Day 87 - Bite the Bullet

Bite the Bullet
L.A. Banks

Stand Alone or Series: Crimson Moon series, book two

Synopsis: [from back cover]
Sasha Trudeau considers herself a soldier first and a werewolf second. But while her secret government-sanctioned task force faces its greatest challenge so far, Sasha faces something much more primal: the undeniable pull of the moon - and her own desires.

With rogue wolves savaging both the human and the paranormal worlds, Sasha's team of elite operatives has one job: destroy the rogues and isolate the deadly toxin that's poisoned their blood. But the challenge is far more complicated than Sasha could have imagined. Soon she is thrust into a full-scale supernatural war for supremacy - and the only man left whom Sasha can turn to might be the biggest danger to her of all... and in more ways than one.

Review:
I'm happy to start off by saying I'm no longer as confused about things in Sasha's world when I first started out. It seems after I swallowed the "big bite" of information thrown into Bad Blood, I was able to follow the story better. Sasha and Hunter are continuing their mission to hunt down the infected Shadow wolves that betrayed them. It's imperative that the team cut the wolves off before reaching New Orleans where the a paranormal species summit will be held.

To complicate things more Sasha is in"heat". Hitting her fast and hard, she tries to juggle her increased attraction to Hunter while trying to stay calm. Hunter on the other hand isn't doing so well. Not only is Sasha's menstrual cycle making him go crazy, but his dormant infected werewolf side comes tumbling out. The fear of losing Hunter to the "dark side" is a tangible thing.

Sasha's tech team gets more of the spotlight in book two as they are assaulted by a pack of infected Shadow wolves. The scenes are fast-paced and action packed but never fear, the team has a full arsenal at their disposal. It sort of struck me as slightly unrealistic with however, I'm used to L.A. Banks' characters toting the big guns. I gotta say some of the action scenes were maybe a little too fast-paced for me. I did have some trouble following a little of the battle scenes but, again, that may be because it went by so quickly.

I think Banks did a great job with the book's vampire bad guys. Etienne and Francois are two of the most devious creatures I've come across. Their conniving schemes were well played out and it was so easy to dislike them. Another thing I loved seeing was a return from Shogun. I love Hunter, he's a great guy and he sounds way hot. But I don't know, I just have a thing for the Asian werewolf clan leader. I can definitely see a love triangle coming out of this because even though Sasha obviously cares a lot about Hunter, she's still not prepared for total commitment.

The epilogue is where I found the only big problem. This is where Sasha and Hunter finally make it to the Conference and also where Banks allows all of the other paranormal entities to come out. I would have liked to have seen so much more out of the meeting and the guests that attended. However, even though it was short and a bit rushed through I did really like it. Reading about the different paranormals and the politics involved was a really nice touch. Like I said, I just wish Banks had expanded it more because it was such a great scene to work with.

Overall I was pleased with book two. With my confusion safely driven away I was able to enjoy the characters more and the story as well. If you liked Bad Blood you'll definitely want to pick this one up!