Review: Blood Heat by Maria Lima

Title: Blood Heat
Author: Maria Lima
Series: Blood Lines #4
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: October 26, 2010
Publisher: Pocket
Edition: Paperback
Blurb:

Texas is heating up. . .

The summer heat wave that’s hit Rio Seco, Texas, has even the vampires complaining, but with Keira—the Kelly heir—home from Vancouver, the weather isn’t the only thing too hot to handle. Keira should be setting up her court and planning the big reception where she and her consort, vampire ruler Adam Nightwalker, will receive the magical leaders from the local area, but pomp and circumstance just aren’t Keira’s thing, especially not with trouble smoldering in her domain. A werewolf couple has mysteriously gone missing from a local pack, and when Keira is asked by their leader to investigate, she finds that some dissatisfied neighbors may have been taking—well—strong action against the wer community … action that could be repeated, and could involve Keira and those she loves. So, with the reception looming and danger fast blazing out of control, the pressure is on Keira to keep Texas safe for supernaturals. Sometimes, it’s just not that great to be Heir…

After some major things were revealed in the last book, like the fact that there are two Kelly heirs, we start this one as Keira gets back home from training with her family.
I could see the change in her since the beginning. It seems like in those months Keira spend with Gigi she finally matured and started to learn what it means to be a leader and how sometimes you have to make tough choices and think for the best of the group.

Even though Tucker, Adam, Nico and company make appareances in this book, Bea is the one this novel centers itself around the most. We finally see the reunion between her and Keira and we discover what she has been up to all that time. I was so glad she was back, I really missed her in the previous book.

I was expecting to read much more about the reception, but there were only a few pages about it at the end. I think that part was the most exciting one of the book, especially as it reveals an incredible cliffhanger.
For the most part, this book deals with a pack of werewolves that live in Keira's territory and need her help. While the book touches the subject of hate crimes and bullying, I wished there could have been more mystery. I think it was clear, at least for me, who the bad guys were, especially when you find out the reason why they were attacking "outsiders".

Of all the new characters introduced in this book, my favourite was Old Joe. He was a homeless person, who most people thought was crazy. I found him to be mysterious and tricky. I love that kind of characters.

This was a great addition to the series, in which we see a much more mature Keira dealing with her new obligations as a heir. After the way the book ended, I can't wait to read the next one!


Previous Books:
1. Matters of the Blood
2. Blood Bargain
3. Blood Kin

Next Book:
5. Blood Sacrifice (2011)

Rating:

* I received an eArc of this book from the author for review.