The human psyche, playing a major role in this book, is what I found most interesting. When it comes to survival, the human brain finds a way to deal with it. It can suppress memories that are too painful. This becomes clear when Cassie struggles to remember her life in Gaither. In some cases when things become unbearable the brain deals with it by creating new personalities—ones that are more adept in handling traumas.

This is exactly what happens to Lorelai. In order to survive as the Pythia, her brain reawakens a personality that helped her earlier in life, during the time she lived with her abusive father. Lorelai loves her children and would do anything to save them—but the goal of this other personality is to survive no matter what, even if it means harming Lorelai’s children. Cassie is confronted by Lorelai’s other personality in a life-or-death situation

and this is where the climax reaches its peak in terms of emotions.

I love Cassie, Dean, Michael, Lia, and Sloane! Even Nightshade is an interesting character, partially owing to his backstory in becoming a serial killer. The grooming he undergoes is dreadful. Thatcher Townsend, on the other hand, is a character that creeps me out. He cares too little for people and too much for his name and legacy. Every time he spoke, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

I do have some questions about the plot.

How does Malcolm not know how to stab himself without giving rise to suspicion when he is supposed to be the greatest of them all?! As Nine, it is almost unfathomable that he does not think this through. And how is Director Sterling also involved in this cult!! It feels a little out of place and underexplained. The same goes for TA Geoff who makes a sudden appearance. Totally out of place. What was most shocking is that Lorelai dies mere seconds before Agent Briggs arrives. If only they tried to stretch time.

Overall, despite some minor flaws, this book is engaging and an amazing ending to this series. I do hope Laurel gets past the indoctrination. I feel uneasy every time she says “The blood belongs to the Pythia. The blood belongs to Nine.”

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savanah's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.25

The way Jennifer Lynn Barnes writes found family and sibling-esque dynamics is remarkable and special. That and the character development really carried the series for me.
That being said, there are also elements to her writing and writing style that are more clinically showing how a character should feel, without showing the characters feeling them.

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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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funny mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

“All of us had a way of regaining the control that life had taken away from us. For Sloane, it was numbers. For Lia, it was keeping her true self buried beneath layers of lies. Michael intentionally provoked anger instead of waiting for someone else’s fuse to blow. Dean did everything he could to keep his emotions in check. And I use knowing things about people as an excause to keep them from knowing me.”

➽ Bad Blood was a great finale to the Naturals series! These books are always so much fun and I don't think I've found something comparable yet. In the final book, Cassie and her friends are trying to root out the cult of serial killers that is holding her mother captive. It's their biggest case yet, as they're dealing with a bunch of dangerous killers that have been operating for decades and haven't been caught until now!

➽ I couldn't put this book down, as it was suspenseful from start to finish. Cassie is desperate for any clue about the cult, especially since she can barely remember the time leading up to her mother's disappearance. When they go back to the last town they lived in, Cassie will have to face her past and search for any hint that could lead her to her mother. It's a tough, emotional time for her since her mother might not be the same person she was. Being held captive and brutally tortured for years will wear on a person, but Cassie needs to free her regardless of who she has turned into. I thought them taking down the serial killer cult made for a good finale, as it's their most dangerous mission yet!

➽ I still love the Naturals' interactions so much. This time we glimpsed a bit more of Michael, as his childhood best friend Celine is missing and his abusive father is getting involved in the investigation. We also finally learn more about Lia, as she's got a frought history with cults and their case is bringing up old memories she usually keeps buried. You can tell how much everyone has grown and now Michael, Cassie, Lia, Sloane and Dean are their own little found family!

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kalyn_c's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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dramagirl2003's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this was insane man. the foreshadowing, the criminal minds-ness, the pull of plot points from previous books! crazy good

thoughts while reading

p52: YOU is almost definitely cassie’s mom

p55: dean + cassie = matching profilers

p61: girl did you really live in a bathroom

p79: dean ain’t letting nothin’ happen to his fam

p97: oh i just assumed the inmate was cassie’s dad

p141: another natural…and a unique one at that…this is exciting

p222: lia 🥺

p258: oh sweetie no 😢

p274: yesss celine is back baby!

p278: oh lord, naturals truth or dare really gets frisky

p291: no…..

p293: 😱

p310: why??

p314: OMG

MALCOLM IS FIVE

THE TIMINGS LINE UP

p323: this is downright terrifying

p329: fudge fudge fudge

p335:

TA GEOFF

😳 this almost rivals holly jackson agggtm foreshadowing

p341: oh for goodness sake can we ever catch a break here 😭😭😭

p343: bloody ironic but a good guise

p353: does lorelai have DID? or just a wall of protection

p371: briggs deserves to be director

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gabsoulutely's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This put me through the ringer. My head hurts and I grew rather fond of these naturals. It was so stressful reading this book and I hope that I can sleep tonight. I really didn't see most of these plot twists coming, but truly what is a Jeniffer Lynn Barnes novel if not a shitshow LOL

Celene star of this novel honestly. Not the random family members being added to the family trees even in this series. Like I truly feel if you've read one Barnes series, you've read most of what she can offer. Still so crazy how dark this book was. I feel like the fact that it's so realistic too... that's what's even more haunting.

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fairychos's review against another edition

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5.0

holy fucking shit bro. for legal (???) reasons i will be keeping this review short (for now) because i’m writing this review at 11:30 and i am sleepy and tired but that says a lot about this book by the way i wanted to finish it as soon as possible..! but oh my. the PLOT TWIST, AFTER PLOT TWIST, AFTER PLOT TWIST? i can’t lie, i did NOT expect THT ending to this book. but yo?!? living for it. i loved this book series so so much; the naturals book series holds something so special within my heart it’s insane. it’s crazy. i’m addicted.

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