laurenjodi's review against another edition
4.0
Blood Trade
4 Stars
Jane and the Younger brothers travel to Natchez, Mississippi at the behest of the Master of the City who is dealing with a nasty rogue vampire problem. Unfortunately, these rogues prove more difficult to dispose of than expected, and the body count continues to rise. The situation worsens when witches begin disappearing and the men in Jane’s life also arrive on the scene. Jane will have a great deal of juggling to do to restore order…
The focus in this installment is more on the action and excitement of the rogue Naturaleza plot with little progression in Jane’s personal life. There is some repetition of detail that has already been provided in earlier books, but newcomers to the series will probably appreciate the information.
Although Jane’s love life takes a back seat, that is not to say that the men in her life don’t play a role in the story. The love triangle between Jane, Rick and Bruiser continues with Jane still sore over Bruiser’s perceived betrayal and more open to her attraction to Rick. Personally, I’ve never understood this particular relationship as Rick manages to annoy me even before he puts in an actual physical appearance. He is an obnoxious, childish jerk in dire need of a serious ass-kicking. Bruiser on the other hand, is exceedingly swoon-worthy and there are some very intriguing developments in his characterization and it will be interesting to see where Hunter goes with this in the next installments.
The rest of the secondary cast adds another layer of enjoyment to the story, especially Esmee’s shenanigan’s, Leo Machiavellian tendencies, Jane’s banter with Eli and the smoldering looks Eli shares with the lady Sheriff - they are so cute together!
In sum, Blood Trade is a fun read and I really enjoy the sense of family and belonging the Jane is developing with Eli and Alex. My only caveat is the need for a resolution in the love triangle - Jane really needs to make a choice one way or the other.
4 Stars
Jane and the Younger brothers travel to Natchez, Mississippi at the behest of the Master of the City who is dealing with a nasty rogue vampire problem. Unfortunately, these rogues prove more difficult to dispose of than expected, and the body count continues to rise. The situation worsens when witches begin disappearing and the men in Jane’s life also arrive on the scene. Jane will have a great deal of juggling to do to restore order…
The focus in this installment is more on the action and excitement of the rogue Naturaleza plot with little progression in Jane’s personal life. There is some repetition of detail that has already been provided in earlier books, but newcomers to the series will probably appreciate the information.
Although Jane’s love life takes a back seat, that is not to say that the men in her life don’t play a role in the story. The love triangle between Jane, Rick and Bruiser continues with Jane still sore over Bruiser’s perceived betrayal and more open to her attraction to Rick. Personally, I’ve never understood this particular relationship as Rick manages to annoy me even before he puts in an actual physical appearance. He is an obnoxious, childish jerk in dire need of a serious ass-kicking. Bruiser on the other hand, is exceedingly swoon-worthy and there are some very intriguing developments in his characterization and it will be interesting to see where Hunter goes with this in the next installments.
The rest of the secondary cast adds another layer of enjoyment to the story, especially Esmee’s shenanigan’s, Leo Machiavellian tendencies, Jane’s banter with Eli and the smoldering looks Eli shares with the lady Sheriff - they are so cute together!
In sum, Blood Trade is a fun read and I really enjoy the sense of family and belonging the Jane is developing with Eli and Alex. My only caveat is the need for a resolution in the love triangle - Jane really needs to make a choice one way or the other.
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
graff_fuller's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
I am nearing the end of the books that I own (actually may youngest daughter's). One more book. This coming month, September...will be spent on the Space Opera September 2023 readathon, but I may get some other genres in.
This story closed and fixed a number of storylines...that have been hanging. The one with Evan Trueblood was my favourite. It doesn't take up too much of the story, but worked perfectly.
The "love triangle" between Rick, Bruiser and Jane is still around...but it does seem that it is moving in the right trajectory (in my opinion).
There was some good character growth in this story. Jane is hard on herself, and there are SO many holes in her memory, that it is difficult to deal with some of her problems...since she has no idea where they began and what their origins were.
It was good to see a little of her past find some closure. I loved Bobby. It was good to have some representation of character that are on the spectrum.
Jane STILL jumps first, and tries to figure things out "on the fly", but I think she did better in this book.
Soul is a character that I'd like to know a little more about. Not sure it will be good, but it will be interesting.
I'll pick up Black Arts, some time in September, but at least by October.
This story closed and fixed a number of storylines...that have been hanging. The one with Evan Trueblood was my favourite. It doesn't take up too much of the story, but worked perfectly.
The "love triangle" between Rick, Bruiser and Jane is still around...but it does seem that it is moving in the right trajectory (in my opinion).
There was some good character growth in this story. Jane is hard on herself, and there are SO many holes in her memory, that it is difficult to deal with some of her problems...since she has no idea where they began and what their origins were.
It was good to see a little of her past find some closure. I loved Bobby. It was good to have some representation of character that are on the spectrum.
Jane STILL jumps first, and tries to figure things out "on the fly", but I think she did better in this book.
Soul is a character that I'd like to know a little more about. Not sure it will be good, but it will be interesting.
I'll pick up Black Arts, some time in September, but at least by October.
aknas22's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed the expanded cast of characters and learning more about Mithrans creation.
celtypengu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
librovert's review against another edition
4.0
I wanted to hold off on this book and try not to catch up with the end of the series too fast. It didn't work, the cliffhanger at the end of [b:Death's Rival|12889903|Death's Rival (Jane Yellowrock, #5)|Faith Hunter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334254981s/12889903.jpg|18043632] was too brutal. I was disappointed that that issue wasn't really addressed in this book.
Eli and Alex make great companions to Jane, and I especially love the banter between Eli and Jane. With the complicated love-triangle shape constantly surrounding Jane, it's a refreshing change to have a grown man who's not interested in her sexually and I love the little de facto family they make.
I like that now that Jane's secret is out of the closet, she has room to be a bit more bad ass.
We find out what Bruiser has become in the wake of the events of Death's Rival, which brings up interesting questions where Jane's future is concerned. We see Rick who, close to the full moon as this book takes place, is not quite in control and is super territorial - in a pretty obnoxious way, imo. Big Evan and Jane get a great scene together, though the rest of the Truebloods have not yet found their way back into Jane's life. We get some more information about the genesis of the vampires and some other interesting tidbits of vampire lore.
This book seems to imply that everything Jane has done until now (since arriving in New Orleans anyway) has led her to this point. It makes me wonder if there's an even bigger wheel that Lucas de Allyon was merely a part of.
Eli and Alex make great companions to Jane, and I especially love the banter between Eli and Jane. With the complicated love-
I like that now that Jane's secret is out of the closet, she has room to be a bit more bad ass.
We find out what Bruiser has become in the wake of the events of Death's Rival, which brings up interesting questions where Jane's future is concerned. We see Rick who, close to the full moon as this book takes place, is not quite in control and is super territorial - in a pretty obnoxious way, imo. Big Evan and Jane get a great scene together, though the rest of the Truebloods have not yet found their way back into Jane's life. We get some more information about the genesis of the vampires and some other interesting tidbits of vampire lore.
This book seems to imply that everything Jane has done until now (since arriving in New Orleans anyway) has led her to this point. It makes me wonder if there's an even bigger wheel that Lucas de Allyon was merely a part of.
texaswolfman's review against another edition
5.0
Great addition to Yellowrock saga. Cannot wait for the next!
skaiste's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
ac223's review against another edition
3.0
Jane is still tied to Leo after the force feeding, that Bruiser helped with. Even though Jane knows he was under Leo's power, and helpless to resist she can't forget or forgive the betrayal. Ricky is still angry at Jane for accusing him of trying to kill her, and Beast is not happy. Both of the men that Beast sees as her mates, are inaccessible. When Jane gets a job in Mississippi killing the Naturaleza vamps, her, Eli, and the Kid head out to take care of the problem. What she doesn't expect is to find vamps immune to silver, and one of her childhood friends caught up in the trouble.
***Spoilers***
Misha, her daughter Charly, and Bobby another friend from their group home meet up with Jane to discuss the book Misha is writing. What Misha fails to tell Jane is that she is a witch, searching for a vamp to heal her daughter who is dying of cancer. When Misha disappears, leaving Charly and Bobby in her custody, Jane realizes that Bobby (a grown man with the mind of a ten year old) has magical gifts. His prophetic dreams, and magical abilities eventually help Jane to discover where Misha and many other witches are being held captive, powering a very powerful circle the vamps are using to transform other vampires. Ricky and Bruiser are still at each others throats over Jane, even though none of them are together. Eli, Jane and the Kid, are all close as family, and the two end up buying in to Jane's business and becoming partners. In the end, Jane is forced to call in Big Evan, a sorcerer and husband to her ex-best friend Molly, to help them take apart the circle holding the witches captive. They have a heart to heart, which leads me to believe their friendship is still salvageable.
***Spoilers***
Misha, her daughter Charly, and Bobby another friend from their group home meet up with Jane to discuss the book Misha is writing. What Misha fails to tell Jane is that she is a witch, searching for a vamp to heal her daughter who is dying of cancer. When Misha disappears, leaving Charly and Bobby in her custody, Jane realizes that Bobby (a grown man with the mind of a ten year old) has magical gifts. His prophetic dreams, and magical abilities eventually help Jane to discover where Misha and many other witches are being held captive, powering a very powerful circle the vamps are using to transform other vampires. Ricky and Bruiser are still at each others throats over Jane, even though none of them are together. Eli, Jane and the Kid, are all close as family, and the two end up buying in to Jane's business and becoming partners. In the end, Jane is forced to call in Big Evan, a sorcerer and husband to her ex-best friend Molly, to help them take apart the circle holding the witches captive. They have a heart to heart, which leads me to believe their friendship is still salvageable.