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

5 comments:

  1. I'm picky when it comes to vampire books too, and this one seems like a good choice for me. The fact that there are two points of view got me really intrigued.:D Thanks for the review, it's been very helpful. I'm so looking forward to reading the book!
    xoxo

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  2. Dees- I was really pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. It's a quick, fun read. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the book.

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  3. You should definitely check out the first two, they were my favorite. I'm surprise you caught on and understood. This is a series that has a lot of information. Great interview :)

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  4. I enjoyed the first two - this looks like another good one!

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  5. Book Monster- Thank you! I'm really looking forward to reading the first two and the next one. This one read really well and it was really easy to understand what was going on. I really liked Hunter and Quinn's points of view.

    Alyssa- It's a fantastic read!

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