Thank you NetGalley and Howard Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Emily Jacobs is the descendent of a serial killer. Now she’s become the hunted.
She’s on a quest that will take her to the secret underground of Europe and the inner circles of three ancient orders–one determine to kill her, one devoted to keeping her alive, and one she must ultimately save.
Filled with adrenaline, romance, and reversals, The Progeny is the present-day saga of a 400-year-old war between the uncanny descendants of “Blood Countess” Elizabeth Bathory, the most prolific female serial killer of all time, and a secret society dedicated to erasing everyone of her descendants. A story about the search for self, filled with centuries-old intrigues against the backdrop of atrocity and hope.
Before I begin my review, you’re probably wondering why I have two different covers depicted above. Well, the smaller one is what was supposed to be the finished cover, but for whatever reason someone at the publishers decided to go in a different direction. Personally, I loved the red cover. I thought it was beautiful and elegant in its simplicity. The cover that they went with in the end is nice, but it just doesn’t grab me like the first did. Anyway, on with the review.
I’ve heard of Tosca Lee, but The Progeny is actually the first book of hers I’ve read and all I can do is kick myself for not trying her before. It’s one of those books that combines great characters with an exciting and multi-layered mythology. Emily/Audra is a character that you can’t help but become attached to. While in some ways she’s your typical kick-ass heroine that you often find in this genre, she also has some interesting vulnerabilities due to her memory loss. As the reader you’re swept along in her quest to discover her past as well as what happened to make her resort to voluntarily having her memory wiped. The secondary characters are equally well-developed and it’s not always obvious who is friend and who is foe. The only criticism I have is that about halfway in, the story segued into an overly long party scene which had me impatiently wanting it to get back to the good stuff. Thankfully the action does pick up and it never slows down until the unbelievable cliffhanger conclusion which had me yelling “Darn you Tosca Lee!” Seriously! How the heck am I supposed to wait for book #2? Oh well. I suppose I’ll have to content myself with reading her other books. The Progeny immediately hooked me with its fascinating characters, exotic locales, and beautiful world-building. It’s a unique and inventive twist on vampire legends which takes the historical figure of Elizabeth Bathory and creates an entirely new mythology around her. I highly recommend this to fans of horror and paranormal fiction!
Galit G. Balli said:
Sounds like the perfect read for me 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
This is just all kinds of good Galit!☺️
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Galit G. Balli said:
Gotta buy it on my kindle 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Awesome!
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ravenblake99 said:
Great Review! This book sounds quite interesting! Would love to give this a try. 😀
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks so much Raven! You’ll have to let me know if you read it.🙋🏻
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ravenblake99 said:
I definitely will! 😀
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mrenee said:
Love the review! I’m so glad more people are starting to read this so I can fawn over it with others haha. It was my first Tosca Lee too and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book after that cliffhanger…!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks! Sometimes I have mixed feelings regarding cliffhangers, but this one was so well done!
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jowensauthor said:
Sounds awesome! I’ll have to check it out sometime. The story of Elizabeth Bathory has always interested me somewhat, since I enjoy vampire stories. I was also reminded, a little, of the book The Historian, which I enjoyed. Oh, and I like the red cover better, too.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I really think you’ll like this one Jeanne!
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Carrie said:
Nice review Kim! I have to say I agree on the covers, I liked the red one better myself. 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Carrie! I really don’t understand why they changed the cover.😕
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Carrie said:
I usually like whatever gets replaced when they change them, never fails.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
😕
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Zoë said:
This looks great! I haven’t even heard of Tosca Lee before, but it would seem I need to change that!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Soo Good Zoe!😆
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Jordan Dodd said:
Nicely written mate. You really seem to motor through books! I try but never can concentrate long enough to get through a novel. I think the last proper novel I read was 1984!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Hey Jordan! Thanks so much! I’m definitely a book addict. I loved 1984! George Orwell was brilliant.
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Jordan Dodd said:
I’ve read 1984 three times, but not Animal Farm. Should get myself a copy, I have been wanting to for a long time. Orwell was so ahead of his time.
And yes, you certainly seem like a book addict!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Animal Farm gave me nightmares, but it was brilliant!
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Jordan Dodd said:
Haha! I bet it did. I know the rough outline of the story but I need to read it. Its on my e-reader, I really don’t have an excuse for not having started it. If I read it is almost always Hunter S Thompson hehe, I identify with him so much
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Hmm. I’ve heard of Hunter Thompson but I’ve never read anything by him.
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Jordan Dodd said:
He is…. unique. Very important in the 70’s, writing about politics and social commentary, one of his books is his account of the ’72 election. He followed the circus for the whole year, and the book is cited as one of the best books chronicling a US election. It is called Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72. Highly recommended! 🙂
Fear and Loathing itself is also great, not very long and very entertaining.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I’m definitely checking this out the next time I go to the library. Thanks Jordan!
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Jordan Dodd said:
No worries, I hope you like his stuff! He was truly one of a kind.
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tamaralowery said:
I will definitely consider adding this to my TBR pile.
My thoughts on the covers: I definitely like the red cover better, but I’m a fan of vampire fiction, which it is clearly aimed at. I think the art director at the publisher went with the face/cityscape composite to draw in the thriller/political intrigue audience, which genre your review and the synopsis/blurb seem to indicate this book falls into, as well.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks for that insight Tamara! That makes perfect sense. Still like the red cover better though.☺
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The Telltale Mind said:
This sounds really intriguing – almost Anne Rice-ish.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Hmm. Now that you mention it this is a little reminiscent of her. Except No New Orleans.
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Yvo said:
Great review! I’m glad you enjoyed this one, because I recently got a copy of The Progeny and now I can’t wait to read it. 😀
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Yvo! I do hope you like it.☺
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Jen said:
Cliffhangers can be beyond fabulous and gut wrenching at the same time! Here’s hoping you don’t have to wait more than a year to figure out what happens and wonderful review, Kim!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Jen! I was part “Whoa! That was AWESOME!” The other half screamed “NOOOO!”
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Jen said:
I’m usually that way too haha! =D
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
🙋🏻
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