Bloodwitch by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (review)

Vance has lived in a metaphorical cage his whole life: though he’s surrounded by luxury and adored for what he can provide as a shape-shifter (he can turn into a quetzal at will), he knows that he cannot really leave Midnight, a vampire enclave. Once unexpected events land him on the outside for the first time, Vance learns that he may actually have an extremely rare kind of magic that could make him powerful as a destructive force for or against the vampires, depending on who successfully exploits him first. Not much actually happens in this first novel in what is obviously intended to be a series, but the set-up is rich and absorbing, and given the complex world-building, a slow introduction is beneficial. The extreme innocence with which Vance narrates is poignant, as it’s clear that his belief in others will yield nothing good. At the core, the vampire underworld that Vance is only just beginning to understand is dark and fascinating, and the slow unfolding of the ways in which it operates heightens suspense. Atwater-Rhodes fans will find this on their own, and they’ll appreciate the similar tone and grammatical style to her earlier books; vampire buffs may need a bit more coaxing to see how a shape-shifting quetzal protagonist fits into a book they’ll like, but the vamps are the real (tortured and torturing) stars here.