Review: IT KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 12, 2012
"Flesh and Blood", the seventh book in the Hayle Coven series is a decidedly grimmer read than the previous six books.  When Syd's dad performs blood magic in a desperate effort to get back to Demonicon, he just about writes his own death warrant, turns Sassafras from a sassy cat into an angry demon boy and brings down the wrath of not only the Hayle Coven but also the High Council, for performing blood magic.  With Syd and her family at their weakest, predators like the Dumonts, their werewolves and the remnants of the Chosen of the Light, close in for the kill.Again Patti Larsen succeeded in keeping me in my reading seat until I had devoured the very last page of this marvelous book.  It baffles and delights me that she is able to take the same characters, add a few, or even let a few go perhaps, and still come up with a fresh and utterly unique story every time.  In each new book the characters grow; their relationships with one another shifting and changing while new ones get a foothold in the supernatural community.Syd, understandably, is not quite her normal smart-mouthed, snarky self in this book which is just natural with her father dying, her boyfriend still missing and her mother cracking under the strain.  Fortunately she has Galleytrot, hound of the wild hunt and her latest friend, Liam, to support her, and Sassafras - once he gets over himself - also gives a hand.  This is the first book in which Syd is required, and even encouraged, to explore and use her considerable power.  Combine witch power, sidhe power and demon power and you get butt-kickingly awesome!Readers, red alert Kleenex warning!  I bawled my eyes out several times while reading "Flesh and Blood".  As usual I highly recommend this book as an absolute must-read for readers of fantasy with all the usual elements: vampires, witches, werewolves, sidhe, demons and some other weird and wonderful things.  While you're considering getting "Flesh and Blood", why not also get the previous six books in this series and find out how all this started?  A loud cheer for Ms Larsen and this wonderful 5 star book! (Ellen Fritz)