Blood Promise (Re-Read)

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Original review: This book was really not what I was expecting-in a good way! I thought this would be a mopey and depressing book, but it was really good! Nice cliffhanger that I kind of saw coming. I am still on team Adrian.

Re-read review:
I completely forgot how great this book was. Going into it, I had the same expectation as first time around. We know that Rose has to grieve and go through all the emotions while she hunts down Dimitri but the unexpected part of this book is really about Rose’s growth. She gets to be on her own for the first time in her life and truly gets to make life-changing decisions for her future. While she was intent on hunting down Dimitri, her journey had very little planning involved. In typical Rose fashion, things end up working out, though. Another bright spot in this book? We get to meet Sydney. Having read the other books in this world, I appreciate this even more.

So while it takes a while to get there, this book is truly about Rose’s hunt for Dimitri. Another storyline is what happens at school while Rose is away. Lucky for us, Rose’s power gives us special insight into the happenings there. I loved this way of storytelling and it’s a great part of this series. It’s been so long since I read this book the first time, I was on the edge of my seat as it all played out. While this book does end with a cliffhanger of sorts, it also ends in a very satisfying way. After the journey Rose is on, getting there also manages to not feel as rushed as the previous books.

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Bewicched

Bewicched by Seana Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As an avid reader of the Sam Quinn series, I knew I would circle back to this one at some point, having met Arwyn in that story. We join Arwyn in her own element here. She’s a touch psychic, but can also see vision of the future and/or the current time (the rules appear to be evolving). Having avoided her family obligations and followed her guts for this long, when a lone werewolf shows up on her door and no alarm bells ring, she goes with that too.

I really liked the Arwyn/Declan show here. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and while there are twists and turns, it was immensely satisfying that this book didn’t take the typical path of a paranormal romance. There are a few parallel stories going on in this book. There is the family drama, where Arwyn needs to manage the expectations they have of her, while still managing not to lose her mind through overuse of her gift. There’s the ask that a police detective has of her, to help track a child murderer down. There’s some mystery around who her dad is. Lastly there is an evil sorcerer afoot, which luckily means we get to see a very familiar demon show up.

Overall, this was a wonderful introduction to the very complex world that Arwyn lives in. She is immensely gifted and has wonderful support (including some awesome sea life), but she struggles to trust. It was really great watching that reluctant trust build between her and Declan and I absolutely cannot wait to see where their relationship goes.

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