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Blood Drive

3.26 of 5 stars 3.26 · rating details · 27 ratings · 13 reviews

When a group of vampires rises from the dark of the humid Miami summer and murders her partner, officer Cara Evens gathers a group of allies with their own unique abilities to avenge her partner's death and save the city. To succeed she'll have to accept her own changing abilities, ignore her lust for a vampire and hide the one thing her enemies need to kill them all.

Paperback, 231 pages

Published October 16th 2011 by Writers of the Round Table Press Inc.

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Apr 26, 2012 Gecky Boz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Blood Drive - not about an actual blood drive but does have vampires and cool creatures...

* ARC received via Writers of the Round Table Press and Once Upon a Twilight Book Tours for the blog tour of this book.

3 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes for this fine look at a world where a lot of magical forces seem to be at work and for having a ton of interesting characters all in one place.

This is a great quick read and has a bunch of characters that are full of surprises. There's magic, mystery...more Blood Drive - not about an actual blood drive but does have vampires and cool creatures...

* ARC received via Writers of the Round Table Press and Once Upon a Twilight Book Tours for the blog tour of this book.

3 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes for this fine look at a world where a lot of magical forces seem to be at work and for having a ton of interesting characters all in one place.

This is a great quick read and has a bunch of characters that are full of surprises. There's magic, mystery, vampires, and a whole host of complications that play out for all of the characters. It's also great to have multiple perspectives instead of just one point of view, this lets you invest in all the characters more and is great especially if certain characters are becoming annoying.

There were some awkward misspellings/wrong words in some places in the book. They didn't hamper my reading experience but they do take you out of the flow of the story a bit. The overall flow/feel of the book was kind of like one of the early Anita Blake books, Cara kind of reminded me of her because she isn't really sure what the full extent of her power is either.

Cara is a hard character to figure out at first because she doesn't like to let her emotions show. You'll start to understand why the more you read about her. She seems to become more sure of herself when she's in danger and protecting others.

Jonathan doesn't seem all that likable at first either but he definitely grew on me while reading. He's an interesting take on vampires. He kind of has the whole Angel attitude, because he's remorseful for everything that he's done and seen. He is automatically intrigued by Cara and wants to know what exactly she is. There's a definite chemistry between them that's fun to read and with the ending of the book promises to become even more interesting in the future.

Thomas and Beth are my favorite characters because they are so different yet perfect for each other. They are anathema to each other at first but their relationship looks to be leading into something more. There are a lot of secrets between them and I can't wait to find out more about them.

The bad guy is one evil dude. He has some real delusions of grandeur and will do pretty much anything to attain his goal. There's loads of violence and he is very fond of killing people not matter who or how important they are. He of course wants to kill Cara and her friends.

Action, suspense, and trouble abound as these characters go through a heck of a lot of trouble together. The ending leaves some great questions and possibilities for where all these relationships are headed. This world is intriguing and Traci Houston absolutely know how to write a story with a great mix of action and mystery.(less)

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Oct 18, 2011 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

This novel had some of the most interesting supernatural creatures I've ever experienced. Not only do we get vampires and witches, we get a Vishka, a gremlin, some Treshcans, and a grounder (which I still don't really understand...I think it is some kind of helper witch. If anyone has information on grounders feel free to enlighten me on this topic). This world of otherkin was very fascinating. I wish the author would have gone into a little more detail about this world though. There were so man...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Missie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires

I'll admit I haven't read many UF books, but this was definitely the oddest one I've ever read in this genre, or actually, ever read period. I'm still not entirely sure how such a small novel confused me so much.

Detective Cara Evens may be petite, but knows how to pack a punch. And she is determined to prove that after her partner is savagely murdered. She is even willing to stretch her emotional and physical limits to the brink, as long as it means those responsible go down. But when she teams...more I'll admit I haven't read many UF books, but this was definitely the oddest one I've ever read in this genre, or actually, ever read period. I'm still not entirely sure how such a small novel confused me so much.

Detective Cara Evens may be petite, but knows how to pack a punch. And she is determined to prove that after her partner is savagely murdered. She is even willing to stretch her emotional and physical limits to the brink, as long as it means those responsible go down. But when she teams up with a few unlikely allies, Cara learns that she doesn't have to face her foe alone.

Cara and her 'crew' were hard characters to connect with. They were all hot tempered and every little thing set them off. Yes, there were facing a tough situation and they were under a lot of stress, but they fought amongst themselves more than they fought the 'bad' guys. I disliked that their back and forth tension felt forced, especially when Cara formed a relationship with Johnathan, a vampire. One minute, they were trying to kill each other and the next they were making googly eyes at one another. It was so off putting. Also, I couldn't understand Cara's 'tough' girl act. When she is viciously attacked by the 'evil' vampire, she makes a big deal of not screaming when he bites her, and the she dares him to kill her. WTF?

One thing that really bothered me was the fact that I couldn't get a clear picture of the structure of the Cara's world. There was little to no world-building, and none of the characters took the time to muse about the strange and new occurrences that appeared or even explain how these things were happening or why these Otherkin exsisted. Brief references to Otherkin were presented through dialogue but it seemed really inconsistent. (view spoiler) For a while, I thought maybe I'd missed a previous book in this series, but no, Blood Drive appears to be the first book. Also, I always feel personally offended when a vampire doesn't know a whole lot about being a vampire, so to find that Johnathan was completely clueless was rather disappointing.

The writing was very mechanical and the narrative read more like an instruction manual. POV shifts weren't very clear or concise, and more times that not, I didn't know who was speaking to whom. Blood Drive also ended rather abruptly.

Overall, this story was just not for me. Though it was a short book it took me over a week to finish it because I lost interest many times and put the book down. The plot didn't really build up to anything exciting or unique, but rather drag on with the team getting their asses handed to them repeatedly and having to regroup at their magical safe house. Yes, there were a few interesting concepts, but they just didn't quite reach their full potential. (less)

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Apr 19, 2011 OpenBookSociety.com rated it 3 of 5 stars

Review brought to you by OBS staff member Heidi

Blood Drive is Traci Houston’s debut novel that is due to be released in October of this year. In it, we are introduced to Cara Evens, a police officer with psychic abilities that she has been trying to hide most of her life. She and her partner have worked hard and are about to be promoted to detective when they go to answer a call where a silent alarm had been triggered at a blood bank. While investigating the scene her partner, Danny, is murdered...more

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Oct 14, 2011 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this novel to read for a blog tour.

I joined this blog tour for 2 reasons. 1, I love a good vampire novel as much as the next person. 2, this novel is Traci Houston's debut novel, and I love to support new authors.

When the book opens, we meet Cara, our leading female, right away. After she finds her partner murdered, she takes on the mystery of discovering the truth about his death. She quickly realizes that there is more involved in this case than just a simple murder. Whe...more I received an ARC of this novel to read for a blog tour.

I joined this blog tour for 2 reasons. 1, I love a good vampire novel as much as the next person. 2, this novel is Traci Houston's debut novel, and I love to support new authors.

When the book opens, we meet Cara, our leading female, right away. After she finds her partner murdered, she takes on the mystery of discovering the truth about his death. She quickly realizes that there is more involved in this case than just a simple murder. When she meets Jonathan, a part of her that she was trying to hide suddenly resurfaces.

Cara must now learn to control her powers, while still trying to solve her partner's murder. As if that wasn't enough, there is the small matter of Jonathan, the vampire who is distracting her with lustful temptation.

Luckily, there are others out there like her, others who have powers beyond a normal human. They must all learn to get along (like first graders) and use their powers together to stop Christian, the vampire who is trying to basically take over the world. He wants something that Cara and her friends have, and he has resources that they don't have. If the otherkin can't collaborate and accept each other (and themselves), then Christian will enslave the human race and allow vampires to rise to power.

I love Cara as a character. It is so rare for female leads to be powerful and confident, while still feeling human emotions. Cara has her inner struggles, for sure, but she doesn't let them interfere with her goals. More importantly, she doesn't let passion take control. She keeps her focus on what is important.

What I didn't like: some of the powers of the otherkin are not fully explained or developed, merely mentioned in passing. Additionally, I felt that the middle chapters were drawn out, while some of the fight scenes were rushed. The abrupt ending turned me off a bit, as well.

Overall, I gave this novel 4 stars because I really like the complexity of the group, and how they interact with each other. They all seem to counter each other's strengths and weaknesses, and they are all truly loyal to each other. While vampirism is the underlying platform, themes like friendship, tolerance, and acceptance are interwoven within the plot to make this quite a contemporary novel. (less)

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Oct 24, 2011 Jess Bierschied rated it 5 of 5 stars

BLOOD DRIVE, by Traci Houston is full of non-stop action, romance, magic and pure awesomeness! I read this in one sitting and I feel desperate for more!

I loved Cara! She was absolutely amazing, and her wit had me laughing as she navigated a men's world. Her personality was so strong and she inspired me as a woman. I got the feel of girl-power the whole novel which made it so much more fun to read!

I loved the sexual tension between Cara and her new vampire big shot companion! It was so realistic...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Once Upon rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was immediately drawn to this book because it set in Miami, that's my hometown. The cover was also very intriguing. I like how they did the yellow smoke/fire effect. It really draws your attention to the book. I was excited when the publisher contact early on about reading Blood Drive and giving my critique on the book.

Trace Houston is definitely a author to watch for. Blood Drive shows her potential in story building. In Blood Drive Traci has written in detail this new world of hers set in M...more I was immediately drawn to this book because it set in Miami, that's my hometown. The cover was also very intriguing. I like how they did the yellow smoke/fire effect. It really draws your attention to the book. I was excited when the publisher contact early on about reading Blood Drive and giving my critique on the book.

Trace Houston is definitely a author to watch for. Blood Drive shows her potential in story building. In Blood Drive Traci has written in detail this new world of hers set in Miami with some Vampires and detectives. What is the strongest point in the book, I can say its the action. You can easily picture all the action sequences in your mind while reading. Being a first book in the series and a debut novel. I believe their was a lot Traci left off to leave for the next book in the series. There are parts of the books they seems to lack a bit of luster but I figured it was to leave room for the next one. I would have enjoyed the scenes better if Traci could have elaborated more detail about Miami or its surroundings. So I'm curious to know what happens next after the cliff hanger in this book.

Blood Drive follow Cara Evens, she is a police office for Miami. She is not your typical police office. She is psychic and her abilities help her in her line of duty. Cara and her partner get called to go check out a triggered alarmed at a blood bank. Well the call which they though would have been a regular call, ends up taking the life of her partner. Danny is murdered and Cara find a odd object she takes with her without reporting it. She is sure this will help her find who murdered her partner. The process begins for Cara to find the killer, she begins interviewing suspects including the owner of the blood bank, which what do you know end sup being a Vampire. This marks Cara and now Johnathan's enemies begin to track her. No one can deny that Johnathan and Cara have some chemistry and her enemies have noticed. They plan to use her against Johnathan. Well not over Cara's dead body they wont. Now Cara and her friends including Johnathan must work together to solve why her partner was murdered and about the object Cara kept. This all while trying to stay alive.

Blood Drive was a good beginning to the series and I see a bright future for Traci Houston.

review link: http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2011...(less)

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Apr 16, 2011 Sillylittlefishey rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read an ARC copy of this that I got from the publisher to review for openbooksociety.com

I thought the storyline had a lot of potential but overall I could tell this was a debut novel from a new author. I found the characters to be undeveloped and everything seemed rushed, which made what was going on confusing at times. I've read worse books this but better ones as well. I think with a little more detail this book could be really good.

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Oct 31, 2011 Amber Hughes rated it 2 of 5 stars

*2-2.5 stars* I really wanted to like this book more, but unfortunately I never fully connected with the characters. I needed more character development and more detail in the story :(

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Sep 03, 2011 Laurie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

Review to come soon: www.readergirls.blogspot.com

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Oct 07, 2011 Damaris (GoodChoiceReading) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fast read! Review to come!

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Jan 04, 2012 Teri rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, fiction

Excited to read my cousins first novel!

An entertaining read. It reminded me of the fantastic four, but (there are five) with a vampire,a witch, and other imaginative people with various powers. They are living and working together to rid the earth of a very bad guy, who is trying to kill them.

To warn more sensitive readers like myself, there is a very graphic sex scene and foul language throughout.

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Feb 19, 2013 Karen Desmond rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this book - more please!

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Feb 27, 2013 Jessica marked it as to-read

Dec 17, 2012 Maria marked it as to-read

Shelves: supernatural, horror

Dec 13, 2012 Marissa Wegner marked it as to-read

Shelves: vamps

Dec 01, 2012 Kenneth Gil rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nov 24, 2012 Robin totally insane Hartloff marked it as to-read

Sep 27, 2012 Megan marked it as to-read

Sep 19, 2012 Tricia marked it as to-read

Aug 20, 2012 Patti marked it as to-read

Aug 13, 2012 Dk marked it as to-read

Aug 12, 2012 Charlotte Bryant marked it as to-read

Aug 04, 2012 Nathan Singley marked it as to-read

Shelves: supernatural-thrillers

Jul 28, 2012 Bristol added it

Mar 26, 2012 Vivien rated it 2 of 5 stars

Feb 25, 2012 Deja marked it as to-read

Feb 21, 2012 Alexandria marked it as to-read

Jan 21, 2012 Gerry marked it as to-read

Jan 07, 2012 Lisa rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: did-not-finish

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