A review by judeinthestars
Blood Rage by Ileandra Young

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

5.0

A few things before I get to the book itself: it’s the third book in a series and you need to read the first two before this one. Don’t trust the blurb, it’s wholly inaccurate. And I wish more books included summaries of previous episodes (like in E.J. Noyes’s Halcyon Division series), especially when, like this one, they’re released several years apart.

I love this series very much. It’s everything I love about urban fantasy. I read Both Ways and Moon Fever in 2020 and have been waiting since then for the next book. In Blood Rage, Danika is dealing with the consequences of what happened at the end of Moon Fever. She’s off work, bored out of her mind, and subjected to all sorts of experiments to understand what the tattoo-like mark on her back is and its effects on her organism. And her mother isn’t answering her phone calls. Her vampire girlfriend Rayne, however, is fully there for her, as is her team of edanes (paranormal creatures), even though she doesn’t always realise how much they all care for her.

I won’t get any further into the plot, it’s very well thought, with just enough twists and surprises to keep it thrilling and quieter moments for Danika to work through her feelings. Even though I’d read the previous books quite a while ago and didn’t remember much except that there was a war and werewolves were involved, I dived right back into the story and the intricate yet immersive world Ileandra Young has created. On top of the creatures I’m used to seeing in books—vampires, werewolves and other shifters—Young adds less common ones such as gargoyles and sprites and it all feels organic.

Danika is a complex character, a badass with self-doubt, loyal to a fault. From Rayne to Solo and Duo, the twin werewolves, from her sister Pip to her pet chittarick Norma, each character has a unique personality, even the smaller ones.

Blood Rage is at once a satisfying ending to the series and open enough that the author could come back to these characters if she feels like it. And I certainly hope she does.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Read all my reviews on my blog (and please buy from the affiliation links!): Jude in the Stars