I asked for this book not realizing that it was the third in the series. Without having read the other two I cannot comment on this one ( )

I have read none of the related books, so bear with me, but I believe this book takes place after "Steel Victory" and either right after or concurrently with "Steel Magic", two other books set in the same world. Steel Blood returns to following the protagonist of "Steel Victory", the vampire mercenary Victory, as she returns to the Qin (Chinese) empire for a contract with an old lover.

This is by far one of the best vampire books I've read and overall an excellent alternative history world. I missed a little by not reading the earlier two books in terms of world-building, which I am genuinely sorry about, but despite that found it easy to pick up the plot and the character's relationships. I liked almost all of the individual characters and appreciated their motivations, which is a hallmark of quality storytelling.

There were only two sticking points for me. First, and this may be because I haven't read the earlier books, but the use of tshirts, jeans and automobiles (very dependent to the industrial revolution) seemed arbitrary. I would have liked a more robust explanation of the history of this world, or at least allusions to it. Secondly, and this may be a matter of personal preference, but I didn't find all of the character interactions believable. Often characters did a thing and I understood why they did it, but I just didn't believe a human would do it like that. Dialogue in particular felt a bit stilted.

However neither of these things stopped me from enjoying the book! ( )

This was one of the better vampire books I have read. I love the concept of a vampire mercenary combined with werewolves and werefoxes. The plot moved along st a good pace and kept me coming back for more. I highly recommend this one for any other vampire lovers or fantasy fans. ( )

I was gifted this by the author. I actually enjoyed this more than I expected. The story is about a vampire mercenary and her daywalker consort who travel to protect a princess. It has weredragons, werewolves, werefoxes and even a few vampire priests! There was loads of plot twists, ancient legends, a couple ocean voyages, knife and sword action, music, and deadly chases. It is the third in a series but I hadn't read the others. The story does well as a stand alone but the references of past exploits makes me want to find and read the other two. A very good read! ( )

I read the first two books in this series, and I was really happy to to see a return to focusing on the Victory character (she's my favorite). But it's been a bit since I read those earlier books, and my memory for the worldbuilding details was a little fuzzy -- I felt a bit adrift at some of the story elements here, it all felt jam-packed and super jumbled.

Three and a half stars. If you enjoyed the earlier books, you'll enjoy this one too.

* Review of Steel Victory (book one)
* Review of Steel Magic (book two)
* Review of Steel Blood (book three)