Blood Feud (The Drake Chronicles, #2) by Alyxandra Harvey - MiniView

You might remember my review of My Love Lies Bleeding (The Drake Chronicles, #1), in which I mentioned being a bit overwhelmed by certain parts, especially the “world.” It was a bit overwhelming; with creatures, threats and a cast of characters the likes of which, hardly any author OR director takes the time to create.

However, with Blood Feud, I felt like I flowed back into the story, with out missing a beat, even though it's been MONTHS since I read My Love Lies Bleeding, it did not feel as though months had passed. Alyxandra Harvey has taken great care to offer reminders of the events past, yet kept the story fresh and new.

Synopsis via goodreads:
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.

Honestly, I felt as though Blood Feud, was fabulous, better even than it's predecessor, the story is much the same...but I fell further in love with the world this time, it's intricacies, more delicate and delicious, I felt as though we dived past the “proverbial” surface, which was introduced in My Love Lies Bleeding, into a darker, more sinister world....with characters I felt interconnected with.

If you fell in love with Nicholas in My Love Lies Bleeding, just wait till you get a taste of, the gallant, noble, yet equally romantic and sincere Logan. He's bold, brash, yet with an air of yesteryear apart of him. He stole my heart, in a pulse pounding, nail biting kind of way.

Then there's Isabeau; though, most of the story is told via Logan's point of view, the snips we got with Isabeau were priceless to the story, offering a glimpse into her head as well as her heart; I felt for her, rooted for her, and though she's as tough as they come, underneath, she's just a broken girl, and though it was tough to read about how she became so broken, it added a touch of realness to her, that otherwise, I think we might have missed.

Bottom Line - Fabulous, better, more daring than My Love Lies Bleeding, with characters so powerful, magic so delicious, and a story line so riveting that I even found time to read while driving 4 hours away to pick up a family friend. I stayed white knuckled though most of this book, it's much darker than My Love Lies Bleeding, yet almost because of that it, at least for me was almost easier to get into, I felt myself plummeting out of control down the rabbit hold that is, The Drake Chronicles, and I was NOT at all sure I wanted to ever come back. I also loved that Blood Feud weaves with in it's pages delicious peeks on old familiar characters. I give Blood Feud a 5 mushrooms and I can NOT wait for the next installment of The Drake Chronicles, it's bound to continue to get more and more interesting from here!

Blood Feud (The Drake Chronicles, #2)
By: Alyxandra Harvey
272 Pages
Published: June 22, 2010
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Received via an ARC tour for my honest review.