Bad Blood by Kristen Painter

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.

Reviewed by littleread1 on

4 of 5 stars

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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.

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  • Started reading
  • 6 July, 2013: Finished reading
  • 6 July, 2013: Reviewed