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dtaylorbooks's review
4.0
If one just cursorily glanced at one of Mari’s Blood Coven books they would probably think it another insipid human/vampire love story containing characters with horrible names, filled to the brim with clichés and has ultimately run on far longer than what it should have. They would probably think the plots absolutely ridiculous, the characters overtly emo and the books trying far too hard for their own good.
Those people, I’d say, couldn’t read their way out of a paper bag.
No, Mari’s Blood Coven series isn’t something more than what’s already out there. It isn’t better than all of its like-minded brethren. It’s a SATIRE. This series is ripping into the over-bloated anus of its vampire siblings that, unlike it, take themselves far too seriously. Mari has taken every popular element in YA vampire fiction (and beyond) and blown it so far out of control that it is incredibly ridiculous. You know it, she knows it, the characters know it. And that’s why it’s so incredibly phenomenal. It rips on itself from the names of the characters (Sunny and Rayne, really?) to the overtly emo, safe and PC vampires to the polar opposite siblings and so much more. It’s all there, exaggerated to the extreme and it makes this series all the better.
SOUL BOUND, book number seven in the Blood Coven vampires series, takes Sunny and Rayne on another cross-country trip because Sunny and her vampire boyfriend Magnus had to flee. Unfortunately for Rayne, she’s been contracted by Slayer, Inc. to lock down her sister and boyfriend-in-law and bring them in for a Big Bad hell-bent on world domination. Throw in massive amounts of emo-angsting from Depeche Mode wannabe, Jareth, and Rayne’s ultimate battle between side one and side two of the same cassette and you’re bound to get rocketed from one side of the book to the other.
Mari’s writing, from her too-cool-for-school enormously far-reaching lingo to her expertly placed references to old school pop culture meant to play into minds older than today’s teens (which further confirms my belief that these books are meant for an older, more nostalgic crowd that harkens to a love of all things Buffy and REAL vampires like The Lost Boys who grew up in times further past than the last ten years) had me squealing with delight as I read, hitching onto those subtle mentions or contrived lingo that knew it was over the top and totally played into it.
You have to read these books for what they are: silly nonsense. It’s not trying to be an epic love story filled with action and adventure that has everyone but it laughing. It knows its place and its built itself a nice home in the Silly Suburbs. And I love it.
Rayne, of course, is still my favorite walking contradiction, being both a slayer and a vampire. Her demeanor has softened over the course of the books thanks to emo Jareth but on the adverse side Sunny’s toughened out. She’s not the giggly little girl she used to be and, loathe as I am to say it, she’s absolutely grown on me. I’ve read this series heinously out of order and even skipped a few books (mainly the ones in Sunny’s POV) and I may now need to go back and fill in the gaps. I’m more tolerable of Sunny now and I’d like to see how she got here. Really I’ve only been reading the Blood Coven series from Rayne’s eyes except for BOYS THAT BITE and now, all this time later, I do feel like I’ve missed something; Sunny’s growth out being an insipid little pop tart. I think it’s high time I saw that.
SOUL BOUND is yet another awesome addition to a fantastic series that’s as silly as can get but still sates an appetite for fast-paced adventure and maybe a little romance thrown in. I think even if you’re a fan of the books Blood Coven is satirizing you’ll still like this series. Just go into it knowing it’s supposed to be exactly what you’re reading and you’ll be okay. I just don’t get people that read something like this and actually think it’s meant to be serious. Humorless people, I swear.
Those people, I’d say, couldn’t read their way out of a paper bag.
No, Mari’s Blood Coven series isn’t something more than what’s already out there. It isn’t better than all of its like-minded brethren. It’s a SATIRE. This series is ripping into the over-bloated anus of its vampire siblings that, unlike it, take themselves far too seriously. Mari has taken every popular element in YA vampire fiction (and beyond) and blown it so far out of control that it is incredibly ridiculous. You know it, she knows it, the characters know it. And that’s why it’s so incredibly phenomenal. It rips on itself from the names of the characters (Sunny and Rayne, really?) to the overtly emo, safe and PC vampires to the polar opposite siblings and so much more. It’s all there, exaggerated to the extreme and it makes this series all the better.
SOUL BOUND, book number seven in the Blood Coven vampires series, takes Sunny and Rayne on another cross-country trip because Sunny and her vampire boyfriend Magnus had to flee. Unfortunately for Rayne, she’s been contracted by Slayer, Inc. to lock down her sister and boyfriend-in-law and bring them in for a Big Bad hell-bent on world domination. Throw in massive amounts of emo-angsting from Depeche Mode wannabe, Jareth, and Rayne’s ultimate battle between side one and side two of the same cassette and you’re bound to get rocketed from one side of the book to the other.
Mari’s writing, from her too-cool-for-school enormously far-reaching lingo to her expertly placed references to old school pop culture meant to play into minds older than today’s teens (which further confirms my belief that these books are meant for an older, more nostalgic crowd that harkens to a love of all things Buffy and REAL vampires like The Lost Boys who grew up in times further past than the last ten years) had me squealing with delight as I read, hitching onto those subtle mentions or contrived lingo that knew it was over the top and totally played into it.
You have to read these books for what they are: silly nonsense. It’s not trying to be an epic love story filled with action and adventure that has everyone but it laughing. It knows its place and its built itself a nice home in the Silly Suburbs. And I love it.
Rayne, of course, is still my favorite walking contradiction, being both a slayer and a vampire. Her demeanor has softened over the course of the books thanks to emo Jareth but on the adverse side Sunny’s toughened out. She’s not the giggly little girl she used to be and, loathe as I am to say it, she’s absolutely grown on me. I’ve read this series heinously out of order and even skipped a few books (mainly the ones in Sunny’s POV) and I may now need to go back and fill in the gaps. I’m more tolerable of Sunny now and I’d like to see how she got here. Really I’ve only been reading the Blood Coven series from Rayne’s eyes except for BOYS THAT BITE and now, all this time later, I do feel like I’ve missed something; Sunny’s growth out being an insipid little pop tart. I think it’s high time I saw that.
SOUL BOUND is yet another awesome addition to a fantastic series that’s as silly as can get but still sates an appetite for fast-paced adventure and maybe a little romance thrown in. I think even if you’re a fan of the books Blood Coven is satirizing you’ll still like this series. Just go into it knowing it’s supposed to be exactly what you’re reading and you’ll be okay. I just don’t get people that read something like this and actually think it’s meant to be serious. Humorless people, I swear.
ellieroth's review
3.0
Falta un libro entre este y Blood Ties? Porque según esto me leí dos veces un mismo libro, solo que eran completamente diferentes
julieabe89's review
4.0
Soul Bound is the seventh Blood Coven Vampire’s satirical series. Like the previous books, this one maintains it’s rather juvenile character development and plot. Don’t get me wrong Sunny is way less whiny and Rayne is way less angry whiny than earlier books, but the overblown way Mari does it is hysterical. This book mainly focuses on Rayne as she tries to find a way out of being sent to hunt down her sister and Magnus while Slayer, Inc. investigates Pyrus and tries to overthrow him. Chaos ensues the moment she and Jareth go looking to warn them that Pyrus is on their tail. What she doesn’t know is that Bertha, the made-over slayer, is lying when she says that they already had an idea of where Sunny is. Actually the Consortium uses Jareth’s secretary to low jack him and track him to them. The end result is that Sunny dies and Magnus is captured. So Rayne journeys to the underworld to save her sister Orpheus and Eurydice style. And there’s freaking wifi…in the Greek Underworld, and Hellbook, like Facebook but for the dead. You can check people’s living status (but not communicate with those still alive) and find people who left this life before you. That’s right, you thought death meant getting away from social media. Oh and most Chinese sweatshops have outsourced to the freaking Fields of Asphodel. You heard me. Sweatshops in the afterlife. The thing that annoyed me most is their use of “Hell” throughout the book when the Greek Underworld was more than just Tartarus. The Elysian Fields are shown but still stormed by demon patrol? It was an odd take for sure. THEN the ending is that they hit reset and we’re back at the beginning of the series to do things right this time? I am not sure how to handle that. I enjoyed the story and the portrayal of Hades as a gamer who is willing to let souls go for good gaming tips. If you enjoy an easy quick satirical read about semi-superficial teenagers with a crap ton of celebrity look-a-likes, you’ll enjoy this series.
shutupnread's review
3.0
I’ve always been a fan of the Blood Coven Vampires series but somehow, Blood Ties did not get to me at all. The book was written from Sunny’s perspective and, my god, is that girl annoying. Not only is she shallow but she’s a mess. She’s flaky, she doesn’t know what she wants and she somehow expects the world to revolve around her. There were so many times in that book where I was so frustrated at her, I could barely contain myself from throwing the book across the room. Or somehow reach into the book and strangle her myself. I mean, yes, she is now a fairy so she’s not as delicate as a regular human but still. There is only so much stuff she can do. I suppose, I should at least give her a point or two for having the courage to dive into danger but at the same time, the fact that she kept complaining about how Marcus, her supposed boyfriend, didn’t want to do things her way and then her dilly-dallying with Jayden. Oh goodness, there were just so many things wrong about Sunny. I really much prefer books from Rayne’s point of view – it’s just so much better.
Plus, the guys in this book were so lame. Marcus was MIA most of the time and when he wasn’t, he was just blah. And Jayden was extremely annoying – he got bitten because he wanted to be closer to Sunny – what kind of lame reason is that?! Not only that, but he becomes a half-vampire only because he didn’t complete the transition so it’s like what were you even thinking? And now he was stuck and needed Sunny’s help aka, really, Marcus’ help. Honestly, this whole book was all over the place and it would’ve been better if I just skipped it, period. I noticed a lot of reviewers on Goodreads also skipped the books written from Sunny’s POV, which now made a lot of sense because she sucks. (Sucks, get it? LOL)
Now the other book, Soul Bound, was a little better mainly because it was from Rayne’s point of view and even though she completely confuses me with her vampire/vampire-slayer/fairy princess/I don’t even know anymore, at least she’s pretty cool. I like her attitude with her don’t mess with me or you die vibe going on. The only downside actually, same with Blood Ties, was that I absolutely hated the pop culture references. I’m pretty positive that Mari mentioned Justin Bieber at least 50 times in each book and honestly, no one likes him so every time when he was mentioned, I was like omg, no. I’m pretty sure only tweens like him and both Rayne and Sunny are not tweens.
The plot for the Soul Bound was pretty decent but omg, the ending totally blows. It was possibly the worst ending ever and I really do not want to give it away but it was just horrible. Honestly, I feel like Mari ran out of things to write but she somehow wants to continue this series when it is now completely dead. I doubt I will continue to read the series by this point just because it’ll be ridiculous and a time-waster, for me at least. Even though it started out pretty good, it was just a fast spiral downwards. Maybe I outgrew the book and the series but at this point, everything from Rayne’s or God forbid, Sunny’s mouth, just seems incredibly juvenile and outrageous. Granted, it’s funny and relatively fast-paced but sometimes, being fast-paced, is not a good thing. And in this case, it’s not.
Overall, Soul Bound was better than Blood Ties but both were incredibly lacking. Sunny was a terrible POV and the ending for Soul Bound was just horrifying.
Plus, the guys in this book were so lame. Marcus was MIA most of the time and when he wasn’t, he was just blah. And Jayden was extremely annoying – he got bitten because he wanted to be closer to Sunny – what kind of lame reason is that?! Not only that, but he becomes a half-vampire only because he didn’t complete the transition so it’s like what were you even thinking? And now he was stuck and needed Sunny’s help aka, really, Marcus’ help. Honestly, this whole book was all over the place and it would’ve been better if I just skipped it, period. I noticed a lot of reviewers on Goodreads also skipped the books written from Sunny’s POV, which now made a lot of sense because she sucks. (Sucks, get it? LOL)
Now the other book, Soul Bound, was a little better mainly because it was from Rayne’s point of view and even though she completely confuses me with her vampire/vampire-slayer/fairy princess/I don’t even know anymore, at least she’s pretty cool. I like her attitude with her don’t mess with me or you die vibe going on. The only downside actually, same with Blood Ties, was that I absolutely hated the pop culture references. I’m pretty positive that Mari mentioned Justin Bieber at least 50 times in each book and honestly, no one likes him so every time when he was mentioned, I was like omg, no. I’m pretty sure only tweens like him and both Rayne and Sunny are not tweens.
The plot for the Soul Bound was pretty decent but omg, the ending totally blows. It was possibly the worst ending ever and I really do not want to give it away but it was just horrible. Honestly, I feel like Mari ran out of things to write but she somehow wants to continue this series when it is now completely dead. I doubt I will continue to read the series by this point just because it’ll be ridiculous and a time-waster, for me at least. Even though it started out pretty good, it was just a fast spiral downwards. Maybe I outgrew the book and the series but at this point, everything from Rayne’s or God forbid, Sunny’s mouth, just seems incredibly juvenile and outrageous. Granted, it’s funny and relatively fast-paced but sometimes, being fast-paced, is not a good thing. And in this case, it’s not.
Overall, Soul Bound was better than Blood Ties but both were incredibly lacking. Sunny was a terrible POV and the ending for Soul Bound was just horrifying.
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