unstoppable ... but he may also lose Jaenelle. In addition, Daemon's brother, Lucivar, is imprisoned in a salt mine and Daemon must make a choice ... is Jaenelle's life and her future worth more than his and Lucivar's freedom? Very well written, although there are some dark sexual undertones that some readers may find disconcerting. If you've decided to read this, the first novel in the trilogy, be prepared to NEED the second novel, "Heir to the Shadows", which I am about to start myself!
Rating: 
Summary: enjoyable
Review: dark and twisty, very enjoyable 2 read
Rating:
Summary: Best book I have read in ages
Review: The Daughter of the Blood is a first rate novel. It's intense, facinating, and inspiring. It reveals a world that is so like and so unlike ours that at the end of the series I was looking at the world in a different light, trying to figure out where Anne Bishop could have come up with such a wonderful new plane. Though the novel never has narrative from the main character, Jaenelle, there seems to be no need (It wasn't untill I had read the entire series that I realized that there was never anything from Jaenelle's viewpoint). Don't let the names of the characters scare you, there are truely some of the most upright and lovable characters that have been portrayed in a while. The three main male characters are outstanding: intelligent, explosive, and VERY sexy. The female characters are also not in normal characterization. They are strong-willed, able, and, suprisingly, dominating. I gave Daughter of the Blood five stars for four reasons. The society is set up entirely diffrent from ANY fantasy book I've read (try finding another with the same setup). The characters are well written, complex, and believable. The plot is fast paced and keeps you turning pages, and in all the entire series is simply fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: Magical Read
Review: I began reading this trilogy after it was suggested to me by a friend. I was hooked by the 5th page! I enjoyed all three of the books, and am rereading them because I enjoyed them so much! In fact many of my friends have read them, and are also rereading them! I highly recommened this book, and the other two! If you want something different, exciting, and funny, you will truly enjoy this book, and the other two!
Rating:
Summary: Dark fun
Review: If you are one of the many people, like myself that does not like fansty, this book is for you. It flips the norm and makes it powerful. But if you do not like taboo subjects, not not read. But if you are a fan of Clamp. (ex of Tokyo Babylon and X/1999) you should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Daughter of the Blood
Review: I loved this book! It has everything any one would need in a book: magik, love, adventure, and much much more! I can't wait to read the next one. I would recommend this book to any one who loves these kinds of books. Anne bishop was a genius for writing this book!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful start to a promising trilogy !
Review: Hmmm.....what to say about this wonderful book... If you read it for no other reason, you should read it for Satean & Dameion. This book was masterful and I enjoyed it alot. A must buy.
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing taste of bitterness.
Review: Daughter of the Blood, the first of the Black jewels trilogy, is like black, overly strong and bitter coffee served in an ordinary, all too familiar cup. While we look at the cup and see nothing new, the moment we convince ourselves to drink what's inside, we find that the drink belies its container. Enter Jaenelle Angelline, a twelve year old girl who, according to "prophecy", is a living legend, dreams made flesh, Witch, the most powerful Blood (magic user) to have ever existed. She is "destined" to become great and powerful and forever alter the destiny of the world, blah, blah, blah. Basically it's nothing you haven't heard a hundred times before. The beginning reads like something out of a creative writer's workshop. You'll find yourself bogged down with tons of back story and the life-histories of just about every important character you come across. This approach hurts the book and makes going from one page to the next at the very beginning a test of patience. This will annoy anybody with attention span problems, especially when you start to think how all the back story Bishop gives is either unnecessary, or could have been told much more interestingly as scenes instead of lectures. However, once you get past the rough beginning, it turns from a test of patience to a struggle to force yourself to put the book down. While the overall plot is nothing original, there are so many original and refreshing twists thrown into the mix that is like flavored sugar added to water. Chief among these twists is the blurring of traditional roles. In this book, dark is good. Darkness is worshipped as a deity akin to God, and symbolizes what is pure and good. In the book's world, women rule and men serve. Women are socially powerful and men, even if they're stronger magic-wise, are considered inferior and submissive. Magic goes by jewels. Basically, the darker the jewel a Blood (or magic user) wears, the more powerful he or she is. You'll be hard pressed to find much of the "wizard" clichés in this book, as magic (or "Craft", as the book calls it) is as natural in the book's environment as speech. However, I can't consciously recommend this book without giving a warning: this book is NOT for the feint of heart. This book has tons of sex that only sometimes is truly relevant to the story. It depicts rape, bondage, incest, and pedophilia, as well as the use of mind-altering drugs. Some will also be put off by the characters. Most of the "good" guys live in Hell, and names like Saetan SaDiablo, Daemon, Mephis, and Lucivar could possibly offend the deeply religious. I'm as open-minded as they come and I found some of the scenes a bit risqué for my taste. I can easily imagine this book pissing a lot of sensitive people off. Then there are the characters. They are portrayed surprisingly well. Daemon Sadi is not quite a hero, and not quite an anti-hero. He is a man who is jaded and completely twisted by the perverse society he is forced to live in. He himself is twisted to the extent that he is nicknamed the Sadist and is feared by every other Blood on the planet. Yet underneath all that, Jaenelle shows us, is a heart of gold that never got to shine before Jaenelle entered his life. Saetan, despite being the all-powerful High Lord of Hell, is a sweetheart from the start and acts kinda like the father I wish I had. Jaenelle isn't portrayed as well as the rest of the characters, as the story is never told from her perspective, but you can't help but feel for her after all the horrors she's had to live through for years. In conclusion, despite the racy material and a bumpy start, I found this book highly enjoyable and after writing this review you better believe I am going to eagerly devour the second book. The story is flawed overall and seems to go out of its way to try to shock you. If it had a better beginning, a more original plot, and was toned down a little I'd give it the highest possible score, but in its present form I'll give it a 4 out of 5.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've discovered in recent years
Review: This was wonderfully dark fantasy that trapped me and wouldn't let me go. The characters are brilliant, the setting is beautiful, and the plot is intriguing. Bisjop makes traditional bad guys the heroes of her novel, and totally revamps our conception of magic. It is true that there are several scenes in the book that I could have done without - mental images that are definately dark and also somewhat distrubing. However, these moments can be forgiven by the rest of the book. I fell in love with Lucivar, Daemon, and Saeten, and ached at Jaenelle's situation. I read the book in two days and immediately wanted to read the rest of the series. A definate must read for any lovers of fantasy.
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