Review: Out for Blood by Alyxandra Harvey

Out for Blood is the newest installment in the Drake Chronicles and it's absolutely delicious. I love this series and I think this is my favorite installment, much of it having to do with how much I liked Hunter.

The Drake Chronicles tell the story of the many Drake vampire brothers and their love lives, each book focusing on a different brother. I love the world Harvey has created with different clans and kinds of vampires and of course an army that fights them. But mostly I just love that these books are full of fun, romance, and vampires. I mean, what's not to love?

Hunter is the girl in Out for Blood..Kieran Black's "honorary sister" and an excellent vampire hunter. I just loved her...she's fierce, loyal, and smart. She's not content to take the easy way out in any situation but she's fair and kind. She also loves romance novels and painting her toes. Quinn Drake, her vampire love interest, teasingly calls her Buffy and it's not a bad comparison actually since she displays many of the same characteristics. I also love that Harvey doesn't try to act like those other stories don't exist, she weaves in some of my favorite pop culture references with Buffy, Supernatural, and even Ed Westwick.

Anyway, Quinn's a player, famous for "interacting" with a lot of girls, but he feels something special for Hunter. (of course, otherwise what kind of romance would this be?) He does feel a tiny bit conflicted that she's a vampire hunter, but really just finds it sexy.

Hunter attends a school for the vampire hunters in training and something strange is going on there. Many of the students are taking a kind of vitamin, but they are starting to act peculiar. Hunter wants to know what's going on as the threat from the Hel-Blar (the most evil kind of vampire) increases. Quinn and Hunter will have to work together and oh maybe fall in love.

I loved Hunter, Quinn was pretty hot, and the story was interesting as well. I get sucked into these books because they are entertaining, they are the exact kind of romances I love (the romance is important but not everything), and they are just fun. The two leads have a great chemistry and there's even a lot of tension in this one over the vampires wanting to drink the blood of their human mates. They are just the right amount of compulsive reading and I do think you could pull some meaning from the story without it being overbearing at all. It's a world I want to return to again and again...can't wait for the next one! (Chloe and Connor?)

Really recommended for fans of The Vampire Diares TV show and Buffy.

Rating: 4.5/5
Things You Might Want to Know: Mild profanity
Source of Book: Received from publisher for review
Publisher: Walker Books (Bloomsbury)

Additional Links of Interest:
The Drake Chronicles Facebook Page
Alyxandra Harvey's Facebook Page
Alyxandra's next book, Haunting Violet looks FANTASTIC and comes out this spring. Check out the cover and excerpt!
My review of Hearts at Stake



The publisher has generously offered to send one reader a copy of the book with a special bookmark! To enter this giveway, you must have a United States street address. I'll leave this giveaway open until December 26th.