Book Review – Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews

Series: Kate Daniels World

Published: January 21, 2021

BooK: 1

Review by d c mallory

Upon reading the last book of the Kate Daniels series, an delightful and satisfying effort you should undertake prior to reading this book if you haven’t already done so, I sat back and wondered what was next. Was this book the last of the Kate Daniels series, or was someone else going to pick up the mantel to keep the family’s legacy alive? Of course, Julie Olsen Lennart, Kate’s adopted daughter, was the obvious choice as she rode off into the night with Erra, Kate’s aunt and the person who Julie called grandmother. Back then, many years ago now, it seems, I even put up a post asking this same question. And then, in January 2021, the answer came at last, and that answer had Julie Olsen being ripped apart and reborn as Aurelia Ryder – a Princess of Shinar.

In the eight years since Julie had left Atlanta, she was being xxx for the position of Princess of Shinar. Trained relentlessly in both her fighting skills and her education in all things, including the family’s history and digging into her own heritage, Julie began to achieve her true potential. With the help of her grandmother, Julie unlocked the magic of her ancestors, giving her a control/affinity for wolves, eagles and horses. Even with no other powers than her sensate powers, she had been gifted many of the powers of the family, including blood armor, when Kate had removed all of Julie’s blood, washed it with her own blood, and then returned the blood to Julie. Because of this Julie was not lightweight in the magic department.

Then, through Siena, Julie learned that with the return of Moloch, and ancient God of Fire, Kate was at risk of being killed by Moloch; in fact it was almost a 100% certainty. On top of that, Julie was chosen by Moloch to sit beside him as he ruled the world and, as such, should Julie return home and be seen by Kate, Kate’s death was assured. So Julie tracked down Moloch, cut him into pieces, and threw him into the firey oven. In the fight Julie lost and eye, so she took one of Moloch’s, replaced her lost eye with that, and went through a horrible transformation process that lasted for months. She was totally transformed, and while no one would ever recognize her as Julie again, She now had an erie resemblance to Kate; if they were ever seen together no one could mistake the two as not being related. Unfortunately for all involved, one of Moloch’s magic abilities is regeneration, and less that two years later Moloch is back.

This results in another summons from Sienna to Julie – now known as Aurelia Ryder, who sets off for Atlanta to try and eleminate Moloch and save Kate. In this endeavor she meets up with many of the people who were close to Kate, including Luther, Nick, and Gastek. None recognize her at first, but as time goes on and she continues to channel Kate as far as logic and manners, many begin so suspect the truth of who this Aurelia Ryder really is. And to make matters worse, who one true love, the man of her dreams and one of the reasons she originally left Atlanta, shows up with his own agenda, which is tied to Aurelia’s, which is to solve the murder of a local priest who was killed by an unknown creature after touching an ancient artifact.

The book is quite on par with the Kate Daniels books, and is enjoyable from the start. It has adventure, action, mystery and, to some extent, a romance that Aurelia thought was long gone once again preying on her thoughts of a time long ago. I gave this book four stars, very few books ever get a five out of me, and I am looking forward to the second book in the series. Of course, I am still waiting for the second book to the Hugh trilogy, and that has been a long wait.