vbeth01's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.0
laurenjodi's review against another edition
4.0
Blood Cross
4.5 Stars
Excellent world building and characterization. The detailed explanation of the origins of the vampires and their unique brand of politics is distinctive and intriguing as is the information on the witch covens and their cold war with the vampires.
The plot revolving around the creation of new, rogue vampires and the attempt to keep them sane by sacrificing witch children is fast-paced and absorbing, especially as the villains soon hit very close to home.
Jane is a fascinating heroine and the dynamics of her connection with Beast are particularly compelling as they must coexist within the same body mass and work together for shared goals yet have an almost adversarial relationship. The secondary characters are also fleshed out more - Leo is having trouble coping with his grief, Molly and her children are staying with Jane, which leads to some cute domestic scenes, and Jane must deal with the two men in her life. This is actually, the weakest aspect of the book.
While some UF readers may not consider this a drawback as romance is not usually the focus of the genre, the author, nevertheless, introduces at least two possible love interests but fails to sufficiently develop the relationships. George (aka Bruiser) Dumas is seriously sexy and shares an intense chemistry with Jane. Unfortunately, he is also a blood servant, which lends a certain ickiness to his character and makes Jane's preference for the second leading man, Rick LaFleur, quite understandable. The problem here is that Jane and Rick lack said chemistry and he comes across as more of a consolation prize.
On a final note, Khristine Hvam's narration of the audiobook is incredible as always. She has an amazing ability to make even the most mundane passages come alive.
4.5 Stars
Excellent world building and characterization. The detailed explanation of the origins of the vampires and their unique brand of politics is distinctive and intriguing as is the information on the witch covens and their cold war with the vampires.
The plot revolving around the creation of new, rogue vampires and the attempt to keep them sane by sacrificing witch children is fast-paced and absorbing, especially as the villains soon hit very close to home.
Jane is a fascinating heroine and the dynamics of her connection with Beast are particularly compelling as they must coexist within the same body mass and work together for shared goals yet have an almost adversarial relationship. The secondary characters are also fleshed out more - Leo is having trouble coping with his grief, Molly and her children are staying with Jane, which leads to some cute domestic scenes, and Jane must deal with the two men in her life. This is actually, the weakest aspect of the book.
While some UF readers may not consider this a drawback as romance is not usually the focus of the genre, the author, nevertheless, introduces at least two possible love interests but fails to sufficiently develop the relationships. George (aka Bruiser) Dumas is seriously sexy and shares an intense chemistry with Jane. Unfortunately, he is also a blood servant, which lends a certain ickiness to his character and makes Jane's preference for the second leading man, Rick LaFleur, quite understandable. The problem here is that Jane and Rick lack said chemistry and he comes across as more of a consolation prize.
On a final note, Khristine Hvam's narration of the audiobook is incredible as always. She has an amazing ability to make even the most mundane passages come alive.
lyndz_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
thegeekyblogger's review against another edition
4.0
Listened for Fun (Audible)
Tracking Books Read Review (Short)
Overall Rating: 4.50
Story Rating: 4.75
Character Rating: 4.25
Audio Rating: 4.50 (Not part of the overall rating)
First Thought when Finished: Blood Cross sealed the deal: I am totally invested in Jane/Beast (not so much their love life though)!
Overall Thoughts: Oddly enough on paper, I really shouldn't like this series as much as I do. There is a love triangle. There is a small bit of angst (dual personalities lend to that). Jane at times has a very "young" type of attitude. However, I am really digging the mystery and world building involved with the Jane Yellowrock series. In this particular story, I enjoyed getting to know her best friend and kiddos. Also the rogue storyline was freaking amazing and the end gutted me! I won't say it caused tears but it did cause me to gasp. Faith knows how to pack a punch and that is why I overlook the elements that drive me crazy.
Audio Thoughts:
Khristine does an amazing job with Jane/Beast. She is one of my favorite narrators but this seems to be her sweet spot. She nails the emotion, pacing, and "bite your nails" moments with such accuracy that you just get swept up into the story. Great job!
Final Thoughts: I have already read book 3 and got my hands on book 4 & 5 (in audio of course)!
Tracking Books Read Review (Short)
Overall Rating: 4.50
Story Rating: 4.75
Character Rating: 4.25
Audio Rating: 4.50 (Not part of the overall rating)
First Thought when Finished: Blood Cross sealed the deal: I am totally invested in Jane/Beast (not so much their love life though)!
Overall Thoughts: Oddly enough on paper, I really shouldn't like this series as much as I do. There is a love triangle. There is a small bit of angst (dual personalities lend to that). Jane at times has a very "young" type of attitude. However, I am really digging the mystery and world building involved with the Jane Yellowrock series. In this particular story, I enjoyed getting to know her best friend and kiddos. Also the rogue storyline was freaking amazing and the end gutted me! I won't say it caused tears but it did cause me to gasp. Faith knows how to pack a punch and that is why I overlook the elements that drive me crazy.
Audio Thoughts:
Narrated By Khristine Hvam / Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
Khristine does an amazing job with Jane/Beast. She is one of my favorite narrators but this seems to be her sweet spot. She nails the emotion, pacing, and "bite your nails" moments with such accuracy that you just get swept up into the story. Great job!
Final Thoughts: I have already read book 3 and got my hands on book 4 & 5 (in audio of course)!
pjonsson's review against another edition
3.0
This book failed somewhat to engage me. It is not a bad book but it kind of just recites the story without really adding that little extra that makes you really want to read the next page. I think that the main reason is that the heroin somehow lacks charisma, at least for me. She just goes from one page to another solving the problems as they are coming along. The dialogue is often a wee bit on the dull side. She is a strong person, even though she gets sucker punched every so often, but she could definitely do with a bit more attitude and sharp tongue to spice up the story.
The author have tried to put some humorous parts in there but some of them just felt silly to me. For instance the Marilyn Monroe part really felt cheap. Then we of course have the fact that our heroine manages to get herself almost killed every so often. It is a fault that many authors do and it is just tiresome to me.
Other parts where quite good though. The explanation as to why vampires do not show up on photos, or rather did not show up, where quite okay. The author also produced a quite interesting tie-in between vampires and Christian mythology.
On the whole it was a read worthy book but only just so. There are ten main books in the series so I guess there are enough people liking the books though so I will continue reading a few more books in the series in the hope that it will improve as we go along. This is just the second book after all and it was not until the fourth book in The Dresden Files that I really started to like that series so fingers crossed.
The author have tried to put some humorous parts in there but some of them just felt silly to me. For instance the Marilyn Monroe part really felt cheap. Then we of course have the fact that our heroine manages to get herself almost killed every so often. It is a fault that many authors do and it is just tiresome to me.
Other parts where quite good though. The explanation as to why vampires do not show up on photos, or rather did not show up, where quite okay. The author also produced a quite interesting tie-in between vampires and Christian mythology.
On the whole it was a read worthy book but only just so. There are ten main books in the series so I guess there are enough people liking the books though so I will continue reading a few more books in the series in the hope that it will improve as we go along. This is just the second book after all and it was not until the fourth book in The Dresden Files that I really started to like that series so fingers crossed.
graff_fuller's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
There are parts of this story that I liked, and parts that just didn't work for me. Overall, it is a series, so i will continue to read it...and see how the plot (overall) progresses.
I wasn't too sure they should've stayed in New Orleans (in world OR in the storyline), but some things (I guess) still needed to be explored...and instead of introducing a new coven of vampires, she already laid the groundwork of the coven and now all she had to do was to introduce the NEW problem.
Also, she was able to explain more of the power set that Jane Yellowrock has...with the pluses and minuses of being a Skinwalker (the one and only, that we know of).
There is a large portion of this book that uses religious texts...and it is interesting how it was used (whether rightly or wrongly), it added an element that I didn't think they would use. Very interesting.
BTW, these vampires are not the Classic Vampires, but they also are NOT the sparkly ones, either.
Jane and Molly (her witch friend) and her children were teased in the first book, but were given more time within this story (also being a big element of the story itself).
Bruiser and Rick are interesting. I'm not sure which man she's really "should" be with, but I like Rick better, than I do Bruiser.
Oh, I love that Jane gives nicknames to people. Hilarious.
I wasn't too sure they should've stayed in New Orleans (in world OR in the storyline), but some things (I guess) still needed to be explored...and instead of introducing a new coven of vampires, she already laid the groundwork of the coven and now all she had to do was to introduce the NEW problem.
Also, she was able to explain more of the power set that Jane Yellowrock has...with the pluses and minuses of being a Skinwalker (the one and only, that we know of).
There is a large portion of this book that uses religious texts...and it is interesting how it was used (whether rightly or wrongly), it added an element that I didn't think they would use. Very interesting.
BTW, these vampires are not the Classic Vampires, but they also are NOT the sparkly ones, either.
Jane and Molly (her witch friend) and her children were teased in the first book, but were given more time within this story (also being a big element of the story itself).
Bruiser and Rick are interesting. I'm not sure which man she's really "should" be with, but I like Rick better, than I do Bruiser.
Oh, I love that Jane gives nicknames to people. Hilarious.
smitch29's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't mind this book. However, despite not really having any apparent issues, I didn't love the story. I think I just don't love the mythos and the characters. I don't dislike them, but I don't like thme either.
katleap's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Here is your warning, I'm probably going to get a little ranty.
So overall I really love the idea of this series. Jane is an interesting lead, she has a past, she has guilt and she has screwed up. She also has very clear loyalty lines and those are important. Beast is a whole different animal and she's awesome. The plots are intriguing and the different people are interesting. I liked Molly and I'm quickly coming to adore Angie.
But I'm getting fed up with her love life.
Jane has a thing with Bruiser. It shows up every time they're on the page together. I think that they could work.
I don't like Rick. I haven't trusted him from the beginning and then he pulls that crap with Angie.
So Jane picks Rick because Bruiser has ties to Leo and that mean that she won't be first. Hello, Jane has ties to Beast and Molly that come first, so she is just as guilty. Jane just knows that a relationship with Bruiser will be dangerous to what she's built. She will end up giving up secrets and she knows that Leo might end up with them and so she chooses the easy way with Rick. Also Rick is pretty and has tattoos that mean things to Jane. Bah! I hate Rick. He is totally going to blow up in Jane's face. I just know it.
Here is your warning, I'm probably going to get a little ranty.
So overall I really love the idea of this series. Jane is an interesting lead, she has a past, she has guilt and she has screwed up. She also has very clear loyalty lines and those are important. Beast is a whole different animal and she's awesome. The plots are intriguing and the different people are interesting. I liked Molly and I'm quickly coming to adore Angie.
But I'm getting fed up with her love life.
Jane has a thing with Bruiser. It shows up every time they're on the page together. I think that they could work.
I don't like Rick. I haven't trusted him from the beginning and then he pulls that crap with Angie.
So Jane picks Rick because Bruiser has ties to Leo and that mean that she won't be first. Hello, Jane has ties to Beast and Molly that come first, so she is just as guilty. Jane just knows that a relationship with Bruiser will be dangerous to what she's built. She will end up giving up secrets and she knows that Leo might end up with them and so she chooses the easy way with Rick. Also Rick is pretty and has tattoos that mean things to Jane. Bah! I hate Rick. He is totally going to blow up in Jane's face. I just know it.
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
Jane Yellowrock is a part-Cherokee Rogue Vampire Hunter in New Orleans with a contract from the Blood Master of the City to hunt down a rogue vampire turning vampires without sticking around to take care of them.
In this second in a series, Jane's now holed up in an ex-bordello with her witch friend Mary Jane and MJ's kids, sure that magic and her own fighting skills (not to mention the spirit of a mountain lion she carries) will be able to protect them all.
As vampire history and factions within factions come to light, Jane will need not only her growing knowledge of her Cherokee past, her mountain lion, and her ex-military vigilante friends to take down vampires intent upon making a new kind of vampire.
This second book certainly delivers on the promise of the first one. We get more of Jane's Cherokee heritage, not enough to clear up all mysteries, but enough to fill in some blanks, as well as develop her relationships satisfactorily with her various friends, and her complicated enemy, the Blood Master Leo Pellisier. I am particularly enjoying how Leo comes across as deadly, devastating, and sympathetic at the same time, without the whole lust/love thing that usually gives the reader a reason to feel sympatheic to a powerful enemy.
In fact, Jane's love interests are both human. While I, as a romance junkie, longed for more development along those lines, the fast paced action really didn't leave room for it.
Jane is still kick-ass, the plots complicated enough to be interesting, and the prose eminently readable. This series is one I'm definitely following.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: A Muffaletta sandwhich with layers of meat and tangy sauce for the great plot and characters.
In this second in a series, Jane's now holed up in an ex-bordello with her witch friend Mary Jane and MJ's kids, sure that magic and her own fighting skills (not to mention the spirit of a mountain lion she carries) will be able to protect them all.
As vampire history and factions within factions come to light, Jane will need not only her growing knowledge of her Cherokee past, her mountain lion, and her ex-military vigilante friends to take down vampires intent upon making a new kind of vampire.
This second book certainly delivers on the promise of the first one. We get more of Jane's Cherokee heritage, not enough to clear up all mysteries, but enough to fill in some blanks, as well as develop her relationships satisfactorily with her various friends, and her complicated enemy, the Blood Master Leo Pellisier. I am particularly enjoying how Leo comes across as deadly, devastating, and sympathetic at the same time, without the whole lust/love thing that usually gives the reader a reason to feel sympatheic to a powerful enemy.
In fact, Jane's love interests are both human. While I, as a romance junkie, longed for more development along those lines, the fast paced action really didn't leave room for it.
Jane is still kick-ass, the plots complicated enough to be interesting, and the prose eminently readable. This series is one I'm definitely following.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: A Muffaletta sandwhich with layers of meat and tangy sauce for the great plot and characters.