Review: Blood Kin

Blood Kin by M.J. Scott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is a Goodreads win - advance readers copy. No one requested me...paid me, begged me, threatened me, tied me up to make me do a review for this book. I am reviewing this book for one reason only...I love books and would hate it if someone steered me wrong about any book they read.

Blood Kin (The Half-Light City, #2) is a Steam punk/Fantasy book and this genre falls outside my comfort zone of reading but I love to stretch my horizons occasionally and this is one of those times. Blood Kin originally caught my attention because one of its main characters was a Templar Knight. The world M.J. Scott created with Knights, the Fey, Vampires and Shifters together was something that boggled my mind on the surface and I couldn't imagine how she could pull off a book that combined them all. Well I am here to report that she did it and did it well. It flowed smoothly from the first chapter. The chapters were written & labeled from either Holly's (heroine) or Guy's (hero) point of view. I knew exactly who was talking and their thoughts by that label. Everything was described/explained so easily and smoothly that I was drawn into Holly & Guy's world from the first page. Actually, it was that first chapter that had me hook, line and sinker...when Holly (while spying on others) fell off the rain slicked roof into Guy's arms. You see, Guy was out on patrol leading his fellow Templar Knights through a dark, dreary street seeking out the Beasts causing havoc over the city when suddenly he hears a scraping & scream, looks up and a woman literally falls out of the sky into his arms.

Review to be continued after dinner....Sorry folks for the delay. I fell asleep after dinner and I blame this on [a:M.J. Scott|4458590|M.J. Scott|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1299212701p2/4458590.jpg]. She kept me up all night reading Blood Kin and my body just wouldn't go anymore without sleep. So now I continue...

Things are strained in the city and will remain so until The Treaty is signed again. Nightworld consists of the Beasts (shapeshifters), Blood (Vampires), Fae, & Nightseekers (humans who crave the Blood). They coexist with humans only through The Treaty. The political factions are gathering and all hell is about to break loose. One of the leaders of the Nightworld has disappeared or was he murdered? Everyone has their own political agenda.

(kinda what's happening today in our world today - political agendas, factions fighting for power - no one can be trusted. I'll let you label the players in your imagination but mine starts with the bankers as the Bloods...but I digress again. On with the review.

Because of what she is, part fey part human, Holly has lived on the fringes all her life. She earns her living as a spy-thief and modiste (mostly a cover). Holly will do almost anything to care for her mother, a shell of a woman since Holly's father (a Fey Lord) abandoned them. She knows that she can only depend on herself and trust no one.
Guy, on the other hand, has a life filled with the love and support of his family, his brother knights and respect of all who know him. From their opposite worlds, Holly & Guy are coming together to infiltrate Nightworld and help restore peace to the city.

This book is full of intrigue, plots & betrayal. I liked the world that M.J. Scott developed, a world that although alien to me on some levels was also one I could compare to our world today. There was romance but it wasn't descriptive or detailed as PRN romances are so don't expect any hot steamy sex...it is romance and alluded to rather than detailed. If you want a peek at Blood Kin Ms. Scott gives you a couple of chapters to whet your appetite here. http://www.mjscott.net/books/blood-kin/

What I didn't like about this book:

I did not like the fact that I was a sleep deprived zombie the day after I read the book. I lay the blame entirely on M.J. Scott. It was her book that kept me up all night and into the next day. (Sleep is a valuable commodity and I even convinced my young daughter that sleep was a treat and she continues to believe that even as an adult.)

I didn't like that the book isn't in audiobook format yet and I lay the blame on the publishers for this one. Penguin should have realized this book would be one that should have went directly to Audiobook format and been published alongside the paper and kindle format.

I didn't like that I didn't read the first book in the series [b:Shadow Kin|11581827|Shadow Kin (The Half-Light City, #1)|M.J. Scott|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312516477s/11581827.jpg|14578543]. This was entirely my fault and I will remedy it. However, I didn't need Shadow Kin to understand Blood Kin. Blood Kin was able to stand alone remarkably well.

I didn't like that the new book in the series isn't out yet...Iron Kin. This may be a blessing in disguise...by the time it comes out Penguin may realize their mistake and I can get all three books in audio format as I deserve them to be. (By the way, Penguin Group, if you are reading this be sure and get an awesome narrator to do the books. Better still...get two...a male and a female.)

Other than those things listed above, I have nothing to say except this is another Goodread for me.



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