Mundie Moms

Monday, January 17, 2011

Book Review-Out for Blood

By Alyxandra Harvey
Published by Walker Books for Young Readers
Released on December 21st, 2010
Source- Bloomsbury Teens
4 stars- I Really Liked It

Hunter Wild is the youngest in a long line of elite vampire hunters, a legacy that is both a blessing and a curse at the secret Helios-Ra Academy, where she excels at just about everything. Thanks to her friendship with Kieran Black, Hunter receives a special invitation to attend the coronation of Helena Drake, and for the first time, she sees the difference between vampires that must be hunted and vampires that can become friends—or even more. When students at the academy fall victim to a mysterious illness, Hunter suspects they are under attack from within. She will need someone she can trust to help her save the future of Helios-Ra . . . help that shockingly comes in the form of Quinn Drake, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire. Who said senior year would be easy? (quoted from Goodreads)

This is the first book I've read in the The Drake Chronicles and I was completely surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Not only that, I really enjoyed Alyxandra's writing style. I never felt lost on what was going on. While Out for Blood is the third book in The Drake Chronicles, the story stood well on it's own and even makes some references to previous characters that I didn't find confusing at all, as Alyxandra gives a great brief history as to what happened to them.

As I said, I haven't read the first two books (but now I'm going to go pick them up), and can't tell you how much the story changes, but I will say that I really enjoyed getting to know Hunter. Hunter lives up to her name, as she's an awesome butt kicking vampire killer with a lot of snark and a little bit of attitude that I totally respected. I like that she is a fearless leader when she needs to, as in she steps up to the plate and has no issues with killing a bad vamp when she needs to. I like that she's smart and thinks things through. Her voice is one that really made the book an enjoyable read, as well as the hot vampire, Quinn Drake.

I like that Hunter comes from a well known family of die hard vampire killers and Quinn is from a well known family of vampires. Both Quinn and Hunter respect the treaty that's been made that keeps them from killing each other. I suspect Quinn is a character who may have annoyed me in the first two books, as he's good looking and knows it and has women falling at his feet. It's not until he meets Hunter does he change. I really enjoyed the alternating points of view, as I was able to understand both characters more and watch their inner battles. They both fight against their natural instincts around each other and falling in love. Their chemistry is great!

I also liked the secondary character, like Kieran, Hunter's best friend and "brother". With the two points of views, Alyxandra also allowed me to see how the hunters and the Drake family are battling the war on the Hel- Blar vampires, and aiding each other. I'm picky when it comes to vampire books, but this is one book I'm glad I didn't brush aside. It's a fun read with great characters, romance and action. I recommend picking up Out for Blood! There is some mild language, but nothing too bad.

You can find out more about the series and Alyxandra's other books by visiting her site here http://www.alyxandraharvey.com

Mundane Monday #69

Happy HOT Monday Morning! As in, this is your fair warning that his post may be a little too HOT for some people. Please make sure you're not drinking anything when you continue reading this, as today's quote is from December's COFA teaser from Cassie and a picture, well I'm sure you know where the picture is from. Thank you to Vania and her relentless teasing (I mean that in the nicest way, as we love you for your teasing and hot pictures Vania) from her COFA trailer shoot.


The alley and the music all fell away, and there was nothing but her and the rain and Jace, his hands on her. . . He made a noise of surprise, low in his throat, and dug his fingers into the thin fabric of her tights. Not unexpectedly, they ripped, and his wet fingers were suddenly on the bare skin of her legs. Not to be outdone, Clary slid her hands under the hem of his soaked shirt, and let her fingers explore what was underneath: the tight, hot skin over his ribs, the ridges of his abdomen, the scars on his back. This was uncharted territory for her, but it seemed to be driving him crazy: he was moaning softly against her mouth, kissing her harder and harder, as if it would never be enough, not quite enough — (quoted from Cassandra Clare, December 2010)


Hey, I warned you it was HOT! Seriously, how could I use this quote and not share this picture. You can see more of the COFA trailer pictures here http://tinyurl.com/4ze6n8n

In My Mailbox #58

I'm a day late and I had every intention of posting this yesterday, but you know how the weekends get. lol
In my mailbox is a weekly meme we participate in hosted by The Story Siren where we share some of the goodies we received through out the week. These are books we received to review, what we bought, gifted or borrowed.

For Review:

* Bitter Melon by Cara Chow, published by EgmontUSA, released on December 28th, 2010
* Will Work For Prom by Aimee Ferri, published by EgmontUSA to be released on February 8th, 2011
* Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr, published by Little Brown, released on October 2009
* The Iron Queen (published copy) by Julie Kagawa, published by Harlequin Teen, to be released on February 1st, 2011

Gifted/Borrowed:

* I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
* Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr

Bought:

* The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Tenth Grade Bleeds by Heather Brewer

Thank you to EgmontUSA, Little Brown, Harlequin Teen, Sophie and Reading Teen for this weeks awesome reads.

What goodies did you receive this last week?

Labels