Darkness in the Blood by Vicki Keire

The Basics:
Darkness in the Blood by Vicki Keire
Curiosity Quills
Book Two of the Angel's Edge series
Paranormal Romance
Source: Publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
Published November 11, 2013
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

Second in the series, I wanted to know what happened next!

Blurb:

Caspia Chastain finally has what she’s always wanted. She’s in a supportive, loving relationship with a one-of-a kind guy. (Really. He’s the only one of his kind. Ever.) Her brother is so healthy it’s mildly terrifying. She hasn’t drawn the future in ages, her school schedule is creepy-professor-free, and her job as Whitfield’s only Coffee Goddess remains secure. 

But someone is kidnapping Nephilim descendants and using them to build an army. An unpredictable new gift threatens to consume her. With it comes a persistent dream: a strange young man with gifted blood who may hold the key to her ancestry. 

Ethan has secrets, too. He’s never spoken of his long life before meeting Caspia. When his past catches up with him, it could tear their relationship and the Realms apart. Soon, Caspia and Ethan must discover if the light and life they’ve built together can withstand the gathering darkness.

My thoughts:

So mixed. So, so mixed.

I love the world that Keire's created here - angels who think about things as being black and white, fallen (sometimes crazy) angels with much more agency, humans who are part-angel and have powers, so many secrets....

Just when I thought Caspia was getting to know the truth about the world, we discover she's still a babe in the woods. There's so much that Ethan (her former angel boyfriend), Logan (her brother) and Asheroth (the crazy angel who loved her ancestor) are keeping secret that it's enough to drive a girl mad! Unfortunately, Caspia's partially to blame since she seems to want to keep her head down in the sand except when forced to take action to protect her loved ones.

In fact, I think I liked everything about the book *except* Caspia. Because even when she's pro-active, she's bumbling. She's impulsive when it comes to protecting her family, not consulting them (though, of course, they never consult her either) before she attempts her terrible plans.

The love between Caspia and Ethan and Caspia and Logan is pretty wonderful to witness. I like that everyone stays true to these relationships. Jack, another Nephiliam descendent, could have turned things into a love triangle, as could have Asheroth, but Caspia's deadset on Ethan so there's only even the slightest tease about other possibilities. I was impressed - I've been waiting for an author bold enough to do this!

I had to wonder what happened to Caspia's best friend from the first book when her relationship with Logan is so significant. It felt odd to have her appear only sporadically after she was such a constant companion in the first - particularly with no event leading into that (instead Caspia reflects on it after noticing it herself).

The book ends on a cliffhanger, so if you're in for book two, you've got to stick it out for book three!

Bottom line:

Frustrating book because I love the world and hate the main character. On the plus side, she's very distinctive, with a personality and such instead of just being a blank slate - but she's not particularly clever nor pro-active about her situation and that makes it hard to like her.

I'd recommend this with hesitation.

3.5 stars
For fans of urban fantasy, angels and demons, the first book in the Angel's Edge series.