Review copy was received from Publicity team. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews
Series: Aurelia Ryder #1
Published by Self-Published on January 12, 2020
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 375
Format: eARC
Source: Publicity team
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Atlanta was always a dangerous city. Now, as waves of magic and technology compete for supremacy, it’s a place caught in a slow apocalypse, where monsters spawn among the crumbling skyscrapers and supernatural factions struggle for power and survival.
Eight years ago, Julie Lennart left Atlanta to find out who she was. Now she’s back with a new face, a new magic, and a new name—Aurelia Ryder—drawn by the urgent need to protect the family she left behind. An ancient power is stalking her adopted mother, Kate Daniels, an enemy unlike any other, and a string of horrifying murders is its opening gambit.
If Aurelia’s true identity is discovered, those closest to her will die. So her plan is simple: get in, solve the murders, prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled, and get out without being recognized. She expected danger, but she never anticipated that the only man she'd ever loved could threaten everything.
One small misstep could lead to disaster. But for Aurelia, facing disaster is easy; it’s relationships that are hard.
Blood Heir is the first book of Aurelia Ryder, the spin off series from the hit series, Kate Daniels. I’m a huge Ilona Andrews fan, they are my favorite UF/PNR writers so I may be slightly biased in my review, but I will attempt to keep fangirling to a minimum.
Julie left town at the end of Magic Triumphs to head off into parts unknown. It is now years later, she looks different, smells different and her magic is also a little bit different. She is back in Atlanta to fight against the a new big bad and save Kate and Curran. Oracles never call with good news and Julie got the worst, if Kate knows about the new enemy, she will try to fight it and lose. It is up to Julie, and a blast from her past, to team up in order to save her family.
First, do you need to have read the Kate Daniels series to read this book. While not totally necessary, I do think knowing all the players and some histories will make the book even more enjoyable. There are a lot of players from the main series that show up and we get to see what their lives look like later.
Conlan is a little terror, as you would expect from Kate and Curran’s child, but he is a great little brother to Julie. There are a few cameos by some of my other favorites from the original series including Barabas, Christopher, Ascanio, Hugh and many more.
I loved the growth Julie has had since she left Atlanta. She is smarter stronger and definitely an adult now. All the years of training with Erra have paid off and she really has come into her own skin. Derek, well he is a surprise and I have so many questions about him. But Ilona is adamant he is not a First so Derek will definitely have a very cool backstory going on what happened to him while he was away from Atlanta.
Blood Heir is a good first book in a series. It did everything a first book it is series should do, setting up an overall plot arc, introducing the characters, beginning a possible romance *wink, wink* and delivering a solid story. My rating is probably a little inflated due to my fangirl status but it felt like coming home to a world a fell in love with over years. I’m so excited for all the possibilities for the next two books of the series.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER-20
Can you believe I haven’t read a Ilona Andrews book before? I’ve been wanting too, but I just don’t seem to get to it. Maybe now I’m on leave I’ll find some time.
I’m glad you enjoyed this book so much! 😉
I hope you get a chance to try them out, they really write fantastic stories that are full of fun characters
I’m glad you loved this. I’ve been seeing lots of positive reviews, and I was tempted to read this as well, but I haven’t read the other books so I decided not to.
I think you could definitely read it without the others but the depth of knowledge of the world would be missing a little bit, so it might not hold up quite as well for you.
I was disappointed when they took the story off their blog. I looked forward to every installment. Glad there wasn’t that long to wait for the full story to be published.
Yeah it was so much fun to get snippets here and there. It uplifted my day so much. But YAY it is almost here.
Robin, you will find it surprising when you read my review. I didn’t read yours until I had scheduled mine and I laughed at how we said so many of the same things. Obviously, great review! I pretty much love everything they write.
Haha. I guess we were on the same track
Didn’t read the review since I love for this authors books to be a surprise. Can’t wait to read. My book arrived, but I’m debating if I want to wait for the audio ^_^.
I will totally be listening to the audio version as soon as it comes out
I’ve been wanting to read one of their books for a few years now and don’t know why I haven’t gotten around to it yet. They always sound so good.
I really enjoy them. They have great characters and stories and have grown so much as authors. There first few books a little less polished but they only get better
I have so many questions about Derek….so many! I loved this one, too. Great review, Robin!