In The Blood

IN THE BLOOD is the fourth book in Savannah Russe’s Darkwing Chronicles, but the first book of the series that this reader has undertaken. Though this reader is certain there are many character insights to be gained by reading the books in order, this urban fantasy stood on its own without any difficulty. IN THE BLOOD is a paranormal romance that is dark, desperately intriguing, funny and just plain hot.

Daphne Urban is a member of Team Darkwing, a government-backed group of vampire agents. In this book, Daphne’s mission is investigating the kidnapping of a group of teenage girls, all daughters of New York’s elite, by terrorists. Since Daphne’s group of Darkwings is now down to only three, the first thing they must do is recruit new members. As the new Team Darkwing searches for the girls, Daphne must deal with the risks of keeping a human boyfriend and her strange attraction to one of her newest teammates. And then there is her mother, who just so happens to run the Darkwing organization and who has her own plans for Daphne.

Daphne is the perfect tortured heroine. She desperately wants to retain her humanity while fighting her vampire instincts. The secondary characters, Daphne’s co-workers, her mother and her boyfriend, are what take this story from being just a political intrigue to a more flushed out paranormal romance. This reader found it a nice change to have the vampires portrayed as the good guys for a change. And Russe does a wonderful job of reminding readers that although the vampires are the good guys, they definitely have a dark side that they are constantly fighting, some more than others.

IN THE BLOOD is a fast paced, dark and exciting paranormal romance with just enough heat to keep the blood stirring. As Team Darkwing races against the clock to save the hostages, our heroine too races against time and her vampire instincts to attempt to keep her humanity intact. Oh yes, this reader will be reading more Darkwing Chronicle books in the very near future. The combination of mystery, romance, vampires and spies in definitely a winning combination.

April 2008