Blog Tour Review – Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews

Posted January 6, 2021 by Carole in Book Reviews / 18 Comments

I am so excited to be a part of the blog tour for Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews.  This book kicks off the Aurelia Ryder series which is set in the same world as the Kate Daniels series.  It is no secret that I have been a fan of the writing pair of Ilona Andrews for a very long time although I still have a few of their books left to read.  I ended up having a fantastic time with this book and think that it will appeal to both longtime fans and new readers alike.  

Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews
Series: Aurelia Ryder #1
Publisher: NYLA
Publication Date: January 12, 2021
Date Read: December 10, 2020
Length: 375 pages
Source: NetGalley
★★★★★

From award-winning author, Ilona Andrews, an all-new novel set in the New York Times #1 bestselling Kate Daniels World and featuring Julie Lennart-Olsen, Kate and Curran’s ward.

Atlanta was always a dangerous city. Now, as waves of magic and technology compete for supremacy, it’s a place caught in a slow apocalypse, where monsters spawn among the crumbling skyscrapers and supernatural factions struggle for power and survival.

Eight years ago, Julie Lennart left Atlanta to find out who she was. Now she’s back with a new face, a new magic, and a new name—Aurelia Ryder—drawn by the urgent need to protect the family she left behind. An ancient power is stalking her adopted mother, Kate Daniels, an enemy unlike any other, and a string of horrifying murders is its opening gambit.

If Aurelia’s true identity is discovered, those closest to her will die. So her plan is simple: get in, solve the murders, prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled, and get out without being recognized. She expected danger, but she never anticipated that the only man she’d ever loved could threaten everything.

One small misstep could lead to disaster. But for Aurelia, facing disaster is easy; it’s relationships that are hard.

 My Review

I loved this book!  I have to admit that when I found out that the Kate Daniels series would end with the tenth book, I was heartbroken.  These were characters that I loved and a world that I enjoyed visiting (even if it is dangerous most of the time) and I just did not want to see it end.   This book brought me back to that world that I love so much. We get to see some familiar characters in this story but it is from a fresh, new perspective.  This book was everything that I had hoped it would be and more.

Julie left Atlanta eight years ago but she’s back and she is a whole new person.  Julie is now known as Aurelia Ryder and is not recognizable to anyone who knew her as Kate and Curran’s ward.  She needs to keep her identity a secret and will go to great lengths to do so.  Aurelia has acquired a lot of power and skill during the eight years she was gone while training with her grandmother.  She is back in Atlanta to try to stop a prophecy that leaves her adopted mother dead.  She will do whatever it takes to protect those she cares about.  
There have been a string of murders that seems to be tied to the prophecy and Aurelia is in town to get to the bottom of things.  Of course, things can never be easy and she runs into one challenge after another as she works to solve the case.  It quickly becomes apparent that the culprit will present quite a challenge.  As she works to make progress on the case, she is also trying to protect her identity while constantly running into a certain wolf from her past.  
I loved the characters in this book.  I thought that I knew Julie but she has grown so much over the years, she really was a new person.   She is loyal to her family, highly competent, intelligent, and able to think several steps ahead at all times.  She is not the only one who has changed over the years and some of the other character’s transformations are just as dramatic.  Some characters have grown up, literally.  It was so much fun to see the younger characters, including Conlan, play a larger role and to hear about some of the trouble that they have caused over the years.
This book was very well written.  It had all of the excitement and action that I have come to expect from this writing pair.  I thought that the action scenes were perfectly balanced with the scenes that were more character-driven.  The mystery was complex and kept me guessing and there were some pretty big surprises.  Huge surprises!  I loved how imaginative and unique some of the scenes were.  The banter between the characters was entertaining and helped to keep the story from getting too serious.  
I would highly recommend this book to others.  This was a book that was next to impossible to put down once I picked it up and I found it enormously entertaining from beginning to end.  I cannot wait to read more of Aurelia Ryder’s adventures.

I received a digital review copy of this book from NYLA via NetGalley.

About the Author

“Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.) They have co-authored two New York Times and USA Today bestselling series—the urban fantasy of Kate Daniels and the romantic urban fantasy of The Edge—and are working on the next volumes for both. They live in Texas with their two children and many dogs and cats.

Author Links: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter
Credit: Luisa Preissler
Follow the Tour
Monday, January 4 – Lynn’s Book Blog
Tuesday, January 5 – Fantasy Book Review
Wednesday, January 6 – Carole’s Random Life in Books
Thursday, January 7 – Way Too Fantasy
Friday, January 8 – Fantasy Literature
Saturday, January 9 – Novel Notions
Monday, January 11 – Fantasy Book Critic

18 responses to “Blog Tour Review – Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews

  1. Ohhh thanks for this. I've not caught up with any of their popular series, so this might be my chance at starting one. This sounds great, and I love how much you loved it. 😀

  2. I am so glad there's a spin off series with Aurelia! She's an awesome character. I am especially glad to hear this book is so good (although, I shouldn't be surprised. Ilona Andrews after all). I still need to finish the Kate Daniels series.

  3. I have been meaning to read Ilona Andrews for years but never have. I've bought a few but never read them but I really need too. I love that her books seem to stay really strong.