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In the Blood by Adrian Phoenix
Rating: 7/10
In the Blood continues the story introduced in A Rush of Wings. Now several factions in the Shadow Government are after Heather Wallace for her connection to Dante Baptiste/Prejean and his healing of her in the previous book. Add in fallen angels and vampires and you have the world of this novel.
The biggest problem I have with this series is the setting itself. Vampires and angels just don't coexist well in my mind as a working combination. Angels in our world, fallen or not, was done much better in Thomas Sniegowski's Remy Chandler novels (A Kiss Before the Apocalypse and Dancing on the Head of a Pin).
The other problem I had with this book was the use of Cajun/Creole French, and to a lesser extent, Irish. The French adds important depth to Dante, but I found myself referring to the glossary in the back of the book every couple pages, making me lose the flow of the story.
The Irish words, on the other hand, were totally unneeded. Call Dante a Creator, not a creandwr. I can't pronounce that word. The words for the types of angel-songs were even more unpronounceable.
The characters were likeable and realistic, particularly Heather and Dante. My favorite moment from the book is Dante's restoring the missing leg of Heather's 3 legged cat Eerie.
The bottom line is this was an enjoyable book, well worth borrowing from the library. Be sure to read A Rush of Wings first.
Spoiler after the cut:
I enjoyed how Athena/Hades and her brother Alexander misinterpreted her vision of needing Dante to become a trinity. A trinity was made, but it wasn't Dante, Athena and Alexander. With the Greek references, all I could think of was the prophecy regarding Oedipus.