onderful first book!Reviewer: Valentyne "Harperhall" (Pern)
May 5, 2007
I really enjoyed this book. All the supernatural elements are well done and creepy. I love a good spooky read and this one was really good . I can't wait for the next book in the series . I want to see what happens next in the Blackmoore family and it's heroes. Witchcraft and an ancient family curse and a young man dealing with being gay . That's a lot to deal with not to mention high school! Which is almost worse then a curse! I grew up in love with Dark Shadows and The Addams Family and it's nice to add another spooky family to the mix.
BLACKMOORE, a novel by MARCUS JAMES
Reviewer: T. E. Holmes (Bellingham, WA USA)
January 25, 2007
First off let me say that I have resided for nearly 30 years (on & off) in the town where this book is set, Bellingham Washington.
I recently had the pleasure to pick up a copy of BLACKMOORE at a book reading/signing that Marcus James was presenting while visiting our town.
With comparisons to Anne Rice & the setting I know so well I couldn't wait to get home and dive right in!
The previous reviewer gave you the synopsis of the story, so I will leave that part alone, just let me say that I am not sorry that I picked up a copy of this book! Rather straight (like myself) or gay, there is something for everyone in this book. I was also surprised by how though the lead character is gay, I was able to identify somewhat with him. Like Trevor I too faced isolation for being unable to fit in at "Mariner" high school -- not the real school's name, but I know the settings in this book, so well described, like the back of my hand.
I really enjoyed reading about the BLACKMOORE family, especially "Queen Mab". The more I read, the more I felt I knew them & the more I wanted to join their Christmas celebration.
I also very much enjoyed the supernatural elements in this book, and knowing the legends & ghost stories of our town, I like how Marcus James tied some of those into his story of the BLACKMOORE'S.
While being from Bellingham enhanced my reading of BLACKMOORE, you do not have to be from our corner of the world to enjoy this book.
I can't wait for the next installment in the BLACKMOORE saga!
Tantalizing Story
Reviewer: Carri
January 20, 2007
Blackmoore by Marcus James is a very magical story. Filled with mystery, love, spirits and spells. Full of wonderfully exciting characters that touch your heart. I have fallen in love with the Washington town the story is set in. The descriptions are so vivid, you are transformed there immediately. I was entranced by the story from the beginning and I am eagerly awaiting book two of the Blackmoore series.
casts a wicked and decadent spell!
Reviewer: Elizabeth
October, 19 2006
Blackmoore took me by surprise, as it is not the kind of book I would normally read. I love all things supernatural but the idea of reading a book with a gay main character wasn't very appealing to me. A friend of mine who is gay bought the book and loved it so much that he begged me to buy it and give it a try. I did and I'm glad for it. Blackmoore took me into the deep, rich history of the Blackmoores and the horrible curse that plagues the family. There are moments in which I cried and others where I was holding my breath, wondering what was going to happen next. I felt like I was right there with Trevor as he watched his former life-long friends work their cruelty and yet slowly fall apart right before his eyes. Trevor's conflict of dealing not only with being gay but with being from this great family of witches could have easily come off as stupid or a cliche, but not once does this happen. In fact Marcus James writes with such compassion and humanity, as well as a deep love for all of the characters that he pulls this supernatural plot off in a very natural way. This is definatly one of the best books I have read so far, and I can't wait for the next book in the series, because just when you think all of the secrets are revealed, by the end of BLACKMOORE we're only left with more secrets that go deeper than the reader could have ever imagined.
Better than a ride on a flying broomstick!
Reviewer: Bart-Man202 (Colorado Springs, CO)
September 23, 2006
I really enjoyed reading BLACKMOORE and I'm glad to be the first person to leave a review for it. By the end of the first chapter I was hooked. Marcus James is a really vivid writer and the entire novel played like a movie in my head. Though this book is about a family of witches it is so set in real life issues, so much based in reality that the supernatural elements of the novel take the passenger seat to the story itself. The main character Trevor Blackmoore is sympathetic and believable and his mother Kathryn really is the star of the show. The theme of sex, though prevalent, has an underlying message and is never just erotica for erotica's sake, though it is enjoyable to read.
As the story continues the plot gets thicker and you find yourself wanting to get to the end though at the same time you're wanting to pro-long the read to make the book last as long as possible. It definitely has the gothic family air of Dark Shadows and Anne Rice's witches; but it really is in an arena all it's own. One of the best qualities about BLACKMOORE is that the hero, the main witch of the coven is a seventeen year old gay high school senior just trying to find his place in the world while dealing with the weight of his family's tragic curse and the homophobic ridicule and rejection of his classmates.
In the opening of the book Marcus states that BLACKMOORE is a love-letter to his home-town of Bellingham WA. and though he states on his website that he took some liberties with the decadency of the town it really is a place you'd love to go to. Filled with Victorian mansions up on high hills surrounded by skeleton oaks and maples and thick evergreens, and an abundance of ghosts. Though set on the tip of the west coast it has a very Salem witch-trials classic Halloween New England feel and by looking at the pictures of locations on his website you can definitely see where Bellingham has this folkloric allure.
This is a total must-read and I can't wait for the second book in the series, because by the end of BLACKMOORE we are introduced to even more revelations and dangers that lie in wait just around the bend.