Super excited for my stop on the Blood Heir Blog Tour today! I don’t participate in many tours but was super excited to be invited to this one as Ilona Andrews is a favorite of mine. Thanks much to Mihir, the organizer of the tour, as well as the authors for the review copy – this did not affect the content of my review in any way. Blood Heir art credit goes to artist Luisa Preissler.

Summary:

Atlanta was always a dangerous city. Now, as waves of magic and technology compete for supremacy, it’s a place caught in a slow apocalypse, where monsters spawn among the crumbling skyscrapers and supernatural factions struggle for power and survival.

Eight years ago, Julie Lennart left Atlanta to find out who she was. Now she’s back with a new face, a new magic, and a new name—Aurelia Ryder—drawn by the urgent need to protect the family she left behind. An ancient power is stalking her adopted mother, Kate Daniels, an enemy unlike any other, and a string of horrifying murders is its opening gambit.

If Aurelia’s true identity is discovered, those closest to her will die. So her plan is simple: get in, solve the murders, prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled, and get out without being recognized. She expected danger, but she never anticipated that the only man she’d ever loved could threaten everything.

One small misstep could lead to disaster. But for Aurelia, facing disaster is easy; it’s relationships that are hard.

Goodreads

Thoughts:

It’s so great to be back in the world of Kate Daniels and hang out with some of my favorite characters again. And though there are a lot of great nuggets for fans of KD, this spin off series also acts as a great entry point for new readers as well. What did I love about Blood Heir? How shall I count the ways when they are so many? Most of all, Blood Heir is fun. It’s a great blend of action and humor coupled with fantastic world building and high stakes.

Those familiar with the Kate Daniels series will recognize most of the main characters here even though some of them are going by new names. Of course, seeing as this takes place eight years after the end of that series and most of them were pretty young they’ve all gone through a lot of maturing during that time. It was really fun rediscovering and getting to know these characters all over again. At first I was a bit hesitant when I realized that Julie had not only a new name and a new face, but I needed had worried because although she’s obviously gone through a lot in the years she’s been away from Atlanta, she’s still very much Julie at heart. And that goes for the other returning characters as well. And if this is your first time meeting them all then I think you’re in for a treat because the characters are one of the best things about this story. I love the way they play off of each other. You really understand how each of them, even the most insignificant feeling of side characters, very much has their own history in this world. Even for returning fans there are new things to learn about our favorites since so many years have gone by in the world before the story picks up again.

I thought I loved Julie before, but I love her even more now. You can see the influences from her adopted family–both Kate and Erra have had a huge impact on who she’s become as an adult, but you can see bits of Curran in there as well. She’s strong and capable and she’s convinced herself she’s a bit of a loner but it’s obvious she misses her family and craves that connection to her old life. Of course she has to remain distant for reasons, but I’m glad that she does get to reconnect with some of the people she grew up with because that was really fun to watch those moments play out. Also, I’m just super happy that my favorite trio is back.

As for the plot, I thought it was interesting. It’s always life or death on a large scale with this family and that continues here as we find that Julie’s been working at changing the outcome of a prophecy for several years now and the deadline is quickly approaching. There’s a great sense of urgency that runs throughout due to not only the nature of the prophecy and the limitations it sets on what Julie can and can’t do, but it also because of who it involves. Julie’s not just trying to save the world but the thing most precious to her–her family. So while the stakes are high for everyone, they couldn’t be higher for her, personally. I honestly loved how the prophecy plays out so that she can not turn to who she would normally turn to for help. This not only helps keep the story focused on Julie, but it also gives her a reason to stand on her own and let us see what she’s now capable of. But also this plotline kept the story driving forward and made for great pacing as each moment ticked by and time was running out.

I mentioned the humor earlier and it’s great here. There were several times I laughed out loud while reading this one. There’s a particular moment that I’m still laughing about whenever I think about it but I won’t bring it up here because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. 🙂

Overall, I had a really fun time with this book. I’m hoping there are several more planned behind this one because I’m so happy to be back in this world, but especially with these particular characters. I’ve always wanted Julie to get her own story and now, here we are. And I think new readers will love this one as well. Highly recommend this one if you want to read a fun urban fantasy. 5/5 stars.

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If you missed out on the previous stops on the tour, please check them out:

• Lynn’s Book Blog
• Fantasy Book Review
• Carole’s Random Life