Book Review - The Purity of Crimson (ARC)

The Purity of Crimson by Beverley Lee (The Gabriel Davenport Series #3) - releases October 9th
Star Rating: 5/5
Genre: Horror, Dark fantasy, Occult
Buy the book: Amazon
Synopsis (from Amazon): Blood calls to blood. Gabriel Davenport and his brothers have found a temporary refuge. But safety is fleeting. Beneath the streets of London three become five, as the brothers, the "Bloody Little Prophets," are joined by a witch boy sent on a mission and a terrified, persecuted vampire. But every meeting has its consequences. And one of them is not who he says he is. One by one, the brothers are torn apart, and all must face their own demons when unexpected questions and uncertainty arise. Gabriel's quest takes him to the very edge of his morality—to a creature who holds the key to death itself. What would he give to know why the wings of darkness had always sought him? And what would any of them sacrifice to save each other?

If you follow my blog or reviews, you know I’ve previously reviewed the first and second books in this series and gave them aaaaaaaall the staaaaaaaaars! If you haven’t read the first two, I cannot recommend them enough. And it’s nearly October! These books are perfect for enjoying snuggled under a blanket with a hot drink by your side. And you know what? For anyone who doesn’t read books with vampires in because it’s “not your thing,” no judgement, but I challenge you to give this series a go. I actively avoid horror books because they’re so strongly not my thing, but these books are everything! Right, now that you know you really, really should read the first two, let’s get to the review of the third.

Like its older siblings, The Purity of Crimson is utter perfection when it comes to atmosphere. You can feel the cold wind biting at your skin, hear the brittle leaves crunching under the characters’ feet. It’s gorgeously written. I always worry descriptive bits are going to slow down a story, but not when Beverley Lee* does it.

*Fun fact: I spelled Beverley Lee’s name wrong for over a year. 🤦‍♀️ So sorry, Bev! Gotta get that sneaky E in there.

Anyhoodles, and the characters! I’ve had to bandage up my heart a bit because there were several parts that took it out to play hacky sack with. I was on the couch crying, trying not to fall over, taking deep breaths. I care about every character so much. They’re all masterfully developed, each with a unique voice and personality. Moth, though. I would try so hard to make Moth my friend. He’d probably glare at me, but that’s okay because he’d eventually have to become my friend because I’d make friends with Gabe and Teal and Clove too. That’s how that works, right? Cookies with a nice tall glass of warm blood for everyone! 🍪🍪🍪😄

The action, plot, and pacing, spot on. During no part of the book was I like, “Okay, that’s enough of this for now.” No, it was more like, “Okay, I have to be an adult tomorrow and do things and it’s getting really late, so I need to put this down… right after the next chapter.” Basically, every piece of this book is magnificent. I think Beverley Lee might be a little bit magic because I really don’t have any complaints about the book and y’all know how picky I can be. The series is wrapped up beautifully, which is such a hard thing to do, especially when you’ve got as many moving pieces as she does. I want to write as well as her when I grow up!

And besides writing incredible books, Beverley is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. If you’re an Instagrammer, I encourage you to seek her out here. She can also be found on Twitter here, on Facebook here, or on the web here. And The Purity of Crimson releases October 9th, so support an amazing indie author and go preorder that amazingness!

Thanks for reading!