Review: Blood Feud

Blood Feud

By Alyxandra Harvey

Publication date: June 22, 2010

My review:

In the sequel to Hearts at Stake, we are introduced in more depth to Isabeau St. Croix, a French vampire and Hound who is representing her people at the royal court. The Hounds are often misunderstood among the other vampires because of their use of magic. Logan Drake likes Isabeau from the moment he first sees her but pursuing a relationship seems to be out of the question while they are all in danger from Montmartre and the Hel-Blar. Isabeau is also focused on vengeance against Greyhaven, the vampire who turned her and  left her buried for two hundred years. Logan and Isabeau must work together to stop Greyhaven and Montmartre before they destroy the Drake clan.

In some ways I liked Blood Feud more than Hearts at Stake. I liked how the focus was on just Logan and Isabeau instead of two couples. I also enjoyed reading about the French Revolution through Isabeau's eyes. It added a different dimension to this book. I think that for those who do not enjoy historical fiction the segments set in Isabeau's past might be more tedious to read. I felt that reading about Isabeau's painful past experiences helped me understand her character more. I liked the mythology of the Hounds and their magical abilities. With the first book I thought there was a lot of information to take in but in the second book I think it flowed better.

I still think Lucy is my favorite protagonist from this series but I did like Isabeau as well. She is a tough and loyal young woman who has been through a lot. Even though she is technically a teenager still I did not feel that I was reading about a teen. Logan could be annoying but I liked him despite his weird taste in clothing. I would have to say that I liked Nicholas more. There are so many Drake brothers that it will be interesting to see how the author makes them stand out from each other as the series progresses. At the moment I still have trouble telling them apart.

Something I enjoyed about Hearts at Stake was the snarky humor. Sadly I found that to be missing here. There are some humorous moments in Blood Feud but not many and the book had a more serious feel to it. I have a feeling that I will like Out For Blood a little more. It was still a treat to see some of my favorite characters from the first book here and I did enjoy learning more about the Drakes and their world. Overall I thought Blood Feud was a good paranormal romance but it lacked some of the sparkle found in the series debut.