Review: I'll keep reading this series to the bitter end, it's that amazing.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 7, 2012
There are very few series that can hook me and leave me enthralled like Connie Suttle's Blood Destiny Series.  Every time she releases a new novel, I'm grabbed from the start and can't let go until the end.  Even then, I'm already waiting with anticipation for the next one.  There isn't one thing that makes her books great.  Rather, it is a combination of elements put together to create the perfect literary recipe.  My intellectual taste buds are stimulated every time.  It is in her work that I find my emotions pulled in every direction.  I laugh, I cry, and I find myself so angry at some characters that I want to reach through the pages and strangle them.  What her writing does is make me feel.  Not every writer can do that, but Connie does it very well.This series isn't for everyone, I'll admit.  It begins as a paranormal and evolves into a fantasy/sci-fi story of epic proportions.  There are aliens of all kinds, space travel, time travel, and characters with powers beyond most of our imaginations.  Seriously, I don't know how the author comes up with some of the stuff she writes.  It's amazing.  Even the romance doesn't work the same in this world as what we traditionally believe it should.  Some people may be offended by that.  I might have balked at it as well if told ahead of time. Lucky for me, I didn't know until I got further into the series.  The author introduced the romantic elements in a way that progressed slowly enough that it could make sense.  It works in this world and shows the author chose not to be limited by societal norms.  Truly, if you can keep an open mind, you'll love how very different these novels are (assuming you aren't already hooked to the series).As for Blood Reunion itself, it lived up to my expectations.  There wasn't any single plot I can cover here, but numerous threads that reached a conclusion that still leaves me wanting more.  The last novel, Blood Redemption, had just introduced the first of Lissa's children (born via surrogate mothers).  In this one they are teenagers and she's had a daughter since then as well.  As the story progresses, she adds to the brood.  One wrong is righted from a previous novel's event where she had been devastated (I'll not give away what that was).  More enemies are introduced that she'll have to deal with, plus an old one, but her powers are more limited this time around (due to another surprise I won't give away) so it requires some creativity and help from others to overcome the odds.  Some characters will die, but many will live as well.  For readers who have made it this far into the series, this won't be a surprise.  The real mystery is who makes it out alive and who doesn't at the end.Far less time is spent in Lissa's head than in any of the other books before.  This didn't bother me like I would have thought.  I enjoyed seeing events happen from other perspectives and this is coming from a reader who isn't a big fan of third person narrative.  I loved that this series was mostly in first person at the beginning, but the cast really has gotten so large this far in that there would be no way for the story to be told well without a bit of head hopping.  The bonus is you get to see through the eyes of Lissa's children, and believe me, that is a lot more interesting and fun than you'd think.  They were all so unique.  It's amazing how well the author did at giving them each their own voice and perspective.  Not to mention the trouble they get themselves into.  As a trade-off, though, there aren't as many intimate scenes with Lissa's mates as I would have liked.There is so much more I could say about this novel and the series as a whole.  It never gets dull and is told in such a way that you're compelled to never put the book down.  I've read every single one of them in one sitting (except maybe to get up for bodily necessities but I won't get into the details of that).The one thing I can say is if you're a reader who likes to "feel" something in the stories you read, this might be the one for you.  Do be warned this is much more of a character driven series than plot driven.  There are so many plot threads, if fact, that it's really the characters you're holding onto the most.  It is them, along with the intricate world-building, that keeps you wanting more.  I'm thankful it isn't ending and that more books will be released next year.  I'll be grabbing them, along with the new High Demon series novel that releases later this month (October 2012).  It's set in the same world but with a focus on different characters.  If you like the Blood Destiny series, you might give that one a try as well.