Bad Blood (House of Comarré, #3)

by Kristen Painter

Thomas Creek, Kubai Mata warrior, stumbles upon a murder. The girl was the major's estranged daughter, masquerading as one of the vampires' chosen servants. And the sinister circumstances of her death force the mayor to accept the othernatural threat facing her city.

Creek recruits Malkolm and Chrysabelle to help prepare her for the danger ahead, but Chrysabelle is desperate to find her brother. Although to track him, she'll need to retrieve the ring of sorrows from the fae holding it ransom. As they race to find the ring and protect the city, more girls professing to be vampire servants are killed. The night of Samhain is also approaching - bringing with it the final melding of mortal and othernatural worlds.
Chrysabelle must have the ring, and its unexpected powers, as a new war is about to erupt.

• ISBN10: 1306765331
• ISBN13: 9781306765336
• Publish Date: 1 January 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 14 April 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[littleread1]

This review will contain spoilers for the previous two books. I am a member of Kristen Painter's street team, but that is no way influenced my review. The thoughts listed below are my own. ***


The expanding cast of characters are really growing on me. It was hard at first to really feel an attachment to Fi, Doc, Creek, & Mortalis, as well as Mal and Chrysabelle, and honestly after the previous book I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to keep up with all the differing story-lines. But Painter is a master of the craft and kept me engaged, and I even found myself feeling sympathy for Tatiana at times.

I really am digging Mal. He is such a damaged hero, and is almost an anti hero, except he tries so hard to be good. I want to take all his pain from him and cure his curse. The problem is he has two that would need to be taken care of, and I really hope he finds a way to fix it. I also hope that Chrysabelle and him FINALLY grow a pair and admit, out loud, to each other how they feel. DAMMIT people, the world is about to go to hell and you still are afraid of your feelings?!

Speaking of the world going to hell, it is, and fast. Nightmare creatures roaming the streets, I would be terrified to leave my house! People are finally starting to realize they are not alone. The mayor or Paradise City gets involved in this story, and it will be interesting how that all plays out moving forward.

There was really only one super surprise to me, and that involved a hint that was dropped about Chrysabelle's family. I don't want to spoil anything, so that is all I will say about that. But it definitely made me go "hmm" when it was mentioned. I look forward to hearing more about that.

If you are looking for a good Urban Fantasy that focuses more on the story than the love interest, then check out this series. The romance is hinted at, and I hope it plays out like I want, but that is not the main focus here.

[wyvernfriend]

Girls masquerading as vampire servants are dying in violent murders. The Kubai Mata are working with the police to stop it. Malkolm and Chrysabelle are hunting for the Ring of Sorrows, Chrysabelle needs it to restore her tattoos. The borders between supernatural and mortal are starting to fray and things will never be the same again.

I liked the characters, they make tough choices and live (or not) with the aftermaths, and grow from them as well, they learn. There were occasions where I just had to go with the flow and hope that everything turns out okay in the end. I'm finding it an interesting series and hope it continues well. The author is blessed with her covers as well, Chrysabelle is a nice balance between feminine and kick ass, and you can see how some might underestimate her.

[Amanda]

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2012/02/29/review-bad-blood-by-kristen-painter/

While I genuinely enjoyed reading Bad Blood, not much happened in this book to move the series story arc along. In many ways, it seemed to set up what could happen in future books, and it left a lot of questions unanswered. Where I thought that Flesh and Blood was stronger than the first book, Bad Blood stalled a bit. And was a wee bit predictable in certain areas. I figured out who Chysabelle’s brother was long before it was revealed at the end. But neither was anything beyond the name revealed, so I am still intrigued how it will all play out.

As I reflect on the developments of the world in this series, I find myself oddly reminded of the Fever series. I like this series more than the Fever series, but I see the potential for the world here to spiral out of control with a million different things happening at once. I think there is a point where a world can straddle the line between delightfully complex and frustratingly complex, and I suspect Bad Blood is that line. Out of Blood, slated for release at the end of this year, will likely find a side of that line to land on.

One thing that I was glad to see in Bad Blood was the seeming end to the love triangle from Flesh and Blood. I can only handle so much. That said, there still has not been much progress on the romance front. Which is slightly frustrating, but there is enough action and other developments that help ignore the lack of some serious romancing. And since this is not a paranormal romance, I should be patient, right? Right?!

I read both Bad Blood and Flesh and Blood in one weekend, and for the purpose of escape reads, they worked beautifully. The lack of forward movement with the plot in Bad Blood did not bother me at all, and I found both of the books to be quite enjoyable. I will definitely be continuing with the series.