I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Out for Blood
by
Kristen Painter
It is part of the House of Comarré #4 series and is a urban fantasy in Paperback edition that was published by Orbit on October 30, 2012 and has 480 pages.
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Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Blood Rights, Flesh and Blood, Bad Blood, Last Blood, House of the Rising Sun, City of Eternal Night, Garden of Dreams and Desires, Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case, All Fired Up, "Prologue to The Vampire's Mail Order Bride", The Vampire's Mail Order Bride, The Werewolf Meets His Match, The Gargoyle Gets His Girl, The Professor Woos the Witch, The Vampire's Fake Fiancée, The Shifter Romances the Writer, "The Witch's Halloween Hero", The Dragon Finds Forever, The Vampire's Accidental Wife, The Reaper Rescues the Genie, The Detective Wins The Witch, The Vampire's Priceless Treasure, The Werewolf Dates the Deputy, "When Birdie Babysat Spider", Miss Frost Ices the Imp, Miss Frost Saves the Sandman, Miss Frost Cracks a Caper, Miss Frost Braves the Blizzard, "The Werewolf's Christmas Wish", The Vampire's Cursed Kiss, Her First Taste of Fire, The Trouble With Witches, Moody and the Beast, The Vampire's Sunny Sweetheart, Miss Frost Chills the Cheater, Lost in Las Vegas, Wrapped Up in Christmas, Mystified in Music City, Sucks To Be Me, A Sky Full of Stars, Suck It Up Buttercup, The Forgettable Miss French, Sucker Punch, The Suck Stops Here, Nixed in New Orleans, Miss Frost Says I Do and Spider Too, The Witch's Christmas Catastrophe
Fourth in the House of Comarré urban fantasy series set in an parallel world in a contemporary U.S. — New Florida to be exact.
My Take
Oh, wow. This was a ride-and-a-half, settling some issues and starting up others. And now I have to wait for the next book, Last Blood (and the last! Wahhh). Arghh, I don’ wanna wait!!
Poor Doc’s between a rock and a hard place, and he just isn’t thinking when Fi and Heaven first confront each other. I’m kind of surprised that Fiona is so petty-minded, about the shoes and about Doc’s new problems. I hadn’t expected her to be so insecure. Octavian, on the other hand, is incredible! He has slid into place as Tatiana’s consort so easily, and I was so shocked by his easy out at the end. I would have thought he’d have more on the ball.
Then there’s Tommy. It’s both too easy and too slow for him to figure out what Yahla is up to. He’s just lucky that Annika has shown up!
Hoo-ie, Tatiana really screwed up on this one. Who knew the Castus would take this stand? It so serves her right. I cannot wait until book 5 to find out how the other Dominus take this! I’m wondering if Octavian really killed himself or if Kosmina is also Kubai Mata.
Oh man, Amery and Mortalis bring in a convict fae who can taste Chrysabelle’s gold and tell her what it all means. The payment he demands is…just incredibly high. Too high in my opinion.
The issues between Chrysabelle and Mal felt a little forced, but only a little. It’s absolutely perfect for that nasty, dramatic ending!
The Story
Chrysabelle had the Ring of Sorrows melted down so she could use the sacred gold to recreate her signum tattoos. Only there seem to be some side effects. Now she has two goals: find her brother by blood and discover why she can’t die.
And she doesn’t have time to run errands for the Kubai Mata, no matter what they threaten. Although, the Kubai Mata haven’t learned, yet, what Chyrsabelle did with the Ring of Sorrows.
It’s Williamette Alden’s reasons for quitting as alderman that start Mayor White thinking along these lines. But it’s Yahla possessing Tommy that sets up the disastrous events that has varcolai and vampires furious. It seems that losing her grandchild has unhinged the mayor.
It becomes a quid pro quo when Mal offers to take Doc’s place, but the mayor betrays them out of her own hubris. The pride is demanding a death for Brutus’, and this ought to satisfy them all. Who knew it could have such amazing benefits?
Fiona has her own ideas on how to get Heaven out of Doc’s life. And it seems someone agrees with her.
Meanwhile, Dominic and Katsumi, Mal and Chrysabelle, Amery, and Mortalis have their own rescue mission to fly.
The Characters
Chrysabelle Lapointe is a former comarré, although she had her signums re-tattooed in Bad Blood. Velimai is a wysper fae and serves Chrysabelle as her assistant now that Maris is dead. Jerem is her ursine-shifter driver. Aurelian is the comarré historian.
Malkolm is a noble vampire who was cast out, declared anathema; one who’s in love with Chrysabelle with whom he has a controversial relationship.
Seven
It’s a vampire nightclub which Dominic, the vampire for whom Maris left the comarré, runs. Mortalis is a shadeux fae who works for him. Katsumi Tanaka is a vicious little vampire. Alice is one of the fake comarré and much smarter than most. Luciano is Dominic’s nephew from the House of Paole. He’s a caedo, an elite assassin, but froze on his last job.Tec is a varcolai bouncer.
Preacher is a day-walking vampire who lives in a church. He fell in love with Julia White, the mayor’s daughter, and they had a baby, Mariela. Damian is a comar who defected from Tatiana in Bad Blood. He no longer cares what happens to himself, but he will never bend the knee again. Amery, a shadeux fae, is one of the pilots who flies Mal and Chrysabelle to Europe.
The Varcolai
Maddoc “Doc” Mayes has just inherited all of Sinjin‘s property, his position as leader of the Paradise City pride, his nightclub Bar Nine, and his wife after events in Bad Blood. You can imagine how this makes his girlfriend Fiona feel! Heaven Silva is Sinjin’s wife, a jaguar shifter and the most spoiled bitch you’ll ever meet. Isaiah is his new butler. Both Omur, a cheetah-shifter, and Barasa, the pride’s chief physician and a tiger-shifter, are on Sinjin…er…Doc’s Council.
Rodrigo Silva is Heaven’s father, the São Paulo pride leader of 10,000-plus varcolai. He offers his third son, Remo, to Doc as his third councilor.
The Kubai Mata
Thomas Creek is a felon on parole for what I wouldn’t consider a crime. The Kubai Mata sprang him and now they own his soul. If he wants his family kept safe and himself out of jail. Yahla, a soulseeking half-raven, half woman, a creature from his grandmother’s tales of her people. Rosa Mae Jumper, a.k.a., Mawmaw, is Tommy’s grandmother, a tribe healer.
Lola Diaz White is the mayor of Paradise City. Valerie is her administrative assistant with a crush on John. Police Chief Vernadetto is furious with the mayor about the curfew. John Havoc, a varcolai, is the captain of her security team; Luke Havoc, also varcolai and related to John, recently joined her security. Hilda is her maid who runs out of the house like a bat outta hell. Hector is the comar she buys.
The Elders and Dominus
Tatiana was Malcolm’s human wife, and she’s schemed and killed her way to her current position as the Dominus of the Tepes Clan. Samael has given Lilith to Tatiana to raise and protect. Lord Octavian was Tatiana’s human household chief of staff before she turned him in Flesh and Blood. Lady Daciana is an Elder and one of Tatiana’s who escaped in New Florida. Kosmina, Lilith’s nanny, has a potion for Otavian. Oana is the baby’s wet nurse.
Samael is the head of the Castus Sanguis which created vampires. The Castus have some really nasty ideas of fun, although I think Tatiana deserves everything they do to her.
Lord Grigor is a Dominus; Svetla is his Elder, another poisonous bitch. Lord Syler is Dominus of House of Bathory; Lords Zephrim and Timotheius are also Domini.
The comarré are humans specially bred for the richest, most intoxicating blood. They’re then sold for tremendous sums of money to the vampires who can afford it. Only, they have an ulterio
r motive in their existence. One the vampires would destroy them for if they knew of it. While comarré is an all-encompassing term, it may also refer to a female while a comar is specifically male. Kine is how the vampires refer to humans. An ancient term for cow. Varcolai are animal shifters descended from fallen angels and animals.
Kubai Mata is a powerful organization that cares only for its own ends with a mandate to police the othernaturals. Sector Chief Argent for the KM is a crusty old bastard and a dragonshifter. Annika is a basilisk who replaces Argent.
The Cover and Title
The cover is consistent with the earlier three books. A black, ornately carved frame with a brocade panel beneath the opening and little red skulls that first appear to be roses in the center of each side frames Mari in a contemplative mood. Facing us, Chrysabelle has crossed her arms in front of her, catching her white embroidered and lace-edged dress as it falls from her shoulders. Her white hair is loosely tied back with a long red ribbon, and her head is tilted down as she studies her new signum tattoos. She’s clutching her glowing red sacres, a harbinger of things to come.
Oh yeah, this title is accurate as it seems that everyone is Out for Blood.
