Review--Crazy in the Blood by Lucienne Diver

Hell on Earth. It’s not just an expression anymore.

It’s an ill wind that carries bad news, and Tori’s just had a double load of it blow through her door.

Just a few weeks after she prevented some rogue gods from blowing L.A. into the ocean, more dead bodies are turning up near the leftover crater. Bodies that have been shredded by something too big to be…shall we say, of this world? Worse, Uncle Christos has disappeared after stumbling onto a deadly cult masquerading as the Back to Earth movement.

The connection: Dionysus. Yes, that Dionysus. He’s resurrected his bloody fertility rite, complete with frenzied female groupies who tear men limb from limb. And he’s lured Demeter, goddess of the harvest, over to his side by finding a way to get her daughter away from Hades for good.

Predictably, Hades isn’t about to let her go without a fight. Unless Tori finds a way to bring her back, he’ll abandon the gates of Tartarus. At which time all hell will, literally, break loose.

Between saving the world, the woman, and cultists and her crazy uncle? So much for getting to the beach before all the good spots are taken…

Product Warnings
The wine country is going through a heat wave of epic proportions, and it's not all about the weather. Beware steamy gods with seduction on their minds or brimstone in their blood.

Lucienne Diver's Crazy in the Blood is the second book in her Latter-Day Olympians series that I only recently discovered after reading a short story by her in an anthology. And I have to say I am definitely loving it! Tori is just such a great heroine. She's realistic. True, she's part gorgon and has the whole gorgon glare going for her, but I enjoy her personal humor. She says sarcastic things quite a bit, she's snarky, but I love her for it!

Two weeks have passed since the first book and you would think that means things are settling down, but oh no, they're just starting to get interesting! Meaning, Tori won't be taking any vacations for awhile! We open up to see Tori being question about a recent string of murders where the bodies had been shredded, totally gruesome. Tori's not sure what could've done it, but she knows that it wasn't anything human...or likely from our world.

Her Uncle Christos is still missing and we finally get some insight as to where he's at and what he's been doing. He's knee deep into a possible cult led by Dionysus and his worshipers. Tori is more determined than ever to find him, so she and her best friend Christie go to San Francisco where Tori's gotten a lead on her uncle and the case he was working. Along the way though, she gets hounded by Hades who is demanding that she find Persephone or else bad things will be happening here on earth and when the god of the underworld is telling you that, you better listen!

This was yet another read where Lucienne packs in the adventure and excitement! There's never any feelings of being overwhelmed. The events just flow into one another, such as Tori looking for her uncle who's caught up in the cult and she ends up investigating the cult and then that ties into even more of the going-ons. It reads better than I can explain it obviously, since I'm trying to avoid spoilers!

Tori, as I mentioned earlier, has a very wicked sense of humor. She's snarky and sarcastic to a tee! Granted, she knows when there's a time to be serious, but her main mood tends to have a sarcastic side.

Now let's dish about the romance! Yes, it's still the ever complicated love angle we got going on. It's not quite a triangle, for I don't think there's love between Tori and Apollo, I feel like that's more heat and sexual tension. Although, it does seem Apollo feels something for her, but his record for lovers hasn't panned out too well over the centuries; ie Cassandra and Daphne. 

Then we have Nick. I love Nick! He matches Tori in the snark department. He throws out witty barbs just as well as she does! And, oh the tension between those two! It does seem like they have a more concrete relationship. Well, more concrete. They've only been dating for two weeks-ish; from book 1 to book 2 and throughout. But when the shit hits the fan and Tori needs all the help she can get to go up against the gods (again!) Nick and Apollo will have to put their differences aside, or not, and work together to help the woman they both love.

This series is definitely becoming a fast favorite!! I have always love Greek mythology and this is a series that takes that and packs in an incredible Urban Fantasy world that has everything in it that I love; awesome heroine, snark, sexy heroes, heated tension, bursts of romance, more humor, lots of action...just everything!! I so can't wait for more in this series! One more book to go until I am all caught up! Crazy in the Blood was an amazing read and I highly recommend this series to any Greek mythology and Urban Fantasy fan! You will not be disappointed!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars

This read was read for the COYER Challenge