The Secrets of Blood and Bone ~ Rebecca Alexander

This is a sequel to The Secrets of Life and Death.  I said in my review of that book that I didn't know if it was one book or a series because the last one had enough closure but there was an opportunity for the story to continue.  I enjoyed this continuation.  I give it a solid four stars.  You can tell the story is more comfortable and detailed in this one.  There are more answers given but for each answer there are 10 new questions which keeps you reading, wanting to know what is happening to our favorite revenants.  Again you have to adjust between the two timelines.  We are following the present day with Jack, Sadie, Maggie & Felix along with the past but only Edward Kelley this time with some new acquaintances, Dee is mentioned but not with him. 


This starts off not long after the first one ends.  Jack is still running high on the blood Felix gave her and Sadie is still weak.  They are in a different town where Maggie's sister died under suspicious circumstances.  Jack is different but still Jack for the most part.  Things have changed quite a bit in a short period of time.  We are introduced to a new set of baddies.  Bathory is gone in the present but the Dannicks are there and they are frightening.  They are part of an ancient line of "hunters".  There is a wolf on the cover so I am not really giving anything away saying, holy moley there are Weres in this book and not the ones we think of care of movies.    These are 100% more disturbing.

I think if you enjoyed the first book, this one will be a welcomed continuation.  If you didn't read the first book, no worries, both can stand alone as they give enough backstory for you to follow.  But I think you should read the first one just so you can understand more of the internal battle Jack is having related to Felix and blood.  I would recommend it.  It is packed with supernatural happenings along with bits of historical fiction to grab your attention and keep it. 

**SPOILERS**

Something is off with Jack.  You realize this from the get go. Clearly she cares about Felix or she wouldn't have pushed him away.  She knows it is unfair for her to steal his love when she's only a borrowed timer and she doesn't want to be selfish.  She is still strong willed and efficient.  She cares deeply for Sadie and would do anything to help Maggie...including clearing out her sisters destroyed house after an untimely death.  She is conflicted.  Because of the blood she has these new sensations.  It is terrifying because we love her and she could be becoming a monster like Bathory.  She is so unstable she does stupid things like run off Felix and throw herself at one of the crazy Dannicks only to almost get raped.  She is losing a battle between who she is, who she was and who she wants to be.  It's all becoming blurred, leading up to one heck of a revelation.

Felix is ANNOYING.  He clearly cares for Jack but he still leaves her to do his "research".  This research that landed him in my hometown, NOLA.  It also led him to the bed of another woman.  I hated that.  I hated that he turned the first pretty face that literally threw herself at him.  Ugh, men!  He realizes in the end he still wants Jack no matter what but my level of frustration with him was off the charts.  Granted he does find out quite a bit of information.  Like that the stories of vampires are based on truths.  It is a type of living dead but not like the legends.  Its revenants that drink blood and "ascend" to another level.  There is hinting at demons again but nothing concrete. 

Sadie is still sick but shes a witch!  That's exciting.  She has power she just has to learn how to use it.  She is completely dependent on Jack, Maggie and Felix.  She died again but they got her back.  I hate that she is so weak because I've really grown to like her.  Her ability to protect herself from the hunt by using the forest is wonderful.  She just needs something (blood...?) so she won't be so vulnerable. 

Flashing back to Kelley.  He is in Venice, researching something for his "boss" who happens to be a Dannick.  He needs a cure for a degenerative disease that is killing his bloodline.  Kelley of course bites off more than he can chew and realizes this "cure" is actually a curse, the curse of the Were.  But they don't literally transform, they still look human but they become obsessed with "The Hunt"...with murder.  They are crazed and savage, barely human when the full moon is out but with that "curse" comes extended life, youth and good health.  He almost dies, only to be saved by Bathory who wants him to "fix" her.  He hates her, knowing she drinks blood of children to remain animated.  But she saves him so he tries to help only to find out she isn't really herself anymore.  She is mostly Saraquel, the "Angel" he spoke to in book one.  It's a frightening revelation, basically she is possessed.

How does this tie in to the present?  Well he clearly gets the "cure" back to the Dannicks as they are the Weres of the present day.    Jack knows too much but is a survivor.  Sadie almost dies AGAIN but whew she doesn't.  And they all save a young boy form becoming a monster like the rest of his crazed family.  Felix professes his feelings for Jack (yay) and Jack does the same (double yay) but she is acting more and more strange.  She seems to be blacking out.  Then she talks to one of Felix's research contacts and learns there is ALWAYS a price for immortality.  A revenant that drinks blood doesn't "ascend" they are acquired by a demon.  Jack is now Saraquel and it's awful.  Felix knows and tries to help and Jack tries to commit suicide to protect those she loves.  I freaked when it ended...she jumped off a bridge into the Thames!!! 

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books to give my honest review.

The Secrets of Life and Death - Rebecca Alexander

I received this book for free to review from Blogging for Books. I didn't realize it was historical fiction/supernatural.  I'm not sure what I thought I was going to read but I was not expecting this.  It was pretty  good.

It was confusing at first.  I had to get used to switching between the two time lines.  But once you adjust to that its an easy read.  I really enjoyed learning more about Dee and Kelley.  It was a tantalizing mix of history and fantasy.  Learning how the rituals came about in one chapter and then in the next following the lives of two young girls centuries later who are alive because of these rituals.  It was a great way to tell the story.  Jack/Sadie's plight made it hard for me to breathe, knowing how difficult things were for them.  Sometimes the story seemed to drag but nothing drastic and it wouldn't cause me to stop reading it.  With that said some of it also seemed rushed.  Like we didn't quite get enough back story to be able to fully empathize with the characters.  Not all but some.  Regardless it was an interesting book.  I give it 3 stars but its more like 3.5 stars.  I would recommend it just because the concept behind Jack and Sadie is intriguing.

Spoilers

I am not one that needs romance in every book I read.  Actually I've read many books that have zero love story.  But I really really really need this Jack and Felix thing to happen.  I mean it is kind of already happening but I need to go further.  Especially now that he is like heroin to her.  Oh that could get really interesting, just saying.   He seems so genuine and kind with just the right amount of skepticism.  Jack is set in her ways but her heart is in the right place.  All she wants to do is help.  Well there is that black market thing but I can't fault her completely for trying to make a living.  Plus she doesn't really hurt anyone...right? Sadie is a great character.  She is us.  This CANNOT be real.  This isn't happening.  Truthfully the whole concept of borrowed timers is disturbing.  A soul tethered to a dying body through sorcery.  Yet it is fascinating at the same time.  Its almost like a second chance at life.

Then we have Dee and Kelley.  They have a very weird relationship.  Clearly they care about one another but it is obvious Kelley, who is married, has a thing for Dee's wife.  It's just odd.  They are religious persons but they hint at sorcery, which we encounter with our first introduction to Dee.  It is quite the adventure they go on.  I legit laughed out loud when the Inquisition showed up.  Not because it is funny in the least but because my first thought was "nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition"...thank you Monty Python.  Anyway, they are kidnapped and brought to lands of Elizabeth Bátory to heal her because she's dying and can't bear kids or whatever.  Sad yes but now they are playing with dark forces.  And I knew something was up with the Angel voices...I didn't trust them.

Once the ritual in the past started and the kidnapping in the future happened, I had to force myself to put the book down.  I didn't see the twist of the present day witch being Elizabeth Bátory...that shocked me.  You batsh*t crazy woman.... killing the innocent so you can be immortal!  Oh Dee and Kelley, what have you done.  The "battle" was insane and everyone lived, whoohoo!  Except Jack is now a "monster", uh no no no, she is a good guy!  She is not a "vampire".  But then it kind of just ended.  Jack and Felix are in turmoil, Sadie is weak but alive and her mother is helping her, Dee and Kelley are allowed to live and the final "scene"  is Jack speeding away from her mother.  What the heck?!?!  I haven't done any research into this but there better be another book.  This better be a series because I will read it and I want to know more!