9. Blood Bound

Book #9: Blood Bound

Author: Rachel Vincent

Published: August 23, 2011

Pages: 463

5 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

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…

So I detoured from my young adult kick for a moment to read the other half of Rachel Vincent. She is one of my favourite young adult writers, author of the Soul Screamers series (re: Never To Sleep) She has an adult series that I have not had the chance to read yet, but when I found the first book to her new series, I decided I needed to know if her adult novels were just as good as her teen ones.

They are even better.

From the first page I was hooked. She brought me into a completely different world just like she did with Soul Screamers A world where people have powers and they use them freely unless they get sucked into a contract with one of the two head honchos ruling the city. Most people end up sucked into a contract one way or other, just like the narrators of this book. We all do things to save the people we love, even if it means going against what we believe is right. Every theme in this book reads true, and I completely ruled for the characters to find the strength to break free, to do whatever they have to do to be on their own. Liv, one of the main characters, is fierce, brave and doesn't put up with anyone's nonsense. She is my kind of girl. I wish I was as strong and fiery as her. When her ex boyfriend Cam shows up out of the blue, she falls into him even though she knows she shouldn't. Their love is realistic for the world they live in, and they too would do anything for each other. My heart was racing throughout the novel hoping above all else, that they would find a way to be together.

The minor characters are just as full of life as the narrators. Liv's boss is a conniving man who will do anything to get what he wants (and he can) while his wife is scary and angry (who wouldn't be if she knew her husband was cheating on her constantly) My favourite minor character though was Kori, Liv's childhood friend who she shares an oath with. She has no filter. She says it how it is and doesn't care what the consequences are. She is hilarious and I can't wait to hear more of her story in the next book of the trilogy, Shadow Bound, where she will be one of the narrators.

Vincent has set a unique way of telling these tales. Each novel has two narrators, each different from the last and each a male and female. The tension between them starts out high and I'm sure by the end of each one, the moment they kiss the tension will be released. These adult books are a lot more fun than the teen ones because there is no filter. These characters are adults so they can have sex without it being a big deal. It relates more for me in that sense, since I'm no longer that young girl wondering who the right boy is.

Not that I'm going to stop reading teen fiction any time soon.

"I'm searching for a shred of humanity in that shriveled tangle of arteries you call a heart."