Review: Blood Feud, by Alyxandra Harvey

Blood Feud, by Alyxandra Harvey
Published: June 22, 2010
Publisher: Bloomsbury US
Pages: 272
Overall Rating: 4/5

The action and romance continue as the Drakes face a new vampire with a 200-year-old grudge. It’s been centuries since Isabeau St. Croix barely survived the French Revolution. Now she’s made her way back to the living and she must face the ultimate test by confronting the evil British lord who left her for dead the day she turned into a vampire. That’s if she can control her affection for Logan Drake, a vampire whose bite is as sweet as the revenge she seeks. 

The clans are gathering for Helena’s royal coronation as the next vampire queen, and new alliances are beginning to form now that the old rifts of Lady Natasha’s reign have started to heal. But with a new common enemy, Leander Montmarte—a vicious leader who hopes to force Solange to marry him and usurp the power of the throne for himself—the clans must stand together to preserve the peace he threatens to destroy. 

This second adventure in the Drake Chronicles—told from both Logan’s and Isabeau’s perspectives—has all the same butt-kicking action, heart-pounding romances and snarky humor that readers loved in Hearts at Stake, as well as exciting new revelations about the vampire dynasties to keep readers coming back for more.

(Is it just me, or does the girl on the cover look a lot like Emily Browning?)

Just like Hearts at Stake, the romance is hanging in the backdrop. It's definitely there, but it isn't the main focus of the novel, though at certain times, it starts to feel that way. But then it switches back to battles, where more is at stake than just the relationship of Logan and Isabeau. (I really hope "Isabeau' is pronounced more elegantly than it sounds in my head.)

Also, like Hearts at Stake, I loved the double point of view. I enjoy reading from multiple character's perspective, as long as the author can pull it off. Harvey can.

The characters are well done, once again. Logan and Isabeau were completely different than Nicholas, Keiran, Solange, or Lucy. I was glad we got to see the four of them again, though. It was nice to see how their story was going. But I was more concerned with Isabeau and Logan, which is refreshing, because I was expecting to only care about the characters from the first novel. Was not the case. Isabeau, having lived in a coffin for 200 years, wasn't really up to date on the culture of the current world, so there were times when her lack of knowledge about little things, made me laugh.

I wasn't a huge fan of the "flash-back" chapters. I know we needed to see Isabeau's past, and I enjoyed the story there, but it slowed the book down a bit for me. There was a lot more narrative in these chapters, and very little dialogue.

Magic, and the dogs are introduced in this one. Both things were fun to read about, and once again it was a quick, enjoyable read. Harvey has created a special little world, and I am anticipating the third installment!!

Most memorable lines:
   "I can do this, Logan," she said confidently. "Kala trained me for this."
   "What if something goes wrong? I can't exactly wave a magic wand over you. I'm not Harry Potter."
   "Who?"
   "Never mind." I said.




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Cover:
5/5
Plot:
4/5
Pace:
5/5
Characters:
5/5
Ending:
4/5
Writing Style:
5/5

Review: Hearts at Stake, by Alyxandra Harvey

Hearts at Stake, by Alyxandra Harvey

Publisher: Walker

Pages: 248

Overall Rating:

On Solange’s sixteenth birthday, she is going to wake up dead. As if that’s not bad enough, she also has to outwit her seven overprotective older brothers, avoid the politics involved with being the only daughter born to an ancient vampire dynasty, and elude Kieran Black—agent of an anti-vampire league who is searching for his father’s killer and is intent on staking Solange and her entire family. 
Luckily she has her own secret weapon—her human best friend Lucy—who is willing to defend Solange’s right to a normal life, whether she’s being smothered by her well-intentioned brothers or abducted by a power-hungry queen. Two unlikely alliances are formed in a race to save Solange’s eternal life—Lucy and Solange’s brother Nicholas, and Solange and Kieran Black—in a dual romance that is guaranteed to jump start any romance-lover’s heart.

This was a cute story, though at times the similarities to Twilight were a bit much. I understand it's about vampires so of course there will be some similarities. However, there was a vampire Edward, Victoria, the main girl is squeamish at the sight of blood, there's a treaty, the person on the other side of the treaty's last name is Black, the treaty says they can't eat humans, so the family feeds on only animals unless they're too weak and human blood is a must. Just to name a few. There are a lot of huge differences though. (If you're thinking "oh geez thanks", you can rest assured that I really wasn't giving a thing away by telling you that.)

I loved the relationship between Lucy and Nicholas, though I still think it was lacking some heat. There was a lot going on in this book so I don't feel like I ever really felt that relationship wrap up. As for Solange and Keiran, I didn't see much of a relationship to begin with. There were a few sparks, but other than that, their relationship didn't register on the romance scale for me. I think calling this a dual romance is an overstatement.

The characters were very well written. It bounces back and forth between Solange and Lucy's point of view, and I was happy to see that each character had her own voice. Solange is laid back and caring, wild Lucy's snarky and quite amusing.

The plot was well written--despite some things that screamed Twilight. The differences did make it feel like it was it's own story.

Overall, I enjoyed this quick read. It held my attention, I didn't get bored, but the ending didn't pack enough punch to push it to the fifth star for me. I'd recommend it for someone looking for a fast, fun read.

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