Matters of the Blood by Maria Lima

Maria Lima rings some refreshing changes on the urban-fantasy formula in Matters of the Blood. The two most striking departures from cliché, to my mind, are the heroine's age (37, rather than early twenties), and the story's vividly-drawn rural-Texas setting. I loved the locale. Lima does a great job of making the lonely town of Rio Seco real to the reader.

Our heroine, Keira Kelly, comes from a long supernatural line; there's a brief passage that suggests she's one of the Sidhe. Members of her family come into their full power during what would be middle age for a mortal. Keira is going through her "change" early, while trying to keep her family from finding out and drawing her back into their internecine politics. The surge in Keira's power results in disturbing premonitions, and soon, Keira's quiet life is shaken by a murder mystery, a meddling broth... Read More

Blood Bargain by Maria Lima

It took me a little while to get fully engrossed in Blood Bargain, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. Maria Lima's second Blood Lines novel is even better than the first, a fun and sometimes poignant paranormal treat.

Once again, there's trouble in Rio Seco, and Keira Kelly finds herself embroiled in it. Her vampire boyfriend Adam is showing alarming signs of weakness, and at the same time, Keira is drawn into two missing-persons cases that seem unconnected on the surface but may in fact be linked. I think the reason the story didn't take off for me at first was that I was exasperated with Adam, who appeared to have brought his problems on himself by doing something stupid and unnecessary. I should have had more faith in the author. Even this situation is more complicated than it looks.

As the ... Read More

Blood Kin by Maria Lima

I recently received a review copy of the fourth Blood Lines book, Blood Heat. I realized then that I hadn’t yet read the third installment, Blood Kin, and decided to remedy that before starting Blood Heat. I’m glad I read it — there are a couple of revelations that will no doubt be important to the series — but as an individual novel, Blood Kin is disappointing.

The main plot here is that Keira has been summoned by the family matriarch, Minerva “Gigi” Kelly, to the family compound in Canada. She brings her brother Tucker, Tucker’s boyfriend Niko, and her Sidhe cousin Daffyd along with her. Due to weather and other complications, the group is stuck in Vancouver spinning their wheels for a while. They learn that mysterious deaths... Read More

Blood Heat by Maria Lima

Keira has spent the last few months in heir training, learning the magical and political ropes from Gigi, the family matriarch. Now she and her partner Adam are getting ready to throw a big reception at which they will formally present themselves as the rulers of their area.

One group, however, wants to meet her early: a pack of werewolves who have recently settled near the neighboring town of White Rock. Several pack members have gone missing lately, and the alpha wants Keira’s help in figuring out what happened to them. Keira soon learns that there are those in White Rock who aren’t too happy about the werewolves’ arrival.

The early chapters of Blood Heat are a little frustrating, and the main reason is Keira herself. Her outbursts of temper can be annoying. She brushes off one of her brothers when he’s trying to tell her something important, for example, ... Read More

Blood Sacrifice by Maria Lima

On her blog, Maria Lima states that Blood Sacrifice is the final BLOOD LINES book — at least for now. Blood Sacrifice is a fitting conclusion, and one of the best installments in the series.

The end of Blood Heat was a doozy: Keira’s power-hungry ex, Gideon, had just crashed Keira and Adam’s royal bash and challenged their right to their lands. With him were two women: Gideon’s pregnant bride — the Seelie queen’s daughter — and Keira’s own mother.

Gideon’s claim is that the land does not recognize Keira and Adam as its rightful rulers. The Texas heat wave introduced in Blood Heat is used... Read More