Blood Bound

Blood Bound

by Rachel Vincent

Six years ago, Liv left her long-time boyfriend moments before he was going to propose to her because her friend, a seer, warned her of a future with him too horrible to imagine.

Now, Liv is forced to work with her ex again to find the killer of the husband of another friend from her past.  Her friend has called on a childhood oath, bound with magic impossible to break, so she must do this.  

She hates being with him again almost as much as she still loves him, but she has no choice, though she's not sure that she really minds.

But being the best blood tracker around means that Liv doesn't just have to worry about her ex; she also has to deal with her current employer and his very dangerous contract with her.

Just when things finally seem to work out, Liv stumbles upon an even bigger and more dangerous plot, along with a number of untold secrets.

Can she make it out alive despite the foretelling of death?

Final thoughts:  I still love Rachel Vincent, but this book needs a little help.  **Spoiler alert** There are a few logic problems like if the mother had "seen" her own future, her daughter's, and the future of all of her friends when she was only 12, and she had the power to manipulate it all, why wouldn't she just avoid the father in the first place?  If she'd done that, she may not have had her baby (for all of 9 months before getting killed), but she'd have been alive and her friends would have been able to avoid all the dangers and pitfalls.  The main characters could have lived happily ever after on their own if the seer had just changed one little point in time.**End spoiler**  The switch between PoV's was annoying, as well.  If it had been consistent, it would have worked.  Instead, it starts out pretty regular and then suddenly just becomes Liv's story, ignoring Cam's voice altogether.  There were parts that would have been great from Cam's side, but Vincent just stopped using his voice mid-way, which didn't serve the story well.

Rating: 4/5 (more of a 3.5)

Grave Dance

Grave Dance

by Kalayna Price

Left feet suddenly start showing up in Fae territory.  Just left feet.  Nothing else.  And Alex Craft is called in to try and get a read on them.  Unfortunately, even though Alex can now see across multiple realities without really trying, she still can't see the memories of the dead that once wore them. 

She's also dealing with magical constructs trying to kill her and the Queen of the Winter Court suddenly has become very interested in claiming all the Fae in Nekros, including (or maybe, especially) Alex herself.

The two loves of her life have suddenly reappeared in her life after disappearing for the past month, so Alex must deal with their feelings about her (love) and about each other (hate).

And on top of everything, she's attracted the attention of a very wealthy, very powerful man who wants her to open the Aetheric for him and his followers so they can touch it for themselves and get blissed out on the feeling.

Somewhere in all of that, she must also keep her old friend safe, figure out a way to keep all of her current clients, and stop accidentally creating holes to the Aetheric that are causing more than a little trouble.

Final thoughts: I read it. I finished it.  But I don't remember much of it.  I know it was ok as I read it, but after I put it down, I was done.  I'm not sure if I'll read the next one.

Rating: 3/5

Grave Witch

Grave Witch

by Kalayna Price

Alex Craft is a "magic eye" (though she hates that term).  She's a private investigator who uses her grave sight power as a witch to call up the memories of the dead and get them to pass information on to the living.

She's got an important case coming up, which is good because she's completely out of cash and needs the money.  The person who hired her is her younger sister who she never sees, and the dead guy is the now-dead governor who she's not supposed to be near, so it's not complicated at all, right?

Actually, it's a high-profile case that's way above her access level and the lead investigator is more than a little angry that she's interfered.

Add to that a soul-sucking curse that will kill her in days if she doesn't stop the spell-caster, repeated kidnapping attempts, a slaver who wants to sell her to the highest bidder, an attempt on her life, a father who hates her magic, and the press everywhere, and Alex has her work cut out for her.

And did I mention that Death follows her?  Literally?

Final thoughts:  A quick read with a lot to offer, but not the best supernatural urban-lit I've read.  I understand the need to establish the magical guidelines like shielding and planes of existence, but the constant descriptions became really annoying.  Over and over and over again.  At least it became less descriptive over time and more of a quick mention.  I wish we'd seen a few of the other characters more, but Alex was gritty, realistic, and relatable.  

Rating: 3/5