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House of Comarré #4
Out for Blood
After nearly dying at the hands of the Aurelian, Chrysabelle finds new determination to move beyond life as a ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé. That is until the Kubai Mata bring a new task to her rescue the child Tatiana has kidnapped, or Mal becomes enemy number one.
480 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2012
70 people are currently reading
2040 people want to read
About the author
Kristen Painter
354Ìýbooks3,342ÌýfollowersKristen Painter likes to balance her obsessions with shoes and cats by making the lives of her characters miserable and surprising her readers with interesting twists. She currently writes award-winning paranormal romance, paranormal women's fiction, and cozy mysteries. The former college English teacher can often be found on twitter @Kristen_Painter, Facebook at where she loves to interact with readers and her blog: .
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 167 reviews
December 1, 2012
Spoilers
This was rubbish but I pretty much knew that going in since most UF/PNR/YA books are crap after the second or third installment in the series.
The plot and characters were the same old recycled rubbish from earlier books - Chrysabelle moaned about her dead mum and long lost brother, Mal brooded about Chrysabelle and the evul bastard he used to be, Creek went around thinking he was badarse even though he wasn't, Lola acted like an idiot, Tatiana was her normal mental self and Doc/Fi had yet another obstacle in their relationship.
I used to like Chrysabelle but she's become insufferable and annoying � her obsession with finding her brother pissed me off. She went on and on about her brother and then when the thick cow did finally find him, she ignored him so she could fuck Mal. Why did she make such a song and dance about saving her brother and getting to know him, only to forget about him once they reunited?! Ugh..for the last couple of books she kept banging on about her brother and then the silly cow fucks him over for Mal.
At least the virginal bitch finally had sex! I was happy that the frigid cow finally did it but then that was kind of ruined at the end when she found out she was pregnant. So the first time she has sex she's up the duff..now instead of banging about her brother she's going to bang on about her pwecious baby..ugh.
Mal was the same old, typical hero � there was nothing memorable or unique about him. I did like that he turned evul, I hope he makes Chrysabelle's life hell at least for a little while before he inevitably gets saved by wuv.
I hated Mal/Chrysabelle's relationship - Mal threw a hissy fit every time Chrysabelle didn't listen to him or confide in him but whenever Mal acted secretive and did his own thing he expected Chrysabelle to respect his boundaries and shit. So like every couple in UF/PNR/YA it's okay for the hero to act broody, keep secrets and do whatever the fuck he wants but if the heroine doesn't obey the hero and tell him every little thing she's an evul bitch and needs to beg for the hero's forgiveness. FUCK THAT!
Lola and Creek were boring. Creek doesn't even fit in with anyone else's story � he's a dumb, pointless character.
Doc and Fi's relationship grated on me, they used to be adorable but now they're irritating. All Fi did was whinge about Doc, and Doc didn't even seem to give a fuck about Fi anymore � he was more interested in his new role as alpha. So that's yet another once great couple ruined.
Chrysabelle and Fi were the only 'decent' female characters � the rest were all evul, insane, irredeemable bitches. Whereas pretty much all the male characters were depicted as all right guys. Why do most authors portray females so badly?! Ugh.
For completions sake I'll probably read the rest of the series but I'll get it from ye olde library instead of buying it.
This was rubbish but I pretty much knew that going in since most UF/PNR/YA books are crap after the second or third installment in the series.
The plot and characters were the same old recycled rubbish from earlier books - Chrysabelle moaned about her dead mum and long lost brother, Mal brooded about Chrysabelle and the evul bastard he used to be, Creek went around thinking he was badarse even though he wasn't, Lola acted like an idiot, Tatiana was her normal mental self and Doc/Fi had yet another obstacle in their relationship.
I used to like Chrysabelle but she's become insufferable and annoying � her obsession with finding her brother pissed me off. She went on and on about her brother and then when the thick cow did finally find him, she ignored him so she could fuck Mal. Why did she make such a song and dance about saving her brother and getting to know him, only to forget about him once they reunited?! Ugh..for the last couple of books she kept banging on about her brother and then the silly cow fucks him over for Mal.
At least the virginal bitch finally had sex! I was happy that the frigid cow finally did it but then that was kind of ruined at the end when she found out she was pregnant. So the first time she has sex she's up the duff..now instead of banging about her brother she's going to bang on about her pwecious baby..ugh.
Mal was the same old, typical hero � there was nothing memorable or unique about him. I did like that he turned evul, I hope he makes Chrysabelle's life hell at least for a little while before he inevitably gets saved by wuv.
I hated Mal/Chrysabelle's relationship - Mal threw a hissy fit every time Chrysabelle didn't listen to him or confide in him but whenever Mal acted secretive and did his own thing he expected Chrysabelle to respect his boundaries and shit. So like every couple in UF/PNR/YA it's okay for the hero to act broody, keep secrets and do whatever the fuck he wants but if the heroine doesn't obey the hero and tell him every little thing she's an evul bitch and needs to beg for the hero's forgiveness. FUCK THAT!
Lola and Creek were boring. Creek doesn't even fit in with anyone else's story � he's a dumb, pointless character.
Doc and Fi's relationship grated on me, they used to be adorable but now they're irritating. All Fi did was whinge about Doc, and Doc didn't even seem to give a fuck about Fi anymore � he was more interested in his new role as alpha. So that's yet another once great couple ruined.
Chrysabelle and Fi were the only 'decent' female characters � the rest were all evul, insane, irredeemable bitches. Whereas pretty much all the male characters were depicted as all right guys. Why do most authors portray females so badly?! Ugh.
For completions sake I'll probably read the rest of the series but I'll get it from ye olde library instead of buying it.
October 18, 2017
THIS SERIES KILLS ME!
October 28, 2012
4.5 out of 5 Stars. Out for Blood is the fourth book in the House of Comarrè series written by Kristen Painter, a paranormal and urban fantasy author. It should be noted that a novella is also included in the series. I was first introduced to the writing of Ms. Painter by way of Twitter. A paranormal author that I follow, Jeannie Frost, who writes the Red Reaper series tweeted that she was reading Ms. Painter after hearing her give a reading at the Authors After Dark convention in New Orleans, L.A. I ended up heading over to Amazon and purchased the first book in the series, Blood Rights. I was a quarter through that book when I purchased the remainder of the series.
In that first book, Blood Rights, you are introduced to a world that Painter builds. It’s in the not too distant future, a future that is not that far removed from our very present. This enables the reader to slide right into the world of the Comarrè, a race of both women and men who are bred to provide their superior blood as food for vampire nobles. They have been bred and trained to serve the noble vampire needs, whom they call patrons. Enormous sums of money are paid to acquire these unique individuals for their blood. What this money is used for remains a mystery, as the Comarrè appear to no more than blood slaves, well taken care of slaves but slaves none the less. Their skin has been gilded with sacred gold tattoos called signum that purifies the blood further and has magical properties. Their blood is so unique it can make a dead vampire’s body come alive for a brief time. The exchange is not without benefits to the Comarrè as it extends their lives, youth and increases their strength. A Comarrè because of this exchange of saliva can live almost forever.
In the world that Painter builds, the reader finds out that not all vampire are created equal, some are nobles (comprising five houses), some are fringe (those born of non noble blood lines) remnant (little more than animal) and anathema (those who walked away from their noble lives or were cast out). The world is also inhabited by fae, varcolai (animal shape shifters) and a whole host of otherworldly individuals all living in society unbeknownst to regular humans. The humans that actually know about the otherworldly species are called kine, they live to provide domestic help for the vampires.
The reader is plunged into this world with the heroine Comarrè Chysabelle, a anathema vampire Malkolm, a varcolai Maddox, Fiona a ghost, Creek a Kubai Mati (a secret society supposed to protect humanity) member and a host of secondary characters. Painter did an excellent job of keeping this reader on the edge of her seat. In Painter’s world you hit the ground running, these are not stand alone books and I like she doesn’t spend time going over plot points covered in the previous books. In Out for Blood the book picks up right where the previous book Bad Blood ended.
The action begins in New Florida 2067, with Mal and Chysabelle in bed. Now don’t get too excited, remember she had just been killed by the Aurelian and revived by the ring of sorrows magic. I would say that is a handy piece of magic to have had stitched into ones back. Of course Chrysabelle being the stubborn heroine we have all come to love doesn’t want to hear what Mal has to say on the matter of her supposed death, and ends up throwing him out. Of course nothing is ever simple for Mal and Chrysabelle, as the last three books have demonstrated. This is what I like about Painter’s writing the action comes at the reader, and you might think you are being led one way and bam she turns you in a completely different direction. I admire Chrysabelle, her stubborn streak may complicate her life, but it makes for a strong heroine that isn’t going to back down. When she makes a decision she commits herself totally to that avenue. She may have to be saved a time or two, but she is just as capable of gutting someone as kissing them. How Chrysabelle was able to hide such a dominate personality in the guise of a submissive Comarrè for 115 years, shows the strength of the Comarrè’s secret training. She is still learning how to live outside of the Comarrè society she was bred into, and dealing with her driving need to find her brother. The ramifications of the gold from the ring of sorrows being stitched into her flesh further complicates an already full life. To have sacrificed her life for the greater good for 115 years and to continue to sacrifice for the greater good is starting to wear on Chrysabelle. When will it be her time to live, love and treasure life?
I am also deeply in love with the complex man Mal is, not only is he a vampire but he is living under two curses. The first cure was placed because he killed his sire, the vampire who killed his family and turned him. You see poor Mal can’t just take a sip or two of blood, his original curse is that he has to drain everyone he drinks from, so for 450 odd years he was a killing machine. The second curse was placed on him by his vengeful vampire wife and fellow vampires to contain his blood lust. The second curse is that the poor guy has to live with every soul of every being he has ever killed living inside him, tormenting him and driving him to kill again. He was also locked in a dungeon and allowed to desiccate, into a husk but still alive. It’s bad enough he was shunned as a human because he was an executioner, but even as a vampire he became a monster amongst monsters. It may have driven him a little insane, but that would just be rude to point out. He hasn’t killed or drank from the vein in over fifty years, his last victim is the ever present ghost Fiona, the poor graduate student and last of Mal’s victims. He discovered when he killed her, the second curse kicked in, and she manifested not just as a voice in his head, but also as your friendly neighborhood Casper, possible not friendly from the start, but Fiona has come to care greatly about her killer. As beautiful as Chrysabelle gold tattoos are on her alabaster skin, each one of Mal’s victims is emblazoned on his flesh. Despite his past or because of it Mal is a good man, with a heart that may not beat, but has been captured by Chyrsabelle. He feels enormous guilt over what happened to Chysabelle as a result of paying her debt to him. Mal is on of the most complex male characters that I have had the pleasure to read. Meeting Chyrsabelle has changed him for the better.
Painter doesn’t tell just one story in her books, she has multiple threads going on inside the main one of the adventures of Mal and Chrysabelle. Chrysabelle has to discover who she is now, and what Mal truly means to her. Painter weaves a thrilling tapestry amongst the characters plots, where the reader is taken on very thought provoking adventure. The evil Tatiana has her hands full with being Dominus and with baby Lilith. I was thrilled to get a larger view into the world of the nobles. I was also surprised to like Tatiana in the interaction she had with Lilith and Octavian. Doc (Maddox) is pride leader of the feline varcolai, the position came with an inherited wife and Fiona is out in the cold. The varcolai who were just touched upon in prior books have become an entire group that the reader gets to explore. Creek has his problems with the Kubai Mati, Yahla the soulless woman, and city hall. Creek has to come to terms as to what he has gotten himself into, plus dealing with the recovery of Paradise City from Samhain.. The reader also gets plenty of my two favorite secondary characters Mortalis the shaduex fae, along with Velimai the wysper fae. It all makes for one fantastic adventure. There are enough twist and turns to keep any urban fantasy paranormal fan on the roller coaster ride which is the House of Comarrè. The plot also deals with the politics of regular humans knowing that the monsters of their nightmares are real and the fall out of the covenant being broken. I would highly recommend this book, and I can’t wait for more adventures from Painter, and her cast of characters.
In that first book, Blood Rights, you are introduced to a world that Painter builds. It’s in the not too distant future, a future that is not that far removed from our very present. This enables the reader to slide right into the world of the Comarrè, a race of both women and men who are bred to provide their superior blood as food for vampire nobles. They have been bred and trained to serve the noble vampire needs, whom they call patrons. Enormous sums of money are paid to acquire these unique individuals for their blood. What this money is used for remains a mystery, as the Comarrè appear to no more than blood slaves, well taken care of slaves but slaves none the less. Their skin has been gilded with sacred gold tattoos called signum that purifies the blood further and has magical properties. Their blood is so unique it can make a dead vampire’s body come alive for a brief time. The exchange is not without benefits to the Comarrè as it extends their lives, youth and increases their strength. A Comarrè because of this exchange of saliva can live almost forever.
In the world that Painter builds, the reader finds out that not all vampire are created equal, some are nobles (comprising five houses), some are fringe (those born of non noble blood lines) remnant (little more than animal) and anathema (those who walked away from their noble lives or were cast out). The world is also inhabited by fae, varcolai (animal shape shifters) and a whole host of otherworldly individuals all living in society unbeknownst to regular humans. The humans that actually know about the otherworldly species are called kine, they live to provide domestic help for the vampires.
The reader is plunged into this world with the heroine Comarrè Chysabelle, a anathema vampire Malkolm, a varcolai Maddox, Fiona a ghost, Creek a Kubai Mati (a secret society supposed to protect humanity) member and a host of secondary characters. Painter did an excellent job of keeping this reader on the edge of her seat. In Painter’s world you hit the ground running, these are not stand alone books and I like she doesn’t spend time going over plot points covered in the previous books. In Out for Blood the book picks up right where the previous book Bad Blood ended.
The action begins in New Florida 2067, with Mal and Chysabelle in bed. Now don’t get too excited, remember she had just been killed by the Aurelian and revived by the ring of sorrows magic. I would say that is a handy piece of magic to have had stitched into ones back. Of course Chrysabelle being the stubborn heroine we have all come to love doesn’t want to hear what Mal has to say on the matter of her supposed death, and ends up throwing him out. Of course nothing is ever simple for Mal and Chrysabelle, as the last three books have demonstrated. This is what I like about Painter’s writing the action comes at the reader, and you might think you are being led one way and bam she turns you in a completely different direction. I admire Chrysabelle, her stubborn streak may complicate her life, but it makes for a strong heroine that isn’t going to back down. When she makes a decision she commits herself totally to that avenue. She may have to be saved a time or two, but she is just as capable of gutting someone as kissing them. How Chrysabelle was able to hide such a dominate personality in the guise of a submissive Comarrè for 115 years, shows the strength of the Comarrè’s secret training. She is still learning how to live outside of the Comarrè society she was bred into, and dealing with her driving need to find her brother. The ramifications of the gold from the ring of sorrows being stitched into her flesh further complicates an already full life. To have sacrificed her life for the greater good for 115 years and to continue to sacrifice for the greater good is starting to wear on Chrysabelle. When will it be her time to live, love and treasure life?
I am also deeply in love with the complex man Mal is, not only is he a vampire but he is living under two curses. The first cure was placed because he killed his sire, the vampire who killed his family and turned him. You see poor Mal can’t just take a sip or two of blood, his original curse is that he has to drain everyone he drinks from, so for 450 odd years he was a killing machine. The second curse was placed on him by his vengeful vampire wife and fellow vampires to contain his blood lust. The second curse is that the poor guy has to live with every soul of every being he has ever killed living inside him, tormenting him and driving him to kill again. He was also locked in a dungeon and allowed to desiccate, into a husk but still alive. It’s bad enough he was shunned as a human because he was an executioner, but even as a vampire he became a monster amongst monsters. It may have driven him a little insane, but that would just be rude to point out. He hasn’t killed or drank from the vein in over fifty years, his last victim is the ever present ghost Fiona, the poor graduate student and last of Mal’s victims. He discovered when he killed her, the second curse kicked in, and she manifested not just as a voice in his head, but also as your friendly neighborhood Casper, possible not friendly from the start, but Fiona has come to care greatly about her killer. As beautiful as Chrysabelle gold tattoos are on her alabaster skin, each one of Mal’s victims is emblazoned on his flesh. Despite his past or because of it Mal is a good man, with a heart that may not beat, but has been captured by Chyrsabelle. He feels enormous guilt over what happened to Chysabelle as a result of paying her debt to him. Mal is on of the most complex male characters that I have had the pleasure to read. Meeting Chyrsabelle has changed him for the better.
Painter doesn’t tell just one story in her books, she has multiple threads going on inside the main one of the adventures of Mal and Chrysabelle. Chrysabelle has to discover who she is now, and what Mal truly means to her. Painter weaves a thrilling tapestry amongst the characters plots, where the reader is taken on very thought provoking adventure. The evil Tatiana has her hands full with being Dominus and with baby Lilith. I was thrilled to get a larger view into the world of the nobles. I was also surprised to like Tatiana in the interaction she had with Lilith and Octavian. Doc (Maddox) is pride leader of the feline varcolai, the position came with an inherited wife and Fiona is out in the cold. The varcolai who were just touched upon in prior books have become an entire group that the reader gets to explore. Creek has his problems with the Kubai Mati, Yahla the soulless woman, and city hall. Creek has to come to terms as to what he has gotten himself into, plus dealing with the recovery of Paradise City from Samhain.. The reader also gets plenty of my two favorite secondary characters Mortalis the shaduex fae, along with Velimai the wysper fae. It all makes for one fantastic adventure. There are enough twist and turns to keep any urban fantasy paranormal fan on the roller coaster ride which is the House of Comarrè. The plot also deals with the politics of regular humans knowing that the monsters of their nightmares are real and the fall out of the covenant being broken. I would highly recommend this book, and I can’t wait for more adventures from Painter, and her cast of characters.
January 21, 2013
God, I hate it when books make me want to rush through summer!
Best cover so far!
The 2 likes are for my comment about the book before it was released, not for the review.
This would’ve been a higher rated book but a few WTF?! things at the end lowered it a little for me. I will talk about things that happened in previous books and this will be a major spoiler-laden review but they will be hidden, so only look if you’ve read the book or want to find out all of the big twists.
Chrysabelle’s still trying to figure out what’s going on with the gold from the Ring of Sorrows, which was used to restore the signum that had been stripped from her back, and some very interesting side effects have come to light. With about a million other things going on, the world coming to grips with the outing of otherworldly creatures, Doc trying to settle into his new role as pack leader and Fi trying to figure out where that leaves her, along with coming to terms with the fact that Damien may be her brother, the Kubai Mata come to her with an ultimatum: retrieve the half-vampire baby, Lilith, who remains in Tatiana’s care or Mal will die.
The storyline with Doc and Fi had me sweating bullets, I kept thinking, if Painter does x, y or z, I’m done with this freaking series! Luckily, she resolved everything to my satisfaction, though there are still some unknowns in their storyline, but I have a pretty good guess about , and hopefully the next book will clue us in on what’s going on.
Though I had high hopes for the storyline involving Creek and Yahla, I found it to be one of the most disappointing in the series so far. Not that it wasn’t good, I just thought that . And don’t get me started on the mayor. I have no idea where this storyline is going .
I’ve said it before in reviews and I’ll say it again. I don’t need sex scenes. I prefer actual plots to storylines that revolve solely around the main character getting laid. That said
While I think it’s great that Painter hasn’t given up all of her secrets about Chrysabelle and the other characters, I’m seriously wondering when we’re going to find out about what went down between her aunt and Dominic. The suspense is driving me crazy, and the longer we don’t know, the more awesome and shocking I think this storyline must be, so I hope the author doesn’t disappoint. I also hope we get some resolution about the whole brother storyline, because I’m not convinced things are what we’re being led to believe. And though I know it’s hard because there are so many characters, I’d love even more of Mortalis, who had a larger storyline, and Dominic, who we barely saw at all.
The other twist that surprised me, though in this book with some of the hints that were being dropped I can’t say I was totally shocked, was What totally pissed me off about this revelation was the fact that .
Now, if you’ve ever read any of my reviews, you’ll know that I hate it when it’s usually a total jump the shark moment for me, I’m just hoping Painter finds a way to turn the boat around before we reach the ramp, but I’m more than a little worried it’s too late.
I love this series, despite the things that annoyed me in this book, and the fact that Painter puts out a book about every six months and am still looking forward to Last Blood, though with a bit of trepidation due to the possible jump the shark twist at the end.
Best cover so far!
The 2 likes are for my comment about the book before it was released, not for the review.
This would’ve been a higher rated book but a few WTF?! things at the end lowered it a little for me. I will talk about things that happened in previous books and this will be a major spoiler-laden review but they will be hidden, so only look if you’ve read the book or want to find out all of the big twists.
Chrysabelle’s still trying to figure out what’s going on with the gold from the Ring of Sorrows, which was used to restore the signum that had been stripped from her back, and some very interesting side effects have come to light. With about a million other things going on, the world coming to grips with the outing of otherworldly creatures, Doc trying to settle into his new role as pack leader and Fi trying to figure out where that leaves her, along with coming to terms with the fact that Damien may be her brother, the Kubai Mata come to her with an ultimatum: retrieve the half-vampire baby, Lilith, who remains in Tatiana’s care or Mal will die.
The storyline with Doc and Fi had me sweating bullets, I kept thinking, if Painter does x, y or z, I’m done with this freaking series! Luckily, she resolved everything to my satisfaction, though there are still some unknowns in their storyline, but I have a pretty good guess about , and hopefully the next book will clue us in on what’s going on.
Though I had high hopes for the storyline involving Creek and Yahla, I found it to be one of the most disappointing in the series so far. Not that it wasn’t good, I just thought that . And don’t get me started on the mayor. I have no idea where this storyline is going .
I’ve said it before in reviews and I’ll say it again. I don’t need sex scenes. I prefer actual plots to storylines that revolve solely around the main character getting laid. That said
While I think it’s great that Painter hasn’t given up all of her secrets about Chrysabelle and the other characters, I’m seriously wondering when we’re going to find out about what went down between her aunt and Dominic. The suspense is driving me crazy, and the longer we don’t know, the more awesome and shocking I think this storyline must be, so I hope the author doesn’t disappoint. I also hope we get some resolution about the whole brother storyline, because I’m not convinced things are what we’re being led to believe. And though I know it’s hard because there are so many characters, I’d love even more of Mortalis, who had a larger storyline, and Dominic, who we barely saw at all.
The other twist that surprised me, though in this book with some of the hints that were being dropped I can’t say I was totally shocked, was What totally pissed me off about this revelation was the fact that .
Now, if you’ve ever read any of my reviews, you’ll know that I hate it when it’s usually a total jump the shark moment for me, I’m just hoping Painter finds a way to turn the boat around before we reach the ramp, but I’m more than a little worried it’s too late.
I love this series, despite the things that annoyed me in this book, and the fact that Painter puts out a book about every six months and am still looking forward to Last Blood, though with a bit of trepidation due to the possible jump the shark twist at the end.
September 28, 2024
Four novels... I waited four novels for the slow burn to ignite, and all we got was a fade to black. Two stars for getting ripped off.
November 17, 2012
Out for blood confirmed the ability of the writer to create a unique world and with new elements and themes widely known and inflated, like vampires, shapeshifters, witches. The power remains, in my opinion, the characters and their character and relate to one another. Strong personality and at the same time sensitive, people who are not only beautiful and charming on the outside.
In this book , Crysabelle faces the transformations in her after after a new tatoo with molten gold ring of sorrow: she died once already and is magically come to life. Then there Damian, who she believes is her brother and that is now gone and there is always the girl-vampire that causes confusion and different reactions from many people interested in her. Crysabelle can count on Mal and finally understands that their feelings to each other are real and deep.
This book, long enough, promises and keeps all the conditions that were in the background. Emotions and feelings of the characters, varied and well designed by the author, stories that take place in parallel in the same period of time, which describe a world in the near future charming but cruel and then intrigue and suspense that are always vigilant in reading . A unique feature of the absence of explicit sex scenes, somewhat new to the genre only chaste kisses and warm hugs for couples in love in these books.
I was ready to give it five stars, because the story is really intense and exciting but in the end the writer wanted to surprise me again, and when it seemed all resolved ... so I are forced to hold my breath waiting for the next book : I can not wait!
In this book , Crysabelle faces the transformations in her after after a new tatoo with molten gold ring of sorrow: she died once already and is magically come to life. Then there Damian, who she believes is her brother and that is now gone and there is always the girl-vampire that causes confusion and different reactions from many people interested in her. Crysabelle can count on Mal and finally understands that their feelings to each other are real and deep.
This book, long enough, promises and keeps all the conditions that were in the background. Emotions and feelings of the characters, varied and well designed by the author, stories that take place in parallel in the same period of time, which describe a world in the near future charming but cruel and then intrigue and suspense that are always vigilant in reading . A unique feature of the absence of explicit sex scenes, somewhat new to the genre only chaste kisses and warm hugs for couples in love in these books.
I was ready to give it five stars, because the story is really intense and exciting but in the end the writer wanted to surprise me again, and when it seemed all resolved ... so I are forced to hold my breath waiting for the next book : I can not wait!
December 3, 2013
2.5 Stars
I probably would have given this 3 stars because the arc with Creek and the other woman got closed up, but the book ends on yet another ugly cliff hanger, there are editing inconsistencies, the long awaited first coitus between the primary protags is done in fade-to-black, and Chrysabelle is still insufferably narcissistic.
POV now has to move around to accommodate all the characters that have been brought into the story. In fact a new character was introduced in this book. It makes for jarring shifts that happen several times a chapter.
There were interesting and unexpected twists but none of them were especially "feel good."
I've invested enough time in this story that I want to know how it ends and will read the last one in the series, but I don't see myself getting invested in new series by this author. I have no trust or faith in her integrity regarding the "unspoken contract" with the reader.
I probably would have given this 3 stars because the arc with Creek and the other woman got closed up, but the book ends on yet another ugly cliff hanger, there are editing inconsistencies, the long awaited first coitus between the primary protags is done in fade-to-black, and Chrysabelle is still insufferably narcissistic.
POV now has to move around to accommodate all the characters that have been brought into the story. In fact a new character was introduced in this book. It makes for jarring shifts that happen several times a chapter.
There were interesting and unexpected twists but none of them were especially "feel good."
I've invested enough time in this story that I want to know how it ends and will read the last one in the series, but I don't see myself getting invested in new series by this author. I have no trust or faith in her integrity regarding the "unspoken contract" with the reader.
November 7, 2012
Massively disappointing and a huge waste of time. Four books for a non-existant sex scene? Infuriating. Skipped over most of the increasingly hard to keep track of side story lines and by the end didn't even care about the main one. Made me hate books for all of five seconds before I started a new one which will hopefully help me forget this mess.
November 18, 2012
ah! October! Wish I had it now!
October 23, 2013
2.5 stars. Too many separate character viewpoints and stories going on which impacted my ability to care about what happens to any of them.
November 8, 2012
I received this book from the author for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.
It's been so long since I last ventured into the House of Comarre, I was afraid I would be entering into Out for Blood totally blind. But thankfully Kristen Painter does remarkably well at bringing us up to speed at a decent pace.
There are so many points of view in this novel, Chrysabelle, Mal, Fi, Doc, Tatiana, Creek, the Mayor...that sometimes it can get overwhelming. But not as much as you would think. True in the beginning of the book it was a bit disorienting for me, since I was also trying to get back into the story that has been playing out for three books now. But once I got back into the thick of things, the changing points of view were manageable. In fact, it became the route of changing points of view that happens so often for me, in that we read with one character and gets very exciting and then bam! We're off to a new character and then the excitement builds up and then bam! It's like constantly chasing cliffhangers, yet for the most part, the relief is only pages away!
Chrysabelle is dealing with her new tattoo that was made from the gold from the ring of sorrows. A powerful ring that was wanted by many people, Tatiana included. The tattoo has a unique set of powers that it gives Chrysabelle that are guaranteed to make her life a little more interesting, as if it wasn't already.
The KM however send Creek to get Chrysabelle to retrieve the vampire child Tatiana had stolen sometime ago and is raising as her own. Chrysabelle refuses at first, but it's not until the promise of being able to find her long lost brother does she agree to go. It's actually at the 300 page mark out of 446 does she take on the job. While that part was a little trying,--since the cover back says this is her mission--the waiting for this big mission to start, we have so many characters to visit with, that the story still moves along fairly quick.
The Mayor, wanting to rescue her vampire grandchild--the one Tatiana has--is on a mission to become vampire herself, but is struggling to find a vampire willing to turn her. She in turn creates a bit of chaos in the city when she sets a curfew for supernaturals.
Doc and Fi are dealing with the fallout of Doc now being Pride leader of the pack he once belonged to. He killed the Pride leader after being challenged, but he gained more than he bargained for by winning. Such as the Pride leader's wife. And in order to be with Fi, the wife must be out of the picture without causing war amongst the Pride she grew up in. The only option truly is that Fi must fight her to the death...or surrender.
Creek has his own problems dealing with an entity that is suppose to help him--or something like that. I kind of missed what the purpose of this deity or whatever being around him. But that too, takes a wrong turn. Chaos ensures.
Basically, we have a whole lot of chaos going on this book! With a lot of interweaving storylines as well. It's always intimidating at first, but once you into the book and know the characters, their stories start to flow flawlessly.
The ending--involving much more than Chrysabelle attempting to kidnap the vampire baby back--was pretty exciting, as endings usually are! It leaves you on more than one cliffhanger. It had been awhile since we got to be with the other characters like Doc, Tatiana and the Mayor, so all their storylines were unresolved. But the one with Chrysabelle and Mal was a doozie! That one I didn't see coming and it also reveals a major secret about the comarre!
The final book in this series, Last Blood will come out in the summer next year, or so I heard. This will wrap everything up and I look forward to that. With so many characters I am hoping most of them get their happy endings and the others I hoping for some comeuppance!
Set in our futuristic setting where vampires, varcolai--shapeshifters-- and other creatures live among us, and magic exists this is a read you can fall into and want to stay lost!
Overall rating 4/5 stars
It's been so long since I last ventured into the House of Comarre, I was afraid I would be entering into Out for Blood totally blind. But thankfully Kristen Painter does remarkably well at bringing us up to speed at a decent pace.
There are so many points of view in this novel, Chrysabelle, Mal, Fi, Doc, Tatiana, Creek, the Mayor...that sometimes it can get overwhelming. But not as much as you would think. True in the beginning of the book it was a bit disorienting for me, since I was also trying to get back into the story that has been playing out for three books now. But once I got back into the thick of things, the changing points of view were manageable. In fact, it became the route of changing points of view that happens so often for me, in that we read with one character and gets very exciting and then bam! We're off to a new character and then the excitement builds up and then bam! It's like constantly chasing cliffhangers, yet for the most part, the relief is only pages away!
Chrysabelle is dealing with her new tattoo that was made from the gold from the ring of sorrows. A powerful ring that was wanted by many people, Tatiana included. The tattoo has a unique set of powers that it gives Chrysabelle that are guaranteed to make her life a little more interesting, as if it wasn't already.
The KM however send Creek to get Chrysabelle to retrieve the vampire child Tatiana had stolen sometime ago and is raising as her own. Chrysabelle refuses at first, but it's not until the promise of being able to find her long lost brother does she agree to go. It's actually at the 300 page mark out of 446 does she take on the job. While that part was a little trying,--since the cover back says this is her mission--the waiting for this big mission to start, we have so many characters to visit with, that the story still moves along fairly quick.
The Mayor, wanting to rescue her vampire grandchild--the one Tatiana has--is on a mission to become vampire herself, but is struggling to find a vampire willing to turn her. She in turn creates a bit of chaos in the city when she sets a curfew for supernaturals.
Doc and Fi are dealing with the fallout of Doc now being Pride leader of the pack he once belonged to. He killed the Pride leader after being challenged, but he gained more than he bargained for by winning. Such as the Pride leader's wife. And in order to be with Fi, the wife must be out of the picture without causing war amongst the Pride she grew up in. The only option truly is that Fi must fight her to the death...or surrender.
Creek has his own problems dealing with an entity that is suppose to help him--or something like that. I kind of missed what the purpose of this deity or whatever being around him. But that too, takes a wrong turn. Chaos ensures.
Basically, we have a whole lot of chaos going on this book! With a lot of interweaving storylines as well. It's always intimidating at first, but once you into the book and know the characters, their stories start to flow flawlessly.
The ending--involving much more than Chrysabelle attempting to kidnap the vampire baby back--was pretty exciting, as endings usually are! It leaves you on more than one cliffhanger. It had been awhile since we got to be with the other characters like Doc, Tatiana and the Mayor, so all their storylines were unresolved. But the one with Chrysabelle and Mal was a doozie! That one I didn't see coming and it also reveals a major secret about the comarre!
The final book in this series, Last Blood will come out in the summer next year, or so I heard. This will wrap everything up and I look forward to that. With so many characters I am hoping most of them get their happy endings and the others I hoping for some comeuppance!
Set in our futuristic setting where vampires, varcolai--shapeshifters-- and other creatures live among us, and magic exists this is a read you can fall into and want to stay lost!
Overall rating 4/5 stars
October 26, 2012
See this review and others like it at !
OUT FOR BLOOD is the fourth book in the House of Comarré series and I really enjoyed it. The pace was quicker, the POV changes were handled more smoothly, and the plotlines were integrated much better.
Chrysabelle has had the Ring of Sorrows melted down and stitched into her skin as signum. It is giving her some odd powers, but she is still more concerned about searching for her brother. At least she has a lead now; she believes it is Damian, the comar kidnapped by Daciana and Tatiana. He just happens to be in the same place as the half-vampire child, Lilith. The KM are determined to have the child and they are not above forcing Chrysabelle to retrieve her.
At the beginning of the book, I was worried that Mal and Chrysabelle’s relationship had devolved, but Ms. Painter quickly turned it around and finally gave us the smoochies we had been waiting for. I really enjoy Mal and Chrysabelle as a pair; they work well together and are dedicated to one another. I loved seeing them both finally admit to their feelings. There were some really beautiful moments between the two of them in this book. The ending was a complete game changer though and I already cannot wait for the next book.
Fi and Doc were sweet together as always though I don’t think their story has finished playing out. I feel like there will still be repercussions from the events in this novel and especially from the mate fight in the arena. I can’t wait to see how Doc develops as pride leader.
I’m not sure I see how Yahla was really necessary for the plotline, but I am happy that a new KM section chief has been appointed at the very least. A basilisk, who would have guessed? Creek’s role here was somewhat minor, but I think he will have a much bigger role to play in Paradise City in the next book. Even though Creek wasn’t himself when he was dealing with her, I really came to hate the mayor and the actions she took in this book.
We see a new side to Tatiana as she takes care of Lilith. She's almost, dare I say, compassionate. You begin to feel bad for her because it seems like all she wants to do is protect her family (her, Lilith, Octavian, and Daci). Then she's back to her ways and you don't feel sorry for her anymore. I think she has become a more complex villian here and in the previous book, but I bet we haven't seen anything yet. She's going to be a force of pure vengance in the next book.
Overall I was pretty satisfied with this entry into the series. That ending was a complete killer though. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book, LAST BLOOD, to find out what happens with Chrysabelle and Mal and their increasingly complicated relationship.
Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for providing an ARC copy of this book!
OUT FOR BLOOD is the fourth book in the House of Comarré series and I really enjoyed it. The pace was quicker, the POV changes were handled more smoothly, and the plotlines were integrated much better.
Chrysabelle has had the Ring of Sorrows melted down and stitched into her skin as signum. It is giving her some odd powers, but she is still more concerned about searching for her brother. At least she has a lead now; she believes it is Damian, the comar kidnapped by Daciana and Tatiana. He just happens to be in the same place as the half-vampire child, Lilith. The KM are determined to have the child and they are not above forcing Chrysabelle to retrieve her.
At the beginning of the book, I was worried that Mal and Chrysabelle’s relationship had devolved, but Ms. Painter quickly turned it around and finally gave us the smoochies we had been waiting for. I really enjoy Mal and Chrysabelle as a pair; they work well together and are dedicated to one another. I loved seeing them both finally admit to their feelings. There were some really beautiful moments between the two of them in this book. The ending was a complete game changer though and I already cannot wait for the next book.
Fi and Doc were sweet together as always though I don’t think their story has finished playing out. I feel like there will still be repercussions from the events in this novel and especially from the mate fight in the arena. I can’t wait to see how Doc develops as pride leader.
I’m not sure I see how Yahla was really necessary for the plotline, but I am happy that a new KM section chief has been appointed at the very least. A basilisk, who would have guessed? Creek’s role here was somewhat minor, but I think he will have a much bigger role to play in Paradise City in the next book. Even though Creek wasn’t himself when he was dealing with her, I really came to hate the mayor and the actions she took in this book.
We see a new side to Tatiana as she takes care of Lilith. She's almost, dare I say, compassionate. You begin to feel bad for her because it seems like all she wants to do is protect her family (her, Lilith, Octavian, and Daci). Then she's back to her ways and you don't feel sorry for her anymore. I think she has become a more complex villian here and in the previous book, but I bet we haven't seen anything yet. She's going to be a force of pure vengance in the next book.
Overall I was pretty satisfied with this entry into the series. That ending was a complete killer though. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book, LAST BLOOD, to find out what happens with Chrysabelle and Mal and their increasingly complicated relationship.
Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for providing an ARC copy of this book!
October 22, 2013
4--4.5 stars.
hands down the best in the series so far. A lot of developments.
Story starts off with Queen Bitch Tatianna and her makeshift family. It was all so sweet that I started liking that old cow. Who knew she would take to being a good mommy? Why, I actually mistook her for a human and really saw her as being okay. Whereas the commare got on my last nerve to the point where I joined the chorus in Mal's head and started chanting "bite her, drain her, kill her!"
so Sad but at this point, I couldn't take Chrysa-bitch anymore.
But the other parts of the plot started filling, Fi & Doc and the whole inherited wife thing, Creek and his grandma and his KM assignment was interesting. the whole story just took off. I can't believe it was 80% done before Mal and Chrys got the business. In plane no less, with other supernatural creatures getting an audio of her 1st time with a vampire. That girl has no shame :D
I knew I was bugging when I actually felt bad for Tatianna at the end. I don't think I have ever gotten close with a villianess before. But I was going to give her a hug, she needed it.
Book 5 will be a great ending to this series. i am glad I kept going with it.
* has a bassilik
hands down the best in the series so far. A lot of developments.
Story starts off with Queen Bitch Tatianna and her makeshift family. It was all so sweet that I started liking that old cow. Who knew she would take to being a good mommy? Why, I actually mistook her for a human and really saw her as being okay. Whereas the commare got on my last nerve to the point where I joined the chorus in Mal's head and started chanting "bite her, drain her, kill her!"
so Sad but at this point, I couldn't take Chrysa-bitch anymore.
But the other parts of the plot started filling, Fi & Doc and the whole inherited wife thing, Creek and his grandma and his KM assignment was interesting. the whole story just took off. I can't believe it was 80% done before Mal and Chrys got the business. In plane no less, with other supernatural creatures getting an audio of her 1st time with a vampire. That girl has no shame :D
I knew I was bugging when I actually felt bad for Tatianna at the end. I don't think I have ever gotten close with a villianess before. But I was going to give her a hug, she needed it.
Book 5 will be a great ending to this series. i am glad I kept going with it.
* has a bassilik
December 6, 2012
Damn you Kristen Painter for making this book so unbelievably good I have to suffer and wait for the 5th one to come out. Couldn't you have at least made the ending a little sucky so I wouldn't be pining to know what happens? I seriously dislike you right now.
JUST KIDDING!!!
I loved, loved, loved this book. I can't say it was better than the others because let's face it they were all FABULOUS, but you can definitely see her growth as an author. Her characters continue to grow and develop, they each have their own stories to tell, and I love it all.
I couldn't put the damn book down. I need something to calm me down and I the new Kim Harrison isn't out yet!
And the covers!!!!! I love them all, they are so beautiful and gothic. It's what made me read the first book.
Read it. Seriously. and if you haven't started the series. Do it. You're missing out on a great new author and an intriguing and captivating new series.
JUST KIDDING!!!
I loved, loved, loved this book. I can't say it was better than the others because let's face it they were all FABULOUS, but you can definitely see her growth as an author. Her characters continue to grow and develop, they each have their own stories to tell, and I love it all.
I couldn't put the damn book down. I need something to calm me down and I the new Kim Harrison isn't out yet!
And the covers!!!!! I love them all, they are so beautiful and gothic. It's what made me read the first book.
Read it. Seriously. and if you haven't started the series. Do it. You're missing out on a great new author and an intriguing and captivating new series.
January 11, 2013
In Out for Blood, it felt as if Kristen had really hit her stride. All of the books shift from one character's perspective to another, but this one felt smoother. I didn't resist the shift, like I have in the past, and I think this was because the flow felt more natural.
The relationships between Chrysabelle & Mal and Doc & Fi are ever-changing. In Out for Blood Chrysabelle is beginning to learn about some of the consequences of the decision she made in . The same is true for Doc.
I really enjoy this series and Out for Blood was one of my favorites within it. Kristen has a thing for cliffhanger endings and this book proves no different. Beware: Cliffhanger ending ahead.
The relationships between Chrysabelle & Mal and Doc & Fi are ever-changing. In Out for Blood Chrysabelle is beginning to learn about some of the consequences of the decision she made in . The same is true for Doc.
I really enjoy this series and Out for Blood was one of my favorites within it. Kristen has a thing for cliffhanger endings and this book proves no different. Beware: Cliffhanger ending ahead.
November 2, 2012
This book was fast paced and enjoyable. There was never a dull moment, especially with the interweaving stories of all the characters, especially Mal and Chrysabelle. The end of the book leaves you hanging, desperately wanting more. The last few pages took a completely different turn, which upped my ratings for it big time! Heck, its made me love the series even more! Painter has done an excellent job on this one, she kept it interesting, and just when you think you've got it all figured out, bam! The unimaginable happens. Cannot wait for Last Blood, it's going to be mind blowing!
January 19, 2016
By this point I can safely say, if you like your romance clean and like more characters and world building, you will probably like this series. However, if you like more romance and graphic explicit scenes, then search elsewhere because you will be sorely disappointed.
Amber S.
Librarian
Mahon Branch
Lubbock Public Library call #: (SCIFI) FIC PAIN
Amber S.
Librarian
Mahon Branch
Lubbock Public Library call #: (SCIFI) FIC PAIN
March 31, 2015
so trashy
April 25, 2015
Fourth in the House of Comarré urban fantasy series set in an parallel world in a contemporary U.S.---New Florida to be exact.
My Take
Oh, wow. This was a ride-and-a-half, settling some issues and starting up others. And now I have to wait for the next book, (and the last! Wahhh). Arghh, I don' wanna wait!!
Poor Doc's between a rock and a hard place, and he just isn't thinking when Fi and Heaven first confront each other. I'm kind of surprised that Fiona is so petty-minded, about the shoes and about Doc's new problems. I hadn't expected her to be so insecure. Octavian, on the other hand, is incredible! He has slid into place as Tatiana's consort so easily, and I was so shocked by his easy out at the end. I would have thought he'd have more on the ball.
Then there's Tommy. It's both too easy and too slow for him to figure out what Yahla is up to. He's just lucky that Annika has shown up!
Hoo-ie, Tatiana really screwed up on this one. Who knew the Castus would take this stand? It so serves her right. I cannot wait until book 5 to find out how the other Dominus take this! I'm wondering if Octavian really killed himself or if Kosmina is also Kubai Mata.
Oh man, Amery and Mortalis bring in a convict fae who can taste Chrysabelle's gold and tell her what it all means. The payment he demands is...just incredibly high. Too high in my opinion.
The issues between Chrysabelle and Mal felt a little forced, but only a little. It's absolutely perfect for that nasty, dramatic ending!
The Story
Chrysabelle had the Ring of Sorrows melted down so she could use the sacred gold to recreate her signum tattoos. Only there seem to be some side effects. Now she has two goals: find her brother by blood and discover why she can't die.
And she doesn't have time to run errands for the Kubai Mata, no matter what they threaten. Although, the Kubai Mata haven't learned, yet, what Chyrsabelle did with the Ring of Sorrows.
It's Williamette Alden's reasons for quitting as alderman that start Mayor White thinking along these lines. But it's Yahla possessing Tommy that sets up the disastrous events that has varcolai and vampires furious. It seems that losing her grandchild has unhinged the mayor.
It becomes a quid pro quo when Mal offers to take Doc's place, but the mayor betrays them out of her own hubris. The pride is demanding a death for Brutus', and this ought to satisfy them all. Who knew it could have such amazing benefits?
Fiona has her own ideas on how to get Heaven out of Doc's life. And it seems someone agrees with her.
Meanwhile, Dominic and Katsumi, Mal and Chrysabelle, Amery, and Mortalis have their own rescue mission to fly.
The Characters
Chrysabelle Lapointe is a former ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé, although she had her signums re-tattooed in . Velimai is a wysper fae and serves Chrysabelle as her assistant now that Maris is dead. Jerem is her ursine-shifter driver. Aurelian is the ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé historian.
Malkolm is a noble vampire who was cast out, declared anathema; one who's in love with Chrysabelle with whom he has a controversial relationship.
Seven
It's a vampire nightclub which Dominic, the vampire for whom Maris left the ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé, runs. Mortalis is a shadeux fae who works for him. Katsumi Tanaka is a vicious little vampire. Alice is one of the fake ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé and much smarter than most. Luciano is Dominic's nephew from the House of Paole. He's a caedo, an elite assassin, but froze on his last job.Tec is a varcolai bouncer.
Preacher is a day-walking vampire who lives in a church. He fell in love with Julia White, the mayor's daughter, and they had a baby, Mariela. Damian is a comar who defected from Tatiana in . He no longer cares what happens to himself, but he will never bend the knee again. Amery, a shadeux fae, is one of the pilots who flies Mal and Chrysabelle to Europe.
The Varcolai
Maddoc "Doc" Mayes has just inherited all of Sinjin's property, his position as leader of the Paradise City pride, his nightclub Bar Nine, and his wife after events in . You can imagine how this makes his girlfriend Fiona feel! Heaven Silva is Sinjin's wife, a jaguar shifter and the most spoiled bitch you'll ever meet. Isaiah is his new butler. Both Omur, a cheetah-shifter, and Barasa, the pride's chief physician and a tiger-shifter, are on Sinjin...er...Doc's Council.
Rodrigo Silva is Heaven's father, the São Paulo pride leader of 10,000-plus varcolai. He offers his third son, Remo, to Doc as his third councilor.
The Kubai Mata
Thomas Creek is a felon on parole for what I wouldn't consider a crime. The Kubai Mata sprang him and now they own his soul. If he wants his family kept safe and himself out of jail. Yahla, a soulseeking half-raven, half woman, a creature from his grandmother's tales of her people. Rosa Mae Jumper, a.k.a., Mawmaw, is Tommy's grandmother, a tribe healer.
Lola Diaz White is the mayor of Paradise City. Valerie is her administrative assistant with a crush on John. Police Chief Vernadetto is furious with the mayor about the curfew. John Havoc, a varcolai, is the captain of her security team; Luke Havoc, also varcolai and related to John, recently joined her security. Hilda is her maid who runs out of the house like a bat outta hell. Hector is the comar she buys.
The Elders and Dominus
Tatiana was Malcolm's human wife, and she's schemed and killed her way to her current position as the Dominus of the Tepes Clan. Samael has given Lilith to Tatiana to raise and protect. Lord Octavian was Tatiana's human household chief of staff before she turned him in . Lady Daciana is an Elder and one of Tatiana's who escaped in New Florida. Kosmina, Lilith's nanny, has a potion for Otavian. Oana is the baby's wet nurse.
Samael is the head of the Castus Sanguis which created vampires. The Castus have some really nasty ideas of fun, although I think Tatiana deserves everything they do to her.
Lord Grigor is a Dominus; Svetla is his Elder, another poisonous bitch. Lord Syler is Dominus of House of Bathory; Lords Zephrim and Timotheius are also Domini.
The ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé are humans specially bred for the richest, most intoxicating blood. They're then sold for tremendous sums of money to the vampires who can afford it. Only, they have an ulterior motive in their existence. One the vampires would destroy them for if they knew of it. While ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé is an all-encompassing term, it may also refer to a female while a comar is specifically male. Kine is how the vampires refer to humans. An ancient term for cow. Varcolai are animal shifters descended from fallen angels and animals.
Kubai Mata is a powerful organization that cares only for its own ends with a mandate to police the othernaturals. Sector Chief Argent for the KM is a crusty old bastard and a dragonshifter. Annika is a basilisk who replaces Argent.
The Cover
The cover is consistent with the earlier three books. A black, ornately carved frame with a brocade panel beneath the opening and little red skulls that first appear to be roses in the center of each side frames Mari in a contemplative mood. Facing us, Chrysabelle has crossed her arms in front of her, catching her white embroidered and lace-edged dress as it falls from her shoulders. Her white hair is loosely tied back with a long red ribbon, and her head is tilted down as she studies her new signum tattoos. She's clutching her glowing red sacres, a harbinger of things to come.
Oh yeah, this title is accurate as it seems that everyone is Out for Blood.
My Take
Oh, wow. This was a ride-and-a-half, settling some issues and starting up others. And now I have to wait for the next book, (and the last! Wahhh). Arghh, I don' wanna wait!!
Poor Doc's between a rock and a hard place, and he just isn't thinking when Fi and Heaven first confront each other. I'm kind of surprised that Fiona is so petty-minded, about the shoes and about Doc's new problems. I hadn't expected her to be so insecure. Octavian, on the other hand, is incredible! He has slid into place as Tatiana's consort so easily, and I was so shocked by his easy out at the end. I would have thought he'd have more on the ball.
Then there's Tommy. It's both too easy and too slow for him to figure out what Yahla is up to. He's just lucky that Annika has shown up!
Hoo-ie, Tatiana really screwed up on this one. Who knew the Castus would take this stand? It so serves her right. I cannot wait until book 5 to find out how the other Dominus take this! I'm wondering if Octavian really killed himself or if Kosmina is also Kubai Mata.
Oh man, Amery and Mortalis bring in a convict fae who can taste Chrysabelle's gold and tell her what it all means. The payment he demands is...just incredibly high. Too high in my opinion.
The issues between Chrysabelle and Mal felt a little forced, but only a little. It's absolutely perfect for that nasty, dramatic ending!
The Story
Chrysabelle had the Ring of Sorrows melted down so she could use the sacred gold to recreate her signum tattoos. Only there seem to be some side effects. Now she has two goals: find her brother by blood and discover why she can't die.
And she doesn't have time to run errands for the Kubai Mata, no matter what they threaten. Although, the Kubai Mata haven't learned, yet, what Chyrsabelle did with the Ring of Sorrows.
It's Williamette Alden's reasons for quitting as alderman that start Mayor White thinking along these lines. But it's Yahla possessing Tommy that sets up the disastrous events that has varcolai and vampires furious. It seems that losing her grandchild has unhinged the mayor.
It becomes a quid pro quo when Mal offers to take Doc's place, but the mayor betrays them out of her own hubris. The pride is demanding a death for Brutus', and this ought to satisfy them all. Who knew it could have such amazing benefits?
Fiona has her own ideas on how to get Heaven out of Doc's life. And it seems someone agrees with her.
Meanwhile, Dominic and Katsumi, Mal and Chrysabelle, Amery, and Mortalis have their own rescue mission to fly.
The Characters
Chrysabelle Lapointe is a former ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé, although she had her signums re-tattooed in . Velimai is a wysper fae and serves Chrysabelle as her assistant now that Maris is dead. Jerem is her ursine-shifter driver. Aurelian is the ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé historian.
Malkolm is a noble vampire who was cast out, declared anathema; one who's in love with Chrysabelle with whom he has a controversial relationship.
Seven
It's a vampire nightclub which Dominic, the vampire for whom Maris left the ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé, runs. Mortalis is a shadeux fae who works for him. Katsumi Tanaka is a vicious little vampire. Alice is one of the fake ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé and much smarter than most. Luciano is Dominic's nephew from the House of Paole. He's a caedo, an elite assassin, but froze on his last job.Tec is a varcolai bouncer.
Preacher is a day-walking vampire who lives in a church. He fell in love with Julia White, the mayor's daughter, and they had a baby, Mariela. Damian is a comar who defected from Tatiana in . He no longer cares what happens to himself, but he will never bend the knee again. Amery, a shadeux fae, is one of the pilots who flies Mal and Chrysabelle to Europe.
The Varcolai
Maddoc "Doc" Mayes has just inherited all of Sinjin's property, his position as leader of the Paradise City pride, his nightclub Bar Nine, and his wife after events in . You can imagine how this makes his girlfriend Fiona feel! Heaven Silva is Sinjin's wife, a jaguar shifter and the most spoiled bitch you'll ever meet. Isaiah is his new butler. Both Omur, a cheetah-shifter, and Barasa, the pride's chief physician and a tiger-shifter, are on Sinjin...er...Doc's Council.
Rodrigo Silva is Heaven's father, the São Paulo pride leader of 10,000-plus varcolai. He offers his third son, Remo, to Doc as his third councilor.
The Kubai Mata
Thomas Creek is a felon on parole for what I wouldn't consider a crime. The Kubai Mata sprang him and now they own his soul. If he wants his family kept safe and himself out of jail. Yahla, a soulseeking half-raven, half woman, a creature from his grandmother's tales of her people. Rosa Mae Jumper, a.k.a., Mawmaw, is Tommy's grandmother, a tribe healer.
Lola Diaz White is the mayor of Paradise City. Valerie is her administrative assistant with a crush on John. Police Chief Vernadetto is furious with the mayor about the curfew. John Havoc, a varcolai, is the captain of her security team; Luke Havoc, also varcolai and related to John, recently joined her security. Hilda is her maid who runs out of the house like a bat outta hell. Hector is the comar she buys.
The Elders and Dominus
Tatiana was Malcolm's human wife, and she's schemed and killed her way to her current position as the Dominus of the Tepes Clan. Samael has given Lilith to Tatiana to raise and protect. Lord Octavian was Tatiana's human household chief of staff before she turned him in . Lady Daciana is an Elder and one of Tatiana's who escaped in New Florida. Kosmina, Lilith's nanny, has a potion for Otavian. Oana is the baby's wet nurse.
Samael is the head of the Castus Sanguis which created vampires. The Castus have some really nasty ideas of fun, although I think Tatiana deserves everything they do to her.
Lord Grigor is a Dominus; Svetla is his Elder, another poisonous bitch. Lord Syler is Dominus of House of Bathory; Lords Zephrim and Timotheius are also Domini.
The ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé are humans specially bred for the richest, most intoxicating blood. They're then sold for tremendous sums of money to the vampires who can afford it. Only, they have an ulterior motive in their existence. One the vampires would destroy them for if they knew of it. While ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé is an all-encompassing term, it may also refer to a female while a comar is specifically male. Kine is how the vampires refer to humans. An ancient term for cow. Varcolai are animal shifters descended from fallen angels and animals.
Kubai Mata is a powerful organization that cares only for its own ends with a mandate to police the othernaturals. Sector Chief Argent for the KM is a crusty old bastard and a dragonshifter. Annika is a basilisk who replaces Argent.
The Cover
The cover is consistent with the earlier three books. A black, ornately carved frame with a brocade panel beneath the opening and little red skulls that first appear to be roses in the center of each side frames Mari in a contemplative mood. Facing us, Chrysabelle has crossed her arms in front of her, catching her white embroidered and lace-edged dress as it falls from her shoulders. Her white hair is loosely tied back with a long red ribbon, and her head is tilted down as she studies her new signum tattoos. She's clutching her glowing red sacres, a harbinger of things to come.
Oh yeah, this title is accurate as it seems that everyone is Out for Blood.
December 5, 2022
There are several narrators in the House of Comarré series, so I’m going to structure this review a bit differently than normal.
Mal and Chrysabelle: A good chunk of their story revolves around their feelings for each other and what that means for the cursed vampire and former ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé, or blood servant. The main mysteries in their lives revolve around the possible identity of Chrysabelle’s brother, the effects of melting down the ring of sorrows and using it to replace Chrysabelle’s signum, and the attempted retrieval of the vampire baby.
Doc and Fi: Fi is, obviously, still not happy with the “benefits� Doc received when he became pride leader. She makes a pretty bold stance to get back what she lost, and I have the feeling the repercussions are going to be severe.
The rest of the crew: Creek is still suffering through life under the KM’s thumb, only this time, he has an unusual ally. The mayor of Paradise City makes a few bipolar decisions that will ultimately lead to her extermination, I’m sure, and Tatiana is as insane as ever.
Out for Blood was this close to getting five tombstones. Seriously, people, I loved it that much. There’s so much ambiance with the world the author has created, and the characters have grown so much since the first book in the series. Chrysabelle wasn’t as much as of a princess anymore and Mal seemed to have removed the stick that had been lodged in a very uncomfortable place for quite some time. When the good guys escaped the clutches of the bad guys and flew into the sunset…it was the perfect ending! But…it wasn’t the ending.
There’s this current penchant that a series novel has to end in a cliffhanger. Sometimes I love it; sometimes I don’t. Kind of depends on my mood, I think. In this case, I didn’t like it, mainly because we finally got to see the fae Mortalis has been telling Chrysabelle about and he’s “on screen� for only a few pages. The next novel could easily have featured the meeting of the fae and been expanded to suit my greedy needs, but alas, it was needed as that final element to send Out for Blood into cliffhanger territory. You see, the fae’s price was…well, let’s just say it caused a domino-effect of cheesetastic plot threads leading into the end of the novel.
Cliffhanger aside, I’m still happy to give Out for Blood 4.5 tombstones. Though there are the romantic elements I mentioned earlier, I’d say this move is firmly seated in kick ass Urban Fantasy territory with an extra helping of Fantasy.
Mal and Chrysabelle: A good chunk of their story revolves around their feelings for each other and what that means for the cursed vampire and former ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé, or blood servant. The main mysteries in their lives revolve around the possible identity of Chrysabelle’s brother, the effects of melting down the ring of sorrows and using it to replace Chrysabelle’s signum, and the attempted retrieval of the vampire baby.
Doc and Fi: Fi is, obviously, still not happy with the “benefits� Doc received when he became pride leader. She makes a pretty bold stance to get back what she lost, and I have the feeling the repercussions are going to be severe.
The rest of the crew: Creek is still suffering through life under the KM’s thumb, only this time, he has an unusual ally. The mayor of Paradise City makes a few bipolar decisions that will ultimately lead to her extermination, I’m sure, and Tatiana is as insane as ever.
Out for Blood was this close to getting five tombstones. Seriously, people, I loved it that much. There’s so much ambiance with the world the author has created, and the characters have grown so much since the first book in the series. Chrysabelle wasn’t as much as of a princess anymore and Mal seemed to have removed the stick that had been lodged in a very uncomfortable place for quite some time. When the good guys escaped the clutches of the bad guys and flew into the sunset…it was the perfect ending! But…it wasn’t the ending.
There’s this current penchant that a series novel has to end in a cliffhanger. Sometimes I love it; sometimes I don’t. Kind of depends on my mood, I think. In this case, I didn’t like it, mainly because we finally got to see the fae Mortalis has been telling Chrysabelle about and he’s “on screen� for only a few pages. The next novel could easily have featured the meeting of the fae and been expanded to suit my greedy needs, but alas, it was needed as that final element to send Out for Blood into cliffhanger territory. You see, the fae’s price was…well, let’s just say it caused a domino-effect of cheesetastic plot threads leading into the end of the novel.
Cliffhanger aside, I’m still happy to give Out for Blood 4.5 tombstones. Though there are the romantic elements I mentioned earlier, I’d say this move is firmly seated in kick ass Urban Fantasy territory with an extra helping of Fantasy.
June 21, 2014
Evie Kendal reviewed this book; for more reviews by Evie, see . To see all reviews on Dark Matter Zine, go to .
Out for Blood is the fourth book in Kristen Painter’s House of Comarré paranormal romance series. The series follows the story of Chrysabelle, a ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé who escaped from the home of her vampire master in the first novel. Comarré are a special race of humans bred to produce excess blood in order to serve as a source of food for the vampire nobility. They can be identified by the rich quality of their blood and their distinctive gold tattoos (signum). Comarré are considered a luxury possession for vampires and various “othernaturalâ€� creatures, to the point where counterfeits are being produced and traded among the less wealthy vampire citizenry.
While on the run from vampire society and the ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé traditions, Chrysabelle finds the noble outcast Malkolm, a cursed vampire who cannot feed from a live person without killing them. He inadvertently claims Chrysabelle’s “blood rights,â€� effectively becoming her new master.
But Mal has too many other things to worry about to care much for the formal traditions of his new ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé companion â€� he has been cast out of civilized vampire society, is avoiding a psychopathic vampire (who is coincidentally his ex-wife, Tatiana), protecting a cursed were-tiger (Doc) who can’t transform into anything bigger than a domestic housecat, living with the ghost of a human victim (Fi) whom he killed after receiving his curse and wrestling with the voices in his head telling him to give in to his inner demons and become a killer.
His attraction to Chrysabelle and their unusual relationship just adds more stress and brings him closer to losing control of the “beast� inside of him.
After the first novel, the mystical covenant that obscured the paranormal world from humans was broken, meaning humans suddenly became aware of the many demons, witches and shape-shifters in their midst. The political changes both within the paranormal world and the human world provide much of the tension in the later books of the series, particularly when the daughter of the human Mayor is murdered by an othernatural attacker.
Meanwhile, Tatiana is trying to take over the vampire council and is searching for the legendary “ring of sorrowsâ€� that would give her the necessary power to defeat her competition. Chrysabelle was given charge of the ring earlier in the series and in the third book actually melted it down and used the sacred gold to replace the signum that was stripped out of her skin after she was cast out of ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé society. It was believed any mystical power would be destroyed in the process, however, when Chrysabelle miraculously survives a fatal injury, there is reason to believe this may not have been the case.
By the beginning of Out for Blood, Doc has shaken his curse but managed to accumulate a new problem in the form of a witch possession. Fi has avoided drifting off into the ether but is still technically dead. The love triangle between Chrysabelle, Malkolm and the human hunter, Creek, has mostly been resolved in favour of Mal. A vampire-human hybrid has been born and kidnapped for its potential power. Tatiana has made various deals with the devil (literally). Chrysabelle has learnt she has a brother hiding somewhere in the world. Relations between humans and othernaturals are tense.
While Chrysabelle just wants to start a new life free from the oppressive rules of the ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé, her feelings for Mal compel her to save him from two major threats in Out for Blood. The first is Tatiana, who has sworn to destroy Mal’s life if Chrysabelle doesn’t rescue the kidnapped vampire-human child.
The second is the Mayor, who, in response to the attack against her daughter, has imposed strict regulations on the othernaturals, intending to make an example of Mal. It soon becomes clear in the novel that backing the beast into a corner is not a wise decision though. With the voices in his head getting louder, Mal is a threat to everyone around him.
Chrysabelle is as stubborn and strong as ever but frustrates her friends by refusing to admit that the power of the ring is changing her somehow. Her enhanced ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé abilities, coupled with the fact Mal mixed his blood with hers to help her heal, make her an even more powerful warrior.
Determined to save Mal and find her brother, Chrysabelle faces off with all her former enemies, showing why she never belonged as a meek and subservient blood slave for the vampire nobility.
Set in the near-future, the House of Comarré series has a rich fantasy world full of interesting creatures with their own mythology, history and culture. Out for Blood provides enough back-story for a reader to pick up the series at this point, although a lot of the romantic storyline would be lost. As with the earlier books in the series, Out for Blood has beautiful cover art, easy to follow narrative and a number of compelling side plots. The fifth and final book of the series, Last Blood, was released in mid-2013. The series is recommended for any paranormal romance fan, suitable for adults and young adults.
Out for Blood is the fourth book in Kristen Painter’s House of Comarré paranormal romance series. The series follows the story of Chrysabelle, a ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé who escaped from the home of her vampire master in the first novel. Comarré are a special race of humans bred to produce excess blood in order to serve as a source of food for the vampire nobility. They can be identified by the rich quality of their blood and their distinctive gold tattoos (signum). Comarré are considered a luxury possession for vampires and various “othernaturalâ€� creatures, to the point where counterfeits are being produced and traded among the less wealthy vampire citizenry.
While on the run from vampire society and the ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé traditions, Chrysabelle finds the noble outcast Malkolm, a cursed vampire who cannot feed from a live person without killing them. He inadvertently claims Chrysabelle’s “blood rights,â€� effectively becoming her new master.
But Mal has too many other things to worry about to care much for the formal traditions of his new ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé companion â€� he has been cast out of civilized vampire society, is avoiding a psychopathic vampire (who is coincidentally his ex-wife, Tatiana), protecting a cursed were-tiger (Doc) who can’t transform into anything bigger than a domestic housecat, living with the ghost of a human victim (Fi) whom he killed after receiving his curse and wrestling with the voices in his head telling him to give in to his inner demons and become a killer.
His attraction to Chrysabelle and their unusual relationship just adds more stress and brings him closer to losing control of the “beast� inside of him.
After the first novel, the mystical covenant that obscured the paranormal world from humans was broken, meaning humans suddenly became aware of the many demons, witches and shape-shifters in their midst. The political changes both within the paranormal world and the human world provide much of the tension in the later books of the series, particularly when the daughter of the human Mayor is murdered by an othernatural attacker.
Meanwhile, Tatiana is trying to take over the vampire council and is searching for the legendary “ring of sorrowsâ€� that would give her the necessary power to defeat her competition. Chrysabelle was given charge of the ring earlier in the series and in the third book actually melted it down and used the sacred gold to replace the signum that was stripped out of her skin after she was cast out of ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé society. It was believed any mystical power would be destroyed in the process, however, when Chrysabelle miraculously survives a fatal injury, there is reason to believe this may not have been the case.
By the beginning of Out for Blood, Doc has shaken his curse but managed to accumulate a new problem in the form of a witch possession. Fi has avoided drifting off into the ether but is still technically dead. The love triangle between Chrysabelle, Malkolm and the human hunter, Creek, has mostly been resolved in favour of Mal. A vampire-human hybrid has been born and kidnapped for its potential power. Tatiana has made various deals with the devil (literally). Chrysabelle has learnt she has a brother hiding somewhere in the world. Relations between humans and othernaturals are tense.
While Chrysabelle just wants to start a new life free from the oppressive rules of the ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé, her feelings for Mal compel her to save him from two major threats in Out for Blood. The first is Tatiana, who has sworn to destroy Mal’s life if Chrysabelle doesn’t rescue the kidnapped vampire-human child.
The second is the Mayor, who, in response to the attack against her daughter, has imposed strict regulations on the othernaturals, intending to make an example of Mal. It soon becomes clear in the novel that backing the beast into a corner is not a wise decision though. With the voices in his head getting louder, Mal is a threat to everyone around him.
Chrysabelle is as stubborn and strong as ever but frustrates her friends by refusing to admit that the power of the ring is changing her somehow. Her enhanced ³¦´Ç³¾²¹°ù°ùé abilities, coupled with the fact Mal mixed his blood with hers to help her heal, make her an even more powerful warrior.
Determined to save Mal and find her brother, Chrysabelle faces off with all her former enemies, showing why she never belonged as a meek and subservient blood slave for the vampire nobility.
Set in the near-future, the House of Comarré series has a rich fantasy world full of interesting creatures with their own mythology, history and culture. Out for Blood provides enough back-story for a reader to pick up the series at this point, although a lot of the romantic storyline would be lost. As with the earlier books in the series, Out for Blood has beautiful cover art, easy to follow narrative and a number of compelling side plots. The fifth and final book of the series, Last Blood, was released in mid-2013. The series is recommended for any paranormal romance fan, suitable for adults and young adults.
November 7, 2017
Spoiler alert!!! I was really into this one. It took four books to finally get Mal and Chrysabelle to admit their feelings. Then it’s ended with some fae taking Mal’s love and him just walking out. That’s just annoying and pointless. Really hope the last book makes up for the terrible ending of this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2022
A interesting story, my only gripe was it took a bit for the story to get going for me.
There was nudges and prods but nothing seemed to move until almost 3 quarters of the book had past.
But I am invested in the characters and I want to see what happens with them.
Bring on the next book.
There was nudges and prods but nothing seemed to move until almost 3 quarters of the book had past.
But I am invested in the characters and I want to see what happens with them.
Bring on the next book.
November 2, 2012
*Genre* Paranormal Romance
*Rating* 4.0
*Review*
As a loyal follower of the House of Comarré series, this book actually shocked me to the core and broke my heart with what happens to Chrysabelle and Mal. You would think that I would realize that Kristen Painter is something of a torturer when it comes to ensuring her characters get something of a happy ending. She loves pulling them in so many directions that you need a scorecard to keep track of all the situations they’ve been in.
In this, the fourth book of the series, Chrysabelle wakes to find that she has somehow managed to survive her re-visit to the Aurelian in an attempt to find the name of her brother. The only problem is she doesn’t remember anything about her visit or how she managed to get home after dying. This came after she had the Ring of Sorrows melted down and had her former signum replaced with the gold remnants. It would seem that by melting down the Ring of Sorrows, Chrysabelle has the ability to survive situations that others would have perished from but with certain side effects. It also happens that she has Mal’s blood flowing through her veins which has caused her to become a force to be reckoned with.
Chrysabelle remains on a mission to find her brother no matter what anyone else thinks about her intentions or the fact that the KM (Kubai Mata) now wants her to drop everything she’s doing and go after the child known as Lilith.
Out for Blood has several points of view as usual. We have not only Chrysabelle’s POV, but Malkolm’s, Tatiana’s, Maddoc and Fiona’s, Thomas Creek’s, and Delores Diaz-White (the mayor of Paradise City) whose own actions really got under my skin and has now become a player in the Lilith stakes with her change of heart. Painter also adds several key players to the equation including Luciano (vampire) and Annika (Basilik) who is the new chief of station for the KM.
As for what’s normal for this series, Mal and Chrysabelle’s relationship is tested to the ultimate limits and is left hanging in the balance after Chrysabelle tries to discover what the Ring of Sorrows is really doing to her body. We actually get some nice scenes where Mal and Chrysabelle are actually hospitable towards each other and Chrysabelle realizes that yes, she does in fact, love Mal and there’s no getting around her feelings.
One can only hope that the situation Painter has painted herself into with Mal’s sudden emotional swing, and Chrysabelle’s shocking revelation, is fixed in Last Blood for the sake of my sanity.
Fiona and Maddocs situation is confusing as all hell especially now that he’s the Prides Leader and she is utterly paranoid at the fact that she might lose Doc to the pride. As a reader of this series, you realize that Fi and Doc really do love each other but have been through so much. Doc has issues that need to be resolved and there is the feeling that you shouldn’t trust what Painter has in store for either Fi or Doc until you’ve read the very last page of Last Blood (2013).
I’ve been a Tatiana hater from the onset and that’s good writing on Painters behalf. She is able to write in such a way that you can’t help emotionally wanting to rip Tatiana’s head off yourself. You can’t wait until either Mal or Chrysabelle gets the final laugh at Tatiana’s expense. With Out for Blood, you see a different aspect of Tatiana; that of the caring mother to a child that really isn’t hers. Yes, she still schemes to become Queen of the Vampires and there are plenty of political moves on her part towards that goal. But, she genuinely has an emotional connection to Lilith now and has slowly built up a small family in order to take care of her every need and to protect her. Of course, nothing is fallible and everything is subject to change at a moment’s notice.
Thomas Creek, an agent of the Kubai Mata, is put into a difficult situation when he is forced to ask Chrysabelle to go after Lilith or face the consequences of Mal being hurt or worse. Creek finds that he is facing challenging circumstances when the deity Yahla comes to visit and things go south from there. I liked the fact that there’s a new station chief who’s a basilisk and seems to really connect with Creek. I hope that Creek is the one who is forced to take care of the situation with the now changed Mayor of Paradise City who has her own agenda in regards to the child Lilith who is supposed to be her granddaughter.
Overall, even though I am completely shocked by the ending of this book, I can’t really complain by the overall direction that Painter seems to be heading. I love the fact that she has written a dystopian type novel with vampires, varcolai (shape shifters), fae, and humans all living on the same plane. There is also the underlying danger from the Castus Sanguis (fallen Angels) who created the othernatural races and have something of an agenda when it comes to the child Lilith.
This series comes highly recommended to those who love Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. I received this book straight from the publisher in lieu of an honest review. No money change hands, nor was any expected for my thoughts.
Published: October 30th 2012 by Orbit
*Rating* 4.0
*Review*
As a loyal follower of the House of Comarré series, this book actually shocked me to the core and broke my heart with what happens to Chrysabelle and Mal. You would think that I would realize that Kristen Painter is something of a torturer when it comes to ensuring her characters get something of a happy ending. She loves pulling them in so many directions that you need a scorecard to keep track of all the situations they’ve been in.
In this, the fourth book of the series, Chrysabelle wakes to find that she has somehow managed to survive her re-visit to the Aurelian in an attempt to find the name of her brother. The only problem is she doesn’t remember anything about her visit or how she managed to get home after dying. This came after she had the Ring of Sorrows melted down and had her former signum replaced with the gold remnants. It would seem that by melting down the Ring of Sorrows, Chrysabelle has the ability to survive situations that others would have perished from but with certain side effects. It also happens that she has Mal’s blood flowing through her veins which has caused her to become a force to be reckoned with.
Chrysabelle remains on a mission to find her brother no matter what anyone else thinks about her intentions or the fact that the KM (Kubai Mata) now wants her to drop everything she’s doing and go after the child known as Lilith.
Out for Blood has several points of view as usual. We have not only Chrysabelle’s POV, but Malkolm’s, Tatiana’s, Maddoc and Fiona’s, Thomas Creek’s, and Delores Diaz-White (the mayor of Paradise City) whose own actions really got under my skin and has now become a player in the Lilith stakes with her change of heart. Painter also adds several key players to the equation including Luciano (vampire) and Annika (Basilik) who is the new chief of station for the KM.
As for what’s normal for this series, Mal and Chrysabelle’s relationship is tested to the ultimate limits and is left hanging in the balance after Chrysabelle tries to discover what the Ring of Sorrows is really doing to her body. We actually get some nice scenes where Mal and Chrysabelle are actually hospitable towards each other and Chrysabelle realizes that yes, she does in fact, love Mal and there’s no getting around her feelings.
One can only hope that the situation Painter has painted herself into with Mal’s sudden emotional swing, and Chrysabelle’s shocking revelation, is fixed in Last Blood for the sake of my sanity.
Fiona and Maddocs situation is confusing as all hell especially now that he’s the Prides Leader and she is utterly paranoid at the fact that she might lose Doc to the pride. As a reader of this series, you realize that Fi and Doc really do love each other but have been through so much. Doc has issues that need to be resolved and there is the feeling that you shouldn’t trust what Painter has in store for either Fi or Doc until you’ve read the very last page of Last Blood (2013).
I’ve been a Tatiana hater from the onset and that’s good writing on Painters behalf. She is able to write in such a way that you can’t help emotionally wanting to rip Tatiana’s head off yourself. You can’t wait until either Mal or Chrysabelle gets the final laugh at Tatiana’s expense. With Out for Blood, you see a different aspect of Tatiana; that of the caring mother to a child that really isn’t hers. Yes, she still schemes to become Queen of the Vampires and there are plenty of political moves on her part towards that goal. But, she genuinely has an emotional connection to Lilith now and has slowly built up a small family in order to take care of her every need and to protect her. Of course, nothing is fallible and everything is subject to change at a moment’s notice.
Thomas Creek, an agent of the Kubai Mata, is put into a difficult situation when he is forced to ask Chrysabelle to go after Lilith or face the consequences of Mal being hurt or worse. Creek finds that he is facing challenging circumstances when the deity Yahla comes to visit and things go south from there. I liked the fact that there’s a new station chief who’s a basilisk and seems to really connect with Creek. I hope that Creek is the one who is forced to take care of the situation with the now changed Mayor of Paradise City who has her own agenda in regards to the child Lilith who is supposed to be her granddaughter.
Overall, even though I am completely shocked by the ending of this book, I can’t really complain by the overall direction that Painter seems to be heading. I love the fact that she has written a dystopian type novel with vampires, varcolai (shape shifters), fae, and humans all living on the same plane. There is also the underlying danger from the Castus Sanguis (fallen Angels) who created the othernatural races and have something of an agenda when it comes to the child Lilith.
This series comes highly recommended to those who love Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. I received this book straight from the publisher in lieu of an honest review. No money change hands, nor was any expected for my thoughts.
Published: October 30th 2012 by Orbit
November 21, 2018
This series is AMAZING! So many twists and turns and unexpected events! I love that it's got everything: action, paranormal, even some romance but not enough to ruin the intrigue. I am sad that I only have one more book and then this series is over.
December 18, 2018
Well thrilled to have the fifth one still there😀
Well a cliff hanger. So glad I don't have to work. A kindle, electric blanket and quiet. Sounds like a plan. Thank you Kristen for hours of entertainment that pulls you in. Congrats on all your success!!! J
Well a cliff hanger. So glad I don't have to work. A kindle, electric blanket and quiet. Sounds like a plan. Thank you Kristen for hours of entertainment that pulls you in. Congrats on all your success!!! J
March 29, 2020
I love this series of books. But for me, I hated the ending of this book so much. I wanted to chuck it out the window far away from me as possible. I hate what happens to Mal at the end. I hate it. It broke my heart and I just want to find out if he’s going to be back to normal again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2020
I just started to read this book, I am at page 4, and I am already angry. Crysabelle is back to her old self, being a bitch, a spoiled brat, a procrastinator, and someone that simply doesn’t want to look at herself in the mirror. Seriously, I have no idea what Mal sees in her!!!!
June 24, 2022
Highly disappointed. Again. It’s like the author has an outline and writes each moment without passion or wordcraft. The things that happen are all outrageous or ridiculous or poorly constructed. I don’t understand. The first book was so outstanding and the rest of the series has failed.
August 8, 2018
Yeah, this book was so fantastic! I really didn't like the Mayor or the KM group, they were both pretty awful in this book! Loved reading this book, and that ending was evil!
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