Blood Rights by Kristen Painter

Thank goodness for funk buster books! Whew! I was starting to get worried after last week's terrible reading debacle, traveling aside. I'm not sure that November will recover, but at least the end of the month should be better than the beginning if Kristen Painter's Blood Rights is any indication (and since there are two follow up books, I take it as a given that they'll be just as good as this first in the series and not return me to the blahness.)

The series takes place in the future -- 2067 -- the various paranormals that fill the series include shifters, fae, and of course, vampires. Descended from some of the most famous mad men and women throughout history (Bathory, Tepes, even Rasputin), each house has a specific powers and a hierarchy of power. The vampires are served by comarre, an exclusive group of highly trained people whose blood rights are sold to those in power.

Blood Rights: House of Comarre book 1 begins with the death of the House of Tepes Elder, Lord Algernon. His comarre, Chrysabelle, is suspected of the murder and has disappeared. Tatiana, a power hungry Tepes with her own agenda, must find Chrysabelle or be accused of the murder herself. Unbeknownst to Tatiana, Chrysabelle has fled to New Florida and sought the protection of her aunt, a comarre who won her freedom in a battle to the death. But when Chrysabelle's aunt is kidnapped, she'll need the help of a cursed vampire, a ghost, and a shifter to get her back.

Worldbuilding! Worldbuilding aplenty! Painter even says that it's an aspect about urban fantasy that she loves, and that's clear in the intricate and carefully put together world she's built for the House of Comarre series. The beings and their backgrounds, the characters and their individual stories, the plot that's the driving force of the book and the subplots that are weaved around it, Painter has done it all so very well!

I have to say that I do love all the characters, but Fi is by far my favorite. And the various beings, the whyspers, the comarre, the shadeaux, etc, are completely intriguing. I look forward to finishing out the trilogy and learning more about them as well as seeing where the entire arc of the story is headed.

Blood Rights and Flesh and Blood are both available now. Book three, Bad Blood, officially hits shelves 11/22. And they're Orbit, so you know they're good!