Review: Quenched in Blood by Ari McKay

Title: Quenched in Blood

Series: Asheville Arcana: Book Three

House Line: Dreamspun Beyond

Author: Ari McKay

Length: 228 Pages

Category: Paranormal

At a Glance: Pretty much all of the things I love to read combined into one enjoyable series. From the first book to this last book, the balance of paranormal, romance, angst, humor and plot kept me invested and left me happy and satisfied.

Reviewed By: Lindsey

Blurb: Will love mean rebirth… or death?

Vampire Julian Schaden has been warning the Asheville Paranormal Council of an impending demonic incursion for more than two decades. Over the past two years, he and his friends have fought as hard as they can with little help, since Micah Carter, the demon hunter who should have led them, shirked his responsibility and then perished.

Desperate for anything that might aid the fight, Julian enters the Carter property and finds something he never dared hope for: young Thomas Carter, the heir to a long line of demon hunters.

Thomas knows nothing about the supernatural world. But the prospect of a real life, outside the sheltered, isolated farm where he grew up, calls to him, and the idea of fighting the Unholy feels right.

Julian agrees to train Thomas, but he struggles against an unexpected, unwanted attraction. Thomas is too young and innocent to get involved with Julian, but opposites attract, and this is one battle Julian seems fated to lose. But a prophecy from a dying mage comes with a bleak warning: the upcoming battle will claim Thomas’s life. To keep his home and friends safe, Julian may have to sacrifice the only love he’s ever known.

Review: This is the third and final book of the Asheville Arcana trilogy. Here is where Arden, Whimsy, Julian, their partners and allies uncover the intention of the possessed shifters and face the unknown foe behind all the evil which has occurred. A lot of pieces begin to fit in Quenched in Blood and with the introduction of Thomas, his ancestry and lineage, they now have a fighting chance to actually divert the next Demon Time.

This is not a stand-alone. Everything that occurred in the first two books in this series leads up to this final installment. If you haven’t read those, don’t try to jump in here. In Arden and Eli’s book, Out of the Ashes, the main players are introduced after Eli’s pack is attacked by possessed shifters, and he flees to Asheville to request help. The three best friends—Arden, Whimsy and Julian—are brought into the effort to uncover the truth, each with a different strength and background in the supernatural community, and each falling in love one by one. In Harlan and Whimsy’s book, Forged in Fire, the plot progresses as more and more of the ultimate goal begins to take shape. Quenched in Blood brings all of it together, leading everything to one final climactic event.

Of everyone in the group, Julian is the one that has come off in the prior books as aloof, broody and (for the most part) unfeeling. Being over three hundred years old, he has seen a lot, been with a lot of different people of all types. He is jaded and closed off with his feelings and heart. Julian has fought the Unholy for years and has seen horrible, gruesome things. He is the one in the group with the contacts, knowledge and ways of obtaining information. Often, through the first two installments, he disappears from his friends and gets lost in the research, and pops in long enough to break bad news or cause friction with his attitude. Yet…he had moments. While in the previous books it was difficult for me to fully get a feeling for Julian, it was clear that losing Arden and Whimsy’s attention to their new partners left him feeling lonely, and locking himself away was how he was dealing with the changes. Here Julian’s internal thoughts and fears are explored. Although, if I have to pick one thing I wish would have been more developed, it was Julian’s backstory as to how/why he become a Vampire, and his family that is mentioned. While the prior books delved into their main characters’ histories and family dynamics, Julian’s is surprisingly sparse.

In Quenched in Blood Julian meets the love of his life, who just happens to be in the form of Thomas. Thomas is the descendant of a family of Demon Hunters. He has been sheltered and has no idea what he is or the powers he possesses. He knows nothing of the supernatural world and is, in many ways, innocent. But he is no shy, scared thing. Not at all. Thomas is very self-aware, he handles his life being thrown into a tailspin with surprising maturity for someone so protected. The mix of innocence and internal strength (okay, okay, and good looks) draws Julian’s attention and as he begins to train the neophyte Demon Hunter, Julian finds himself enthralled with Thomas. It is no mere physical attraction. Thomas trains with determination and passion. His purpose of a Demon Hunter fits, and he is tenacious in learning as much as possible. Their personalities and needs are compatible in ways Julian has never experienced before. They seem to effortlessly mesh into each other’s lives. Unlike Julian’s history, Thomas’ past and family play a big role and are explored in depth, giving insight to what he has been through and his mindset.

As they work together and research, the final pieces are revealed, as well as a horrible prediction about how it will all end. Yet they cannot turn back now, lest the world will spin into chaos and the Demon Time will descend. The final confrontation was exciting and kept me captivated; it was pretty much exactly how I like my climactic events to happen. I’ll admit that after such a riveting fight, the aftermath felt a little underwhelming with everything tied up a little too neatly and quickly.

I have to admit, I found myself loving this entire series. Sure, there were areas I wish could have been explored more in this particular book, and after the exciting final confrontation, things may have wrapped up a little too nice for my personal tastes; but, none of that really took away from my overall enjoyment. There was a great balance of paranormal, romance, angst, humor and plot that kept me invested in all the players and their relationships. I’m sad it is over, but I’m satisfied in how it all ended, and that is a sign of a good series for me.

You can buy Quenched in Blood here:
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