Blood Rights

May 2, 2011
Intrigue and politics infuse Painter's unique vampire novel. Chrysabelle is a comarré, a human slave bred for beauty and high blood production. On the run after her master's murder, she will do whatever it takes to stay free and alive. Unfortunately, she accidentally took a dangerous magical artifact along with her, and now the ruthlessly ambitious vampiress Tatiana is determined to find her and retrieve it. Navigating the confusing world of her own species for the first time, Chrysabelle falls in with Mal, an attractive but curmudgeonly vampire exile living on the fringes of human society, and his ghost and shape-shifter friends, dragging them into her fight for freedom. Though the book is set more than 50 years in the future, it lacks almost all trappings of science fiction, focusing instead on the vampire court and its Borgia-level byzantine plotting.

Starred review from August 1, 2011

Chrysabelle is a camarre, a human chosen for the pure, exquisite blood she can provide the vampire Lord Algernon. She despises this slavish existence and finds a means of escape. But someone murders Algernon, and Chrysabelle is the primary suspect. Soon she is captured by Mal, an undead who has vowed never again to drink from the vein, a difficult task since he finds Chrysabelle attractive on many levels. Meanwhile, the powerful Tatiana vows to the dark one that she will find the camarre and the ring that she is believed to have stolen. More supernaturals round out the ensemble: a were-leopard who is cursed to turn into a kitty when not in human form; Fiona, a ghost who haunts and cares for Mal; the Preacher, a rare vampire who can walk in daylight. Prophecy, curses, and devilish machination combine for a spellbinding debut of dark romance and pulse-pounding adventure. Two more novels will follow: Flesh and Blood (Nov.) and Bad Blood (Dec.).

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.