Blood Cross (Jane Yellowrock, Book 2)

This book continues the tales of Jane Yellowrock, Rogue Vampire Hunter. I am very impressed with this new Contemporary Fantasy series. This second book gives us more history of Jane's past and it also explains the mythology of the vamipres themselves, which is very complex and interesting. On top of that, the book was also just a fun and exciting read. If you like the genre, this author and this book series will stand out. I read the Kindle version and it had a few funkky spacing errors in it. There were a few words that had spaces within them where they didn't belong. Not too many, but I thought I'd mention it.

For me to get into Urban Fantasy, the world needs to be exactly parallel to my own, the laws of science obeyed, the cities not so changed as to be unrecognizable. The only difference is that the stuff of nightmares are normal, prowling the cities. When I picked up the first of the series, Skinwalker, I thought, 'nice book'. But as I delved deeper, it reminded me more like a wine tasting, there was so much more in the glass. Nice wine, with subtle hints of oak, cherry, smoke. The series is a little different in that you need to read two shorts, one on her website called Kits, and one in the anthology Strangebrew to really get up to speed. Though not entirely necessary, it helps. Like a good wine, the Jane Yellowstone series has a complex web of flavors. Jane is a woman who is discovering exactly what she is, who has lost many of the memories of her youth, and shares her skin with a Beast (Mountain lion), who has her own set of memories she occasionally shares with Jane. Her abilities to walk in the skin of Beast, as well as other animals, give her the ability to hunt other top predators. She's a rogue vampire hunter, which seems like a trite role currently, but Faith Hunter's take is very different. Her best friend, a witch, brings out the softer part of Jane, a need to protect Molly the witches children (Kits, in Beast Speak) The author is a master of weaving and closing off threads, only to weave another. She offers her own vision as to why Vampires are so closely allied to Christian Icons and explains the myth fully in Blood Cross. She brings in new characters, and finishes others, and gives Jane a chance to grow into her own skin. To me, some of the most unique parts of the book occurs when Beast gets her chance to 'speak'. In the way Temple Grandin has explained how animals think more like an autistic, Beast thinks in action, smells, and the present. A very distinct voice to contrast against the very human voice of Jane. I'm looking forward to more in the series, getting answers to the Cherokee Skinwalker legend and how Jane will grow.

Blood Cross is the second book in the Jane Yellowrock series. Jane is Cherokee, a shape-shifter with the soul of a mountain lion (or other large cat) inside her, and a vampire-hunter for hire. This book picks up where the first book - Skinwalker - ended, and I think that this book will be much more enjoyable and understandable if Skinwalker is read first. Jane's current assignment is to find the vampire who is creating rogue vampires and bring him or her to justice. Her life is complicated by the fact that Leo, the master vamp in New Orleans, has it out for her because he believes that she killed his son (this was the climax of Skinwalker). Jane's friend, Molly, a witch, and her two children have come to stay with Jane, and Molly's daughter has some scary powers herself. I hate to say much more about the plot because I don't want to include spoilers. I really enjoyed this book. The action was awesome, and I liked that we learned more about Jane's background and got to hear more from Beast. Also the originality of Jane/Beast co-existence is refreshing in a market that is glutted with urban fantasy. The world in the book is well-detailed, and there's even a romance plot. The secondary characters of Molly and her children also get a larger role in this book. The only thing that I didn't like so much is that Jane doesn't seem quite as strong in this book as in the previous one. Strong women are one of the things that appeals to me about UF, so this was a bit of a disappointment - not enough to dock a star, but something that folks should be aware of. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Charlaine Harris remarked about Jane Yellowrock: "You have to respect a character who requires boulders in her backyard as a pre-employment requirement." As an American-Indian shape-shifter, Jane is a gun for hire. Picking up where Skinwalker left off, she is still under contract to the local New Orleans Vamp Council. Her assignment - to hunt down rogue vampires and bring to justice whoever is responsible for making them. Complicating her job: Leo, the head master Vamp of the city, is still grieving the loss of his son and he blames Jane for his death. Apparently, vamps under extreme depression(called "Dolore")suffer mentally and their reasoning is impaired. If that isn't enough, a vamp war is brewing in the Big Easy. Her best friend, the witch Molly, is visiting with her two small children. One of whom, 6-yr-old Angelina, has growing powers of her own. But, will they be caught in the crossfire? Everything is "ramped up" in this installment. Romance and sex:(Leo's human servant, George Dumas, and police officer Rick LaFleur vie for Jane's attention) The mythology of Vampires, as well as Jane's Native American culture (and Skinwalker past), are further explored and expanded. The Battles are fierce. Luckily, Jane has new human allies in the police force and in the community. A man named Derek, leads a group of ex-soldiers trying to take back their community and forms an alliance with Jane. I really liked Skinwalker. But I think Blood Cross is even better, and I can't wait to see those Killer Legs in another Jane Yellowrock adventure.

This is the second book in the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter and it was just as awesome as the first book. It is a fast-paced book with wonderful action scenes and wonderful characters. I would definitely recommend reading the first book first, if you liked the first book you should like this one. This book picks up where the last left off. Jane is still in New Orleans and is still on contract to hunt down the maker of the rogue vampires. She is joined by the witch Molly and her children. As Jane tries desperately to track down the rogue maker, she finds out that somehow the witches of New Orleans are involved. Can Jane track down the rogue maker before Molly and her children are forced into the witchy problems of New Orleans? Like the first book this book is very densely written and full of action. Jane very rarely stops to catch her breath, yet despite of all the action the characters are intriguing, are well-developed and have a lot of depth to them. In this book we finally learn more about Jane's personal history and we also learn a lot more about the Vampires' Curse and their origins. Also as in the first book there is a little chemistry going on between some of the characters. Jane/Beast continue to find Bruiser intriguing, and undercover cop Rick is also after Jane for at least one date. Jane and Leo, the Master Vampire, of New Orleans have very strained relations as Leo deals with his depression over the death of his son. Molly and her kids bring a nice element to the story and force Jane to show her soft side some of the time too. This helps to make Jane a very believable character. The world Hunter has created is very interesting and different from many of the paranormal worlds out there. She really broadens the world in this book and gives us insight into how the Vampires tick. She does a great job at writing a tight plot without a lot of excess fluff. Jane knows what she wants to do and gets there, most of the time, dealing with the unexpected in unique and interesting ways. If I have one gripe about this story it would be that Jane almost dies a number of times, sometimes I was left wondering if Jane was such a fabulous vampire slayer how did she get herself almost killed a number of times in less than a couple days? That being said Jane has the wonderful ability to survive the impossible and it makes for a heroine that is interesting, yet believable. I am eagerly awaiting the next Jane Yellowrock book. Originally Hunter was contracted for three Jane Yellowrock book and I hope that she writes a couple more after that (not sixteen more mind you, but a few more would be nice)!