Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway: Blood Crown by Ali Cross

Title:  Blood Crown Author:  Ali Cross Publisher/Publication Date: Novel Ninjutsu,  February 28, 2014 Format/Source: E-ARC, Publicist  About BLOOD CROWN: Androids have claimed power over what remains of the human race. They rule without remorse. They are the Mind and humans exist only to serve them. But it wasn't always so. Before the android uprising, select droids, called Servants, were pivotal in engineering a new human race with nanotechnology enhanced DNA. The Blood Crown theorum was to be humanity's crowning glory and the key to their survival in deep space. But Serantha, Daughter of the West, was the last female to receive Gifts from her Servant and when the Mind mutinied, she was hidden away, and presumed dead. Without Serantha there is no hope of the Blood Crown being realized so Nicolai, Son of the East, abandons his crown to join the rebel forces. He might not provide the future for his people he had once dreamed of, but he will not go down without a fight. When Nicolai discovers Sera among a small compliment of kitchen staff, everything changes--but Sera's Gifts were never completed and she is ill-equipped to face a legion of androids determined to wipe her, and every other human, out of existence. Their only hope is the Blood Crown--but even if Serantha and Nicolai can realize their potential it may be too late to save mankind. Review Blood Crown by Ali Cross presents the concept of androids developed to serve mankind, but revolt in an attempt to destroy mankind. Although the latter part of the book was well-written, there were parts of the book that didn't sit well with me.  Blood Crown started out a little slow, but grew more interesting in the end. The execution of Serantha’s connection to the ship was entertaining; however, early on I found that the fight scenes lacked the detail essential to captivating me. Another aspect of the story I found troublesome was that the female servants were treated like sexual objects. In the beginning Serantha appeared to be a weak heroine. Yes, there were times when Serantha would fight back--which added excitement to the mix, but there were other times when she would do little to defend herself, which made her fall short of being a kick-ass heroine. After the first 90 pages, the story improved as there was a greater focus on Serantha and Nicolai; and the war that was brewing between the humans and androids.  Actually the writing seemed stronger and the story grew more compelling during the second half of the book. Overall, the story was okay after Serantha begins to realize her power and build upon her gifts. Rating 3/5 I was provided with an E-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, thank you! Buy links Amazon     B&N     Kobo  About Ali Cross Ali Cross is the sensei of Novel Ninjutsu where she holds a black belt in awesome. She lives in Utah with her kickin' husband, two sparring sons, one ninja cat, one sumo dog and four zen turtles. Ali is the award-winning author of young and new adult fiction and moonlights as Alex Cross when she can write wild middle grade adventures set in the faraway places of her imagination. Social Media Links Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ali_cross Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoralicross Blog: http://www.alicross.com Book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19241969-blood-crown Author on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188441.Ali_Cross Tumblr/Pinterest/Etc: http://desolationdiaries.tumblr.com/ Indelibles (indie authors): http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com/ Emblazoners (middle grade authors): http://emblazoners.com/ Dauntless (authors): http://dauntlessauthors.blogspot.com/ Giveaway Weekly Prize Widget a Rafflecopter giveaway  Grand Prize Widget a Rafflecopter giveaway