Blood Politics

Blood Destiny, Book 4

By: Helen Harper

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

You'd think that life would finally be dealing Mack Smith a kind hand. Living in London and with the opening of the new and improved city version of Clava Books mere days away, things appear to be settling down.

Other than the terrible nightmares about dragons, that is. Or the fact that she's being constantly tailed by a string of mages, shifters, and faeries, all of whom are constantly demanding her attention. And that's without even bringing the temptation of Corrigan, Lord Alpha of the Brethren, into the equation. Then, when a local dryad asks her for some help, things really start to fire up. There are some long, hot summer days ahead.…

©2013 Helen Harper (P)2014 Tantor

Seriously Screwed

Mac had no idea what she is in for. The Other world has become her life. She is a permanent fixture within its grasp. Not only that, but every faction wants a piece of her action. Mac finds herself with a whole new mess in her hands. But, in the end she gives up everything she wants for the "Others"!

A Roller Coaster All the Way

I am not the kind of person that becomes absorbed by audiobooks easily, which is why these little-known books are such an incredible surprise to me. In the Blood Destiny series, Helen Harper has created an outstanding balance between world building and character development, often conveyed in a way that I am not expecting.

This book, HANDS DOWN, has got to be the best so far in the series. I laughed myself silly multiple times--and cried a bit at the end. Mack's normal scathing wit is still present, but she continues to reflect personal growth through increased control and self reflection with none of the irritating back-sliding found in many other popular urban fantasies. A delightful turn leaves newer character, Aubrey (master vampire), as a constant source of ridiculous fun, though to be honest I almost had a nervous breakdown when he first appeared in this book. Additionally, Corrigan makes juuust enough frequent and short appearances when he is not directly involved in the proceedings to prevent the story from feeling like an obstacle to the wicked fun interactions between he and Mack.

Oh, and the story? Instead of thrusting us directly into a stagnant world of magical intrigue, Mack's new situation is conveyed through a creative slant: taking a vacation from it all. Of course, the relaxation part of the vacation goes up in a ball of fiery death almost instantly when Mack volunteers to run a few harmless errands during her free time. Who knew helping out some gentle dryads and a greedy troll could cause so much mayhem?

Almost every character that has been introduced in the series makes an appearance in either memory or reality, but their placement and timing are so well done that it doesn't feel like a single scene is frivolous. Of course, I do have some small complaints--several major characters are described exactly the same in every single book, and their descriptions are so sparse that it is a noticeable feature. It would be great to get a new detail thrown in every now and again to flesh out their image--though this may be done on purpose to allow the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks. Also, there is some rare word repetition (example: "She noticed the gleam of the silver, gleaming dagger," or something like that). The quality of the content tends to highlight these mistakes, although there are only one or two instances of it. Saskia Maarleveld does a fabulous job when this happens, never indicating any sort of awkward hitch or pause in her reading.

Oh and, by the way, I had never heard of Saskia Maarleveld before listening to these audiobooks. I don't think there's any way I could forget her after her performance on this series, though! Her skill at conveying a variety of emotions for a multitude of different characters while maintaining their unique accents, pitches, and speech patterns completely amazes and captivates me. Would I love these books so much if I were reading them directly? I honestly don't think so because my reading voice sucks toads compared to her performance, and she lends a dimension to the story that I could never give. I hope Harper and Maarleveld continue to work together for the next forty years, because I don't think they would ever produce a novel I wouldn't want to listen to. In fact, I think I'm going to go listen to the next book right now!

Sped right through it!

What made the experience of listening to Blood Politics the most enjoyable?

I have listened to all 4 books in the last week! I also deliver mail so I have been plugged in. And I havent been able to turn it off! Right now I have 3 chapters left, and I think I may be itching my neck waiting to listen to it. I wish they were longer, I tend to get books more like 20 hours long so I keep getting surprised when they end so soon. I very much wish that it was 2 books instead of 4. They go into great detail which is very nice and makes you feel like youre experiencing the book right there with them. I just wish there was more!
I also happened to listen to the first 2 and the next day the 3rd and 4th came out, so my timing was absolutely perfect!
Enjoy!!!

What did you like best about this story?

FINALLY - You will know what I mean.

Have you listened to any of Saskia Maarleveld’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I actually have, I really do enjoy that she acts it out rather than reading it in a monotone voice. She actually enunciates as if she has read the book, unlike some readers.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The whole darn thing!

Any additional comments?

MORE MORE MORE

Blood Politics (Blood Destiny Book 4)

OMG I love this series, I am hooked on these books. Every time I think something is going to happen, its something new. Such a roller coaster , I can't put the book down. Definitely recommend this series and book. I love listening to this and reading in between.

Blood politics

I really like her books I do not like that max is so angry all the time And I'm sorry that it took herso long to find out Who are soulmates is And then she's so angry all the time

Wow

I am so devastating by this ending I want it all to get better. Great series and recommend book but have to hear the next one now

CAN'T GET ENOUGH

I have finally come around to the narrator's voice and have to say I was able to get into the audio book more because of it, so stick with it if you're not sure, it gets better performance wise. I think I'm definitely going to listen to the 5th one (duh) because I've already come this far lol... I've already read through the series as well as the Corrigan books twice, and now I'm listening to Mack's story for the first time through while also reading the Corrigan series side by side, which I highly recommend doing. I already knew what was coming, but I'm still heart broken for Mack's situation. Am I the only one who wishes this was a TV series???

great book

awesome books loge it and can't wait to start the next one. the story line is very good and keeps you wanting more

I'm really enjoying this series

I'm enjoying the series, the story, the characters-- but so often the main character Mac is so dumb-- and that's annoying. she'll learn something, but continue to talk about something else (which has been proved untrue by the new insight she has- that she continuously ignores to apparently add drama into her life/story???) it is so irritating. otherwise the series is really fun...

hmmm, Not really thrilled... Thoughts?

Have you ever started a book in the middle of a series where some amount of time has past for the characters between the books (i.e.: 10 years later). When that happens they will usually summarized things for you during the main storyline. That is exactly what this book should have been (a Summary). With the exception of one thing all of which happened over the last few chapters. This book should have been book 3.5 (Not book 4). I want to give more details as to why but even though I am disappointed I don't what to give any spoilers.

For those people who are really into the drama behind the relationship buildup (not sure if that is a spoiler or not) then that is what this book is about. I think I could have pulled out about 5 chapters and put them at the beginning of the next book to get the same result. You know when a writer completes a novel and it is not quite long enough for the publisher... The writer will go back through the book and add what I call filler, more details here and there and maybe a side adventure, With the exception of a few chapters, that is how I feel about this whole book. I would not be surprised if she wrote book four first, then decided she needed something in between and wrote this one.

Another thing that bugs me is the ending didn't really fly for me. The writer pushed the last part without any real reason behind it. Yes it did add some senseless drama, but the urgency didn't make sense to me, the writer was clearly trying to hook you in for the next book (skip a little common sense and BLAM, you have DRAMA), which after reading this book I can see why Helen Harper panicked, however I was already invested, I know the Lord Alpha wouldn't be manipulated by the last event like the drama suggests, it's out of character. I have no doubt something will be explained in the next book to iron out the ridiculousness of the final drama. Still like I said the last few chapters were good, it felt more like the beginning of the book should not the end.

I am with HIGH HOPES, the next book brings it... !!!

I'll let you know. :)