Book Review-PRECIOUS BLOOD

PRECIOUS BLOOD
By Tonya Hurley
June 2013
432 Pages
Simon and Schuster

Summary taken from Goodreads:
What if martyrs and saints lived among us? And what if you were told you were one of them?
Meet Agnes, Cecilia, and Lucy. Three lost girls, each searching for something. But what they find is Beyond Belief.
My Thoughts:
This is the first book in The Blessed Trilogy by Tonya Hurley.
This book was origianally published as The Blessed last year. It was re-released with a new title and a  beautiful new new cover by illustrator Abbey Watkins.
I can sum this story up in three words: Confusing, Bizarre and Intriguing.
I found myself having a bit of a love/hate relationship with Precious Blood.
Three very different girls, all through tragic circumstances end up at the same hospital on Halloween night. All three have given up on life and are knocking at death's door. Suddenly a mysterious and beautiful starnger named Sebastian visits each girl at their bedside gifting them with identical braclets and promise of better things to come.
Precious Blood is told from four different points of view-Lucy, Agnes, Cecelia and Sebastian which kept the pace of the story moving along but could also be confusing at times.
Although these girls have been brought together for a similar purpose(that remains a mystery throughout Precious Blood) they are all very different from one another. As the story progresses we find out more about each girl-their lives and trials are revealed. Lucy is an out-for-herself, party till dawn, it girl of the moment. Cecelia is a down on her luck musician who speaks to people through her soul baring music. And Agnes is the helpless romantic who just desperately wants to be loved.
Tonya Hurley's attention to detail is exceptional as she describes Catholic sybolism and the history of martyrs and saints. She reveals small bits while building suspense page after page.
On the downside  there were times throughout the book I was literally scratching my head and saying, "What???"
I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the things that take place in the basement of the church....
 Is Sebastian crazy? If these girls are modern day martyrs and saints what is their purpose?
o many questions that I' hoping will be revealed in the second book(Passionaries) of this trilogy. But I  have to wait until January 2014!
So here's the beauty of Precious Blood-even with the plot holes and lack of character deveopment I'm sticking with it. Why? Because I'm hooked! I can't get this story out of my head. I REALLY need to know what happens next.
To read about Tonya Hurley, Precious Blood and more details on saints and martyrs she visit her website.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read and review Precious Blood. This book was passed on in a giveaway earlier this month.