Review: Best Yet!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 30, 2014
This review had to be shortened to fit within Amazon's maximum word count. For the full review and more, please visit markedbybooks.blogspot.comBloodlines is probably my favorite of the Matt Archer series so far. All of the characters have come such a long way from the beginning of Monster Hunter, and I loved watching them change this whole time. Bloodlines shows us entirely different sides of many of the characters, and we even get to meet a few more special ones as well. While the end of Legend briefly (and I mean very briefly) introduced us to a very important new character, there are some other ones that we've never heard from before.The novel is filled with the perfect twist of action, adventure, comedy, mystery, and that little bit of romance that I've come to love in this series, and I'm so glad the story is continuing. The novel starts up right where Legend left off, which is definitely a good thing because that was certainly a cliff hanger. Kendra C. Highley seems to have a habit of ending her books that way, but I'm very happy to report that this ending wasn't quite as nerve-wracking as the others. Kendra seems to have mastered the perfect balance between enough suspense at the end to keep the readers pining for the last book and substantial closure to make sure they don't want to tear the book in half at the end.Probably my favorite part of the book was the new monsters, especially the bears at the end. I can't really tell you what they do, but I will let you know that it is equal parts amazing and heart-breaking. We saw part of that side of some of the other monsters in earlier books (I think it was with the Cats?), but it's so much stronger here. To say that the monsters have developed with each eclipse would be an understatement, and it's incredible to see what they're capable of now. I can't tell you any more than that, so you'll just have to read the book to see what I'm talking about! Trust me, it's worth it.Probably the biggest surprise of the novel is the identity of the next shaman. I really didn't see that one coming, but when I think about it, it really makes sense. I was definitely shocked, but I can't deny that it fits, and I really think that it furthers the story. Sometimes in books that I read, big reveals just kind of annoy me because all they're there for is the shock factor. That was certainly there with this next shaman, but I am completely convinced that the story is going to be better because of it. I just can't wait to see where it takes us.Taylor