Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent

Title: Blood Bound (Unbound #1)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Source: Purchased; Ebook 329 pages

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…

My Rating: 5 stars ★★★★★

My Thoughts: 

-->Yet another fabulous novel by Rachel Vincent, as well as an extremely promising start to a new series! The "Skilled" world Vincent creates in her new series, Unbound, is completely different than anything else I've ever read. In this fresh addition to the urban fantasy genre, some people have the ability to see the future, travel through shadows, track someone based on only a name or blood sample, or always know whether or not someone is lying to them. These are just a few of the dozen or so Skills a person may be lucky (or unlucky) enough to have. In a addition to that, all it takes is an oath and a drop of blood to create a bond so strong that one could die trying to break it – tattoos are no longer just aesthetic, but instead are the grim markings of a person’s pledge to another.
How does Vincent come up with stuff like this? It’s brilliant, and once again I must commend the ever-astonishing creativity of authors. I was instantly wrapped up in the story, which besides being totally unique, was jam packed with twists, turns, action, and suspense (as per usual with Vincent’s adult novels). This was one of those gripping stories that keeps you awake until four or five in the morning until you finish the book because you simply cannot put it down [I’m speaking from experience here, hehe *sly smile*]. I give Blood Bound an A+ for originality and plotline.

I also give Blood Bound an A+ for characters and character development. Liv Warren is a total kick-butt chick (very reminiscent of Faythe Sanders, for those of you who have read Vincent’s other adult series, Shifters), Cam Caballero is an adorably sexy drool-worthy dreamboat, Ruben Cavazos is one of those villains that you just loveee to hate, as well as many other interesting less prominent characters – the list goes on and on.

The only aspect of Blood Bound that wasn’t a home run was the alternating POV narration. While it was definitely necessary to have both Liv and Cam as narrators –many details were contingent upon the fact that one character knew something that the other one didn’t- the writing just didn’t flow seamlessly. I often found myself reading the first paragraph or two of a new chapter, getting confused, and then reading the same paragraphs over again realizing that the POV had switched to the other character. Hopefully this is something that will be smoother in Shadow Bound, the next installment of the series.

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 *Check back tomorrow for a giveaway - 

a chance to win your own copy of Blood Bound!*

Cover Musings: I really like this cover, especially the interlocking rings in the title (which ties into the story). However, I think I prefer the UK Cover

Warnings: adult (not YA); lots of violence & profanity; some sex

Next in Series: Shadow Bound

Books Like This: Stray by Rachel Vincent; Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Also just a quick question (for my curiosity): To those of you who have read the book already, which Skill would you most like to have? [Traveler, Seer, Jammer, Blinder, Binder, Tracker, Reader, etc...]