Rachel Vincent - Blood Bound

Title : Blood Bound
Series : Unbound #1
Release date : August 23, 2011
Publisher : Mira
Genre : Urban Fantasy

As a blood tracker, Liv is extremely powerful. And in a world where power is a commodity that can get you killed, Liv's learnt to survive by her own rules.

Rule number one? Trust no one.

But when a friend's daughter goes missing, Liv is bound by a potent magical oath. She can't rest until the child is safe. And that means trusting her dangerous ex, Cam.

A sinister prophecy tells that she and Cam will be the death of each other, yet Liv's tired of being a slave to destiny. She's ready to play the forces controlling her world at their own game.

No matter what the cost

Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent is the first novel in her new Unbound Series and I have to say I was happily surprised. I’m already a huge fan of her Shifter and Soul Screamers series and it’s real hard to keep it up with those two. But I really think this series will be another great addition to my bookshelves.

She created another fabulous world where “skilled” people are living among the normal humans. One of the skilled people is Olivia “Liv” Warren; she is a tracker who can find anyone by following the pull of blood.

One of her childhood friends Anne pays her a visit, it appears Anne’s husband was killed and she wants Liv to track down the killer. At first Liv doesn’t want to do it, but because of a childhood binding, she and her three friends are bound together by a promise and have to help one of the others when they ask.

But that is not all the trouble she is getting, her ex-lover Cam Caballero is back and he wants to help her find this killer. Since Cam is a powerful name tracker, it’s wise to accept his help. But Cam also wants some answers, as in why she left him al those years ago without any explanation.

From the moment you see Liv & Cam together you know those two belong together and that makes you wonder what happened between them in the past. They both went through some difficult time since their break-up, but I believe they are stronger now than ever. I absolutely love Cam’s determination to get Liv back in his live, no matter the reason why she left in the first place.

Even though this is the first novel in the series and you know it will be full of background information and world explanation, it grabbed me from the beginning. The characters are fabulous; there wasn’t one character I dislike, even the bad guy Cavazos has his great moments and I’m curious to see what bad things he will be doing in the next novel Shadow Bound and if he will give Cam and Liv a hard time. It seems I have to wait and find out.

Rachel Vincent - My Soul to take

After the car accident that has killed her mother and nearly killed her, she was left with her uncle and aunt by her father. Now Kaylee is a teenager, but she has a gift or curse, that depends how you see it. She can sense when someone around her is going to die and when she sees that she has the urge to scream. And Kaylee will do anything to prevent that from happening, because the last time she screamed, her uncle and aunt took her to the Mental Health Institution.

But everything seems to be okay, no more panic attacks, as she calls them. But then one night Kaylee and her best friend Emma sneak into a dance club. The night is going well and even the hottest guy on school Nash has all eyes for Kaylee, but then the moment she lays eyes on a young girl with that black aura around her, she knows it’s all going to happen again, this young girl is going to die…soon.

For some strange reason Nash is the one who can calms her down, before the screaming starts and it even gets worst, when he doesn’t seem turned off by her strange behaviour. Kaylee wonders why he really wants to be with her, does he knows something she’s not?

My Soul to take by Rachel Vincent is her first novel in her Young Adult series, the Soul Screamer. I’ve read the prequel just recently and was very curious to see what would happen to Kaylee after her breakdown and wonder what she really was. Well I can tell you that it will come clear in this first novel.

Kaylee is a strong determined young woman and she has something inside her, something she doesn’t really want, but cannot get rid off. She doesn’t understand it and really think she is loosing her mind. But when the panic attacks get worse and the only person who can calm her during these attacks is the hottest guy in school, Nash Hudson. But what she doesn’t understand is why he’s doing this, she is beautiful, like her best friend Emma or her cousin Sophie, she is just a normal girl.

Then young women are mysteriously dying and Kaylee predicts all of this with her premonitions and knows she has to do something to save the next girl. She turns to her Aunt, but is easily dismissed. But then she overhears her Uncle and Aunt talking to her father on the phone, something about telling her the truth about herself. She is furious and is determined to find out what is going on. But she needs to know now and cannot wait for her father to arrive from Ireland, so she turns to her new boyfriend Nash and what he tells her is something she can hardly believe.

I have to say this novel was a real surprise, I knew that is was going to be a young adult but I didn’t mind at all. The mystery behind Kaylee and her powers, her determination to solve the death of these young girls and even save some is so fabulous, that I couldn’t put the book down, the pages were flying by. I truly can say I enjoyed the book.

Rachel Vincent - My Soul to lose (prequel)

This short story is about Kaylee, a teenager with a gift or a curse, expect how you see it. When Kaylee is shopping with her best friend Emma, she sees some black shadows around a young kid in a wheelchair. For some reason Kaylee knows this kid is going to die soon, she want to warn this kid and his parents, but the moment she opens her mouth the only thing she can do is scream. Her Friend Emma calls Kaylee’s aunt and before Kaylee know she is committed in a mental health institution.

Kaylee know she cannot tell anyone what she saw, but she also know she is not crazy. She can convince her Uncle Brennan to get her out of the institution and re-cover the incident at home.

But will it be over….or is she’s loosing her mind???

My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent is the prequel in the Soul Screamers series. This short story is definitely an Young Adult and you could that it is just to show you what Kaylee is capable of, but not really shows you what she is or what is going to happen with her. You definitely need the first novel in this series to find that out.

I found this short story very intriguing and I’m definitely going to read the next novel to see what Rachel Vincent has in mind for Kaylee

Rachel Vincent - Stray

America is divided into different territories where Prides are calling the shots, each Pride has an alpha leader and a lot of male tomcats. But the female tabbies are the ones that are rare and very valuable to the pride, so they are protected at any cost. Then you have the free zone, where the strays are living or at least they suppose to, the are werecats who were born human, but surviving a scratch or bite for another stray.

Faythe Sanders is one of those rare female tabbies and her father is the alpha leader of one of the territories. In the past Faythe tried to escape the Pride because she wanted and needed her freedom, but she always got caught and the punishment was huge. At the age of eighteen she walked out on her engagement to her Alpha father’s top enforcer, Marc Ramos and went to school to get her degree. Her father wasn’t happy about it, but agrees with this arrangement. Faythe always knew she was being watch by one of the male tomcats at all time and she manage to stay out of the Pride for several years, but now someone is abducting female tabbies. So Marc is send to drag her back to her family ranch for protection.

Although Faythe is glad to see her family again she cannot shake the feeling off that she is a prisoner in her own house. When Marc informs her that her father has been secretly grooming her to take over the pride as the new alpha, she knows she has to escape as soon as possible. But her freedom is short when she is ambushed and knocked unconscious, the moment she wakes up she know her kidnapper is one of the brutal stray, who is abducting tabbies. Faythe know she cannot let her guard down, otherwise she will end up dead.

Stray by Rachel Vincent is her first novel in her Shifter series and I have to say I was surprised. A friend of my recommend it to me and I trust her judgement, so I bought it. I can honestly say I was surprise to learn that this first novel was better then I expected. Of course it has a lot of information and world building in it, but you could really feel Faythe’s emotion to keep her freedom.

Faythe Sanders is a young woman who desperately wants to keep her freedom, so after graduation she stay at campus and sign up for other classes. She know her fahter’s enforcers are keeping an eye on her. But then one night she’s attacked by a stray and was able to escape, but finding Marc on her doorstep was not according plan.

What I really like is to see Faythe’s struggle in life to remain the freedom she desperately want. She knows the rules of the pride, but doesn’t want anything to do with it. But she cannot ignore the attraction of her were cat deep down inside her, she loves to let the cat out and run in the wood. And some gorgeous tomcats around her aren’t helping either.

If you are a fan of urban fantasy and paranormal and you love were shifter, then this is the series for you. I truly can say Faythe is a real kick ass chick who knows exactly want and who she wants.