#Review - Blooded Blade by J.C. Daniels #Fantasy

Series: Colbana Files # 7
Format: Kindle, 270 pages
Release Date: December 5, 2022
Publisher: Shiloh Walker, Inc.
Source: Publisher
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Kit Colbana—half breed, assassin, thief, jack of all trades. Master of none.

Or so she'd always been led to believe.

Over the past few years, Kit Colbana has dispatched some of the worst
threats the non-human races could have imagined. Pandora—a mother of
monsters. Puck, a father of nightmares. Jude, a vampire who nearly drove
Kit to the brink of insanity.

Then there was the Lemera, an ages-old creature of myth, born from Kit's
own people, an unseen, undead assassin that hunts without rest, kills
without remorse. Yet Kit walked away.

Her grandmother's pet assassin failed to kill her so Kit wasn't surprised
when yet another unwanted memory from her past shows up, looking to take
her down. But her blood-hungry, homicidal aunt disappeared without a trace
only hours after arrival.

Is it a reprieve? Or something far worse?

Kit's lover Damon is keeping secrets. Her grandmother's pet assassin, the
Lemera, seems to have taken a liking to Kit. And her grandmother, Kit's own
worst nightmare, is haunting her dreams.

They're all on a collision course with fate and it can only end one way...bloody.

J.C. Daniel's Blooded Blade is the 6th installment in the authors Colbana Files. Kitasa aka Kit Colbana is a 1/2 human, 1/2 Aneiri warrior, private investigator, and Assembly bounty hunter. She has faced her fair share of challenges ever since leaving her island behind where she was constantly bullied and abused, and finding her way to Florida and into the arms of one Damon Lee, Alpha of the Cat Clan who is overly protective. The book begins with a story called Forgotten Blade. According to the author, this short story takes place after the events of Broken Blade. 

Unfortunately, I did read book #5, but never got around to writing a review! How rude! I do not that book # 5 ended with some shocking moments which involved Kit's dangerous grandmother, Madae, who has sent her "cousin" Reshi and her twin after Kit to get her to kneel and be dragged back to her alleged family. Reshi claims that Kit is a member of the royal family as well as a criminal. Kit isn't going anywhere with any member of her "alleged" family. Especially not when the Authority and Damon make it noted that any attempt to go after Kit, will be met with force.

Kit has an interesting journey in this book. She, Justin and Colleen, who have become a pretty good team since Colleen woke up her healing magic, face some interesting challenges. They face a young girl with fire magic, but week after week, it seems as though the Assembly is sending Kit after dangerous individuals, including a former country singer turned shifter who is now on the lame and has killed innocent humans. Meanwhile, Kit's awareness of the fact that Damon is lying to her, grates on her nerves. You should know, after this book, Damon has a whole lot to answer for.

Finally, Kit and a revenant named Lemera who is bound to her blade, go down a long history back to when Lemera was a fierce warrior in the days of the Roman Empire and an interesting twist involving Chang. Kit has a weird sense of knowing where trouble is at almost any moment, and she can feel whenever a witch, or other is around which gives her advantages over other bounty hunters. Kit and Doyle need time to resolve some issues. If you missed it, sorry, but Doyle is allegedly her cousin, and the only one in her family that she actually likes. The rest are just awful and need to be put down.

I think it is interesting that this entire series is set mostly in the State of Florida, Orlando mostly, and that is almost a dystopian world with shifters, and vampires, and witches. I highly, and I mean, highly recommend that readers go back in time and pick up Haunted Blade before starting this book. I hold no disappointment towards the author. We all have downs in our lives, and hers were near impossible to even comprehend. We should all be grateful that she is releasing this book, as well as an apparent sequel which may or may not be the end of the series. Stay tuned!

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Thursday #Review - Haunted Blade (Colbana Files #6) by J.C. Daniels #Fantasy

Series: Colbana Files # 6
Format: E-Galley, 517 pages
Release Date: October 1, 2017
Publisher: Shiloh Walker, Inc
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Haunted, Hunted…and harassed.

Never let it be said that Kit Colbana had ever been given the easy road. Or even the semi-paved road. Only weeks after dealing with the mysterious—and murderous—being called Puck, she’s got another killer on her hands. Perhaps even two.

Some of the bodies turning up bring up haunting memories of a past she longs to forget, but as always, that past is chasing her at her heels, like a hated shadow.

As the body count racks up, there’s an imbalance of power, particularly among the vampire population, and Kit must yet again deal with ugly memories as one of the monsters who tried to break her is set free to deal with the imbalance of power. Yet while a power struggle rages in East Orlando, there’s another, more subtle battle taking place and Kit feels like the center of it all.

Arrogant? Maybe. But the dead bodies don’t bear the mark of her grandmother’s pet killer by sheer coincidence…and she doubts her nemesis being released is either.

Haunted Blade, by author J.C. Daniels, is the sixth installment in the authors Colbana Files. A little over a month has passed since the battle with Puck, the arrival of Kit's aunt Rana, and the loss of a friend. Now, even bigger threats lay in wait. As I am sure you aware, 3 years ago, Kit fled the island where she lived and settled in the Orlando area. After years of abuse & torture by her Grandmother & her aneira warriors, Kit took her mothers sword and ran as fast as she could. Since this is Kit's life we are talking about, absolutely nothing is easy. 

Just when you thought Kit was safe from her Grandmother's wraith, it has become apparent that Fanis knows exactly where Kit is and has for sometime, and she will do almost anything to drag her wayward granddaughter back home to pay the penalties for trying to save herself. It's only a matter of time before Kit will have to face Fanis head on. But, until then, Daniels gives readers plenty to think about, including an ending that will blow you away. Kit is kept busy in this installment. From working for the Assembly, to being hounded by a creepy little bastard named Malcolm, to facing a nightmares from her past, to facing someone who shattered her body and soul and left her broken.

Kit is called to one of the only vampire houses that she can actually trust. Yes, there is residual hatred towards vampires for allowing one of their own to torture her and break her bond with her sword. Yes, there is even those who have no respect for Kit whatsoever after what happened to her a year ago. What she is told, however, leads to a call to arms, which leads to a discovery of something even more dangerous. Something straight out of nightmares is actually hunting and killing vampire masters. The why is pretty transparent if you've read this series. 

Kit has other issues as well. Malcolm has an agenda, and that agenda puts Kits status as an Assembly member in jeopardy after she refuses to work for him. He begins his campaign of attempting to burn her status as a legitimate member of the Assembly to the ground, and the reason why, should also be apparent to readers of this series. How Kit got into this country, and ended up in Orlando is finally revealed, and that's a good thing since more information clears up unexplained plot holes. Which leads to a nasty SOB from Kit's past returning. One who hopes his very appearance will bring Kit to her knees.

But, Kit is no longer the shattered soul she was a year ago when she was tortured, raped, and kept prisoner. As they say, family isn't always what you've been born to. Sometimes, you have to find your own and claim it. She has eager friends friends like Justin, Rana, Colleen, Doyle, and Chang who are willing and able to stand by her side through the good times and bad. She has Damon, leader of the Cat shifters, and Kit's lover who is one of the more dangerous characters in this series. Even though I have serious issues at times with Damon, I am happy that he is in Kit's corner. Now, anyone who tries to come at Kit, will discover that she isn't the pushover who ran from the torture and abuse at her Grandmother's hands. She's not the frail, disconnected Kit we saw not too long ago after her experience with Jude. Rather, she's someone capable of taking care of herself. 

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