Book Review: Bloodmoon by Ben Galley

Title: Bloodmoon (Scarlet Star Trilogy #2)
Author: Ben Galley
Publisher: BenGalley.com
Date: eBook July 24th 2015
Synopsis: A Bloodmoon is rising… 
With Fell Falls put firmly behind him, Tonmerion Hark has only one desire: to make his way east and once again feel the soil of his Empire under his boots. 
But blood has been spilt. Machinations of the powerful foiled. Scores have been scraped in the desert sand and now they must be settled. A new power is growing in London, and it pines for revenge. 
Now that both Tonmerion and Rhin find themselves being hunted over prairie and wasteland, he and his strange new family put their fate in the hands of a travelling circus, headed straight for the shores of the Iron Ocean, and a ship home. 
There is only one truth: all will be settled on the night of the Bloodmoon.

Review: It started with Bloodrush...(and what a rush that was #sorrynotsorry) and rising from the ashes life must go on! I was a little excited for this book, I'd been looking forward to it since the end of Bloodrush and now I have post Bloodmoon blues.

The cover is beautifully errie....If you didn't get that blood would be a part of the book from the titles, then the cover sure goes a long way to fix that, seeped in shades of reds, with the great big moon rising up...oh wait could that be the bloodmoon?? I alos love the typography of Ben's name, so different from the Emaneska, its like the name here has grit.  But I digress...The book:

There's a difference sense of pace here, a different intensity, it's very much a journey book - across the Endless lands (America to you and me) helped, buy what better means, than a travelling circus. IN so much as this was a focus we also got to send a lot more time with the events happening in London (something I mentioned wanting more of), and get more from Faye queen, in a way where everything was gradually building up to the climax of not only this book but the s*** storm that is to come in book 3!

I had wondered where this story would go, so I was pleasantly surprised with the introduction of a Circus. I love a circus in a story, but it has to be one thats a little dark, that has a bit of edge to it, and when you have a circus of rushers it certainly has edge. I also like reading into certain things far too much, and one of the first literary encounters I had with Circuses was Darren Shan's Cirque Du Freak, and a lot of the time I was getting really similar vibes...there was even a character called Shan, and even if this wasn't a reference, it was a really nice throwback for me to experience when reading.

Being the second in a series the characters felt familiar. You had them and you went with them immediately like you already knew them. Merion is this great juxtaposition between the man and the boy he is. Rhin can't seem to catch a break and Lurker and Lilian....would you come on already! One of the great things about Ben's writing is his ability to capture everyone's voice really well, building up such a variety of characters and maintaining them throughout.

Without wanting to repeat myself too much from previous reviews, I do want to touch again on the magick system, which feels so fresh to read as it takes ideas of channeling magic and put's a fresh spin on to it. There's also a great guide in the back of the books, just in case you've lost your own rushing reference and need a reminder.

This is a fantastic series, which, if you've never read any of ben's work you really need to get on to. You won't be disappointed. The only disappointment I can foresee is the end of the series! Bring on Book 3