Review--Blood Law

TO STOP A VAMPIRE KILLER, SHE'LL HAVE TO SLAY HER OWN DEMONS FIRST.

A provocative and savvy vampire, Alexandra Sabian moves to the sleepy hamlet of Jefferson, Mississippi--population 6,000, nearly half vampires--to escape the demons lurking in her past. As an enforcer for the Federal Bureau of Preternatural Investigations (FBPI), Alex must maintain the uneasy peace between her kind and humans, including Jefferson's bigoted sheriff, who'd be happy to see all vampires banished from town. Then really dead vamps start turning up--beheaded, crucified, and defanged, the same gruesome manner in which Alex's father was murdered decades ago. For Alex, the professional has become way too personal.

Things get even more complicated when the FBPI sends in some unnervingly sexy backup: Alex's onetime mentor, lover, and fiance, Varik Baudelaire. Still stinging from the betrayal that ended their short-lived engagement, Alex is determined not to give in to the temptation that soon threatens to short-circuit her investigation. But as the vamp body count grows and the public panic rises, Varik may be Alex's only hope to stop a relentless killer who's got his own score to settle and his own bloody past to put right.

Jeannie Holmes' debut Blood Law was an intriguing read. It had a very different perspective on vampires. It was refreshing.

Told in third person with changing p.o.v. from different characters, we got to see a lot of things from different people. It was a little overwhelming at times, because the matters were complicated and twisted and then there was the occasional past that we had not learned about yet.

There's a past between Alex and Varik that we are not privy to at the beginning of the novel, but eventually learn that this led them to fall apart and then even later on we learn what one of the causes was. As I said some of it was a little confusing because of all the mind hopping, but it wasn't too hard to follow once we were inside the person's head.

The thought patterns usually left off at something of a cliffhanger as well before switching to someone else, who would then have their own cliffhanger. So it was little disorienting when we would get into the groove of one person then get ripped away to the next and have one item resolved before the next crisis started. This is where multiple third p.o.v. becomes the downfall of the book.

The book itself was still good and I'm going to read the next one, Blood Secrets, once it releases. There was a good build up of mysteries, for at several points we're in the mind of the killer without ever knowing who he was. We learn of his past and why he's doing what he's doing, which was interesting and we get into the heads of some other unsavory characters. It was refreshing to be in the mind of the bad guys once in awhile.

Other mystery items also come up, such as some from Alex's past, personal ones for her too, both past and current. A lot goes on. Alex even takes risks that may even jeopardize her career, yet when weighing the losses and possible gains, Alex feels it's worth it.

The romance was mild, which was good in my opinion. There's definitely a lot of tension between Alex and Varik throughout. A lot of unresolved feelings and things left unsaid because of their breakup. By being in each of their heads we get an idea of how they feel for one another and why they made the choices they made.

Overall it was a rather interesting book. The changing p.o.v. threw me off a little bit, but it was still a great read. Sometimes it was necessary to be in this person's head rather than the heroine's. I can understand that. The book leaves you with a nice wondering with what will happen to the characters next. A few good cliffhangers, 3 counting where Alex's and Varik's relationship might lead to.

Up next...hmm...will have to think about it since I have a few new reads that came in. Too many books still! It's a wonderful thing!