Review "Bleeding Hearts" by Alyxandra Harvey

Bleeding Hearts (Drake Chronicles #4)

Alyxandra Harvey

Publication Date: December 20, 2011

Publisher: Walker Books

Paperback: 347 pgs

Goodreads

Summary:

     As the Blood Moon gathering approaches the Hel-Blar threat is only getting worse. Lucy's cousin Christabel comes to town, and keeping her from discovering how dangerous Violet Hill really is, is proving to be extremely difficult. Especially since the Hel-Blar seem to be everywhere and they tend to stand out a bit. When Christabel is mistaken for Lucy and kidnapped Conner Drake is determined to find her no matter the cost to him. Why was Christabel taken, and will Conner be able to find her before it's too late?

Review:

     Bleeding Hearts is the fourth book in the Drake Chronicles. In this installment we get three POV's (Lucy, Christabel, and Conner) instead of the usual two like in previous novels. A majority of the book is told from Lucy and Christabel's perspectives. Christabel is the first narrator in this series who does not know that vampires exist. While I enjoyed seeing the Drake's world from an outsiders POV, I wasn't a big fan of the character. Christabel is in love with classic authors and poets, and she quotes them constantly. No matter where she goes she can be found with her head in a book. For some reason I just didn't connect with Christabel. Something about her felt off. At times I found her to be annoying. I had a hard time getting through her sections especially when she said things like: "I read a lot. I love books. If they came in a bottle, I'd be a drunk too. I'd bloat myself on the wine of Wordsworth, the Gin of Charles Dickens, the licorice liqueur of Edgar Allan Poe." (25) She just didn't seem believable to me. 

     Conner Drake is the brother being highlighted in Bleeding Hearts. Conner is the high tech brother in the family. Give him any type of technological device and he knows what to do with it. Unlike his twin, Quinn, Conner is more comfortable with electronics than he is with girls. But he is a Drake so he knows his way around a variety of weapons and like his brothers he definitely knows how to use them. My one issue with him is that I didn't think enough of the book was told from Conner's POV. I didn't feel as though I got to know him as well as the other brothers in previous books. We already knew he was good with electronics but outside of that I'm not sure I got to know that much more about him.

     I was glad to get back into Lucy's head. She's so stubborn, determined and I like seeing this world through her eyes. In this book Lucy, who is used to spending most of her time with the Drake's finds herself drifting further from her best friend. Since Solange's change the relationship between the two has been strained. I kind of feel bad for Lucy. All she wants is to hangout with her best friend but everyone including Nicholas keeps telling her that it's too dangerous to be around the Drakes. It's as though she's supposed to forget everything about the past and move on. Which of course is easier said than done. She's stubborn and refuses to stop hanging out with the Drakes. She has known them practically her whole life and has come to feel like one of the family. But Lucy is getting some training from Hunter (Quinn Drake's girlfriend) a student at the Helios-Ra Academy. Lucy makes a decision that she hopes will help her be better prepared to face the dangers in Violet Hill. It was an interesting twist that I did not see coming and I liked the move. I'm interested to see how this plays out for Lucy. 

     Generally these books have been among my favorites but for me this one fell short. I'm used to a bit of tension between the two leads, which is one of the reasons I like this series so much. The witty, snarky banter thrown around seemed to be lacking. As I stated earlier I wish more of the story would have been told form Conner's POV. Fortunately we do see many of the characters that had starring roles in previous books such as Hunter, Logan, Quinn, Solange, and a few others. 

     It's always fun to learn about the different varieties of vampires. Instead of just good or bad vamps there are many types and each has their own back story. In Bleeding Hearts we are introduced to the Na-Foir, a type of vampire not seen before. I thought these new vamps added a great twist to the story. They shake things up a bit and make readers realize how quickly things can change when new elements are added to the story. I liked learning about them and finding out why they suddenly made their presence known. Overall, I have to say I only liked Bleeding Hearts, I didn't love it nor did I hate it. Plus I was not a fan of the cliff hanger. I'm hoping the next book draws me back in.

Cover:

     I'm a fan of the cover redesign for this series. I haven't really liked previous covers of the Drake Chronicles but this one I like. It's simple and mysterious. The couples pose is dramatic and dangerous making me want to read what their story is all about.