In Blood We TrustAuthor: Christine Cody
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Ace Fantasy
Bloodlands Book 3
ISBN:#978-0441020874
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): paperback (304 pp), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
|
About the book:
|
Only monsters–and lovers–call the Bloodlands home…
They are monsters: Mariah–the reluctant rebel who has become a god to others of her kind. And Gabriel, the vampire, who loves her at his own peril.
Together, they freed the unhuman and inhuman from captivity, to lead them in reclaiming the land. But even Mariah can’t keep the newly liberated monsters from quarreling among themselves.
And then a murder occurs and Gabriel is suspect. Facing a death sentence, the two flee—
Back to the Bloodlands, where their story began. To face the horrors of Mariah’s past and the uncertainties of Gabriel’s future. To make a final stand, for their lives—and their love.
|
What B is talking about:
|
After helping to free the “monsters” being held prisoner in the asylum in GBVille, and entering a blood exchange with the maker of all the “Reds” (blood drinkers of all forms), Mariah finds the first real acceptance she’s ever known among her kind. The exchange has made her into something of a “chosen one” among the monsters, turning her into a creature unlike any other in existence in the process. Even with the successful rise of the monsters hanging in the balance, and the Shredder, Johnson Stamp still on their trail, All Mariah wants is the vampire Gabriel.
Gabriel is a young vampire in comparison to many who are helping ensure the monsters’ continued freedom, but his love for Mariah eclipses everything else in their new life, as well as his old one. Unfortunately, his love exists on borrowed time, for the remnants of their human emotions fade all too soon as vampires age, leaving only cool logic behind instead. Can the link Gabriel and Mariah share be enough to defy their natures and save them both?
The Bloodlands series has been a challenge from the beginning for me; my paranormal romance leanings making the stark urban fantasy landscape of Cody’s novels an adjustment. Once in the proper frame of mind, however, the books definitely come alive, just in a different way than I’m used to.
In Blood We Trust is a blood-coated novel, as were the first two in the series, Bloodlands and Blood Rules. This time, though, it was easier for me to see it as simply another part of the story as a whole. The action kept the narrative moving at a brisk pace, and a better familiarity with the characters and the world as Cody has imagined it kept me engaged the entire time.
Mariah and Gabriel aren’t heroes, though they were viewed as such briefly after they and the rest of the Badlanders broke into the asylum there and freed those in captivity. But, when Gabriel gets blamed for the murder of one of their fellow were-creatures, and Mariah’s need for revenge against those who destroyed her family reaches undeniable levels, they find themselves outcasts once again, their love for one another the only thing they have. For as long as it lasts, at least.
I was very much eager for a happier ending to In Blood We Trust, but given the genre and the nature of these novels specifically, I think the ending was fitting. While there are no warm, fuzzy happily ever afters, Cody gives the impression of lingering hope for Mariah and Gabriel, and if given the opportunity to see where the future leads them both, I’d gladly jump back in for another round.
|
B’s Rating:
|
Liked it a lot – recommend (B+)
Books in the Series
Bloodlands (A Novel of the Bloodlands)
This sounds really interesting, B, thanks!! Great review! I’ll add to Gikany and I’s list.
Hi! Thank you so much for looking at this series the way you did! I appreciate it. 🙂