Blood Bound

Earlier this year I read Patricia Briggs’ Moon Called and enjoyed it enormously. Perhaps my favorite urban fantasy to date. I’d heard that Blood Bound was good, but not quite as good, so I was surprised that I liked it just as much as Moon Called.

Stefan the vampire plays a larger role in the second book, and since I’m more a shifter than vampire fan, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Stefan’s story. I thought Briggs handled the vampire aspects of her story really well. The narrator states more than once that vampires are evil, but Briggs makes it clear that there are interesting shades of gray in the vampire community. I also thought the mystery and its explanation was much stronger than in Moon Called where it became a bit of a mess at the end. And my heart was pounding near the very end as Mercy made the decision to act.

I also enjoyed seeing more of the wolves: Adam (in particular, he’s my fave), Samuel, Ben, Warren and Honey. Briggs does a good job of making secondary characters well rounded and the pack dynamics continue to intrigue me. I can’t wait until the next book is out and I suppose I should track down Briggs’ novella set in the same world though it has different characters.

Jane of Dear Author gave Blood Bound an A-.

For the space of the pages, the great fantasy book transforms what the reader knows is truth into the writer’s truth. And the rest of the world just falls away. Such is this case with Blood Bound.

Keishon also gives Blood Bound an A-.

In this world that Briggs creates, she does an excellent job of blending fantasy with reality. Creating fantastical events that they almost seem real in the world that you and I live in.