Truth Be Told

Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith: Review - Countdown to Blessed

Posted: 24 Jan 2011 10:47 AM PST

Blessed

Written by: Cynthia Leitich Smith

Published on: January 25, 2011.

Published by: Candlewick Press
480 pages

Format: ARC

Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal)
Series: Tantalize Series Bk 3

Synopsis:
With a wink and a nod to Bram Stoker, New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith unites the casts of Tantalize and Eternal in a delicious dark fantasy her fans will devour.

Quincie P. Morris, teen restaurateuse and neophyte vampire, is in the fight of her life -- or undeath. Even as she adjusts to her new appetites, she must clear her best friend and true love, the hybrid werewolf Kieren, of murder charges; thwart the apocalyptic ambitions of Bradley Sanguini, the seductive vampire-chef who "blessed" her; and keep her dead parents' restaurant up and running. She hires a more homespun chef and adds the preternaturally beautiful Zachary to her wait staff. But with hundreds of new vampires on the rise and Bradley off assuming the powers of Dracula Prime, Zachary soon reveals his true nature -- and a flaming sword -- and they hit the road to staunch the bloodshed before it's too late. Even if they save the world, will there be time left to salvage Quincie's soul?

My Review:
Blessed is my favorite book in the series (so far)! This book was so action packed, entertaining, and full of romance. It had everything the other books didn't, along with everything they did.

First off, all of Cynthia's readers should know that this book combined characters from Eternal and Tantalize in a unique way. This book, however, is more of an extension on Quincie's story, but you will also read more on Zachary. The combining of the stories was truly done beautifully, everything blended together in precise ways. The endings of both Eternal and Tantalize led to these two books, there wasn't any information lacking nor was there any repetitive information. It was as if the three books could easily be combined into one.

This story was way more action packed than the first two. The wars taking place were interesting to read and they didn't drag on. The entire book took place in a matter of weeks, and the battles took place in even less time. It wasn't an endless game of cat and mouse.

Cynthia's fluidity in telling a story has really improved; I really enjoyed the first two books but this one is, hands down, the best of the three. The descriptiveness is even more detailed in this novel, especially when it comes to Quincie's changes.

In Blessed there is also a more obvious connection to the classic novel Dracula. The characters themselves reference the story on multiple occasions. If you enjoyed the references to Dracula you will really enjoy this novel as well, it fits in perfectly with the story.

I was so happy with the way Quincie's side of the story turned out. It was interesting watching her grow as a character. The ending to this book was left with a few questions but nothing too distracting. I could see this story being extended or ending right where it did. The ending was the cherry on top.