Early Review: Blood Slave by Kathleen Collins (Realm Walker #3)

Blood Slave (Realm Walker #3)
Kathleen Collins
Published: Aug. 25, 2015
Purchase: Amazon
Review Source: copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by: Amy

Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars

Note: While this review will be spoiler free, it will reference previous books in the series. If you haven’t started yet, see VBC’s review of book 1, Realm Walker.

Juliana Norris is still reeling from the loss of her sister-in-law during Juliana’s investigation into The Thief. Juliana blames herself, citing that she should have seen some kind of sign as to who the killer was. Although, no one else (except maybe for her niece Rachel) blames Juliana.

When zombies start showing up in the Dead Zone—an area of land where no life is permitted—of course this draws the attention of the Agency. When said zombies then turn out to be women from missing persons cases and all the bodies feature a myriad of bite marks, all eyes are drawn to Kansas City and the Territory of vampire Charles Morgan. Morgan, not a favorite within the Council, runs his territory with an iron fist, and any kind of depravity is allowed within its boundaries. Blood Slaves, those that get a high from the vampire’s bite, are all too common.

When Juliana gets sent undercover to find the murderer, it’s probably with a little too much gusto that she hooks into the case. She wants to prove to everyone (e.g. herself) that she’s still capable of doing the job and getting it done without anyone getting killed.

Kathleen Collins presents Juliana’s sense of loss and her own personal failure loud and clear throughout the whole story. Even without openly acknowledging why Juliana becomes so wrapped up in this case, her motivations her very apparent. She’s still grieving. Unfortunately it’s also Juliana’s determination to prove herself that causes her to take unnecessary risks: like lying to Thomas about where she’s going.

I have always liked Thomas Kendrick, but with Blood Slave that like turns into love. His devotion to Juliana is so clear. Even though he would rather she not run head first into danger, he still holds himself back from keeping her under lock and key. He knows that she’s capable of taking care of herself and of doing her job successfully. I like a man who knows to let his partner be herself. Juliana would never be happy sitting on the sidelines, and he respects that, albeit somewhat begrudgingly.

However misguided Juliana’s attempts at keeping her latest assignment from Thomas are, it’s very apparent that she cares for him just as much as he cares for her. At the end of Death’s Daughter we finally saw Juliana make a definitive decision regarding her and Thomas’s relationship. Not necessarily letting go of the past, because it will always be there, but deciding that her feelings for Thomas were stronger. I really felt like Juliana’s case and the mystery in Blood Slave did more to showcase who they can be as a couple. Moving past their rocky start at the beginning of the series, I like that they’ve formed a really solid relationship foundation. Even with the times they fight, I’d never be worried that they would choose to leave the other again. By having the characters become undoubtedly committed to each other early, Collins allows readers to see them grow throughout the remainder of the series, something I look forward to.

With the addition of Blood Slave, Realm Walker continues to be a really solid gem of a series. More please!

Sexual content: sex