Bad Blood by Nicky Peacock

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SKU 978-1-77130-986-8
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Battle of the Undead, 1

“I am Britannia. I am your protector. I will fend off the hungry hordes of undead hands that reach toward you. I am your steadfast defender. I will stand between you and the zombie masses as they try to taste your flesh. I am strong, unyielding, and dedicated to your survival. All I ask from you… is your blood.” 

A 500 year bloody game of vengeance will need to be put on hold if vampires are to survive the zombie uprising. Bitter enemies, Britannia and Nicholas must work together to save un-infected humans, delivering them to a stronghold in Scotland. 

Unable to drink the zombie blood, vampires need humans to stay alive. But will they tell the survivors who they are, and what they want from them? Will Britannia be able to hold back her vengeance? Is survivor Josh the reincarnation of Britannia’s murdered true love? And can she bring herself to deliver him to the safe hold? 

Survival instincts run deep, but bad blood can run deeper.

14+ for violence and adult situations

 

Excerpt: 

We ran to the hospital. On the way, we encountered hardly anyone, alive or dead. Where were they all? When we arrived at the hospital car park, I understood. Zombies were pack animals. A massive crowd of them were crammed in and around the main building like they were waiting for a concert to start, all barely paying attention to their surroundings and seemingly swaying against the force of gravity. The other thing was the smell. When watching horror films filled with shuffling zombies, the horror came from their ghastly looks—the reminder that death has a tight grip on us all, well, most of us. But what the filmmakers should focus on—if they could—was the acidic rank odor zombies gave off. They had been dead barely twenty-four hours. It took a normal human body at least thirty-six hours to really start to smell, and that was with a vampire’s heightened senses. These guys smelled like they’d been out in the sun for three weeks covered in rubbish and besieged by wily maggots. They were mostly intact, though. Maybe this hospital had been Zombie Ground Zero. Most had turned so quickly their comrades hadn’t had time to feed.

 

“Maybe we should try a less populated target.” Nicholas twitched his nose and turned away from me to dry retch.

 

“Maybe you should grow a pair.”

 

“Maybe you should act like a lady.” He now had his hands on his hips, squaring up for yet another argument.

 

“Acting like a lady isn’t going to help now, is it? What do you want me to do? Drop my handkerchief in front of the zombies and watch them fight one another to scoop it up for me? Moron!”

 

“Always to the ‘nth degree with you, isn’t it?”

 

“Shut up. Look, the doors are holding, and they’re outside, not inside, which means there must be some people left in there alive to have barricaded this place so tight.”

 

“Or maybe there are just more zombies in there.”

 

“Well, there’s definitely a blood bank in there, and that’ll help matters no end!”

 

Nicholas looked thoughtful then nodded. He of course didn’t want to actually say aloud that I’d had a good idea. “So, how do we get past them?”

 

I assumed it was a rhetorical question, so I started down to the car park entrance, where most of the zombies were mobbing. I opened the outer door as quietly as possible.

 

“Ladies first,” Nicholas whispered in my ear.

 

“I thought we’d agreed I wasn’t a lady.” And with that, I shoved him as hard as I could into the throbbing throng of zombies.

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Product Reviews

Score: 5 out of 5 (based on 9 ratings)
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4/5
Lenn's Review Blog
Written by undefined on 26th Aug 2016

This was a really great vampire vs. zombie story! This isn't a very long book and the action moves at a very quick pace. The characters are developed really well for such a short story. I found myself really liking the main character Britannia, and I even liked her nemesis, Nicolas, a little bit. Zombies have taken over London and vampires are the saviors. This is a really original and unique take on the supernatural books I usually read. There is plenty of blood and action, and then mixed in is a little bit of a beginning of a love story. I really enjoyed Britannia and Nicolas's interactions, and the good vs evil struggle. The ending leaves the reader satisfied for the ending of this part, and looking forward to what comes next for Britannia and her human wards.

5/5
With Love For Books
Written by undefined on 26th Aug 2016

Britannia is a vampire. She has lived through hundreds of years trying to take revenge on Nicholas. Killing every new vampire he creates Britannia is a force to be reckoned with. She was made a vampire against her will and was held captive for a lot of years. All for the sake of love... When she became a vampire she lost the only man she ever loved. Her heart still belongs to him even though his mortal life ended centuries ago. Britannia must learn how to work together with Nicholas when zombies are walking the streets. More of them are created by the second. The elders have given them one assignment. Come to a safe place with as many humans as you can rescue. Zombie blood can't be the blood a vampire needs. For that they still need the humans. And so the battle begins between vampires and zombies. Who will win in the end and which species will be left standing when all of this is over? Britannia is fierce and deadly but she is also very kind and still heartbroken over the loss of love. I really loved the fact that she has so many layers. She is one vampire I would love to have on my side when the world falls apart. Nicholas was the one who turned Britannia into a vampire. He believed she was the reincarnation of the love he once lost. Hoping to rekindle those feelings he held her captive for two decades. Even though she killed all of his new 'children' Nicholas still has warm feelings for her. Maybe this battle will bring them together. For anyone who has been following me for a while it is no secret that I love a good vampire or zombie story. The fact that the two of them were combined in Bad Blood made it a book I couldn't resist. Nicky Peacock has created a fast-paced horror story in which the vampires are actually the good guys. I absolutely loved the different angles and twists she has chosen to put into this story. While reading this book I kept thinking can it get any better? The answer was yes every single time. This book will be a hard one to top, it's an absolute must-read for every reader who loves this genre.

4/5
4 stars
Written by Genie on 26th Aug 2016

Bad Blood brings an exciting new take on Vampires. I have to admit, vampire books have been boring me lately, but when you add zombies to the mix.... Loved it!! Brit was pretty bad ass, but also had a deeper layer that was nice. I will certainly be looking forward to the next one.

5/5
A great read for horror fans!
Written by Kelly Smith Reviews on 31st Oct 2014

For my Halloween special post this year, I was sent Bad Blood, an upper YA novel by Nicky Peacock, about vampires saving humans during the zombie apocalypse. It might sound strange, and it is, but in the best way! Britannia is a 450 year old vampire, turned without permission by Nicholas, a pompous vampire who fell in love with her and wanted to keep her with him for eternity. He even killed her fiancé. She spent centuries hunting down his vampiric children, but now they must work together, because the vampire Elders need as many humans saved from the zombies as possible, or else vampires will starve. But when the spitting image of her lost fiancé shows up, things get even stranger... Young adult vampire novels are often cheesy. Young adult zombie novels are often pure violence and no story. Bad Blood is neither of those things. Think, Darren Shan and Poppy Z. Brite had a lovechild. The story is a very quick read, very violent and very emotional. You get love, hate and every little thing in between. There are twists, but nothing too complex. Britannia is a wonderful lead, with snark and depth. Nicholas is the perfect antagonist, and the supporting characters will imprint themselves in your memory. My only problem here is, will we get another book about them? You won't want this story to end and you will ask yourself, "Why isn't this a movie?" Ms. Peacock has so much untapped potential here. I'm excited to read more from her.

5/5
Brilliant..
Written by Tracy on 21st Oct 2014

OMG this book is fan freaking tastic.... A shorter story than I was expecting, but the author didn't hold back, I was riveted, completely captivated by the story. This is in no way your run of the mill doom and gloom vampire/zombie tale. In fact this book has plenty of action, adventure and laugh out loud moments! I mean calling a zombie cross vampire a zambie... Brilliant.... The world has been hit by a Zombie virus, Britannia a Scythe wielding kickass vampire along with her sire Nicholas set out to rescue as many human survivors as they can taking them to Scotland where the vampire elders have set up a strong hold. Brit and Nicholas have a feisty relationship and quite often end up butting heads.. wont give any spoilers, will just say READ IT !! I really enjoyed this book the storyline was fast paced, addictive, with awesome characters. And I will be waiting ever so impatiently to read more about Brit, Nicholas and their companions to see what they get up to. Recommend this book to all fans of YA/Paranormal. We all love a vampire story, well I sure do.. This one will be going into my favourites and re-reads.. * I received this book in exchange for an honest review*

5/5
Kick-butt Vampire and Zombie Novel!
Written by Reese on 6th Sep 2014

I received a copy of Bad Blood for an honest review. Oh no London has been taken over by zombies!!! If any of you frequent the blog you know I love Vampire novels. Any vampire novel I can get a hold of I will read it no matter if I have read the story line before or not. Despite the fact that the main character is a vampire and my love of all things vampire I still was a tad hesitant about reading Bad Blood because the story also contained another supernatural creature I loath to read about or watch. Zombies. I hate all things zombies I think they are so yucky. While the zombie thing was a tad putting off it did not stop me from tearing through this book in about a day. I loved Bad Blood! Britannia is such an amazing protagonist! She kicks major butt, has an awesome sense of humor, and despite her being hundreds of years old she is insanely relatable. Zombies have taken over London after a virus hits full force. Britianna and her arch enemy and creator Nicolas are the only two vampire left and their job is to find any survining humans and bring them too the Elders. The problem? The zombies seem to have a ruler and that ruler is stronger than they were would have thought, and it’s someone they know. Loved this book! Ah so good. I couldn’t put it down! Bad Blood is action packed with a semi love story but not really. I honestly loved it because the main character, she totally made this book for me and I would highly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys vampire or zombies books and enjoys a kick ars adventure! Thank you author Nicky Peacock for sending me this amazing book I honestly and truly enjoyed and appreciate it.

4/5
Vampires and Zombies. YAY!
Written by BookAngelRV on 6th Sep 2014

I really enjoyed this book. It is another vampire book but honestly I have enjoyed vampire books before they were popular, during and still to this day. This story also has my other favorite characters in it which is zombies. The book starts out just before the zombie outbreak but jumps right into the action and the path to safety for not only the humans but the vampires also. There seems to be very few survivors of the zombie plague and unfortunately vampires can also be turned if bitten enough times or if you drink the zombie blood. There was a bit of a debate in this book about whether a vampire that has become a zombie should be called a zompire or vambie. Personally I have to side with Nicholas on this one and go with zompire because vambie does sound like a Disney character. By the end of the book they are still trying to get themselves and the survivors to safety so I am looking forward to the next book. I really liked the conflict between Nicholas and Britannia. With all of their previous history I am curious if they will ever be able to atleast be civil to each other. Those two really helps to make the conflict in the story even better instead of just being a fight between zombies and vampires. They are able to unite together to fight against a common foe but then they go right back to fighting. What I did not like was not really a big issue. I would have liked Britannia to stop being so blinded by the past and her hatred for Nicholas. However this also as stated above helped add a little depth to the story as well so kind of the fence about it. I think as we move along in the story we will get to see Britannia grow as a vampire already I see a little change in her. All in all I really enjoyed reading this book and I will definitely be reading the next one. *I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*

5/5
Vampies & Zombies Oh My!
Written by vals_hemi on 6th Sep 2014

I loved it.. Not really into a Zombie Book, but because it had Vampires I gave it a try and wow.. really a fast paced action book for a short read. It comes down to Humans made a grave error in the science research and a virus is born. Can the vampires save themselves, and others? I love the character of Britannia, head strong, fiesty, dominance. Takes no crap from her maker Nicholas which I find funny. He does put up with her testiness quite well. Philippe was a surprise... let me just say. I cant say to much cause I hate to give things away... but I definitely want to read more.. !! Bring it.

5/5
Vampire role model for teen fiction
Written by Anze on 6th Sep 2014

Nicky Peacock is an author I hadn't read before. My son bought her book and passed it to me. Despite my advanced age I'm still a Buffy and Angel fan although they are starting to look slightly "so two decades ago". Bad Blood introduced me to a new vampire heroine; she's feisty, tough and everyone loves a girl with blue hair and a root regrowth issue. Nicky Peacock writes good characters and wastes no time getting them into the action. I'm looking forward to reading all Nicky's output - its light-hearted, tightly written and leaves me waiting for the next book breathlessly.