Death's Rival: A Jane Yellowrock Novel [Kindle Edition]

Faith Hunter (Author)

Book Description

Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don’t want to cross—especially if you’re one of the undead…





For a vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as a boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the city of New Orleans, and is not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that’s tantamount to a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo’s not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane. But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires and makes their masters easy prey.




Now, to uncover the identity of the vamp who wants Leo’s territory, and to find the cause of the vamp-plague, Jane will have to go to extremes…and maybe even to war.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the novels of Faith Hunter:

“A new, strongly unique voice in the dark fantasy genre.” —New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison

“Hunter’s very professionally executed, tasty blend of dark fantasy, mystery, and romance should please fans of all three genres.”—Booklist

“A thrill ride from start to finish…Hunter has an amazing talent for capturing mood.”—SF Site

About the Author

A native of Louisiana, Faith Hunter spent her early years on the bayous and rivers, learning survival skills and the womanly arts. She liked horses, dogs, fishing and crabbing much better than girly skills. She still does.

In grade school, she fell in love with fantasy and science fiction, reading five books a week and wishing she could "write that great stuff." Faith now shares her life with her Renaissance Man and their dogs in a Enclave of their own. 

Product Details

• File Size: 764 KB
• Print Length: 336 pages
• Publisher: Roc (October 2, 2012)
• Sold by: Penguin Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007P7ESS6
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,983 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The series just gets stronger and stronger! October 2, 2012

By Mindy Mymudes

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The latest installment of Jane Yellowrock's story, Death's Rival could also be called Jane's Revenge.

Jane walked out of the forest as a young child, without memory of who she was and not speaking. As an adult she becomes a vampire hunter, killing rogue vampires for a living. I guess it's as good a profession as any.

In Skinwalker we discover Jane's dark world, a universe filled with vampires and Jane, the last (?) Cherokee Skinwalker. Skinwalkers are able to shift into various animals when she has a sample of their DNA. Jane also shares her body with the soul of Beast, a cougar. Molly, an Earth Witch, is her best and pretty much her only friend. Molly and her immediate family are the only ones to know Jane's secret.

Her life takes an about turn when the Vampire Master of the City of New Orleans, Leo Pellissier, hires her. Now she's working closely for vampires, rather than just being hired to kill them.

In addition to Leo, we are introduced to some interesting men, including Rick, a cop, and Bruiser, Leo's blood servant and right hand man.

In Death's Rival, she feels very alone due to events in Raven Cursed. She is estranged from her best friend, and lost her boyfriend. Things are not going well and now she is drawn back into the world of vampires.

Death's Rival is a foremost a mystery. Vampires are not supposed to be able to get sick, yet they are. There is a plague taking down the MOC throughout the US and Jane has to find out the cause and who is behind it. We are there every step of the way, as Jane's support team, Derrick and his men, and Reacher, an computer expert, teases out the answers.

While she works through the threads, untangling the answers, she also discovers what happened to her people so long ago.

In addition Jane hires her own team, not associated with Leo. I adore these new characters--they are wonderfully developed. An ex-ranger and his younger brilliant brother are hired on as a team. The former ranger is the brawn of the family, and the younger brother is the brains, able to hack into anything. Which landed him on probation and under his brother's care. Jane is sucked into the family dynamics, the squabbles and compromises of a typical family.

It all seems to puzzle Jane a bit, but she rolls with it and we see a more mature Jane.

Unfortunately, she still has trust issues and it's interfering with her love life. Her lack of trust may mean the irreconcilable end to one of the men in her life. There appears to be a strengthening with another. This makes Beast very happy.

Beast is becoming a very strong character in her own right. We see more of the story through her point of view and the change in voice from Jane to Beast is marvelous. The big cat remains an animal, with animal senses and thoughts. She has accepted something that Jane hasn't yet--they are more than just Jane and Beast. Together they are stronger and more.

I can't wait until the next book in this series, and while the mystery is solved, there are so many places it can still go. Excellent story!

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Holy Crap Jane kicks some ass - best book in series to date October 3, 2012

By David M. Goldberg

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The series keeps getting better as Jane & Beast come into their own. Already a strong heroine Jane reveals even more strengths and history. It is the best book yet in the Jane Yellowrock series and can be read alone without the background books. But, for maximum enjoyment consider reading the entire series in order to watch Jane's character grow. You will want to anyway, after reading this story.

Background:

Jane is a skinwalker, a shapeshifter, able to take on the shape of other animals. Beast is a mountain lion, a puma, that Jane inadvertently merged with as a child. Her long association with Jane seems to have Beast developing more cunning and a stronger independent personality.

Jane was found wandering through the forest as a child years ago. After growing up under the governments foster program she sets out on her own to try and find a job working security. She becomes a vampire hunter, a good one. This brings her into the world of the vampire leaders and oddly enough she starts working for them. Vampires are neither good nor evil. They are what you would expect if you gave humans superpowers and long life. Some good, some bad, all arrogant and a law onto themselves. Jane helps enforce that law, becoming "The Enforcer" for Leo Pellissier the Vampire Master of New Orleans and by extension the most powerful vampire in the country.

In the previous novel Jane best friend breaks their relationship after Jane is forced to kill her sister and she loses her boyfriend to a were curse. She starts this novel emotionally isolated, alone and yet her independence shows her inner strength.

Death's Rival

Death's Rival starts with the unexpected. Vampires are getting sick. But vampires just don't get sick. They die and can get hurt, but disease has never touched them before. As the sickness develops vampire city leaders lose their independence and bow to a new unknown master. This new vampire is making a move on Leo's turf and things are building to a vampire war. As Leo's Enforcer, Jane must identify and fight the minions of this challenger. But although she claims the title, she is not truly Leo's Enforcer as she never accepted the blood bond and servitude that go with it. Leo views this as a weakness and perhaps even a threat and moves to correct this. Jane views this attempt to ensnare her as a betrayal and their relationship continues to be complicated.

Leo's forces contain a traitor who is feeding information to the enemy. Who is the traitor and the face of the enemy is revealed as the story progresses. The enemy is a very old and very powerful vampire. He and Jane's mysterious past have a history together. Jane find more of her skinwalker tribal roots and recovers more memories. She emerges stronger and determined. He destroyed her people,hunting, enslaving and draining them of blood. He rejects the rules of the vampire laws and feeds indiscriminately and to the death on humans. This makes him very powerful and a cruel enemy. To defend Leo, the rule of vampire law and for vengeance for her people, Jane (and Beast) enter into a truly climactic battle that can only end in one of them lying dead. This is one of the best battles I have read, leaping from one high to another as Jane battles this ancient enemy and his allies.

If you like excitement read this book. If you are already familiar with the Jane Yellowrock series you will not be disappointed.

As a bonus the author throws in a teaser from her Rogue mage series, another excellent read.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars They just keep getting better! October 2, 2012

By Melissa Gilbert

Format:Kindle Edition

From the first line - vamps don't get sick - Faith Hunter takes Jane Yellowrock on a gritty, bloody, and suspenseful ride navigating vamp politics, brutal fights, and Beast's longing for a mate. Readers had better buckle up before take-off because Death's Rival is a wild ride full of twists, turns, and surprises.

In Death's Rival, Jane is commissioned with the seemingly impossible job of taking blood from master vampires who have become physically sick after a challenge from an unknown master. The past catches up with Jane and hits her hard as she struggles with her past decisions, her kill count, and her childhood. She is saddened by those she's lost and concerned about those she still stands to lose, including some new friends. Overshadowing Jane's personal demons is a vampire war, unknown assailants, and a mysterious disease threatening those she holds dear. The body count is high in this book, so get ready for a bloody adventure.

Beast fans will love the scenes where Beast takes control. Faith Hunter has perfected the shift between consciousnesses in this book, and there are some great scenes involving Beast and one of our favorite boy toys! Perhaps Beast will even find the mate she has been dreaming of...

More About the Author

Faith Hunter, urban fantasy writer, was born in Louisiana and raised all over the south. Hunter fell in love with reading in fifth grade, and best loved SciFi, fantasy, and gothic mystery. She decided to become a writer in high school, when a teacher told her she had talent. Now, she writes full-time and works full-time in a hospital lab, (for the benefits) tries to keep house, and is a workaholic with a passion for travel, jewelry making, white-water kayaking, and writing. She and her husband love to RV, traveling with their dogs to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.

The dark urban fantasy Skinwalker series, featuring Jane Yellowrock is composed of Skinwalker, Blood Cross, Mercy Blade, the compilation e-book Cat Tales, Raven Cursed, the compilation e-book Have Stakes Will Travel, death's Rival, and Blood TGrade (April 2013).

Her Rogue Mage novels, a dark, urban fantasy series--Bloodring, Seraphs, and Host--feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic, alternate reality, urban fantasy world. These novels are the basis for the world book / role playing game, Rogue Mage. Rogue Mage contains lots of fiction!

Under her pen name Gwen Hunter, she writes action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Faith and Gwen, she has 28 books in print in 28 countries.

Along with other published writers, Faith participates in an online writing community geared to helping fantasy writers with tips and publishing advice called www.MagicalWords.net

Join the fans at the official Faith Hunter Facebook fan page now located at
https://www.facebook.com/official.faith.hunter or follow her on Twitter @HunterFaith
For more, including a list of her books, freebies, & upcoming events see www.FaithHunter.net and www.GwenHunter.com.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#51 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#60 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#51 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#60 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy