Blood at the Root

How it reads

Blood at the Root is fantasy (young-adult urban fantasy, specifically), and its dominant mood is adventurous. It's driven by momentum, discovery and getting into trouble. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in a big city setting, in the present day, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are identity, family and power and politics. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It opens a series. It ends on a cliffhanger, so have the next book ready. At 432 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.