Customer Reviews

Blood Magic (World of the Lupi)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lily Yu, a touch sensitive and FBI Agent in the magical crimes division, and her fiance Rule Turner, a prince of the werewolves, are dealing with family conflicts over their impending wedding. Lily's family would have preferred a Chinese husband, while Rule's werewolf clan would have preferred no marriage at all. While planning the wedding, they are also working on planning a baby shower for their friends Cynna and Cullen, who we've met in previous books. Cynna is a finder and former agent with Lily; she's now married to Cullen, a werewolf sorcerer, and training to be Rhej (ie, spiritual leader) of the Nokolai werewolf clan.

Lily is happy with the turnout at the baby party, however is worried because she sees someone suspicious who shouldn't be there. Just as she informs Benedict, head of Nokolai's security, cries ring out and Cullen is found gravely injured with a knife wound through his heart. Some sort of magic is preventing him from healing. He's rushed to the hospital, while Lily starts to interview suspects and work the case. Some sort of magic user tried to murder Cullen, since he was able to muddle witnesses' minds and left blood magic in Cullen's heart. When the sheriff shows up at the scene, Lily recognizes her old boyfriend Cody from five years ago. Lily takes the lead in the case, and he helps interview suspects.

Rule has gone to the hospital with Cynna and they are worried about Cullen. He pulls through, but they think another attempt might be made on his life and the evil magic is still there. Rule and Lily visit Sam, the large black dragon who saved them from Dis in an earlier book, to see if he has ideas how to remove the magic. Meanwhile, Lily is also concerned over her grandmother who has left home without warning. Lily is surprised to run into Li Qinn her grandmother's partner at Sam's lair. Apparently, her grandmother sent Li Qinn there for protection. Lily discovers some big surprises in her conversation with Sam, both about herself and the enemy that they are facing. A long ago enemy of her grandmother's has teamed up with a sorcerer. With many twists and turns, Lily, Rule, her Grandmother, Sam and even the Nokolai get involved in the battle against the enemy. The last 1/3 had some surprises that made the story interesting! I was on the edge of my seat!

Eileen Wilks does a great job at combining the paranormal with crime mystery/suspense. Her World of Lupi series is highly original, with likable characters and interesting storylines. I like the way she pulls in the social and family conflicts, as well as mixes magic with traditional crime solving. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I knock back a star because it was a little slow at times, however it picked up and the last 1/3 was great. I also would have liked to see more interactions between Lily and Rule. I think Wilks' books would appeal to fans of urban fantasy and paranormal romance primarily, but also to fans of murder/crime mysteries.

This series needs to be read in order:

1: Tempting Danger

2: Mortal Danger

3: Blood Lines

4: Night Season

5: Mortal Sins

6: Blood Magic

If you are on the hunt for more good books featuring werewolves and other shapeshifters, check out my list of favorites...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/R3RRBZ0PV9G1AI

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I didn't expect to miss this series as much as I did, but once I started reading about Lily, Rule, Cynna and Cullen again, I couldn't stop smiling. It's rare for me to get so attached to characters, and for that I thank the author profusely.

I could never understand why this series is listed as Paranormal Romance, when in fact it's an Urban Fantasy at its best. I have nothing against PNR, but they usually have the plot centered on the couple's romantic development, while this series always felt more like a paranormal police procedural. Lilly Yu, being an FBI agent for the magical crimes division and touch sensitive, is usually called to the scenes of accidents that have peculiar or possibly magical origins. It appears there is an influx of those in San Diego, but Lily cannot find a reasonable explanation for these events. Then Cullen gets lethally wounded by a mysterious enemy, and while he is hanging on by a bare thread, Lily finds herself in a middle of an ancient battle between a being of supreme power and her own Grandmother. Can all these events be related? And how do you defeat a foe that is almost untouchable while you are constrained by precepts created by beings outside of human understanding? How do you save your loved ones along with the world, since if the enemy is allowed to exist, all would be lost.

The story is fast paced, with a few interesting twists to keep you turning pages. Lily is very conflicted in this book. Her upcoming marriage to Rule is bound to cause a lot of tension for both Rule's clan and her family, which she wants to avoid. Also she learns a bit more about the nature of her magic and her origin, and those revelations are tough to take, for they create unwanted chaos in her orderly life. I really enjoyed seeing the unflappable Lily losing it a few times, while Rule was portrayed as cool and collected as she ever was. And then there is Grandmother. I was overjoyed to learn more about her mysterious heritage and difficult life in China, and to see a much more of her tender side (even towards Lily's mother which was surprising).

Overall, this book truly worked for me. I wish more authors took the time to weave their plots and mold their characters so masterfully, without having to stuff their stories full of filler material. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment in this wonderful series.

-- Having read many books from Ms. Wilks I expected excellence and I'm pleased to report that I received it! Blood Magic is a fast-paced, suspenseful tale with more twists and turns than than a bowl of spaghetti. When you sit down to read this book make sure your afternoon is free because once you get started you won't want to put it down again.

If you're a fantasy / urban fantasy buff, pick this one up today. ~ Cerise, IReadRomance dot com

P.S. - Its a true pleasure to pick up a book with an ethnic heroine. Why should the white chicks have all the fun? :)

I really enjoy this author, eileen wilks. her books are well written & gives a different view of werwolfs. I eagerly waiting for the next bokk in this series

I've read Blood Magic twice now. I love this series, it just get's better and better. I have enjoyed watching the relationship between Rule and Lily evolve, it feels real. The best books are ones where you want to go back and spend time with the characters, I am always looking forward to Wilk's next book so I can do that. And..let's just say it this is a fun world to spend time in, sardonic Dragons, Grandmother (enuf said) and sexy werewolves.

As Lily and Rule are coming to terms with their wedding and the plans that need to be made, an ancient scourge of her Grandmothers and Sam the Dragon is back in town. Near tragedy hits while Lily hostesses the baby shower for Cynna at Clanhome and the story races from there.

In this book many many secrets are revealed and surprises jump out at you from nearly every page. This book has a superb blending of mystery, suspense, police procedural and romance. The characters are written in such a way that is so realistic, the story is plotted so flawlessly and written so skillfully, that you can easily suspend your disbelief and swear that all of these things are possible.

Thankfully the next book is already out, but I'm sure that once I finish it I will be biting my nails until the next book hits the shelves.

If you do like this series you may also like Patricia Brigg's Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1) or Carrie Vaughn's Kitty series Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville, Book 1) or the Ilona Andrews novels Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1)

Eileen Wilks's Blood Magic (A Novel of the Lupi, Book 6) is one of my favorite entries in the Lupi series. Lily's grandmother has always been a mystery, and now we get to see glimpses into her past, when she was young, impetuous, and plenty dangerous (only one of those has truly changed!). We also get to see some of what Lily has inherited from her, despite their surface differences. If that wasn't enough, there's plenty of romantic tension between Lily and Rule, we get to see some very nice bits about the dragons, and Lily's family members make some wonderful appearances.

Other than that, it's hard to find anything to say I haven't said before about this series of books. The world-building is gorgeous, and stands out among many of the all-too-similar paranormal worlds these days. Wilks has a wonderful talent for balancing warmth, seriousness, tragedy, and humor. The characters are lively and interesting, and the plots twisted and fun. There's plenty of action to keep things moving, and some lovely romance to keep things heated up. Definitely read the series as a whole if you can, because the ongoing plot only gets more complex as it goes!

[NOTE: review book provided by publisher]

As usual, Ms. Wilks wrote an excellent book. I had gotten behind on my reading of this series & had to read the last 3 back to back. But I think that turned out well. Ms. Wilks has characters that appear in all her books, brought forward in detail & I enjoy knowing what her secondary characters are doing while the main character is carrying most of the book. The main character has evolved & changed enough to keep my interest. I will continue to buy this author's books.

Really enjoyed this one. Its a great addition to an already wonderful series. In Blood Magic, Lily and Rule are preparing for their unconventional wedding (lupi do NOT get married!) Unfortunately, an enemy from her grandmother's past has shown up for revenge. In this story, more is learned about Grandmother's past, and Lily is also growing in ways she had never expected. She learns about the magic that lives in her blood, passed down from her grandmother. Not all is known at this time, and I'm excited to start reading the next book so as to learn even more!

Once again, Eileen Wilks has managed to put out another solid entry in this series. After the development at the end of the last book I expected most of the focus to be on that, but Wilks surprised me and veered toward a series of crimes that hit close to home for Lily and Rule.

I loved getting to learn more about Lily's grandmother and her heritage and her connection with the dragons. Lily's grandmother has a presence that has intrigued me from the start. I was surprised right along with Lily when I learned the truth of where her gift came from. Yet again, Lily has encountered something that rocked her world, and I can only hope that she's able to adjust to it before she takes anymore knocks.

One of my favorite things about this series is the lack of drama between Lily and Rule, but I have to admit there were a few times during this book that I wish I could have gotten a bit more of an intense reaction. I still enjoyed their relationship, but it dwelled a bit too much in their heads and not enough in their gut. I want rational, but at times I felt it was more cold and unemotional than anything else.

I found Lily kind of frustrating in this book. Her intense need to have things make sense irritated me when it was applied to the developments in her relationship with Rule. Stuff like that tends to make her seem more cold than in love. I also find myself frustrated with her attitude about her job as a cop. I know she's an officer of the law, but does this issue have to crop up every time something strays into the gray of her moral code? It just gets a bit tedious for me.

Despite my complaints, I still found a lot to enjoy about this book. We get more Cynna and Cullen here and I have to admit that even though I don't like them when they're the lead characters, I crave seeing them when they're in the supporting cast. I still love the family ties and friendships that the author has built in the series. Also, I like the slow way the other pack connections are becoming more important.