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Blood Run Trilogy #1
First Promise
From Amazon:
It is 1985 and the United States is reeling from a disease that has taken huge, bloody bites out of the country as people are changed into vampires. The survivors have grouped together in remote outposts and the National Guard is the lifeline that runs between the outposts, bringing news and supplies.
In Wereburg, New York, a young woman named Destiny Riser has lost her parents in the plague but saved her little brother, Chance. But the outpost she brings him to is still young and learning and in an accident of fate, it is ravaged by vampires. Destiny sees her brother bit and changed and from that moment on, rechristens herself ‘Promise� and vows to release Chance from his nightmare, nighttime existence.
With the assistance of her black horse, Ash, she combs the barren forests surrounding Wereburg and even her old development, Willow’s End, searching for Chance; desperate to end his misery. But then the National Guard brings a stranger to Wereburg, a man who is purportedly a fabled ‘half and half’–someone who has been bit but who has at least a partial immunity to the disease. That man will change everything that Promise believes.
It is 1985 and the United States is reeling from a disease that has taken huge, bloody bites out of the country as people are changed into vampires. The survivors have grouped together in remote outposts and the National Guard is the lifeline that runs between the outposts, bringing news and supplies.
In Wereburg, New York, a young woman named Destiny Riser has lost her parents in the plague but saved her little brother, Chance. But the outpost she brings him to is still young and learning and in an accident of fate, it is ravaged by vampires. Destiny sees her brother bit and changed and from that moment on, rechristens herself ‘Promise� and vows to release Chance from his nightmare, nighttime existence.
With the assistance of her black horse, Ash, she combs the barren forests surrounding Wereburg and even her old development, Willow’s End, searching for Chance; desperate to end his misery. But then the National Guard brings a stranger to Wereburg, a man who is purportedly a fabled ‘half and half’–someone who has been bit but who has at least a partial immunity to the disease. That man will change everything that Promise believes.
136 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 6, 2012
19 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Christine Dougherty
26Ìýbooks52ÌýfollowersChris Dougherty writes from a secluded haven in southern New Jersey at the edge of the Pine Barrens.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 10, 2012
I nabbed this book for free off of Amazon. The blurb made me curious. I am so glad I did.
First Promise sat in my kindle for a few days, and as I was browsing to see what I might like to read, I happened on this book. I opened it up, started reading, and a couple of hours later, I was finished. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want it to end. I was so pumped up I wanted to hit something! Just kiddin. But I was anxious to read more of this series.
I hopped over to Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ to check out Christine Dougherty. I was surprised that I had not friended her. Her books are my kind of reading, wonder how I missed her. Be sure, I friended her now! And I spotted the next two books in the series. They are available on Amazon and now I don’t have to wait to dive back in!
Let me tell ya’ll about this story.
It started in 1983. News reports and rumors about vicious attacks trickled into the small town of Willow’s End. The townspeople soon start to believe the reports are true as the outbreak escalates, spreading to all corners of the Earth by the end of 83.
It takes a while for the infected to reach Willow’s End. It’s now 1985. People start to go missing and some are found dead, their bodies ripped apart. Then the worse happens. The vampires get Promise’s parents. Promise, only eighteen years old, now has to protect and care for her nine-year old brother Chance. They are all each other has.
One week later, she loses Chance also. The survivors of the surrounding towns have taken shelter in the high school. It is a secure outpost, like many scattered throughout the country. They should have been safe. Then someone leaves a door open, and the vampires come pouring in from the darkness outside. It’s a bloodbath. So many die. And Chance is bitten. It doesn’t take long for him to change into a bloodsucker.
The others want to stake Chance, but Promise forbids it. As he howls and gnashes his long incisors in her face, Promise cries out to him to stop. He seems to have enough humanity left in him to hear her, and he dives out the window and runs off into the night.
Promise was not always her name. She changed it from Destiny because she made a “promise� to her little brother. Since she first laid eyes on him as an infant, she always felt like he was her child. Now she has to hunt him down and end his pain.
Her promise, “I’ll fix everything. Until the day I rest in my grave, I will look for him.�
Now she shares a room with her horse, Ash, and her friend Lea, a quiet, shy girl, head-over-heels in love with Mark, who is hopelessly in love with Promise. Quite the pickle they are in. Promise has no interest in Mark besides friendship and they all manage to remain close, looking out for each other.
Then a newcomer arrives. A handsome young man, several years older than Promise. They seem drawn to each and not just because Peter has a horse also. The stories going around that he’s half-and-half are true. He has been bitten and survived, unchanged. The fact that his dreams are filled with a lust for blood will remain his secret.
Okay, I have to stop here. It is really going to get cranking now.
This little jewel is screaming at me to keep telling you more.
I am so glad there are two more books in this series. I have fallen hard for Promise and Peter, along with Lea and Mark. There are some periphery characters I like also and they help keep the story flowing and make it plausible.
I love how the author describes Promises’s feelings about vampires. They echo my own, and I’ve never seen it mentioned before.
“It still felt weird on her lips and in her ears. Vampires. The word was squirmy and old-fashioned and almost� embarrassing.�
There is one other moment in the story where this happens. It is like the author knows how I feel. It has to do with Peter and Promise, and what she discovers about his life before the outbreak. See if you catch what I mean. It’s like the author read my mind.
This would be a great read for young adult and more mature readers.
I’ve only touched on this story. There is so much in store for you. You have to read First Promise!
First Promise sat in my kindle for a few days, and as I was browsing to see what I might like to read, I happened on this book. I opened it up, started reading, and a couple of hours later, I was finished. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want it to end. I was so pumped up I wanted to hit something! Just kiddin. But I was anxious to read more of this series.
I hopped over to Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ to check out Christine Dougherty. I was surprised that I had not friended her. Her books are my kind of reading, wonder how I missed her. Be sure, I friended her now! And I spotted the next two books in the series. They are available on Amazon and now I don’t have to wait to dive back in!
Let me tell ya’ll about this story.
It started in 1983. News reports and rumors about vicious attacks trickled into the small town of Willow’s End. The townspeople soon start to believe the reports are true as the outbreak escalates, spreading to all corners of the Earth by the end of 83.
It takes a while for the infected to reach Willow’s End. It’s now 1985. People start to go missing and some are found dead, their bodies ripped apart. Then the worse happens. The vampires get Promise’s parents. Promise, only eighteen years old, now has to protect and care for her nine-year old brother Chance. They are all each other has.
One week later, she loses Chance also. The survivors of the surrounding towns have taken shelter in the high school. It is a secure outpost, like many scattered throughout the country. They should have been safe. Then someone leaves a door open, and the vampires come pouring in from the darkness outside. It’s a bloodbath. So many die. And Chance is bitten. It doesn’t take long for him to change into a bloodsucker.
The others want to stake Chance, but Promise forbids it. As he howls and gnashes his long incisors in her face, Promise cries out to him to stop. He seems to have enough humanity left in him to hear her, and he dives out the window and runs off into the night.
Promise was not always her name. She changed it from Destiny because she made a “promise� to her little brother. Since she first laid eyes on him as an infant, she always felt like he was her child. Now she has to hunt him down and end his pain.
Her promise, “I’ll fix everything. Until the day I rest in my grave, I will look for him.�
Now she shares a room with her horse, Ash, and her friend Lea, a quiet, shy girl, head-over-heels in love with Mark, who is hopelessly in love with Promise. Quite the pickle they are in. Promise has no interest in Mark besides friendship and they all manage to remain close, looking out for each other.
Then a newcomer arrives. A handsome young man, several years older than Promise. They seem drawn to each and not just because Peter has a horse also. The stories going around that he’s half-and-half are true. He has been bitten and survived, unchanged. The fact that his dreams are filled with a lust for blood will remain his secret.
Okay, I have to stop here. It is really going to get cranking now.
This little jewel is screaming at me to keep telling you more.
I am so glad there are two more books in this series. I have fallen hard for Promise and Peter, along with Lea and Mark. There are some periphery characters I like also and they help keep the story flowing and make it plausible.
I love how the author describes Promises’s feelings about vampires. They echo my own, and I’ve never seen it mentioned before.
“It still felt weird on her lips and in her ears. Vampires. The word was squirmy and old-fashioned and almost� embarrassing.�
There is one other moment in the story where this happens. It is like the author knows how I feel. It has to do with Peter and Promise, and what she discovers about his life before the outbreak. See if you catch what I mean. It’s like the author read my mind.
This would be a great read for young adult and more mature readers.
I’ve only touched on this story. There is so much in store for you. You have to read First Promise!
March 14, 2019
interesting take on vampires. I will be continuing on with this series as I want to find out what happens with Promise and Peter and if they can save her brother.
May 24, 2013
I actually read the three book trilogy and would recommend it be read that way.
It is 1985 and the United States is reeling from a disease that has taken huge, bloody bites out of the country as people are changed into vampires. The survivors have grouped together in remote outposts and the National Guard is the lifeline that runs between the outposts, bringing news and supplies.
This is a well written trilogy. I think you could read the books as stand alones, but would miss a lot if you did.
This is the story of Promise, once known by another name in a different life. Life has slapped her hard at a young age with the death of her parents and the loss of her baby brother. Her struggles and questions about the world and herself are not the overblown teenager kind. They are the questions of a young adult ripped from the world she knew to a world without laughter or safety.
I enjoyed this coming of age in a dark world read. I would recommend it to ages 16 upward as there are some fairly gory scenes.
It is 1985 and the United States is reeling from a disease that has taken huge, bloody bites out of the country as people are changed into vampires. The survivors have grouped together in remote outposts and the National Guard is the lifeline that runs between the outposts, bringing news and supplies.
This is a well written trilogy. I think you could read the books as stand alones, but would miss a lot if you did.
This is the story of Promise, once known by another name in a different life. Life has slapped her hard at a young age with the death of her parents and the loss of her baby brother. Her struggles and questions about the world and herself are not the overblown teenager kind. They are the questions of a young adult ripped from the world she knew to a world without laughter or safety.
I enjoyed this coming of age in a dark world read. I would recommend it to ages 16 upward as there are some fairly gory scenes.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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