The Preternatural


Fiction - General
210 Pages
Reviewed on 09/15/2014
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

Author Biography

Daryl Hajek lived in Los Angeles, CA for 50 years and currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona. "Blood Blossom" is his first novel and "The Preternatural" is his second novel. He is currently at work on his next novel, "Eyes That Hear and Ears That See," a dark fantasy-drama about a deaf woman seeking gainful employment, but with an unexpected twist.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite

In Daryl Hajek’s Blood Blossom, Vivian Hutchins’ hope to reunite and restore her relationship with her younger sister, Christine, is ruined. Christine wants nothing but revenge – the dark feeling has not subsided, even after 22 years. She is hell-bent on going after their mysterious mother, Rose. Hajek takes you on a thrilling ride as Blood Blossom is a potent combination of drama, mystery, suspense and even a little dose of comedy. Christine’s sadistic persona keeps the story on a roll and would definitely hold readers’ interest from beginning to end.

The plot is intrinsically developed on the human desire for revenge as well as wealth and power. Here, a family tie is unbelievably expendable. What did the mother do to deserve such hatred from her daughter? Now there’s where the thrill starts (at least for me). Whether readers are prepared to face the twisted storyline or not is a matter for each reader’s personal taste, but I find Blood Blossom is equally dark and witty on a different level. Another particular and personal delight for me is the battle of wits between the opposing characters.

Hajek’s writing style is deftly rich in details and engaging, page after page. On the whole, the energy that the story resonates is what I like most. As a reader, you want to be able to imagine every scene and every character, immerse yourself in the story emotionally and be entertained at the same time. Blood Blossom absolutely delivers from start to finish. Hajek is a talent that deserves any avid reader’s attention.

Faridah Nassozi

Twenty-two years ago, a mother's selfish and evil acts destroyed the Hutchins family and separated Vivian from her young brother Blaine and little sister Christine. Since moving back into town seven years ago, Vivian had always hoped to see her siblings again and every day she looked forward to when that would happen. Then one day Vivian answered her door and there stood Christine, just like that, all grown up. However, Christine was not in town for a family reunion; she came to seek her revenge against the woman who had destroyed their family. When Christine was told that the person she sought was already dead, she felt fate had cheated her, but a few clues led her to believe that maybe Rose, the evil mother personified, was still alive after all. Christine's anger and desire for revenge were fueled further when she and Vivian discovered Rose's journal, detailing all her evil deeds, including killing her own husband and her son-in-law. Before they had had enough time to take in all the evil revelations from the diaries, Vivian answered her door again, and this time there stood Rose, and once again she had come to kick them out of their home; but this time Christine was ready and she was not going down without a fight.

Blood Blossom by Daryl Hajek is a very dark family story, filled with evil fueled by selfish desires, wealth, power and an undying need for revenge. Rose Hutchins, mother to Vivian and Christine, is a one of kind type of mother - in the most evil way possible - and in Christine's case, the apple did not fall far from the tree either. I do not believe I have ever come across a family filled with so much evil, darkness and hatred in their hearts that even after 22 years of not seeing one another the dark feeling still lives strong. For a mother to desire wealth and power so much that even her own family becomes expendable is beyond belief, but that is what forms the basis of this original plot. Blood Blossom by Daryl Hajek is a drama-filled family story with dark twists and turns that you never see coming.

Samantha Rivera

Christine has arrived back home with a little surprise in mind. She’s determined to find the mother who abandoned her twenty-two years ago and exact her revenge. What she doesn’t expect is to find out the woman has been dead for years or that her elder sister is now living in their mother’s house. But nothing is as simple as it seems when Rose Hutchins is involved and the two girls are about to find out that there are dark secrets hidden in their past and their future. But Christine’s plans for revenge have not diminished and, in fact, as the secrets unravel they become bigger than ever in Blood Blossom by Daryl Hajek.

Vivian has been living on her own for many years since the death of her husband and she’s managed to make something of herself. She’s a strong and determined woman who was able to put some terrible things behind her which definitely helps you to relate to her. She’s the type of person that you can look up to and want to be more like. On the other hand, Christine is the antithesis. She’s the woman that we may all have buried deep inside, the one who wants revenge at any cost. Pairing them together makes this an interesting story and when you throw in Rose and her entourage … well, this story just kept getting better and better as I read it. I would recommend this to anyone who likes novels of revenge and anyone who likes a bit of action and suspense because that’s exactly what you’ll get in Blood Blossom.