Proceed With Caution:
This book contains blood, death, kidnapping, domestic violence, and mentions of underage prostitution.
The Basics:
Blood Bound follows twenty-eight-year-old Liv, a Tracker. She's essentially a bloodhound for hire as she can track a person down using their name or their blood. Although her specialty is blood, which is why an estranged friend comes to her to track down her husband's murderer. Liv is reluctant to take the case, since she's also expected to execute the murderer, but a childhood blood bond forces her into the case which is much more complicated than it seemed.
My Thoughts:
The narration of Blood Bound bothered me. It alternates between Liv and Cam, which is fine. I like dual POV, especially when it's in the same perspective (it's first person for both here). But it doesn't alternate consistently. Most chapters are from Liv, and maybe every third or so chapter is from Cam. And sometimes he just pops in in the middle of a chapter, because why not?! They also sound exactly the same, which makes it confusing at times when I didn't immediately realize that the narrator had changed.
To the plot: Was I suppose to feel bad for Annika or for Liv? Annika's husband was murdered and the cops can't do anything about it, so she forces Liv to work for her using their bond from childhood that was never suppose to be exploited. That is a real asshole move. I absolutely did not feel bad for her, even when she was crying about not being able to tell her daughter about this. She could have tried to appeal to Liv's emotions as her friend, and I'm sure it would have convinced her. As is evident by her continued involvement in the case past her contract fulfillment.
I was also distracted by Liv and Anne's history. They hadn't spoken in six years, after Liv left everyone at a party without a word. Obviously, this mystery is part of the intrigue of Blood Bound, but that's not what I'm referring to. Anne has a five year old and Liv was shocked to learn that Anne had even been married, since the night she stopped talking to her, Anne had just been dumped. Anne had to have gotten pregnant immediately after or before that night, so I was suspicious about who her daughter's father was. I'm sure it's possible she had met her late husband and gotten pregnant and married soon after, but I doubted it. I was also thinking way too hard about it, but I knew I was on to something...
Unfortunately for me, I had read three books in a row with plots focused on children. I do not give a single care about in-danger children. Annika's daughter may be traumatized by her father's death, and maybe the murderer is coming back for her, but I don't care. I was interested in Liv and her ability and this strange, dark world and her strained relationship with Cam, but I did not care about some random kid. For me, it's not a good use of the world or premise. I love this idea of Skilled people and essentially a mob city who uses them for their own particular brand of justice. Kids have no place in that except as liabilities, which is proven here.
Fortunately, Blood Bound did regain my interest in the final third. I had figured out the twist, since there were too many coincidences to be a coincidence. But then all of the pieces started coming together. While I didn't care for the "protect the child!" plot, I was invested in Liv and her friends. I still didn't like Anne at all, but the odd dynamic between the four former friends (and Cam) was super interesting. I know there's a lot more to their bond, history, and future, and I'm looking forward to finding those things out.