Sunny McDonald is in the ultimate forbidden relationship. Her boyfriend Magnus is a vampire, and the leader of the Blood Coven. Their differences have never been an issue, until now…
When the Blood Coven decides that Magnus needs a mate to be his co-ruler, Sunny’s humanity puts her out of the running. The Coven’s chosen candidate is Jane Johnson, a magna cum laude graduate of Oxford University who just happens to look like a vampiric celebutante.
Sunny is suspicious of a Rhodes Scholar who can’t answer the most basic poly-sci questions, but Magnus brushes it off as petty jealousy. Still, when the Blood Coven goes to Las Vegas for a vampire convention—where Magnus and Jane’s bonding ceremony will be the main event—Sunny and her sister Rayne secretly tag along. And Sunny’s not going home before she learns the truth about Jane. Because not everything stays in Vegas—especially bad blood…

Bad Blood by Mari Mancusi
January 5, 2010
Young Adult Paranormal
Paperback, 256 pages
Berkley Trade

Bad Blood, the fourth book in Blood Coven Vampire series, is the first book I have read. After reading the short prologue I felt quite caught up in past events and easily settled into this book.

Sunshine “Sunny” McDonald and her twin sister, Rayne (yes, cutesy weather names) are seventeen years old and live quite the life. Sunny dates the thousand year old vampire Magnus, who is the leader of a big vampire coven. Sunny is a mortal, or at least now is – she was mistaken for her sister in a previous book and was accidentally bit, but was able to reverse the vampire process. Rayne, after a sequence of events in previous books is now a half vampire, half vampire slayer.

The biggest worry in Sunny’s life at the moment is whether she should “go all the way” with Magnus. Rayne, more of the carefree, screw the world sister tells her to go for it, and after much internal deliberation, Sunny decides after the football game, this will be the night. Magnus has rented a hotel room, and he is ready! (Heck he is 1,000 years old..I bet he is!)

However, Sunny will not get her share of booty at the moment. Jane, the person who the coven has chosen to be Magnus’ bloodmate picks this night to show up. Magnus needs someone to help run the coven, and Jane is selected from many applicants. There is to be a meeting of the covens in Las Vegas in a few days and it will be there where Jane will be officially inducted into vampire society and take over her duty to help Magnus. Magnus reassures Sunny that he still loves her and Jane is just there for business purposes only, but Sunny is hurt and confused.

She decides to take matters into her own hand and do some research on this Jane person. Jane supposedly is well educated from Oxford but after a few questions from Sunny, Jane becomes flustered and confused. Sunny gets a strong feeling that Jane is not who she says she is, but Magnus just thinks Sunny is jealous.

Using the excuse to visit their dad in Las Vegas, Sunny and Rayne fly out to crash the coven convention and prove to Magnus that Jane is a fraud.

Bad Blood is a cute, quick read that is sometimes silly, but entertaining nonetheless. This book definitely reads more towards a younger audience – I can see a young teen really enjoying this book. As an adult, it was cute, but not something I would automatically turn to or anticipate in the future.

Sunny definitely thinks like a seventeen year old, even though her actions and what she is allowed to do might portray someone older. She has a pretty fun, lighthearted outlook on life. Both her and Rayne seemed to have a lot of freedom, but of course the book would not have been as interesting if the parents had been hovering about. While the book is told in Sunny’s point of view, I was more intrigues with Rayne and her “bad girl” charades. She used her fake idea to gamble the nights away, and she is definitely more the emotional, in your face character.

Sunny and Magnus are in love, yet in this book I never really felt love from Magnus. Please keep in mind I didn’t read the first three, so I really don’t have their history. In Bad Blood, Magnus treated Sunny more as a petulant child, rather than his girlfriend. Now there is a 983 year difference between them – HA. During her travels to Las Vegas, Sunny meets Jayden, a cute “emo” that she can’t help but fall for, especially as Magnus is ignoring her taking care of Jane and coven business. I really enjoyed the dynamics’ in their relationship and hope we have not seen the last of him.

The ending was a little over dramatic, and a bit too easily won by the good guys. The very end opens up an entire new direction for the series to head and many will be chomping at the bit to get the next book.

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

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