Maria Lima

Blood Lines — (2008-2011) Publisher: Keira Kelly, half-breed descendant of a powerful paranormal family has chosen to live apart from her clan and among humans in the Texas Hill Country. When she experiences a prophetic vision that foretells the vicious murder of her human cousin, Marty Nelson, she vows to determine the truth. Keira begins to uncover long-concealed secrets and risks alienating everyone she knows, from her former lover, Sheriff Carlton Larson, to the enigmatic Adam Walker, once a friendly acquaintance and now much more!

Matters of the Blood

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 brother, cryptic warnings from the townspeople, unwanted attention from her sheriff ex-lover, and a reacquaintance with a handsome, enigmatic friend from her past. 

Some of the most tantalizing bits of Matters of the Blood are those in which Keira alludes to her past. There's a huge backstory just beneath the surface of Keira's life — before she retreated to Rio Seco, she moved in glittering circles in Europe and performed a sort of euthanasia for jaded immortals — and I hope Lima explores it further in later Keira novels.

I think my favorite moment in Matters of the Blood occurred when two characters "came out" of the supernatural closet to each other, and one of them didn't believe in the type of entity that the other confessed to being. It cracked me up, and is unique in the genre; usually, the various types of supernatural beings are all aware of each other's existence.

Matters of the Blood is quirky, sexy, sometimes quite funny, and worth reading if you're a fan of urban fantasies with a substantial helping of romance. I look forward to seeing what Lima, and Keira, do next. —Kelly Lasiter

Blood Bargain

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 various plots began to converge, I was hooked. I read most of the second half of the book in one sitting. I can't say much without letting a spoiler slip, but I will say that the secret behind the mysteries is a haunting one, rooted both in old folklore and in disastrous family relationships. I will also say that I loved the setting of "La Angel," an enigmatic statue around which much of the story revolves.

Along the way, we learn more about Keira's past and family background. Matters of the Blood whetted my appetite for Keira's backstory; Lima didn't disappoint in this area one bit.

I also have a deep appreciation for any urban fantasy author who can write female friendship. Too often, urban fantasy novels feature queen-bee women who can't stand any other females on their turf; secondary female characters tend to be either spineless ciphers or jealous harpies. Lima has avoided this cliché by creating a delightful "best friend" character in Beatriz Ruiz, and exploring the realistic effects that Keira's burgeoning power has on the relationship between the two women.

For those who are wondering about the fantasy-to-romance ratio in Blood Bargain, this is more toward the fantasy end of things. There is some romance at the beginning, and a little bit at the end, but the fantasy and mystery elements are predominant for most of the book. Matters of the Blood is far more focused on romance than Blood Bargain is. —Kelly Lasiter

Blood Kin

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 are occurring in the vicinity of a folk music festival, and take it upon themselves to do a little investigating. Several “interludes” are told from the point of view of characters affected by the events at the festival. These chapters evoke an older style of urban fantasy, reminding me of Charles de Lint’s tales of music-loving misfits on the streets of Canadian cities, but unfortunately Maria Lima doesn’t do as much with this plot thread as I might have hoped.

The interaction between Keira and her various friends and family members is sometimes entertaining and leads to a few amusing zingers, such as when Keira asks Adam if his initial attraction to her was based on a supernatural “imprinting” and he replies: “This isn’t some badly written young adult stalker romance, Keira.” (The comment loses a little of its oomph, though, when Adam fesses up to some stalker behavior of his own not long after.) Unfortunately, most of the family-chat scenes are a little flat. The dialogue is often stilted (does anyone really address their siblings as “brother” or “sister” constantly?) and the characters spend much of their time discussing political machinations from decades past. This leads to a few big bombshells, but overall, the political rehashing takes up far too much of the book.

The mystery plot has issues as well. It takes a long time for this plot to intersect with Keira’s arc. When it does, Keira misses obvious clues too often in her investigation. Then, the final resolution of the mystery is anticlimactic. This whole plotline feels like a pretext to get Keira and her friends to go to a particular supernatural location.

Blood Kin ends with the characters in much the same positions they were at the beginning of the book. A few crucial secrets have been revealed, but a reader could glean the same information by browsing a review more spoilery than mine. Almost nothing actually happens in this book, and I hope Blood Heat is a return to the elements that have made this series fun. —Kelly Lasiter

Blood Heat

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, and berates a friend — an adult in her thirties — for getting pregnant. There were times I wanted to somehow transmit a chill pill through the book.

It gets better, though. The novel becomes a suspenseful portrayal of the devastating effects of bigotry. Maria Lima’s skill at creating a sense of place is in evidence here, too; a Texas heat wave makes a great backdrop and metaphor for the boiling tensions and fiery hatred that permeate the story.

Blood Heat is more political than the previous Blood Lines books have been. Occasionally it feels like Lima is taking potshots at small towns in general and at religion in general, but at other moments it’s clear that’s not her intent. Small towns can sometimes become clannish to the point of xenophobia, and religious groups can be corrupted if the wrong people get into power, and it’s that kind of situation that she’s describing. Keira mentions that White Rock hasn’t always been this way, and her own Rio Seco is even smaller but far more welcoming.

Overall, Blood Heat gets off to a rocky start but is ultimately a good read. I hesitate to say “enjoyable” because there’s a lot of heartbreak in the story, and the realistic nature of the threat makes it feel “closer to home” than bad faeries or vampires. Then, in the final scene, Keira gets some shocking news that promises a terrific fifth book. I can’t wait to see what Lima does with this new development.
—Kelly Lasiter

Blood Sacrifice

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 as evidence. As Faery magic is traditionally associated with life and fertility, there’s even a chilling possibility that Gideon is right, and that the land would prefer Gideon and his pregnant wife over Keira and her vampire mate. The terms of the challenge dictate that Keira and her entourage must leave Rio Seco and stay elsewhere until the holiday of Lughnasa. But when all hell starts breaking loose, Keira wonders whether they’ve made the right choice in leaving town.

The middle of the book can get a little frustrating to the reader for the same reason it’s frustrating to the characters. They can’t take action yet, and haven’t yet decided on the best action to take. This means a lot of inconclusive discussions about strategy. Lima’s dialogue writing is stronger here than in previous books, though, and the spooky Rose Inn adds intrigue. Keira learns some creepy secrets there and meets several interesting characters, one of whom becomes deeply important later.

Once Keira and her gang start taking action, the book becomes more compelling. I didn’t realize how attached I was to Rio Seco until Keira set foot there again, and Gideon’s dastardly plans could spell the end for the little town. Keira comes into her own as a leader, one person must make a terrible choice, and then it all ties up in an emotional finale.

Blood Sacrifice is a satisfying stopping point for Blood Lines. Lima resolves all the loose ends while leaving room to revisit these characters, should she choose to do so. Thanks, Ms. Lima, for an enjoyable series and a fitting ending. —Kelly Lasiter