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kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
My Take
It both cracks me up and impresses me that Rule is able to separate his dual roles and his son-parent relationship with his father. His dad is another one who combines calculation and compassion.
It's Wilks using third person global subjective point-of-view from a variety of perspectives — notably Lily and Rule — that provides us with so much insight.
There is a lot for Lily to learn about lupi culture. Part of which is the ban about lupi getting married. When Rule proposes, it sets off a lot of ill-feeling and anger amongst the lupi. It's bad enough Rule is carrying two mantles! In fact, the whole marriage thing is a serious conflict for Lily and runs throughout the story as she needs a good reason for getting married. Eek! One of the pluses is that lupi revere women and will not tolerate insult to one.
Associating with Rule and his clan also exposes Lily to all the bigotry humans have for lupi. It's very similar (and probably a metaphor) for bigotry against Blacks.
There's more conflict as the good guys concentrate on not breaking the treaty between dragons and Chimei. Talk about hair-splitting! Another quirky perspective is Johnny's justifications as to why he's not a psychopath and why his elastic qualities are good. Cody Beck popping onto the character list introduces yet another conflict — I do like Wilks' characterization of him knowing everyone as well as his acceptance of Lily's choices.
A recurring background laugh is Lily's interactions with her mother. I can relate *grin*. Although, it is Lily's mom who comes up with the reason why marriage is good. Who'd've thunk?
Blood Magic is a pip for revealing Grandmother's early years and how she became involved with Sam. That history also provides background for today's evil persona. Lol, it also explains Grandmother's imperious manner. Talk about a liberated woman! Oh, man! Wait'll you read how Grandmother hid out! So practical, lol. Grandmother does get philosophical at the end, and if I read it slowly, several times, I think I understood what she meant. I think.
Y'know, I could go for World of the Lupi being a TV series — all those hunky men running around in ragged denim shorts . . . hubba-hubba.
The Story
Agent Lily Yu and her Nokolai "prince", Rule Turner, have a bigger problem than their families not accepting their impending human/werewolf mixed marriage, for a powerful ancient nemesis of Lily's grandmother has come to San Diego seeking vengeance and yearning to turn the city into a feeding ground.
The Characters
Agent Lily Yu, a Chinese-American touch sensitive and the Chosen of Rule Turner, has been with Unit 12 of the FBI since last November, transferred from Homicide in the SDPD. Dirty Harry is Lily’s cat who likes Toby. Susan, Lily's older, perfect sister, is a dermatologist. Paul Liu is Susan's husband, a hospital administrator. Beth is Lily's footloose younger sister. Lily's imperious grandmother, Madame Li Lei Yu, is 300+-year-old who can shift into a Siberian tiger and uses magic. Li Qin is Grandmother's companion. Cousin Freddie had been Lily's mother's choice as a bridegroom — he is Chinese after all. Uncle Chen runs a restaurant where Sandra is a server
Rule Turner, the Nokolai "Prince", is a lupus, the Rho of Leidolf (Mortal Sins, 5), and the Lu Nuncio of Nokolai. Toby is Rule's nine-year-old son of whom Rule gained full custody in Mortal Sins.
Rule's bodyguards are a mix of Nokolai and Leidolf and include Eric; LeBron; José, who's head of Rule's security; Jacob; Mark; and, Steve.
Nokolai is . . .
. . . the lupi clan based in San Diego and led by Isen Turner, the Rho. He's also Rule's father. Benedict is an older brother and in charge of Nokolai security. Dr Nettie Two Horses is Benedict's daughter, a medical doctor, a healer, and a shaman. Mick had been ten years older than Rule and jealous of Rule (Tempting Danger, 1). Cullen Seabourne is a sorcerer and newly adopted into Nokolai. The Rhej (Hannah) is old, venerable, and blind with a physical empathy.
Other lupi include Jason Chance is an experienced LVN, Michael, Sean, Piers is a new lupus, Mason is in charge of terra tradis, Paul, John Ino lives in Seattle, Saul has the best nose, the freckled Shannon, Mike Hemmings, Phil, Carl, Remy, and Jones. Some of the guests at the baby party include Sandra Metlock, Sybil is a tender for the kids, Modean Webster, and Teresa Blankenship.
Unit 12, Magical Crimes Division (MCD), FBI, is . . .
. . . newly important since the Turning is led by Ruben Brooks who has a Gift of precognition and a recently diagnosed allergy to iron and steel. Ida is Ruben's terrifying and efficient secretary. Agent Cynna Weaver is a Finder who was selected as the Rhej's apprentice.
San Diego PD
Officer Jesse Munoz investigates a hallucination. Delgado is the chief of police and not enamored of Lily. Magruder and Davis are pathologists. Jamal is a morgue attendant. Lieutenant Thomas "T.J." James had been Lily's mentor back in the day. Camille is T.J.'s wife. Captain Dreyer is a self-important yappy dog-type. Sandy is a sergeant. Garcia used to head patrol.
Deputy Cody Beck had dated Lily back in the day. Hammond and Sheffield had taken Beck's part. Carl Hennessey is deputy chief of operations for the Fire Department.
Sam, a.k.a. Sun Mzao or S'n Mtzo, a black dragon, chose to base himself in San Diego on San Miguel Mountain. Micah is the dragon assigned to Washington D.C. Alec is Chicago's dragon who had his own way of dealing with trespassers, *grin*.
Johnny Deng is an assassin who worships the Chimei, a being who eats fear and intends to take over the earth. Helen, her avatar, had twisted Mick in Tempting Danger. Humans First is a hate group.
The Lady is the Old One who created the lupi to fight her, an Old One who is the lupi's most ancient enemy. The mate bond is a magic from the Lady that enhances the need for physical connection. The Chosen is a woman selected by the Lady for a lupus. The Rhej holds the clan's memories and speaks for the Lady. Terra tradis is a separate location where young lupi about to experience First Change are sent to learn how to control their wolves. Ospi are out-clan friends or guests. The Great War was a battle fought 3,000 years ago between Old Ones as to how much interference would be allowed with humanity.
The Turning is when power winds blew open the barriers between realms last December. Edge, a.k.a. Vei Mo Han, is one of those realms (Night Season, 4). The Dragon Accords is a treaty between earth and the dragons. Mage fire, a.k.a. black fire, can burn anything.
Max is a gnome who owns Club Hell and is a friend. Mel is another gnome who helped with the rescue. Gan is an orange demon we first met inMortal Danger, 2. The old-school Xing Zhou is a gang leader with an import company. Rosa's is a favored Mexican restaurant. Javier is one of T.J.'s snitches. Cruz Montoya leads the Soldados. The Padres are also involved. The Parwanis are a family in the waiting room at the hospital. "Adrian Fisher" is a patient. Dis is a hell region. Adele Blanco wants to sue Lily.
The 44th Year of the Ching Dynasty
Wu An, a commoner who became wealthy from mines, had been Li Lei's father. Qian Ya Bai had been Li Lei's mother and Wu An's first wife. Li Lei's stepmother had meant well, and she and her father had three children: Ji Wun, An Wei, and An Mei. Li Lei had had the Gift of Fire. Shosu and Zi Jeng had been Wu An's servants. Zhi is a neighboring bully and the youngest son of the merchant Jiao. Yi Mé had been Jiao's wife. Chen Wu Yin had the license for collecting night soil.
The Cover and Title
The cover is cityscape dark — black with purple overtones — with an alert Lily Yu in black tank top and jeans holding her gun, her back up against a graffiti strewn wall, knees bent, as she looks right for the danger. At the top is the author's name with an info blurb immediately below it; both in a black-shadowed white. A testimonial in a black-shadowed orange crosses Lily's right thigh. The title begins below Lily's knee in a deep purple and surrounded by yellow and orange flames. Below that is the series info in black-shadowed white.
The title is the threat, the Blood Magic that could take the lupi down.
katyanaish's review against another edition
5.0
beautifuldissonance's review against another edition
5.0
It was also good to see Lily questioning her reasons for agreeing to marry Rule, or rather for wanting to know them explicitly rather than just doing it because it's "what you do". This is one of the things that I like most about Lily, she picks at things until she understands them and she is willing to acknowledge when she is wrong and/or being *irrationally* stubborn. I was also pleased to see Rule acknowledge that he pushed Lily into agreeing to marry him, though I would have liked to see some actual remorse about that.
calycat2's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
nelsonseye's review against another edition
4.0
vsrkive's review against another edition
5.0
And.......................Lily's way of questioning everything made me laugh.
vikcs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
loishojmark's review against another edition
4.0
ac223's review against another edition
4.0
a_novel_ty's review against another edition
5.0
Great thing about this installment of the World of Lupi series was the fact that everyone is back home, in their comfort zone and all of my favorite characters are present. There was no being plopped into a different realm where no one speaks English or where demons are trying to kill you. There was no uncertainty in who could or couldn’t be trusted because you’re in a new town and don’t know anybody. After three books, Rule, Lily, Cullen, Cynna and everyone they care about are home and gearing up to enjoy all the festivities that comes along with a new baby and a new union.
Only thing is...even with all the comfort and security of being in a familiar place, around people you love and know you can trust...trouble still finds a way to creep into their lives and to increase my stress levels!
For the first time in this series, I genuinely felt like something irrevocably horrible was going to happen to one of them. You know how when you’re on a role, you’ve got a streak of good luck or close calls going and so you start to feel like your luck is going to run out and its only a matter of time before something terrible happens. That’s how I felt with this book. Up until this point Lily and her crew have been in tough situations, only JUST skating by unscathed. After five books of close calls and pure luck, I couldn’t help but think the other shoe was going to drop right on my bleeding heart in Blood Magic. Not only because it feels like they’re due for a loss, but because the enemy they had to fight in this book seemed IMPOSSIBLE to defeat. STRESS I tell you, STRESS!
Besides all the chaos, confusion and horror, Blood Magic was a really good book. At the risk of sounding like a broken record...I absolutely LOVE Rule and Lily’s dynamic. Even though they’ve been together less than a year, they sometimes seem like they’ve known one another for an eternity and then there are these moments when you’re reminded of just how fresh and new their relationship is and that they’re still getting to know one another. It’s just interesting and fun to read. I also liked learning more about Lily and her grandmother. Some questions regarding the source of Lily’s “gift” are answered which in turn raised even more questions about her grandmother who is absolutely awe inspiring.
This series seriously has me hooked right now. I’ve been taking my time with reading this year because I have a lot going on and I don’t need the quantity of books I’m reading or not reading, stressing me out even more than I already am. But the good thing about taking my time is I’ve definitely stumbled across some quality stuff and I’ll take that over reading five to seven books a month any day.
I haven’t read the synopsis of the next book in this series yet but as long as I get a ton of Lily, Rule, Cullen, Cynna, Ruben, Max, Isen, Benedict, Li Lei, Li Qin, Sam and Toby, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it...After all, I’m not asking for much!