Review: Blood Song

Amazon  

Celia is in vampire limbo. She hasn’t joined the ranks of the undead, but she’s no longer human. She’s got fangs, a taste for blood, and superhuman strength; but at the same time she’s awake during the day and can withstand sunlight, holy water, and other vampire repellents.

You see, a security job for a foreign prince who wanted to enjoy the night life on a visit to L.A. turned deadly. During the chaos Celia was attacked by an old vampire—and it’s only the oldest vampires who can create new ones—but the process was interrupted. Instead of dying or being turned, Celia became what’s known in vampire circles as an abomination.

But that’s not the worst thing. Her sire plans to finish the job, and she must find and kill him before he does.

I just want to get something out of the way. I really enjoy Urban Fantasy (for several reasons that I won’t bore you with). I’ve read my share of the kick-butt female variety, and a lot of times it’s frustratingly unrealistic. Often these women are really only men with boobs (can I use that word on this blog?), who are loud, obnoxious, and unsympathetic, who have an emotional breakdown thrown in to make them feel more feminine. Fortunately, BLOOD SONG (Amazon) doesn’t have this problem. Sure Celia could kick your butt, but really it’s nothing personal. It’s her job. She’s a professional bodyguard, and she has the lifestyle, attitude, and skills to prove it. But it doesn’t change the fact that she’s still a girl who’s having a really bad day.

Set in present-day Los Angeles, this is a world of vampires, werewolves, warrior priests, mages, telepaths, and a variety of mythological creatures. Religion does matter. But so does an education in the supernatural. Adams makes sure we understand how things work in this world, what magic is used for, and how the human public deals with the things that go bump in the night. But since Celia isn’t magically gifted, she has to use her smarts, and some trusty gadgets to keep her in the game.

Cat Adams is the pseudonym for the writing duo of C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp, and they have quite a few books under their belts—and it shows. The plot progression proceeds at a great clip, we’re introduced to the large and varied cast without being overwhelmed, the location/magic all make sense and are explained without boring info dumps, and the first-person PoV narrative is engaging and fluid. However, even the most experienced writers can have trouble with a story, and in BLOOD SONG the storytelling suffers from a few hiccups and the plot can get convoluted—while Adams explains things, I still had trouble following who exactly the bad guys were and who/why/what they were up to.

The best thing about this book is the main character Celia, who is likable and interesting. The next best was that the story didn’t go where I expected it to. Sure, like I expected, more things go wrong, we meet more of her friends, learn more of Celia’s history and what makes her tick. But then other characters throw a wrench into the story and Celia has to react. She does the best she can to control what’s going on, but too many times even the best-intentioned people have other ideas; yet others want to use her for their own purposes; and even her own family has surprises in store.

Eventually Celia does take matters into her own hands. But watch out, because this chick refuses to be jerked around.