Blood & Sawdust

Blood & Sawdust by Jason Ridler

Blood & Sawdust follows the life of Malcolm Modris Tanner, a street-smart 14 year old with a smart mouth and an almost magnetic connection to trouble. Malcolm hasn’t had an easy life. At a carnival as a young child he witnessed the murder of his mother and since then he has had to grow up quickly under the abusive strain of his older brother, Robert, who nurses a drug addiction. Malcolm intends to use the money earned by betting on illegal fights to find their mother’s killer and avenge her death, that is, if he can earn enough and keep it from disappearing into Robert’s next fix. 

Blood & Sawdust also follows the life of an unassuming circuit player, known previously as Stretch Armstrong and currently as Milkwood, who gets paid to act as a punching bag. His real name is Francis Milkwood Mace, son of a famous wrestler who earns no respect in the brutal circuit. However, Milkwood has a secret to hide, one that keeps the money pouring in and the blood flowing. Only it’s not always his blood and people are starting to notice that he can heal much faster than he should.

Malcolm leaves his hometown of Troy, New York for a Fringe Tourney being held in Canada hoping to win big seeing as he’s developed a knack for picking out winning circuit players. However, he can’t shake the habit of always secretly betting on the underdog with his own hidden stack of cash. When Malcolm and Milkwood’s lives intertwine their problems are exacerbated tenfold. Malcolm ends up on the wrong side of Judge Sayers, his finger-eating dog Samson and his equally ill-tempered daughters who also share their father’s lust for blood. Not only do both Malcolm and Milkwood attract countless meatheads with bulging muscles, but suddenly a new danger arrives in killer heels driving a silver corvette. Malcolm has caught the eye of Lash, a beautiful woman with inhuman charms, and the ability to get what she wants whenever she wants it no matter who has to die in the process. When Malcolm learns that Lash and Milkwood have a secretly bitter history together he has to decide whose side he’s on. This becomes increasingly difficult when Lash offers him a way to get the Judge off of his back and take down his mother’s murderer all at once and not a moment too soon.

Just when Malcolm believes he’s on the road to freedom, a familiar dark figure stained with brown tobacco resurfaces. His mother’s killer has returned, but this time the tobacco-chewing fiend has a new target…Malcolm.

This novel is not for those who like slow beginnings, and honestly who does? Right from the start you’re thrown into a world of harsh realities seen through the eyes of a kid who has been forced to adapt or die. You can almost see the steam rising from the dark streets and smell the sweat rolling off of the brutal characters Malcolm encounters. This world is all engulfing and easy to fall into but not a place you would want to stay and rest. This story is told from two separate perspectives, which fill you in on the back-story and internal monologue of both main characters simultaneously so you never miss a snide remark or suspicion as it floats through our two protagonists’ minds.

Starting off I was prepared for the cringe-inducing gore, what I wasn’t prepared for was the heartfelt storyline. I love a novel with an enticing plot and this one doesn’t disappoint. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing even remotely sappy about this book. This modern world is unsympathetic and you won’t find any handouts here but there is a certain level of compassion that keeps a steady pace throughout the storyline and keeps your humanity firmly grounded. I love the idea that in a harsh town pity, sympathy and concern still exist even if they’re the rarest forms of emotion available. You find yourself cheering on the main character, Malcolm, even when you disagree with his choices. You want him to come out on top for everything that he’s been through and rooting for the underdog has never paid off more.

The Secret Circle Trilogy

The Secret Circle Trilogy by L. J. Smith

The Secret Circle: The Initiation and The Captive Part 1 

             (Book #1)

The Initiation and The Captive Part 1 follows the life of Cassie Blake, a high school junior living with her mother in New England and harboring some serious homesickness. Her life takes an interesting turn that sets her fate in motion when she has a romantic run in on the beach with a red-haired, mysterious stranger. However, much to Cassie’s disappointment he soon disappears and Cassie’s mother decides it’s time to move on, crushing Cassie’s dreams of leaving New England and heading home. After moving to her mother’s hometown, New Salem, and into her grandmother’s dreary, imposing old house Cassie starts trying to establish a new life for herself. First on her agenda is making new friends, which becomes quite a task after having a run in with the school bully Faye Chamberlain and her gang who make sure that Cassie is deemed an outsider. It’s then that Cassie starts to notice a group of students who seem to defy the school rules, who are both popular and avoided by the rest of their peers and who are known as the Club. The Club consists of Diana, the group leader and peacemaker, Suzan, the group airhead and comic relief, Nick, the standoffish rebel, Faye, the resident bad girl, Deborah, the resident bad girl in training WITH a motorcycle, Laurel, soft spoken and nurturing, the Henderson brothers Doug and Chris, twin troublemakers, Melanie, logical and knowledgeable, Sean, the group scaredy cat, and finally Adam, the boy who has stolen Diana’s heart and is MIA for the first half of the book (or is he?). The Club needs 12 members to fully operate and Cassie is about to be initiated into the group, ditching her outsider label forever. Yet the Club has hidden secrets and a dark history that Cassie couldn’t know about until an evil is unleashed on the town and people start dying. Cassie is torn between her love for Diana, her fear of Faye’s threats and the need for the Circle to work together to protect New Salem. Cassie will need to decide who she can trust and fast.

The story starts out with some cringe-worthy teenage dramatics. Cassie has emotional outbursts both crying and yelling at her poor mother when they first move to her grandmother’s house. Cassie also seeks attention from her peers hoping to be noticed or accepted by anyone. I had to continuously remind myself that this is high school and we’ve all been there at some point or another. I stuck with the story and I’m glad that I did because the payoff was extremely rewarding. As the story unfolds Cassie is forced to grow up and put her temper tantrums aside. The writing seems to grow up in its own way as well and you no longer feel as if you’re reading a YA novel when bodies of students start showing up on school grounds. I made a special trip to the bookstore for the second book in this trilogy (weird I know but each book contains 1 and ½ stories so together they both make up the trilogy) so that I would have it ready before finishing the first book. I knew that once I finished the first book I would want to jump straight into the second one to see how Cassie’s story would end. I have to say I was instantly hooked, it was never a question of if I would give in to this story but when and the answer was straight away. I must say through her dark persona and evil antics Faye remains my all time favorite Club member in both the book and show. There is something so enduring about giving into desire the way she does without any thought or fear of consequence. She is completely self-indulgent and not apologetic for it at all. This is a girl who knows how to use her inner strength and physical appearance to get whatever she wants right when she wants it. 

The only grammatical error I found was the misspelling on page 77 of Faye as “Fay”. However, because Fay is an alternative spelling of the name and not an actual grammatical error I still rate the Grammar of this book as a 5. Also, there is a very confusing typo on (page 261 book 1) that states that Faye’s mother is dead. I believe the word “mother” was supposed to be “father” seeing as later in the book (page 379 book 1) we discover Faye’s father’s headstone in the old cemetery. Also on (page 14 book 2) it is said that Faye’s mother is “sick in bed” while the girls are throwing a party at Faye’s house.

The Secret Circle: The Captive Part 2 and The Power 

             (Book #2)

Cassie Blake moved to New Salem against her will and was initiated into the Club in the first book. It turns out that Cassie’s mysterious guy on the beach was Adam, who she learns is dating Diana when he returns to the Club in time for her initiation. Cassie constantly battles between her uncontrollable attraction to Adam and her unconditional love for Diana. Now let’s catch you up to speed. All of the members of the Club are descendants of an ancient line of witches, including Cassie. The powerful bloodlines come together to form a circle of twelve witches who unknowingly unleash an evil entity known as Black John onto the town of New Salem when they discover a crystal skull. The Club itself is in chaos as the leadership vote arrives and Faye goes head to head with Diana for the position.  Now as the Circle struggles to find a way to resist Black John they are forced to turn on each other. Someone in the Club has been feeding valuable information to Black John and no one can be trusted. Bodies are starting to pile up and darkness stalks the Circle as they attempt to put a stop to it once and for all. The Circle desperately searches for The Master Tools, the only thing that would allow them to stand a chance against the evil Black John is conjuring for them. Yet, Black John still has a few secrets up his malevolent sleeves, one giant secret in particular that could change Cassie’s outlook on everything she’s ever believed in and make her wonder just who exactly she is…or could be if she chooses to embrace her dark side.

I flew through this book, I just couldn’t wait to see how the Circle would progress and who would still be standing by the end. Without giving anything away, the love triangle that occurs had my heart aching for the characters. I have to note that I do know that there are more books under The Secret Circle title however, I’m aware that these books are not in fact written by L. J. Smith and due to reviews that I’ve read I’m not entirely sure if I’ll be reading the remaining books. I’ll definitely keep you updated if I do.

I have to say that I discovered this trilogy only after watching the entire season of the CW show, entering into it with high hopes and expectations. Fans of the CW show will probably be a little disappointed by the lack of steamy romance between the Club members and the slight character differences that appear in the book. Some noticeable differences right from the start are that the name of the town that Cassie moves to in the book is New Salem while in the CW show it is Chance Harbor. Another notable difference is that Cassie is a brunette, while Diana is a sunshine blonde. Also, Cassie’s grandmother is described as “ancient” compared to the limber and lively woman who portrays her in the show.  Despite the differences, the book in itself is an exceptionally fun ride and should not be overlooked. Even though I was prepared and to be honest slightly disappointed that the storyline in the books was almost completely different than that of the show I still found myself mesmerized by it. I enjoyed this trilogy and am definitely looking forward to sharing it.

*Note: A fun book to have on hand while reading this trilogy is The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall. I found this book to be extremely helpful when identifying the different crystals and stones used by the Club.