Review - Bloodlust (Nightshade, Book 2) by Michelle Rowen (3/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 304 pages

Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: July 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0425242131
Stand Alone or Series: Nightshade, Book 2
Source: Borrowed through Library
Rating: 3/5 stars

This was the second book in Rowen's Nightshade series.  This series definitely has more of a urban fantasy bent to it than Rowen's other series.  While this was an okay addition to the series I found the chemistry between the characters and the plot to be a little bland.

This book picks up a few weeks after Nightshade.  Jillian and Declan are on the run; the poison in her blood continues to slowly kill Jillian as well as tempt Declan, while Declan is gradually loosing the control that the serum gave him over his emotions.  They have been tasked with protecting Matthias's daughter.  Matthias enters the picture vastly weakened but worried that his brother Kristoff will rise and take the kingship from him.  Now Jillian and Declan must, not only struggle with their own problems, but also stop Kristoff from creating hordes of vampires that could end humanity as we know it.

For me everything about this book was okay.  Jillian is the best character of the bunch; she is tough and straight-forward but maintains a girl-next-door innocence that makes her easy to relate to and fun to read about.  Declan still comes off as a jerk for vast portions of this book as does Matthias.  Although I enjoyed the complexity of these two male characters and their interesting personalities; I didn't feel much chemistry between them and Jillian.

This plot focuses mostly on vampire politics (where as the other one dealt with a lot of lab research).  This book is definitely more of a dark urban fantasy with a little paranormal romance sprinkled in.  There are a lot of twists and turns that keep things interesting; although I found that most of these twists and turns were fairly predictable.

There is some action, a lot of intrigue, and lots of politics.  While I found all of this interesting I didn't find the world, the theory behind the paranormal species, or the characters to be groundbreaking or outstanding.

The book ends well and resolves most issues, but is left open for future adventures between Jillian and Declan.  I haven't heard anything yet about a third book in this series.

Overall it was an okay read.  It is decently written and engaging.  While I love Jillian as a character I am not sold on either Declan or Matthias and don't think they have the best chemistry with Jillian.  The world, plot, characters, and paranormal races are fine but nothing really new or special.  This book is more focused on vampire politics than anything else and as such is much more of a dark urban fantasy.  I read it and thought, "well I guess that was okay".  When I was finished I didn't dislike the book, but I wasn't eager to read another book in this series either.  This would be a good filler read for urban fantasy vampire fans.  I personally probably won't be reading any more books in this series because there are too many other excellent urban fantasies out there.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge

- 100+ Reading Challenge