Alyxandra Harvey – Blood Moon

106. Blood Moon by Alyxandra Harvey (2012)
The Drake Chronicles, Book 5

Read my review of book:
1. Hearts at Stake
2. Blood Feud
3. Out for Blood
Short Story. A Killer First Date
4. Bleeding Hearts

Length: 320 pages
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Started/Finished: 22 September 2012

Where did it come from? The library.
Why do I have it? I am totally hooked on this series, and my library hold came up right when I needed something light and fun to read.

Being a teenage
princess is tougher when you’re
a vampire, too.

Summary: Tensions are running high as the Blood Moon – the rare gathering of vampire clans from around the world – gets underway. That’s particularly true in the royal Drake family; their youngest child, Solange, is vampire royalty, but she’s only recently gone through the bloodchange, and is struggling to contain her feral nature. When she loses control, terrible things can happen, things like attacking her human boyfriend, the vampire hunter agent Kieran. Part of Solange feels terrible, but part of her – a part being egged on by the mysterious vampire Constantine – doesn’t want to reign herself in. Her older brothers – all vampires – are used to protecting their baby sister, but her rash actions are putting them in an impossible situation. Especially for Nick, the next-youngest, who is caught between protecting his sister, remaining true to his parents, and protecting Lucy, his human girlfriend and Solange’s one-time best friend.

Review: I say the same things about this series every time I read one of the books, but that’s because these books are consistently a ton of fun, fast reads, totally escapist good times, packed with a ton of action, some sexy flirting, and a super snarky sense of humor. This book is a little different from the four that have come before, but I enjoyed it just as much. (And read it just as fast.) Specifically, the plot doesn’t focus on a a romance storyline involving one of the Drake brothers, and as a consequence, the book comes across as more plot-driven than some of the previous books. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – there are still plenty of tingly romantic moments between established couples, so that doesn’t feel lacking. Also, one of my complaints about the previous book was that the romance was having to share space with a heavier-than-usual dose of plot, making both feel a little shortchanged, so I was plenty happy to let the plot step up and take center stage in this one.

There were two things that kept me from being over the moon about this book, though. First: Solange. This book alternates between her, Lucy’s, and Nick’s POVs. And while Lucy and Nick are consistently awesome (hooray, human-vampire romances that don’t make me want to throw things!), Solange in this book was pretty annoying, convinced she knows what’s best and damn the consequences. True to a seventeen-year-old girl, maybe, but not the most endearing trait in a protagonist. My other problem was that in the middle of this book, there is a radical twist in the plot that seemed to come out of nowhere. I may have missed the lead-up and the foreshadowing, but I don’t think I did, since the change was sudden enough to make me wonder if I’d missed an entire chapter. (I didn’t.) Although that’s problematic, and would usually count against a book pretty strongly, Harvey keeps the book moving, and I was soon just as absorbed in the new storyline as I’d been in the old.

So, overall, not perfect, but I did devour it in the space of a single morning despite my otherwise reading-slump-y self, so that’s high marks in its favor. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: These books are not even a little standalone, but I’d recommend the series for Buffy fans, and those who would prefer that their teen vampire romances come with more snark and less angry-making gender politics.

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First Line: “You tried to eat your boyfriend’s face?”

Vocab: (see the whole list)

• p. 27: “He spent most of his time there with the tools, equipment, and jerricans.” – A flat-sided can for storing or transporting liquids, especially gasoline, having a capacity of 5 gallons
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• p. 28: “The drums reached a peak, and the belly dancers circled us in their embroidered choli blouses and beaded skirts, smelling like sandalwood incense and amber perfume.” – a short-sleeved bodice, as worn by Indian women
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