Blood Spirits by Sherwood Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am the first to admit that I kept putting off reading this book over and over, though I bought it as soon as it was released. I had a fear of how things would go in this one and I was quite surprised by several parts of it. I did not want to read about Kim's mooning over Alec for an entire book and have it continue to go unresolved. I finally got over it and read it. Ruli's story was a huge shocker for me. I was quite bothered by one of the things we find out about Kim's mother and her "free love" attitude. I wish somebody in the book was bothered by it. The family's continued horrible treatment of Kim did not surprise me. It appears to go hand-in-hand with royals. Jealousy, envy, in-fighting and jockeying for position and money, all seem to be part of the life of a royal.

There was a great mystery there, not as much action as last time, but, what there was played out very well. I did miss having more of Kim's fencing. There were enough threads left for me to look forward to the next installment. I wish I could see a chart that helped me understand more about who is entitled to the crown and why Lily is a princess. Does that mean that Kim and her mom are also princesses? If so many of these people have the signature dimple are they all related and inner-marrying? Or is there enough marrying across the five families that the dimple has crossed families though it originated with the twins, Rose and Lily and their side of the family. Why did Rose dislike Lily so much, pure jealousy? There are so many avenues for Sherwood Smith to continue this series that I am excited to see where it goes next. I am a bit confused as to who the Salfpatras and Salmattas are and what is the difference between inimasang and Nasdrafus. I am hooked and will be waiting for the next book anxiously.

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