*This review was read and written honestly and voluntarily. Possible spoilers ahead.

Ready for a dark fantasy full of mystery, vampires, and werewolves?

Dark Blood Awakens puts an African-American spin on a classic vampire-werewolf story, giving it a unique new paranormal order that keeps you guessing page after page. 

But now there’s no time to waste. We have a 1,000-year-old vampire to hunt and secrets to uncover.

About Dark Blood Awakens

As a child, Makeda’s mom forced her to abandon sorcery. Instead, she pursued a career in nursing while killing monsters with her family of mwindaji. For over a millennium, the mwindaji have hunted Korlemo, a 1000-year-old vampire.

When a lead takes Makeda to a Kentucky rural hospital searching for Korlemo, she uses Baoumali, the language of sorceresses, to reclaim her heritage. During her investigation, Makeda uncovers a macabre secret the hospital administration will kill to keep silent.

With time running out, Makeda must recapture her sorcery and choose where her alliances lie. If the mwindaji cannot destroy the monsters haunting the hospital, people will die—starting with her boyfriend.

Kelly’s Honest Review

A great African American dark fantasy. This book felt very much like Legendborn to me.

The book starts off exciting, painting a vivid picture of the main character and her family off on a hunt. And the writing is truly wonderful and descriptive. I could really see the author’s medical expertise in this novel as well.

I liked that the author molded a new world of fantasy by developing a new language and new order. Since the vampire werewolves stories are so commonly played, I appreciated this new spin. It’s not unlike fantasy storytellers to take similar lore and make it unique. I especially like that this was told from the African American perspective.

At times, I felt a little lost with the unique names of vampires, sorcerers, etc. I felt like I needed an index to help guide me with who was who because there wasn’t enough context throughout. I did understand what a “zauber” and “kasi kasi” were, though! They were mentioned often enough and were so unique that they were easy to remember. 

The interchanging languages were also hard to follow at times, especially since I don’t know Creole or the language of the Baoumali. I think it can be challenging to include a new language in a book without giving lots of context to help the reader through or strategically placing them so that words (like kasi kasi) are somewhat intuitive in speech. 

I also had trouble envisioning the characters, what they looked like, they’re mannerisms. I think it would have helped if each chapter was named according to the character’s perspective, so I knew who’s part of the story I was following.

Halfway through, it was a bit difficult to connect with Makeda as a reader. I really wanted to see more of her struggles with embracing her powers after being separated from them against her will. And I wanted to see how what she learns changes her as a person. I don’t think that was detailed enough in the first half of the book, especially since it was such a central part of her character.

The author is a talented writer, but I would recommend including far more dialogue and tension to help propel the story forward and keep those pages turning.

Interesting concept and very fine writing. I would read the next book in the series to see how Makeda transforms.

Book Cover Rating

The cover for Dark Blood Awakens does a great job of giving off dark fantasy and paranormal vibes, thanks to the deep reds, greys, and metallic skull. The bright calligraphy-esque font really pops and fits in with the fantasy genre superbly. I would pick this up off a shelf. 

Overall Score: B+

Other Publishing Information

• Date Published: January 31, 2023
• Self-Published
• ISBN: 979-8786999502
• Genre: urban fantasy, paranormal, dark fantasy, horror, action-adventure, African American fiction
• Series: Book 1 in the Mwindaji Series

More from the Michelle Corbier

After twenty years in clinical medicine, Michelle now works as a medical consultant. As a member of Crime Writers of Color, Sisters in Crime, and Capitol Crimes, her writing covers many genres—mystery, paranormal, and thrillers. If not writing, you can find her outside gardening or bicycling.

Learn more about Michelle Corbier on her website.