Reviews

Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga

kristalsty119's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

wombat_88's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

alisarae's review against another edition

This final book of the series is about tying up ends in Jaz's family secrets. The amount of terrible abuse that Jaz underwent in his childhood is treated lightly and I don't think the tone of the rest of the characters in the series is appropriate. Howie, Jaz's best friend, exists as comic relief (he's my favorite character actually), so every awful revelation about Jaz's past is bookended by corny jokes. I guess to not make this too much of a downer?? Idk, it repeatedly came off as inappropriate. The other thing is, Connie, Jaz's girlfriend, has this loyal faith that Jaz will make good decisions that made me want to shake her and say: BREAK UP NOW HE NEEDS TO GO THROUGH DECADES OF INTENSE THERAPY BEFORE HE WILL BE A SAFE BOYFRIEND. I don't think that Jaz would physically abuse Connie, but he is going to suffer a lot of emotional and psychological fallout that will create destructive relationship patterns. It's unfair to paint Connie as being mature enough to appropriately handle that at the ripe ol age of 17. And how many young women are already out there thinking they can be strong enough for their partner and willing to "see this through"?? Connie's character just reinforces this belief because the only fallout you as the reader sees is sexual dissonance (but Connie will wait until Jaz is ready.... however long that is), and hiding information (in order to protect each other... so that one is pretty normal for humans to do and not necessarily related to Jaz's past).

Overall, I think the series started off in a good direction (lighthearted serial killer fun, yay, lolz) but changed keys without changing the characters.

maryam162424's review against another edition

5.0

OMG AN AMAZING ENDING TO AN AMAZING SERIES!!! The plot twist at the end left me SHOCKED!!! I couldn't believe it!! Also, I LOVED Jazz in this book!!! His whole character had developed soooo much during the series and who he was during Blood of my Blood was tremendous. Please read this series!!!!

alifromkc1907's review against another edition

5.0

Story Line - GOOD - 4
Writing Style - GOOD - 4
Characters - GROWTH - 5
Excitement Factor - WOW - 5
Believability for type and topics - OK - 3
Entertainment Factor - WOW - 5
Similarity to other books - RARE - 5
Cover art - AWESOME - 5
Dust jacket Art - CATCHY - 5
Title Relevance - THOUGHTFUL - 5

Overall: 4.60/5 (4.42/5 disregarding art and title)

After watching Jazz suffer with the mind of a serial killer, Jazz is determined to take down his father, Billy. After suffering at the hands of a few other serial killers determined to be Billy's prodigy, Howie, Connie, and Jazz work closely with G. William and some returning faces from The Game.

You may like this book if you like the following sub-genres:

Murder/Serial Killer
TV shows such as Law & Order, Criminal Minds, Numbers
FBI/Police/Detective
Gruesome details

Yet again, Barry Lyga is at the top of this game. It's pretty rare to see books on Goodreads average 4-stars, let alone top that. I've been on the edge of my seat since the beginning of this trilogy. I randomly picked up I Hunt Killers (4.5 Stars) not knowing it would soon be a part of a trilogy that I'd have to finish. (Excuse some of the comparisons about to come at you, but I think it's relevent when looking at a trilogy to look at the first two in the series.)

The story line in this was much different than we'd seen in IHK and The Game (5 Stars). And in the beginning, I sort of missed the catching of the killers; the profiler lingo; things that relate back to the killings. But, the more I came into the story, the more I realized that I wanted all the same things Jazz wanted. Sure, I missed the profiling nature that came in the first two (mostly because I love the science of profiling behaviors), but I think in its own way, we got to see the profiling lead to these moments, and that felt gratifying, and slightly frightening.

The characters didn't become stagnate or become a repetitive time bomb waiting to explode. They grew (or in some cases, regressed) into their own shell and their own skin. We got to see the innocence in the first novel and how that type of exposure could turn someone into their limits. Anyone is capable of murder if the circumstances are right, and I think that's what we really explored here. With all of our characters, if the circumstances are right, what can a person do? And I think that was the most important piece of this puzzle. Seeing characters pushed to their absolute, maddening limits in the face of danger, survival, and freedom makes you feel all sorts of things for them. And not only that, but the characters from IHK traveled with us on this story all the way through to the end, and reading the final pages in the epilogue felt like we got closure. Which, I worried after finishing TG that I wouldn't feel satisfied knowing that things ended up a certain way. Looking into the future with these characters also gave this satisfying feeling that no matter how you're raised, in whatever condition, there's always a chance of redemption. That sometimes we just aren't meant to be someone, or we are meant to be someone else. It was kind of a twisted play on the psychological battle of nature vs. nurture. (Although, I won't go down that path purely for your sanity.)

The writing style in this was one that I don't care for - I'm not a huge fan of jumping from character to character - and while it's been in all three novels, I hoped we'd see things differently this time around. It wasn't a total buzz kill, however. The content of this novel was more propelling than the first two (and I can't imagine if I had binge-read all three back-to-back how I'd feel) and I was frustrated that I couldn't finish it in one setting. But, when we leave TG, we're left with a very messy, and potentially threatening situation. And we literally pick back up like we just turned the page - not as if we had started a new book. And I think because we did that, it was a little frustrating that you couldn't read this on its own, but hell... if you're going to read something in a trilogy, hopefully the person who recommends it is smart enough to tell you to start at the beginning. I have been floored from the beginning. I intentionally put off reading the final of these three until I felt like I was emotionally and physically prepared for all the blood, guts, and glory that came with the Dent family.
Nothing about this novel feels familiar. And that's a good thing. Barnes and Noble probably has 10,000 books on the shelves. And it'd be really refreshing to know that only two other books (yes, books 1 & 2) are even remotely similar to this experience. Now, I don't go about reading serial killer books all the time, but for me, this was a crime novel, not a serial killer story. It's a crime novel full of profiling at the hands of a kid-genius (at least in regards to serial killer behaviors). I am going to miss this refreshing breath of fresh air. I will likely not be able to read this again any time soon, however, because this is a story line that sticks out. It's not something I've ever read before, and it's not like anything I'll ever read again. But I hope that many years from now, I can sit and re-read this trilogy and still get that fluttering feeling that Lyga put into this series.

I personally loved the hardcover's art work much more than I did the dust jacket. However, both were extremely insightful into what we would see in the future of this novel. And the title, while I took it to mean one thing upon first glance (afterall, we are talking about serial killers, here), but the title stems from a really climactic moment for Jazz on his path to self-discovery (which I think he has been doing all throughout, until he gets some resolve in the epilogue).

I highly recommend reading this series, even if you're not a series kind of a person. I know some people don't want to have to remember what happened in book 1 while you're in the middle of book 3. But, I read IHK about 5-6 months ago. And I was still remember things from then that I read today while finishing the series. It's just written in a way that you can't forget (although, I wouldn't recommend reading right before bed.... your dreams might become nightmares if you have a big imagination).

Also read by Barry Lyga: Boy Toy - 4 Stars

avid_read's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kaylakaotik's review against another edition

5.0

I've been meaning to read this book for some time now. I'm not sure why it took so long to get around to it, but I'm really glad I did. This book was an awesome ending to the Jasper Dent trilogy!

First, there were a couple of things that I didn't figure out. I love when mystery books can stump me. Who likes easy? Second, I love these characters. Jasper, Connie, Howie (who's still my favorite!), G. William... and yes, even Billy. These are realistic, convincing characters. Third, I actually enjoyed the way everything wrapped up. The epilogue made me happy and I feel like the story is complete. I've thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Jasper Dent series and I don't *need* more. This is truly rare.

If you're looking for an awesomely creepy young adult thriller, this series is it! Definitely give it a try.

bestofjess's review against another edition

5.0

Predictable but I still loved it and I'm still extremely sad it's over.

keribetweenpages's review against another edition

5.0

OMG this book! So much action, so intense and so fucking good!

If you can invest in a long trilogy(each book 450+ pages) then this is the one. I will say as a warning that this book(and trilogy) is violent and disturbing. But again, it's so good!

katiep9050's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25