Bloodline by Kate Cary

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Egmont, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-4052-5468-7
(Age: 14+) When 19 year old Lieutenant John Shaw arrives back in an English hospital suffering from a serious case of trench fever, young Mary Seward takes it upon herself to care for him until he regains his full health. Through caring for John, Mary's childhood feelings towards him deepen and blossom into something quite special. In order to treat Lieutenant Shaw, Mary reads the journal he has kept since being away from England. Mary discovers more than the reality of life in the trenches but also the horrors of serving under commanding officer, Captain Quincey Harker.
So when Captain Harker arrives in England, Mary feels that the Captain can not be trusted. The captain's arrival causes concern to not just to Mary but to John, for his sister, Lilly has fallen to the charm of Captain Harker. So when the captain leaves England with Lilly there is no choice for John and Mary but to rescue her from the clutches of Captain as he is not what he seems.
This novel is the sequel to the original vampire novel, Dracula, which will reveal surprises up until the very end leaving the readers wanting more. I enjoyed reading this story as it was easy flowing and enjoyable to read. I found myself liking the story being told through diary entries of the main characters and the hardest thing I found was putting the book down. I would highly recommend this story to anyone that is into vampires. If it wasn't for the fact it was late at night when I finished reading Bloodline, I would have started the sequel, Reckoning, straight away.
Lauren Pfeiffer (Student- year 12)

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