Again nice but not very memorable. review soon... ( )

Blood Kin is a first person POV Paranormal Romance book about Holly, a half-fae spy who is forced by her father to spy on a sunmage, Simon DuCaine and the also a first person POV on Guy DuCaine, a templar who caught the said, spy, falling off a roof and eventually wanted some revenge to prevent more deaths and ambushes from Beast creatures.

If you read the blurb given, its actually summarized the entire book to you. So let's cut the chase.

I saw this book in a book ad and eventually I get them (I like girl spy novel) and am not pleased with it. For starters, although the book was set in a city with it paranormal intrigue with human, vampires, beast and fae fighting against one another, I don't really have the vibes of what it is. Someone said it is an urban fantasy while other said its steampunk while someone said its fantasy, so here I am, finished with the rest of the book and still maintain that it was a historical romance author trying to write a paranormal book and failing hard. I actually read 40% of the book in searching for some plot and the said action and to be honest, there's a lot of drama in this book that was not up to the cup of my tea. I eventually read it till the end since if I give up reading then, the book will remain unread forever.

Most of the time, I was skeptical with awkward Victorian-age dialogues and even the first POV narrations were weak to maintain the charade. Holly was possibly the worst spy ever, majority of the story is about her making charm while another was her trying to spy but failing. She couldn't even fire a gun and the whole time she's as reliable as a gnat. I'm not sold by the author trying to come up with the character being spy (which are consistently being mentioned) when she barely even do enough spying. The are multitude of motive inconsistencies in every chapter and plots because the main focus of the story seems to be centered on the animal attraction between both POV characters. Normally, I don't mind this but if you are expecting a tough as nails female spy UF/PNR novel, you're out of luck. Its a classic damsel in distress situation with some romance with knight in shining armor, if you want a better read, you should check out Virginia Henley or Nora Roberts anthologies.

Personally, I like the main story arc about a spy unwillingly being forced by her wicked father to do evil deeds but the author need to work up a proper tightfist storyline with enough complexities to made this book readable. There are thousands more books out there and this one fades in comparison. Most importantly, Keri Arthur quoted this book, oh darn it, I am a big fan of hers but to be honest, the quality of the story is bad. I can take bad writings and bad grammar but even for a romance novel, this book lack its allure. ( )

It is so unsettling and infuriating to many of us, who appreciates real literary talent, that the authors chose language or situations that prohibit us adding their works to our libraries.
I felt confident that a setting of the 1300's where most likely the F...in words weren't used that it wouldn't be a major problem. Given the summary, I suspected there might be some crude slang but not the sickening profanity of debased sexual references.
The story is adventurous, dramatic, imaginative, with an element of intrigue but the crude profanity kills the perfectness of it. The sexual references one perhaps can deal with since it doesn't go int explicit detail but the profanity is totally distasteful.
The plot is in a unique setting of four different types of beings brought together through a treaty which some do not approve. Though the two main characters are from two different life styles and beliefs, their ultimate cause is the same - to keep the somewhat peace of the treaty. They are compelled to work together until the plan hits a major barrier.
Holly has no choice but to betray the man she loves and respects. Guy has to face crushing betrayals.
I won this and appreciate the effort to make these available to avid readers, but crushed I will be unable to keep or recommend this book. ( )

This is the second installment of the Half-Light City series and I enjoyed this one even more than the first. It sucked me into it's world of Bloods(vampires), Beasts(shifters), Fae, wraiths, humans with magics(mages), Templar Knights, and all the swirling politics involved in different species coexisting. I liked that the author named the chapters based on who was speaking because truthfully, it took me a while in the first book to figure out the rhythms of the first person narratives switching back and forth between the main characters. This time, while the switching narratives still occured, naming the chapters and starring between the voices definitely helped. The action and pacing was great and the characters of Guy and Holly had a wonderful chemistry. I hope there are more adventures to be had in this interesting world of M.J. Scott's.

FTC Advisory: I won a copy of this book through the GoodReads First Reads program - thanks! ( )

I didn't realize that BLOOD KIN didn't revolve around the same characters as book 1 so I was kinda sad to start reading it and find that out. Lily and Simon still have roles but BLOOD KIN revolves around Holly who is a half Fae thief and spy and Guy who is a Templar Knight and also Simon's brother.

Holly despises the man that fathered her but when he puts a geis on her she has no choice but to spy on Simon to find out his secrets. Guy is trying to keep Lily his brothers wife out of danger when Holly who happens to be a spy falls in his arms. Holly cant tell Guy why shes really there but they end up teaming up together with the hopes that they can help each other out. I didn't feel as connected or invested in the characters outcomes but I still enjoyed Holly and Guy's journey together. Their attraction to each other is apparent from the first time they lay eyes on each other and it steadily grows. It was great that M.J Scott was able to continue the storyline from book one while introducing a new love interest and also keeping the original characters involved.

Out of the two books Book one SHADOW KIN is definitely my favorite but BLOOD KIN was a good addition to the series. The world building of this series is still fantastic and there is plenty of dangerous situations thrown in. I'm not sure who Scott plans to write about next but I hope all the characters will still be involved. ( )