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...
My thoughts:
First of all, let me just say that I absolutely loved this book. LOVED it. As in "top 3 books I've read this year" loved it. There, now I can get on with my review.
In Blood Bound, Rachel Vincent has created an original setting, filled with the Skilled and Un-Skilled, and complicated by some serious crime syndicates. It takes a little time getting all the facts straight, but I love how everything is revealed bit by bit as it becomes vital to the plot, instead of getting it all in one long explanation. The binding contracts, blood tracking and rivaling syndicates all makes a great setting for the characters.
Blood Bound is told in first person, alternating from the main character Liv to her ex boyfriend Cam. This was a little confusing at first before I learned to recognize their voices, but it definitely added to the story to get both points of view. Liv is every bit the strong female character I was expecting from Vincent (if you've read her Shifters series, you know what I mean). She will do whatever it takes to protect those she loves, even if that means repeatedly putting herself in danger. You can tell she's been through a lot as there's not one bit of naivete left in her, and I love how she's a fighter - you're never going to see Liv give up hope, or let anyone take away her dreams. Cam shares many of the same traits as Liv; he's both strong and protective, and he seems to never give up, but he doesn't seem as hardened by his experiences as Liv does.
The chemistry between Cam and Liv is amazing. They share a history together, and even after years apart the sparks are still there, so when they're forced to work together it gets hard for Liv to keep her resolve to stay away from Cam. And why would she want to? Cam is a genuine good guy, which I find refreshing since most male characters these days seem to be complete d*cks who treat the female character badly until she for some reason falls for him. Of course the fact that just reading about him shirtless had me drooling doesn't hurt my opinion of him either.
When I had read the final page of Blood Bound, I had that "oh my God, I need the next book NOW!" feeling that I'm sure many of you recognize. The ending is a great cliffhanger, and it leaves plenty of room for speculations about what will happen in Shadow Bound, which is coming out in 2012. This is a novel I will recommend to all my friends, and I can't wait for it to be released so I can discuss it with people.
In Blood Bound, Rachel Vincent has created an original setting, filled with the Skilled and Un-Skilled, and complicated by some serious crime syndicates. It takes a little time getting all the facts straight, but I love how everything is revealed bit by bit as it becomes vital to the plot, instead of getting it all in one long explanation. The binding contracts, blood tracking and rivaling syndicates all makes a great setting for the characters.
Blood Bound is told in first person, alternating from the main character Liv to her ex boyfriend Cam. This was a little confusing at first before I learned to recognize their voices, but it definitely added to the story to get both points of view. Liv is every bit the strong female character I was expecting from Vincent (if you've read her Shifters series, you know what I mean). She will do whatever it takes to protect those she loves, even if that means repeatedly putting herself in danger. You can tell she's been through a lot as there's not one bit of naivete left in her, and I love how she's a fighter - you're never going to see Liv give up hope, or let anyone take away her dreams. Cam shares many of the same traits as Liv; he's both strong and protective, and he seems to never give up, but he doesn't seem as hardened by his experiences as Liv does.
The chemistry between Cam and Liv is amazing. They share a history together, and even after years apart the sparks are still there, so when they're forced to work together it gets hard for Liv to keep her resolve to stay away from Cam. And why would she want to? Cam is a genuine good guy, which I find refreshing since most male characters these days seem to be complete d*cks who treat the female character badly until she for some reason falls for him. Of course the fact that just reading about him shirtless had me drooling doesn't hurt my opinion of him either.
When I had read the final page of Blood Bound, I had that "oh my God, I need the next book NOW!" feeling that I'm sure many of you recognize. The ending is a great cliffhanger, and it leaves plenty of room for speculations about what will happen in Shadow Bound, which is coming out in 2012. This is a novel I will recommend to all my friends, and I can't wait for it to be released so I can discuss it with people.
The cover:
I have the UK cover, and even if I like it (and love the typography), I'm not sure how well it actually fits the book.
My rating of this book:
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Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent
Published: September 1 2011
Pages (paperback): 400
Publisher: Mira
ISBN: 0778312550 (ISBN13: 9780778312550)
Full disclosure: ARC received from author for honest review
This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I am not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.
