Review: Authentic police procedural in an intriguingly paranormal world.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 6, 2013
A clever blend of authentic police procedural and paranormal romance, Stacy Eaton's My Blood Runs Blue books combine into a fascinating tale told with excellent timing and a truly intriguing use of different points of view. The plot is pleasingly complex--no simple romance or mystery here. And the strange backstory is introduced in nicely manageable pauses for memory. Telling the tale from multiple points of view provides a satisfying feel for the characters' complexity and adds depth to their emotions and decisions. Repeated scenes with added details give an interesting flavor of mystery, and seeing behind the scenes of misunderstandings adds intrigue. Then final revelations satisfyingly resolve the various points of tension.Half-vampire Kristin learned of her identity in My Blood Runs Blue, the first book in this boxed set. In the sequel she begins to enjoy that added edge her new skills bring to her police career--imagine being able to hear the villain before he breaks into the house, give chase faster than mere mortals can run, or genuinely catch the scent of prey. But she's oddly unwilling to complete her vampiric change, despite her love for Alex. And the usual misunderstandings abound.Danger looms in both Kristin's and Alex's jobs. Soon the feisty female is struggling to convince the male characters that she really can look after herself. There's a wonderful scene where Kristin finally reveals herself to selected friends. Meanwhile some sensuous couplings are enhanced by vampire sexuality.With lots of different takes on vampire lore on the bookshelves today, Stacy Eaton's nicely different approach fits well, neither adding too much to nor breaking too many traditional strands. The story builds a pleasing sense of a secret vampire community. Tackling good and evil, love and lust, with equal honesty, the author creates a novel with surprising depth. The characters are fun, and Kristin's a great example of a strong female protagonist.Well-rounded chapters and scenes, with enjoyable point of view changes, and a good supply of background detail and motivation, make this boxed set ideal for a summer read where you're going to keep picking it up and putting it down.Disclosure: I was lucky enough to find free ecopies of My Blood Runs Blue and Blue Blood for Life, which together make up this set.