Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: Bloodguilty 
AUTHOR: K.M. Penemue
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 69 pages
BLURB:
When Casimir reaches Brightgate, he isn’t sure what to expect from the City of Monsters, though he’s a monster himself. He definitely doesn’t anticipate being attacked mere moments after arriving—or that he’d be rescued by Mikki, the city’s rough-edged guardian angel.
He gets another unpleasant surprise in the form of ex-lover Jared, who instead of talking responds with violence, dead-set on exacting vengeance for the events that drove them apart. Given the way his visit is going, about the only thing Casimir is sure of is that the City of Monsters could very well be where he dies.
REVIEW:
Birthgate, the City of Monsters, was never a safe place. But after only hours within the city walls, Casimir is beginning to think the whole place might just be out to get him. If it isn’t the flying flesh-blobs of really-painful-death or the blood-hunger that kills him, well there are a couple of old vampire friends who would love to finish him off. Then he gets saved by a mysterious and powerful stranger and his luck looks like it coming ’round.
Casimir has never been all that lucky.
Don’t normally do dystopian(ish) type stories. They just really are not my cup of tea. Too much doom and gloom and pointless lawlessness. But this story felt more like fantasy than post-apocalyptic, so I wasn’t too bad off.
My favorite part of this had to be the various types of ‘demons’ running around. I like that we got to see something more than just the normal vampire/werewolf blend that comes with these types of stories. You get a nice mix of western and eastern cultural monsters, so it makes it a bit more interesting than your usual monster mash. Those flesh-bloby things are still hella messed up, though. Like majorly ewwwww.
And a trans character is always a plus in my book. So that was pretty neat.
My only real complaint is the graphic sex that happens between Casimir and another character who is not an MC. This is totally a personal preference, but I mostly prefer that sex scenes stick to the main characters. I don’t mind that it was a women he was having sex with, just wish it hadn’t got so graphic about it. I guess I just like sex with emotion behind it, and I have a hard time feeling that when it is not tied to an MC that we get to know and understand.
Overall it is a good story, with a really interesting world built underneath it. The touches of fantasy mixed in with technology actually really worked. Even if I never quite figured out how a centaur ended running an inn.
RATING:
BUY LINKS: