An ancient power is stalking her adopted mother, Kate Daniels, an enemy unlike any other, and a string of horrifying murders is its opening gambit. Now she’s back with a new face, a new magic, and a new name-Aurelia Ryder-drawn by the urgent need to protect the family she left behind. Now, as waves of magic and technology compete for supremacy, it’s a place caught in a slow apocalypse, where monsters spawn among the crumbling skyscrapers and supernatural factions struggle for power and survival.Įight years ago, Julie Lennart left Atlanta to find out who she was. I’ll be there for the next book in this series as soon as it’s available.Atlanta was always a dangerous city. And yet, there are people who will always do what they can to make things better, even if they have to use a blade to do it. It’s a place where bad things happen to good people. The Atlanta Aurelia Ryder rides into is broken and it can’t be fixed. Best of all, it was filled with a quiet hopefulness. ‘Blood Heir’ was one of those rare books that made depression recede every time I opened it. Like lots of people I know, I’ve been finding the Lockdown has made it harder to relax into a book. Knowledge of the Kate Daniels books gives the story some extra flavours but this would still be a strong book if you came to it cold. Every chapter felt like it was offering me something to go ‘Oooh, that’s good!’ about. new players to meet, old players who’ve moved on, especially the younger ones. There are new threats, a mystery to solve, conflicts to resolve, alliances to build. Travelling covertly allows her to come back in contact with people with a clean sheet while still having insight into them. She’s all grown up and is strong and confident.

The eight-year gap allows for things to have moved on, for the kids to have gotten older, for things in Atlanta to have gotten worse and for old relationships to have shifted.

Why such a long gap? Why is she so different? Why is she doing this in secret? It’s what we don’t know that kept me turning the pages at first. We know Julie is returning to Atlanta after eight years. This book had the freshness and excitement of a new start while still being able to build on everything I’ve learned from the ten Kate Daniels books.Īs I read it, I mentally labelled it ‘ Kate Daniels: The Next Generation but it turned out to be more original than that. Perhaps this isn’t surprising as the first draft of it was written and posted online in response to a health care workers request to have something / anything from Ilona Andrews to take their mind off the pandemic. ‘Blood Heir’ was a lot of fun and just what I needed to get me out of Lockdown blues.

Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews