Blood Kin- Blood Lines Bk 3 - Maria Lima

Keira Kelly has finished going through the Change, which is what her Clan calls what happens when their bodies come into their powers. Unfortunately for Keira she didn't go the shapeshifter route as expected. No, Keira has hit the Kelly Clan genetic lotto and wound up with all the powers available. She's now the Kelly Clan heir designate, the successor whenever her Great Great Grandmother, Gigi decides to step down. For Keira that date cannot be far enough away.

Having only just rescued her vampire lover Adam from true death, Keira wants nothing more then to ignore all of this and stay in her beloved Rio Seco, TX. Gigi has other plans. Summoning Keira to British Columbia to introduce her as the Kelly heir, teach her something about all of her new powers and oh, maybe help her former lover Gideon to the afterlife since it appears he may be dying. All Keira knows is that she's not going alone. If she has to go so does her 1200-year-old shapeshifting brother Tucker and he's taking his vampire lover Niko. Also realising that she can't just up and leave her newly discovered Sidhe cousin (from her absentee mother's side), Daffyd ap Geraint, he's coming to the Great White North too. Only Adam refuses to go citing that his Tribe needs him right now.

Stopped in Vancouver before reaching the Clan homestead Daffyd goes off the reservation and disappears mysteriously. Keira is also taken aback when she's informed that she isn't needed to escort Gideon to the afterlife...he's getting better. Keira doesn't know what's going on here, but since she's been told to wait in Vancouver by Gigi she's damned well going to find out.

Ms. Lima has redesigned her roller-coaster storytelling to make it bigger and more exciting. The cosmology that she's weaved throughout the first two novels of the Blood Lines series (Matters of the Blood and Blood Bargain) culminates in Blood Kin. You get answers that you've been tantalized with through the series. Even when you think that there can't be any more answers you're hit with some to questions you only had in your subconscious. My favourite has to be the Machiavellian tale of just how Keira came to be.

Maria Lima hit me out of the gate in Matters of the Blood with just how good of a writer she is. The truly exciting thing is her ability to top herself in each subsequent title in the Blood Lines series. Any novel I read and want the next in the series in my possession because I don't want to leave the world that's been created around me is truly amazing to me.

Blood Kin is the conclusion to the first story arc in the Blood Lines series and is absolutely satisfying in every way. I warn you now though, just go ahead and pick up the whole series. You'll hate yourself if you don't have the next one to start at the conclusion of what you've just read.

Blood Kin - Blood Lines Bk 3 - receives a Classic 4 out of 4 stars from me, a stellar achievement. The next installment can't come soon enough.

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Blood Bargain - Blood Lines Bk 2 - Maria Lima

Taking up months after Matters of the Blood concluded we find our protagonist, Keira Kelly has basically moved in with her lover Adam Walker, the leader of the local vampires at the Wild Moon Ranch. Adam has been making all the other vampires at the Wild Moon swear off human blood. Even that is a concession on his part, but now hunts happen to the old and infirm deer the ranch.

Adam himself has not been taking part in these hunts only subsiding on his bottled blood. Keira has noticed however that things seem off with her lover. A stumble here, looking wane and hardly having any energy. Keira must think of a way to get Adam to take care of himself. Something that's proving more difficult then it sounds. Not even her millennium old brother Tucker can think of how to help, and since his love is Niko, Adam's second, this is affecting him too.

Not to mention the fact that people have begun to disappear from Rio Seco. Keira's garden spot in the Texas Hill Country is becoming more and more dangerous. Especially waiting the Change, her becoming what kind of supernatural she'll be for the rest of her long life is really starting to take hold. She knows none of the vampires would defy Adam's edict, but Keira needs to find out just what's going on. Deciding to investigate the disappearances with her brother, Keira sets into motion a chain of dominoes that may have dire consequences for all involved. And what connection does the ancient cemetery Keira cleaned as a girl have to do with all this?

With Keira's powers still not decided what they wish to settle on, her slightest touch can bring on a vision that brings her to her knees. Keira becomes an even fun more multi-layered character throughout Blood Bargin. We begin to find out more of her back story, included just who and what her mother was.

With Ms. Lima's talent for mystery, Blood Bargain yet again fits under my Paranormal Mystery heading. This time though it isn't the mystery so much, but the conclusion of it and just how everyone fits in that will keep you enthralled. Yet again, as with Matters of the Blood, Blood Bargain has fast paced, take no prisoners action. Blood Bargain grabs you by the throat from the go and doesn't release it's grip until you're done. The fact that it has a cliff hanger of sorts shouldn't worry anyone since Blood Kin - Blood Lines Bk 3 is out already and takes up directly where Blood Bargain leaves you.

Blood Bargain - Blood Lines Bk 2 receives an Excellent rating of 3.5 out 4 stars and the entire series should be on everyone's Must Read.

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Matters of the Blood - Blood Lines Bk 1 - Maria Lima

Keira Kelly is one of the younger members of her Clan. That's Clan with a capital C. These paranormals have been around for centuries in all different shapes and varieties. Keira has yet to go through her Change, the time in their lives when that particular Clan member comes in possession of their powers and what they will be for the rest of their existence. Keira's six older brothers and father are all shapeshifters so Keira believes that's the direction she'll go.

Several years in the past when Keira returned from England an emotional mess she discovers that the rest of her Clan isn't in the tiny town of Rio Seco in the Texas Hill Country were she left them. She refuses to relocate to Vancouver, BC, CA like everyone else and the edict has come down from the matriarch (read ruler) of the Clan her great grandmother, Gigi. If she refuses to relocate then she will be in charge of taking care of (making sure he keeps out of trouble) her entirely human cousin Marty. It could be worse, at least her best friend of 30 years Bea is still in Rio Seco.

Everything's been up and down with Marty over the years which basically means that Keira gives him money to bail his ass out of a crack every few months. Lately Keira's been having nightmares (visions?) seeing her cousin brutally murdered. On top of all of this her former lover, the quite married Sheriff Carlton Larson is sniffing about Keira trying to reignite an old flame. Oh, and then there's Keira's old acquaintance from London Adam Walker who happens to be the new owner of the big local ranch, The Wild Moon Resort, about to reopen on the outskirts of Rio Seco.

Keira's more then willing to get to know Adam Walker better until she believes that Adam may be connected to all of the strange happens going on in Rio Seco.


To me, there should be a new category called Paranormal Mystery because all the best Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance I’ve read have a great mystery running through them tying the story together. Matters of the Blood is no exception to that. Plus, it’s a really terrific one. Considering that Maria Lima’s first published story was nominated for an Agatha Award this comes as no great shock to me. Not to mention the fact that Ms. Lima’s a true talent at weaving subplots throughout Matters of the Blood that get picked up in subsequent books.

Speaking of her talents, Ms. Lima is also a first rate on at making her her non-human characters completely human with all of our strengths and failings. Doesn’t matter if you’re 37-year-old Keira or her 1200+-year-old brother Tucker. Making both her female and male characters almost vibrate off the page with charm, sensuality and sexuality really makes the story spark as well. This isn’t often for me, but my favourite non-lead character is Keira’s brother Tucker. Either by conscious design or just from him being larger than life, Tucker has a penchant for taking over almost every scene he’s in.

Generally I’m not such a fan of a slow starter, but Matters of the Blood is a slow starter in the way a good roller coaster is with all the pitches and rolls that comes with it. You may find yourself wanting more of Keira’s back-story at the end of Matters of the Blood, but I believe that’s done by design. You will know that all of the promises and clues that Ms. Lima drops in Matters of the Blood will be picked up again and fulfilled in subsequent novels.

All in all Maria Lima makes me break two of my longest standing rules since I’ve started this blog: I never give a first time author nor do I give the first in a series 4 stars. Matters of the Blood joyfully reminded me that rules are meant to be broken.

Matters of the Blood receives a Classic rating of 4 out of 4 stars from me. This one is a must have and if 9 out of 10 of you do not pick up the 2^nd in the Blood Lines saga, Blood Bargin, I’ll be tremendously surprised.

Please Support This Site and Pick Up a Copy Here: Matters of the Blood, Blood Bargin and Blood Kin - Blood Lines Bk 1-3 - Maria Lima

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