Blood Rights
Kristen Painter
Orbit, Oct 1 2011, $7.99
ISBN 9780316084772
Chrysabelle the human was bred to be a comarré blood slave to Lord Algernon the vampire. She dreams of freedom but knows the fate of an escaped slave. However, someone murders her master, which leads to a frightened Chrysabelle fleeing for her life. The authorities suspect the ungrateful slave killed Algernon as she ran away and took an artifact ring with her.
Ruthless vampiress Tatiana wants that ring to give to the Dark One that will cause destruction of the innocent; she will kill the comarré who took it. Chrysabelle meets Malkolm the vampire exile who refuses to drink human blood because he is cursed to kill those he dined on. She also meets his two friends Fiona the ghost and the preacher. As Mal and allies protect Chrysabelle from the vile Tatiana, he wonders who will protect the blood slave from him as he obsesses over wanting to taste her.
This is an exhilarating futuristic urban fantasy that deftly focuses on the vampire society and the slaves who are sustenance to them. Chrysabelle is a fascinating protagonist who has no rights until she flees in hopes of making it to the human sector. Her support crew starting with Mal and his buddies as well as others are fully developed as is the villainess, but this is Chrysabelle’s tale as she takes a chance on freedom knowing what happens to caught runaway slaves especially whose master is dead.
Harriet Klausner
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