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A review by elenajohansen
Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I love Julie and Derek, I have always loved Julie and Derek, but the whole complicated mess of this book maybe wasn't justified by the incredibly satisfying "throw every emotion you've ever had at each other" climactic conversation between them. Did I love that scene to pieces? Absolutely. Did I love wading through endless exposition dumps explaining after the fact how Julie became Aurelia? Not really.
Julie's post-Magic Triumphs story is doled out in pieces, and several of those pieces get repeated, yet there are still (what I feel are) giant gaps in that story, so the setup for this book is simultaneously over-explained and woefully thin.
Derek's tale over the same time period is more mysterious, in its way, because Julie rightfully points out in her narration evidence of a radical shift in his personality, yet they speak to each other like they always have, and he reads convincingly as an older, sharper version of his younger serious self. Despite there being so much less of it, by virtue of Julie being the narrator, I think Derek's characterization is better than hers.
Flaws aside, though, I'll keep reading when the next book comes out (eventually...) I want to know why Derek has changed, and I want these two to have their happy ending.
Julie's post-Magic Triumphs story is doled out in pieces, and several of those pieces get repeated, yet there are still (what I feel are) giant gaps in that story, so the setup for this book is simultaneously over-explained and woefully thin.
Derek's tale over the same time period is more mysterious, in its way, because Julie rightfully points out in her narration evidence of a radical shift in his personality, yet they speak to each other like they always have, and he reads convincingly as an older, sharper version of his younger serious self. Despite there being so much less of it, by virtue of Julie being the narrator, I think Derek's characterization is better than hers.
Flaws aside, though, I'll keep reading when the next book comes out (eventually...) I want to know why Derek has changed, and I want these two to have their happy ending.