Review--In Blood We Trust by Christine Cody

They are monsters: Mariah, the reluctant rebel who has become a god to others of her kind, and Gabriel, the vampire, who loves her at his own peril. 

Together they freed the unhuman and inhuman from captivity, to lead them in reclaiming the land. But even Mariah can't keep the newly liberated monsters from quarreling among themselves.

Then a murder occurs and Gabriel is suspected. With the vampire facing a death sentence, the two flee--

Back to the Bloodlands, where their story began. To face the horrors of Mariah's past and the uncertainties of Gabriel's future. To make a final stand, for their lives--and their love.

As far as I know, In Blood We Trust, is the conclusion to Christine Cody's Bloodlands novels. Of course I could be wrong, but I had thought I heard that it was a trilogy. And the ending does leave you feeling that the story may be finished.

Our heroes are still battling their inner monsters, Mariah is dealing with her new self that 562 turned her into and Gabriel is still battling his vampire and trying to cling to his humanity. But there's tension among the ranks. The once prisoners are starting to turn against one another. Shifters against vampires and what not, but when one is murdered, they know it's one of their own. Gabriel is worried, because while he was there at the time of the murder he can't remember what happened precisely.

So he runs and takes Mariah with him. It was here I thought that the bulk of the story would happen with Mariah and Gabriel on the run, hiding from the people they once called allies, but it doesn't actually. Mariah and Gabriel do go back to Mariah's old home so she can have closure, but they do go back to their hideout to their friends. Only they don't get a warm welcome.

The pacing to this one was much better than the previous ones I thought, you kept wondering what was going to happen next. Would a good guy turn bad, a bad guy turn good. A sketchy character take a serious leap into something else entirely? There were quite a few surprises along the way. Big ones! Scary ones, sad ones, and more! I was blown away by the end! And the end was a shocker as well. 

Like I said though it leaves you wondering if there might be more to the story or not. It could go either way and perhaps Christine did it this way purposely. Either way, it had a good ending that definitely got some emotions out of me, but I won't say which!

Overall rating 3.5/5 stars