Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent review

By blood, by word, by magic…

Most can't touch the power. But Liv Warren is special— a paranormal tracker who follows the scent of blood.

Liv makes her own rules, and the most important one is trust no one.

But when her friend's daughter goes missing, Liv has no choice but to find the girl. Thanks to a childhood oath, Liv can't rest until the child is home safe. But that means trusting Cam Caballero, the former lover forbidden to her.

Bound by oath and lost in desire for a man she cannot have, Liv is racing to save the child from a dark criminal underworld where secrets, lies, trauma and danger lurk around every corner…every touch…every kiss.

And more blood will be spilled before it's over…

From Goodreads

Liv Warren likes living by her own rules. Unfortunately the rest of the world doesn't like to play by her rules. That's how this blood tracker ended up using her powers for monetary gain. In a world where those with "special abilities" (like walking into shadows, name tracking & even blood tracking) aren't formally recognized by any government, but used by all, Liv finds herself in a pretty tight spot.

An accidental binding from childhood is coming calling in the form of one of her best friends trying to protect her daughter from the child's father's assassin. Sound complicated? It gets worse. This friend also happens to pull in the only other person on the planet that Liv can't stand to be around. Her former lover Cam Caballero is still just as smoldering as he was when Liv left him six years prior, to save both their lives. No time like the present to jump headlong into the fray with danger lurking around every corner from the local criminal families. Is there enough time to save the girl or will Liv just ending failing to keep every promise she's ever made?

Rachel Vincent is seriously my freaking hero! This woman is so diverse I can barely contain my excitement. Between the bean sidhe lore of the Soul Screamers series & the werecat drama of the Shifters series, I honestly wasn't sure how well she'd be able to pull off a whole new series. Let me assure you, Rachel is a remarkable craftswoman never to be doubted.

Blood Bound takes the meanings of "signed in blood" & "my word is my bond" to a whole new level & explores the murky waters of contractual bindings. It truly was fascinating reading about all the different types of bindings, means of tracking a person & situations that arise from such predicaments. Things can really start to get tricky when you're contractually obligated to more than one person & they're on opposing sides of a war in which you're an unwilling recruit.

Liz is a headstrong, complex character (Rachel seems to prefer these and I've got no complaints!) who is trying to do what she thinks is best in a bad situation. After running away from longtime boyfriend Cam (in order to save their lives) she finds herself the unwilling recipient of his assistance in her newest endeavor. Tension & sparks fly because while nothing about these two together has changed, more than enough has changed about them.

A promising start to a new series, Blood Bound is sure to delight. Keep a weather eye on the horizon for book 2 Shadow Bound, due May 22.

Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent review

Mercy Thompson Series Mini-Reviews Part I

Before I delve into my review of the latest installment in the Mercy Thompson series, I thought I would go back & give you mini-reviews of the other books. I absolutely adore this series & have found that it really influences what else I am likely to read. Originally, this was quite far out of my comfort zone (an adult book, in the sci-fi section) & I really didn't think I would like it, but my friend convinced me to read it anyway. I'm not sure how I've managed NOT to review these until now, except to say that I have tried to keep the adult books reviewed on this blog to a minimum because I feel that there are plenty of books in YA to read & that moving over into the adult section of reading is something that I have put off for quite a while.

In this post you will find a very brief synopsis with my thoughts on the first three books in this series. Naturally as we moved from one book to the next, there are spoilers, so be aware if you don't want to ruin the series for yourself, steer clear now.

Moon Called
Mercedes Athena Thompson isn't your typical female mechanic. Not only is she currently fixing a vampire's van while working in a Fae's auto repair shop, she's also living next door to the Alpha of the Columbia Basin werewolf pack. Did I forget to mention that she can also shape-shift into a coyote at will? Thought so. Well there you have it, Mercy's life all tied up in a nutshell. Too bad there are some people who don't really like the company she keeps. When the Alpha is injured & his rebellious teenage daughter kidnapped, it's up to Mercy to save the day. Now if only that didn't involve so much flying fur.

This was a great jump start to the series. Despite the relatively delicate world that these creatures all share, there is a very simple readability to the content. So much seems to be going on between setting descriptions & character building that I was truly surprised to find myself not overwhelmed with information. Mercy has accepted her reality & really wishes things wouldn't change, but she's ready to do what needs to be done with little regard for her own safety. That's the kind of heroine I can get behind.

Blood Bound
Picking up where she left off, Mercy is at it again; digging her nose in other people's business. This time, it is Stefan (a Scooby Doo fanatic vampire) who is receiving her assistance. While the Fae have openly admitted their existence to the world, all the other creatures that go bump in the night have refused & Stefan has been charged with checking up on a rogue vampire, at risk for exposing them all. Too bad this big, bad vamp has been possessed by a demon & will stop at nothing to quench his blood thirst. She's got to pull out a lot of stops to get this one under control.

Mercy puts on her heroine cape again & defies all sanity to help someone she cares about in this second installment. There was more character depth in this book because instead of having to introduce several different kinds of creatures, Briggs got to focus mostly on the vampires. It was quite enrapturing to watch her carefully build this world & realize all the details she put into it. It's pretty amazing to watch the characters grow & really start to develop on their own, especially Adam (the Alpha werewolf & next door neighbor).

Iron Kissed
There is no such thing as a normal day anymore. Just when she was hoping to getting back into the shop & really settling into her routine, something has to go wrong. For once though, it's not Mercy looking for trouble. This time it found her, by way of Zee, the fae mechanic who owns the repair shop where she works. In order to clear him of a murder charge, Mercy must use all her abilities & sacrifice one of the most important things to her: her self-assurance.

This has got to be one of the most powerful books. It is both magically & emotionally charged with events transpiring that I couldn't fathom. Not only do we really get to peek into the Fae realm & begin to understand how complex & precise these creatures are, but we also learn how exacting & demanding they can be towards everyone, not just their own kind. Zee was so much fun to learn about in this book! He is a seriously kick-butt fae! I must admit that there were some intense scenes for which sensitive readers might want to prepare themselves. It was very intense, but the werewolves' reactions were all over the place & really gave some dimension to their personalities & histories.

There you have it folks, the first three mini-reviews of a fabulous paranormal series. I'll be back on Thursday with the next installment!

Mercy Thompson Series Mini-Reviews Part I