Oxford Blood by Rachael Davis Featherstone
The competition is cut-throat.
Eva has one goal: to study English at Oxford University. When she and best friend George are both called to Interview Week, all her dreams seem to be coming true.
Until George is found dead.
All eyes turn on Eva, including the anonymous posters behind OxSlays, a student gossip forum that’s more ruthless than any killer.
Eva has one week to uncover the truth, clear her name, and take back her future.
Reading Oxford blood truly was a rollercoaster of a book. It explores so many unique pathways, diving into touching themes and conveying them in a truly fascinating way. One of the main themes that was explored was this idea of prejudice and discrimination against minorities. Eva the main character struggles with this as one of the main concepts in the book. I truly believe writing a murder mystery book is one of the hardest kinds of books to write as they are so detail oriented, which is most likely a contributing factor to why they are my favourite genre of all time but Racheal Davis Featherstone did this so incredibly well. This book was gripping in the best ways and made me really eager to just sit down and read for hours on end. I’m excited to read the sequel and follow along on Eva’s journey through Oxford. This was the first book set in Oxford I’d read but it was extremely interesting to read about, as it’s such a beautiful, engaging setting for a book like this. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and would so recommend!
Oxford Blood – what a book! Murder mysteries are truly a genre to be praised, this book changed the way I think about romantic murder mysteries, Eva is (in my opinion) a by the book character, filled with trauma that her boyfriend is gone and wants to find out who killed him. I would rate it 4 stars
Oxford blood is an amazing book. Truly gripping. I have always wanted to go to Oxford and to read about the experience of Eva getting the opportunity to study there just out of her reach was truly captivating. I thoroughly enjoyed the murder-mystery plot because of how Rachael Davis Featherstone presented the characters and unexpected plot twists! I found it interesting to read about Eva still doing amazingly on most of her interviews while facing such a troublesome time, this piece has inspired me to keep going through all the struggles of life in general. I have really connected with this book because of the emotions it evokes from the reader. 10/10 would definitely recommend!
I loved the book Oxford Blood because I got straight into it and I could read it for hours. I liked how the author kept the killer a mystery and towards the end reveals who it is and the plot twist when the murderer kills a second person. My favourite part in the book was when the professors walked into the dining room and the way it was described with all of the fancy things. I can’t wait to read the second book.
I thought Oxford Blood was a good book which gave you an interesting perspective on what Oxford could be like, I think it also draws attention to the effect that social media can have on something and how people act differently when no one knows who they are, I thought the book had a great plot and I really liked how the killer was someone you would never suspect.
Oxford blood was a good book and I can see that Rachael Davis-Featherstone used her love of maths to plot this detective book, it also shows how unsettling it is, being female and mixed race applying for a college like Beecham, as the first thing she sees is the huge statue of Glanville, who enslaved her ancestors, she would have felt awful.
It also covers the dangers of social media, with Oxs, everyone sits safe behind the cover of their slayer username, free to post anything harmful without being caught, giving them a sense of false security, but there are some genius coders at Oxford, is what is on Oxs really safe?
One of my only criticisms of this book is that it was a bit too complicated, with the Rex Factorem and all the dates and the link between all the notes sent to George, but it shows Rachael Davis-Featherstone is a great mathematician and utilises her skills to make it all lead to one person, everything so vaguely linked it was near impossible to guess, but that is also a good thing because you only want to know at the end, and then it all clicks, overall a great read, my second favourite.
I’m very impressed that this is Featherstone’s first crime novel as it was very engaging. I was quite sad when George died as I thoroughly enjoyed his character and his shift of personality and wanted to know how that would have been resolved with Eva. I also liked Eva as she kept fighting for justice for George even though she found out he was a Glanville. The plot twist at the end was very gripping as I got very intrigued when Eva received the email from the podcast to reveal the murderer. I love YA crime novels so this was right up my street and I will be reading the sequel.
Oxford Blood what a book! I am not really into the mystery/murder genre, but has this book changed me! When I first started reading it I was not sure how the rest of the book would lay out but it was amazing. I loved how she wrote about the murder of George quite early on in the book because that hooked me straight away. Also that it never got repetitive – there was always something going on and it always made me want to read on. It also felt like Racheal Davis-Featherstone really thought about the characters’ backgrounds and how at the end everything came together. I also had no clue who was behind all this until the end so I was in shock when it was revealed! This book is for everyone even if you are not into murder you will love it!
As much as I liked the concept, and while I can certainly understand why someone might like this book, I found it very hard to enjoy Oxford Blood. First of all, the plotline, while having a potentially interesting twist, feels generic, largely predictable and rather overdone. Aside from this, the amount of time taken to get the plot going really doesn’t aid the reading experience, and while I can respect the author’s attempt at building up characters, I personally found the execution of this done poorly and a little too drawn out to keep the reader engaged. Also, the levels of exposition and themes make the book feel slow to read and the large amounts of monologing done by the main character feel very predictable and, at certain points, simply unnecessary. As deplorable as the message of this book is, the amount of references to the themes simply doesn’t aid the narrative and often gets in the way of any kind of momentum built up by the plotline. It wasn’t all bad- I can respect the level of research put into this book, especially when it comes to the details of Oxford itself, and it’s clear the author has put in a lot of effort to mirror real life at a place like Oxford. So, unfortunately, I personally can’t recommend, although I’m sure there are many more people in the world would enjoy this book for its merits, and if you’re looking for a generic but dependable murder mystery, it’s probably worth a read.
This is my review on Oxford Blood. I really enjoyed this book because I found the story really gripping and it kept me wanting to keep reading. This could be made into a movie very easily because, unlike Hekate, there wouldn’t be as much CGI involved. My favourite part in the book was the Oxford Slays section. The ending really surprised me because the actual killer was the last person I expected!
I think that Oxford Blood was an amazing book, I found it engaging, emotional and I enjoyed getting to know each different character as an individual – especially Eva. I think that Eva was a strong, slightly stubborn individual with a curious and caring nature, I loved her determined spirit to bring justice to George who you could really connect to as a character. This then played into my emotions when we found out he was the victim making me want to try and uncover the murderer more. I liked the theory that there were two sides to everyone in the book and that really showed through the behaviours of each character. The depth of the story was so well thought out and intriguing that I just kept wanting to read more. I think the message that is shown through the book is extremely well done through Eva as a character and with the Access Scheme, it shows that people are always trying to put you in a box but Eva won’t allow that and breaks past those stereotypes and categorisations. I thought it was an amazing detail on how the Glanville statue was removed. It brought a closure to this book that I think it needed. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am excited for the sequel to be published.
I think that the book was really good and I would definitely recommend it to others. I found it very interesting how life runs in uni and I thought the description of Oxford University was fascinating. It was a plot twist when I found out who the murderer was because it was someone who was completely off the radar. Despite there being “murder” there, Oxford seems like an enticing university. I think that Rachael Davis Featherstone is an amazing writer because of the way that she described Oxford. The only problem that I have with the book is that it had a lot of intense swearing for a book aimed for Year 9s. However, it was a great crime book that I would recommend.
I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. Oxford Blood is set in a fictional college called Beecham where Eva has to pass interview week to fulfil her dreams and get a place to study despite the slim odds but everything changes when she finds out her best friend is dead. The book made me understand what it is like to experience the daily life of an Oxford student. It shows the pressure but also how picturesque Oxford is when you are there and made me really want to study there in the future! A really great read.
Oxford blood review:
I thought that Oxford blood was a good book. I enjoyed the description of the University but from the beginning it was a bit obvious that someone was going to get killed under the Glanville statue and the author didn’t go into as much depth with some characters than others such as the killer, I think that there is not enough build up of their motive and you only get any context at all at the end of the book. But most of the other characters were well written such as Lily where she isn’t just crossed off as a pick me and is more complicated than just that. Four stars.
I found that Oxford Blood was a brilliant first murder mystery book for Racheal Davis Featherstone. I especially loved how complex of a character George was, even though he ultimately died, I loved how you could almost sense that it was coming, by the way he was talking and the change in his body language, giving the reader the feeling of what Eva probably felt later on in the book. The thing I loved the most though, was how the author linked her love of maths into the book, I found that the plot was just a maths equation waiting to be solved that just became easier and easier as more was revealed. Overall, I would say that Oxford Blood truly represents how interviewees can feel during an interview week, making the book ever more relatable and exciting.
I really enjoyed Oxford blood! I love how it never gets boring and there is always drama going on. I think it is clever how it is set and how there are lots of cliffhangers and suspense. The description of Beecham was very well explained, and I had a crystal-clear image in my head of the college. I really felt the character’s emotions during interview week, the stress and grief, and wish it was longer! I was super surprised with who the murderer was, and it caught me completely off-guard! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a bit of murder mystery, suspense and startlement.
I really enjoyed Oxford Blood because of the way Eva took it into her own hands to solve the murder of her best friend George because no one was doing a good job of it. I felt like every chapter I read the more I wanted to know who killed George and why they did it. My favourite character was Lily because of the way she kept a very important detail till the end just because she did not want to get into trouble. I thought from the beginning the Glanville statue should be removed because if it is having a lot of hate and is about something horrendous that happened to people then it 100% should be removed. I am very excited to read the next book of the series called Oxford secrets.
I think Oxford Blood is the most gripping YA novel I have read so far. The secrets and situations that happen throughout the book were really the cherries on top. My favourite bit in the book was %100 in chapter 16 when Eva and her dad are in the car and he is trying to convince her to leave Oxford and just go home. But Eva is determined to get into Oxford and George’s murder won’t stop her. The way that during the book they get justice and the statue comes down just shows that the world will get to justice one day or another. I loved this book ten out of ten.
This book is amazing! I really like the plot and the statue; the best bit of the plot was the middle as normally I get a bit bored during the middle but this caught my attention much more and the middle was so good in the way it’s written. The characters are amazing especially George. I love how he is still important after being dead although Eva showed me great interest in how she approaches the problems and how she manages to do this while having all the other problems. I really like the whole storyline of the rich getting prioritized. The ending was really good but to be honest I expected a bit more. overall I would rate this 8/10
Oxford Blood is an amazing murder mystery that has you gripping onto every word plastered to the page. When you start reading the book you think that it might be a wonderful romance of how Eva and George get into Oxford and live happily ever after. But no, things have to take a twisted turn and have people mysteriously having their lives snatched away in an instant by the murderer who is so secretive and clever that not only has the characters searching for any lead on the case but you are also seeking the answer all the way to the end of the book. In this book I loved the way that the author gave the reader little snippets of information at a time until you were sure that they were the murderer and then she would either kill them or someone else would do something that makes them look guilty so it makes you feel like you have to read on and you have to find out what happens in the end.
Future. Oxford Blood is all about the future. For Eva, George, and all the other candidates, about how some people have their future set out from birth, some have amazing grades but do not get the future they wish, how some have an unfair advantage because of their name or their wealth. Oxford Blood takes place at Beecham College at Oxford University where Rachael Davies Featherstone tapped into the biases and favouritism behaviour that sometimes happen in prestigious colleges like “Beecham.” Oxford Blood covered themes of racism and sexism and explored the concept of how there is lots of prejudice in the world and it even reflects on to society nowadays like in politics and how people get away with things with no consequences just because of their name. Oxford Blood was a staggering story that had me on the edge of my seat with a twist round every corner. The best Dark Academia book I’ve ever read. It was a brilliant breathtaking book but most of all it made me think about future. My future, about reading at the Radcliffe Camera, about eating in a grand dining room in my robe. It made me think about how my life would be if I went to an Oxford College. And I loved it.
I think Oxford Blood by Rachael Davis-Featherstone is a really good YA crime fiction. The book shows how tight the competition is really well; the characters are interesting and have good backstories and motives. I like the twist at the end of the story, and how there are many red herrings to who the killer is. My favourite character is Xander because he’s a good supporting character to Eva and he helps her investigate despite being one of the Reapers. I think Eva’s perspective was interesting to see, but she is a bit too obsessed with getting into Oxford. I liked how the Glanville statue was removed at the end because it uncovers some of the backstory about George, and I think it was a good twist. Overall, I think this book is very engaging and good for people who like murder and crime fiction.
I think that Oxford Blood by Rachael Davis-Featherstone is a very unusual and exciting book. It is exciting because it has a brilliant plot and ending and is unusual and it gives us an experience of someone going through Interview Week at Oxford University, with an added crime element. I think the characters are very well portrayed and that the amount of competition involved is high. I also think that the very end is brilliant and well thought out, as the killer is very unexpected and I think the fact that Eva’s boyfriend gets killed is an amazing twist at the start. Overall, I think Oxford Blood is a very well written and interesting story and I definitely recommend it to others. My favourite character was Danielle because I thought she was a character with much depth in the book. I think Eva is a very cool character but maybe a bit too focused on getting into Oxford than she should be. At the very end, I think the Glanville statue coming down is a good addition to the story and George’s relation to that character is a good twist as well. Overall, I think this YA thriller is a brilliant and engaging story with well thought out characters and an incredible maze of plots and twists.
I really enjoyed reading “Oxford Blood” because I am a huge fan of murder mysteries and this one had such a deep backstory to why the murderer decided to murder the people. My favourite character was Xander because he was at the same time helpful and unlike the other Reapers, not insanely rich and spoilt. It was interesting to see the perspective of both characters to understand their emotions and feelings. The fact that there was a chat with all the people at the college made the pressure for Eva to find out the murderer even bigger since everyone Oxford was talking about her.
I really enjoyed Oxford Blood as it kept me thinking who could have killed George, as originally I thought it would be Seb, but that would have been too obvious. When I finally found out who the killer was, I was surprised as I didn’t think that this character could be the killer. The motive made me understand why. I liked finding out the true reason and all the links with the past as it added depth to the story. I was very happy the statue was removed at the end… I liked Eva, she is a refreshing main character, relentless in her investigation of getting justice for George and still keeping up with her interviewing on top of that.