Review: Read this series!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 18, 2012
Tessa Stokes' prose weaves an elegant web in "Drew Ruthin and the Blood of Changes."  This is a great, imaginative series with terrific characters.  In the first book, we meet Drew, a ruthlessly manipulative and selfish vampire who goes hunting for humans, along with his better brother, Devon, and Devon's human love, Bliss.  The first book ends with Drew's death--and yet he doesn't die.  Somebody saves him, and now he awakens a very changed vampire in this second installment of the paranormal romance series.After centuries of peace between the vampires and ancients, Drew now poses a terrible threat.  Unknown to Elise, a vampire named Greta brought him back to life.  Drew remembers nothing but soon realizes he's rich and delights at finding plenty of blood in the fridge.Meanwhile, Balthazar Crane, a mysterious ancient with an obscure history, knows all about Drew's past and is obsessed with Greta, the tall, striking female vampire who reminds him of someone he used to love a long time ago.  And yet he knows they are hunters and chides himself for not killing them, and fears they will only wreak more havoc.Stokes understands the complexity of love, the messy tangle of fear and resentment and tenderness and patience and regret that fuels most relationships.  How these intriguing characters' fates are intertwined keeps you turning pages until the very end.  But it's Stokes' lyricism and keen observations that carry you away.  "She always signed her name with two kisses no matter who the note was for."  Seagulls are described as "clouds of diamonds in the sky as they surged around."Highly recommended!