Blood Feud - Alyxandra Harvey

Blood Feud is the second book in The Drake Chronicles series by Alyxandra Harvey. It was published on 5th July 2010 by Bloomsbury and it is 272 pages long.

Plot
The action and romance continue as the Drakes face a new vampire with a 200-year-old grudge. It’s been centuries since Isabeau St. Croix barely survived the French Revolution. Now she’s made her way back to the living and she must face the ultimate test by confronting the evil British lord who left her for dead the day she turned into a vampire. That’s if she can control her affection for Logan Drake, a vampire whose bite is as sweet as the revenge she seeks.

The clans are gathering for Helena’s royal coronation as the next vampire queen, and new alliances are beginning to form now that the old rifts of Lady Natasha’s reign have started to heal. But with a new common enemy, Leander Montmartre - a vicious leader who hopes to force Solange to marry him and usurp the power of the throne for himself - the clans must stand together to preserve the peace he threatens to destroy. (Taken from Goodreads)

What I thought
What I loved most about Blood Feud was that the main characters had a lot more depth than in My Love Lies Bleeding. Being able to see who Isabeau was in both the past and present made it possible to feel for her so much because of what she had been through. Because of this, I could completely understand why she is how she is and her actions/ reactions were justified. Unfortunately, I did think that Isabeau was a much better rounded character than Logan because we get to find out so much about her. I was glad to see that he was brought into her own story at different times throughout as it seemed to blend everything together well.

Blood Feud is told from both Logan and Isabeau’s point of view, much like how the story was told in the first book although it is not in alternate chapters. Sometimes one character will have a couple of chapters to themselves. Both characters have different personalities so the way that they tell the story is easily distinguishable from one to the other. Logan brings humour to the story and has quite a few witty one liners whereas Isabeau is more reserved and ‘prim and proper’ at times. I liked how their personalities and decisions bounced off one another and this gave the story a lighter feel.

As a couple, I liked Logan and Isabeau so much more than Lucy and Nicholas. It was nice to see them make a couple of appearances though, along with other Drake family members. The Drake family seems like one I would be afraid to be apart of, considering how much is always going on and the death threats at every turn. Alyxandra Harvey knows how to make a book action packed though, that’s for sure. The excitement of what was happening is mixed really well with the budding romance between Logan and Isabeau and I felt as though neither aspect overpowered the other at any point. I read this in one sitting, partly because it is quite short but mostly because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened.

It doesn’t happen very often but it is nice to see a book in a series that also works extremely well as a stand alone. Ok, there would be a couple of tiny point that may be confusing but nothing that I wouldn’t have been able to get over. I truly loved Blood Feud and can’t wait until the third instalment, Out for Blood, which is due for release in November. I think I’d be happy with any of these Drake brothers.