Book Review

Without A Heartbeat by Stuart Meczes | Book Review

Without a Heartbeat
Author: Stuart Meczes
Pages: 373
Genre: Urban Fantasy | YA | Supernatural
Publication Date: November 1, 2012

Buy the Book: Amazon

Happy Halloween!! I have a very fitting book review for you today full of intense action and some blood-sucking vampires! Just read on to see all my thoughts for Without a Heartbeat the prequel to The Awakening, the first book in the YA urban fantasy series the Hasea Chronicles! I do not regret all of the puns used in this review!

Synopsis

Not much is known about the mysterious vampire Scarlett. Until now.

The year is 1872. A darker, more unforgiving Alliance is working in the shadows, struggling to keep order on the streets of London. Meanwhile in Ireland, a young girl is about to take up a position as scullery maid in the sinister Oakley Manor. It is a decision that will alter her life forever and send her on a path of destruction and death.

A path that leads right to the Alliance.

My Review

Without a Heartbeat is the prequel to The Awakening and although I enjoyed the first book in the series a lot, I really did love this one! It’s hard not to get sucked into this book especially with the 1800s manor house setting, great character that you can’t help but love and the fang-tastic plot tops it off!

Scarlett’s character always did intrigue me in the The Awakening, so it was great to find out more about her and her journey to becoming a vampire. I love the build up to her character as I felt like I really got to know her and her family. This does however make it hard to read her heartbreaking yet also heartwarming story of her new found family. She goes through so much at such a young age and I couldn’t help but read on to see how she would pull through.

This prequel is definitely intense with a flair of mystery. There is tons of action that I couldn’t pull my eyes away from. I particularly like the blood trials, they were very dangerous and interesting which really put me on edge. The only issue I had with it at all was a few typos but I didn’t let this take me out of the story.

Overall, this novella has really made me appreciate Scarlett’s character and see her in a different light as well as many other characters that I’m sure I will see again. This is definitely a book you can sink your teeth into either as a stand alone or to read with the rest of the series but it will leave you thirsty for more! I for one am glad I read this after the first book and before going into the next one as I feel like I have a deeper understanding of some of the characters.

About the Author

Stuart was born in the smoky outskirts of London. After years spent running the rat race, in 2008 he knew it was time to start working on the novel he’d been threatening to write since he was 16. several scrapped storylines, and one English and Creative Writing degree from the University of Birmingham later, The Awakening landed.

Stuart was more shocked than anyone when the novel became a sleeper hit and set him on an entirely different and far more exciting path through life than he ever expected.

Cut to 2018. six novels, a novella and several short stories down, Stuart spends most of his time in his home in Worcester, continuing to pen the bestselling Hasea Chronicles series, as well as new science fiction/fantasy stories, all whilst avoiding the addictive siren call of daytime television.

In addition to the ongoing Hasea Chronicles, Stuart has written the golden Wing – the first book in the children’s fantasy series, Tommy and the Simbots, and is also hard at work on London Burning, the first novel in the dystopian series, The Grit Saga.

Buy the Book: Amazon