This is a book review of this dark fantasy novella. This is part one of five by author T.J. Hassall.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Blood of the Banshee (part 1)

Released: 29th October 2025

Part One of this dark fantasy novella begins the complete first book of Blood of the Banshee.

When a banshee-blooded outlaw is snatched in a crowded inn, she becomes leverage in a legal battle amongst the Valariels of Sanctaris. Bindings hold her between life and death, and rival orders contest her fate. The Justarin demands custody while others fight to spare her.

Zaras, a battle-worn elf turned bounty hunter who nearly captured her, wakes in rioting Nocturnis, stabbed and choking on sewage. Auralon, exhausted from purging plagues, returns to Sanctaris to find the girl cocooned in spell-thread as his mentor faces a trial mired in politics.

Across the world of Elisar, dragons vanish, necromancy resurges, and plagues are spreading like ink in rainwater.

Blood of the Part One blends grim magic, political intrigue and gritty, character-driven drama. For readers who enjoy their fantasy unpredictable, their heroes flawed, and their antagonists certain they’re right.
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My Review

Firstly, I did enjoy this book and I would rate it between 3 and 3.5. It has great potential and is part one of five. Personally, I’m not sure why it’s been broken into 5 small parts (around 188 pages) rather than just a single novel (or maybe 2 novels).

Now, this story follows a few different POVs – two mainly and then a very intriguing one right near the end.

The pacing was good, and it kept me turning the page. The author did a great job building mood, and the main characters had very distinct voices.

Each chapter started with some information, and honestly, I wasn’t really sure what that was at first, which always made the transition from one chapter to the next a little jarring.

There was a lot of world-building and story-specific species/concepts, etc, that were not always fully explained, and those slowed the story.

Also, there was a lot of detail, numerous names, terms, and locations – many of which were not really easy to read at first pass… which, again, slowed the read. Any story with a lot of detail, clarity is the key to keeping the flow, and I fell out of the story a lot because of this. Which is a shame, because I love the concepts.

I think this story could really have done with a glossary and character list (or at least a pronunciation guide). Having something like that (possibly at the front of the book) as a reference guide would definitely have made a difference.

Overall, the story was well written, interesting and had some great concepts (and the cover is gorgeous!)

My rating:

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Happy reading

Ari

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