4.5/5

An eARC of this book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an amazing sequel. Sure, people aren't fond of Fantasy/Supernatural/Paranormal themes, but if you are, and aren't bothered by some gay erotica I really recommend this series. But be warned, this is NOT a romance, it is a paranormal fantasy with some sexy scenes. The main focus is the supernatural, the magic and their wonderous world, not the romance between the three main characters. Just so you know, this story has less situations of "off-screen" sex than the first book, but the sex scenes in it are more steamy than the ones in Triad Blood.

The story begins some time after the end of the first book - about a year after, I believe - and it already starts with a bang! Kidding. It starts with the source of the story's mystery: what/who is the monster doing the killings? Basically, the story is a witch hunt, there is an unknown being killing members of their society, no one knows what it is, there are hundreds of possibilities, and since the way they are dying is something never seen before .... let's call the strange triad.

Curtis, Anders and Luc are summoned to a meeting with the Families, and are tasked to find out the murderer, and the reason behind the unusual deaths. And as they go on searching for answers, new questions are raised and some secrets are uncovered. Treachery occurs left and right, lying is the key to a solution, new friendships are born out of unseen circumstances.

As a matter of fact, this isn't much different from the first book: an unusual occurrence, leading to the use of the unusually powerful triad, resulting in the uncovering of secrets and new friendships, which brings them to finding that they are more than they first thought, and then they solve the story's mystery, while coming to the conclusion that something that happened was unusual and it somehow has something to do with them, and so it becomes what most likely will be the theme of the next book. A mouth full, huh? But yeah, this is why I took 0.5 out of the review.

It was original, well written, and the plot was well planned. The problem? It follows that chain that is common in most book series: the same structure, the only thing that changes from book to book is the theme, the main problem. An example of this is the Cut & Run series by Abigail Roux. I'm not saying that the book or series is bad - the Triad Blood series or the Cut & Run series - just that the same pattern makes it easy to guess what the next book will be, not the theme.

That doesn't mean that it wasn't enjoyable. It was, and I'm waiting for the next book because I need it. NEED. IT. I love this kind of book, the magic and otherworldly quality to it. And the sexy men in it help. But do you know why I must have the third book? Because even if the romance isn't the main concern here, the way the story ended..... Curtis, you just put a Geas in my heart, and it won't be broken until I read what Luc and Anders say. And it will be torture until then.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

Posted on May 15th on my Goodreads page, my blog A Pile of Books and my Tumblr page (links added)