Blood Bound - Rachel Vincent

Blood Bound - Rachel Vincent

Grade: Adult - UF

Rating: 5/5 Stars 

By blood, by word, by magic…

Most can't touch the power. But Liv Warren is special— a paranormal tracker who follows the scent of blood.

Liv makes her own rules, and the most important one is trust no one.

But when her friend's daughter goes missing, Liv has no choice but to find the girl. Thanks to a childhood oath, Liv can't rest until the child is home safe. But that means trusting Cam Caballero, the former lover forbidden to her.

Bound by oath and lost in desire for a man she cannot have, Liv is racing to save the child from a dark criminal underworld where secrets, lies, trauma and danger lurk around every corner…every touch…every kiss.

And more blood will be spilled before it's over… (Description from Goodreads)

‘Blood Bound’ is an intense book that tells the story of how a childhood promise to always help and protect best friends can turn into a dangerous game of pain, heartache and fear.

Olivia Warren and Cameron Caballero are Skilled; people born with powers, each with their own specific ability. Despite the many Skills that exist, Liv and Cam are both Trackers, able to draw upon a powerful item and trace it back to the person who it belongs to. Cam works with names, because knowing someone’s name means having power over them. Liv works with blood, pulled by the signature that connected blood samples to their owner. Ex-lovers, Liv and Cam, are forced to work together after 6 years of being apart, to help a friend protect her daughter from being killed; all while trying to work around the control of crime syndicate leaders Jake Tower and Ruben Cavazos, who have an army of Skilled people bound to them by blood; a complicated and risky life to live in.

‘Blood Bound’ doesn’t just keep you on the edge of your seat with its plot, but also with its structure. A first person narration with two narrators; you’re on your toes the entire book, never quite sure who will take over the story in the next chapter. And while Liv’s voice is in control more often than Cam’s, both hold so much power over the story; showing lost love, forbidden love and the desire to be together, all while being caught up in the dangerous war between Tower and Cavazos.

I love how many Skills we come across in 'Blood Bound', there almost seems to be one for everything. A Tracker, Reader (lie detector), Binder (someone who binds others to contracts, usually in blood), Traveller (someone able to use shadows to ‘travel’ anywhere in the world), Seer...the list goes on. We find out about each new Skill as the story progresses, and while all powers have their limitations, it’s hard to not be fascinated by what each Skill can achieve, such as a Traveller being able to find the smallest shadow to escape through. I’d definitely be nervous in the dark knowing someone could come up behind me at any time.

Towards the middle of the book I started forming theories, and a few of them were right; but that only made me enjoy the book more, knowing that exciting plot twists I’d formed in my head were going to actually come true. (It’s sad when you want a certain plot arc to unfold and it doesn’t happen...imagining it in my head is never the same as having the author actually write it down. So well done Ms. Vincent for making my imagination come true). 

I was both happy and sad about the ending. I feel like Liv and Cam's future wasn't completely known; I guess anything can happen, especially with the Skilled involved. But I have a feeling they're not the main characters of book 2 (I'm 90% sure of that). It'll be sad not being in their heads, I've become attached to them over the past couple of days. If they're not the narrators, I hope we still see them in future books, I'd hate for their story to end with 'Blood Bound', although I doubt they'd be gone forever.

An unbelievable read. I can't wait to find out what happens next.

5/5 Stars.

Kim

Originally posted on Goodreads. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/172919260