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Blood & Hooves
Paperback
Publisher Price: $16.99
Publisher: Stephen Penezich
Published: Dec 9 2025
Pages: 248
Weight: 0.64
Height: 0.56 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
Vengeance has never felt so satisfying. In a world where the corrupt thrive and the innocent suffer, this book will leave you cheering for the brutality inflicted on the wicked.
In the sun-scorched hills of Mexico, a BEAST is born, not from myth but from pseudoscience.
A monster with no name, a genetically engineered donkey with impossible intelligence and strength, is forged into the perfect instrument of terror for a ruthless crime lord. But when the empire collapses, the beast disappears into legend... only to reemerge as Pineapple, an unlikely resident of Noah's Park, a struggling animal sanctuary in rural Ohio.
For eleven-year-old Ellie, the sanctuary is the only place that feels like home. A near-genius prodigy with antisocial personality disorder and a heart that belongs to animals more than people, she forms an unbreakable bond with the scarred, brooding donkey everyone else fears.
When shadows from Pineapple's past return, bringing greed, vengeance, and human trafficking, Ellie uncovers the truth: her best friend is a living weapon with a history soaked in blood.
As moonlit enclosures become hunting grounds and childhood innocence collides with savagery, Ellie and Pineapple must become what the darkness fears most: a girl who speaks the language of violence and a monster who's learned to love. Together, they break every rule of survival, where the most unlikely companions become vigilantes.
Blood & Hooves is a harrowing tale of redemption and fury, where protector and predator blur and the deadliest forces are those forged through loyalty.
Can a creature built for destruction become a hero... and will the world allow it?
Danger has a new name. And it's nibbling carrots in the animal sanctuary... and on bad guys' necks.
Themes & Tone
Blood & Hooves blends dystopian science fiction, animal companionship, coming-of-age drama, and a gritty action thriller pulse.
At its core, it's a story of redemption for both Pineapple and Ellie. They're outsiders shaped by trauma and misunderstood by the world, yet strengthened by the bond they build with each other. Their relationship explores how love can soften even the most damaged souls, how trauma becomes both burden and catalyst, and how loyalty sometimes demands blood.
Despite its heavy themes-child endangerment, animal experimentation, human trafficking, and violence-the story carries a thread of dark humor and warmth. Ellie's voice is sharp and prematurely mature, but still full of wonder and quiet sarcasm. Her connection with Pineapple gives the novel a powerful emotional heartbeat that lingers long after the final page.
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