1. Jennifer Armintrout: Blood Ties Book Two: Possession
Started Reading: October 2, 2007
Completed Reading: January 5, 2008
Book rating: 8 out of 10 stars
Book Description:
My father always said fear was a weakness. Well, that’s easy to say when you don’t have to worry about vampire slayers or holy water. I hate fear, but undead life goes on. In the two months since I was attacked in the hospital morgue and turned into a vampire, I’ve killed my evil sire, Cyrus, fallen in love with my new sire, Nathan, and have even gotten used to drinking blood. Just when things are finally returning to normal-as normal as they can be when sunlight can kill you-Nathan becomes possessed. And then he slaughters an innocent human.
Now it’s my job to find Nathan before the Voluntary Vampire Extinction Movement does, because they’re just waiting for an excuse to terminate him-and anyone foolish enough to help him. But it gets worse. It turns out that Nathan’s been possessed by one of the most powerful and wicked vampires alive-the Soul Eater. And who knows what vile plan he’s concocted?
With the Soul Eater and my possessed sire on the loose, I have a lot to fear. Including being killed. Again.
My review
I actually started reading this book in October, and got about half way through, until I left for a vacation. After a week’s break in reading, I just couldn’t get into the book again, until I picked it up again in January. :) I’m glad I did, because I definitely wanted to know how this story ends.
Jennifer Armintrout’s books don’t fall into the usual boring romance genre, and I think she has managed to create a world that’s truly her own. There are no clear-cut happy endings, no black and white, and this makes her books stand out. Sometimes this also makes her book very hard to read, as she makes her characters do things that make me uncomfortable. But I like a writer that doesn’t let me off that easily. ;)
I read from the author’s website that she was raised Roman Catholic, which is interesting, because I saw in Cyrus’ thinking aspects that remind me of some conservative Christians. Cyrus kept thinking that if he raped Mouse, he would make her impure or tainted. Their whole sexuality revolved around the concept that sexuality is a sin, and that women’s purity is linked to their virginity. Still, no thought was given to what happens to a man when he has sex… This had me angry and frustrated, and it was weird to read scenes that were obviously meant to be arousing, but instead were extremely disturbing. I wish I knew what the author’s views on sexuality are… Either she is interested in exploring the forbidden and violent corners of the human mind, or she might just be your average victim-blaming misogynist. Or both.
I enjoyed the sequel as much as the first book in the Blood Ties series, The Turning. I think I might have to read books 3 and 4 too, just to know how the story ends. :)
See my review at bookcrossing.
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