imPerfect Blood by CN Rowan is the 7th book in the series, and the start to a whole new story arc. While there is a bit of a "what happened so far" included, I definitely don't think you can ever this world here, and enjoy it nearly as much as you would otherwise. You'll miss crucial information as well as the emotional attachment to the characters. 

This book has an extra plus for me - a dog! Ok, it might be a doberman who is actually the earthly vessel for a demon, but who ever said demons always have to be the bad guys? How racist? Specist? Mythologist? Anyway, I really enjoyed this new addition to the cast, as well as his best mate and roommate.

Apart from this, we get the now well known and expected mix of banter, action, violence, humour, mystery and some jokes so groanworthy, they are actually fun again!

Get ready for a compelling and memorable reading experience because C.N. Rowan has somehow stepped up the level of his already accomplished writing in ImPerfect Blood.   And that is saying something because the ImPerfect Cathar series is already one of the strongest I read.

The first book ended with major events for our trio and I came into the story anticipating the repercussions.   What blew me away though was the power of this story!   Everything was ramped up and intensified.   Problems were immediate;  solutions were needed with a manifest desperation.   The narrative was fast paced and clever and never stumbled over it's own feet, so the urgency was always present, supported by the author's riveting prose. 

The desperation left Isaac and Paul emotionally vulnerable but because we have Paul's POV, his guilt, distress and torment were always forefront and raw, made more so because of how well they were written.   C.N. Rowan does not know the meaning of toxic masculinity and he never shies away from exposing the emotions of his characters.   Found family is a strong central theme in these stories but it was amplified exponentially by the absence of part of our team.   The lack of family, the need to cling to those remaining, the point of their immortality...never have these been felt more potently or more heavily as a weight to be borne. 

As always, I highly recommend C.N. Rowan and his superb stories. 

 

Wow! This is a darker, more sobre book than the others in the imPerfect Cathar series. Without Aïcha, Paul has finally had to grow up and accept responsibilities both for himself and for those he loves. It doesn’t start well; in his desperate search for a way to bring Jakob and his heart sister back, he neglects his father-figure, Isaac and sends Gil off on his own to face his old and very evil family. 

When Paul realizes his mistakes, he does all he can to put things right, and we get another glimpse of the power he can call on when his friends’ lives are on the line. Because he is unsure if the body he is now in will be the last he will ever have and that this time, if he dies  he won’t be coming back, we find Paul less blasé than before and more inclined to look before he leaps. 

After so many centuries of sharing his mind and body with the Bene Elohim, Isaac has to face the fact that Nithaël has been keeping secrets from him (perhaps unwillingly), and that inviting Nithaël and Nanaël into this realm might have been a huge error. 

The situation at the end of the book – after Paul fights and defeats the fearsome Warabouc  - is far from being straightforward for our friends: Aïcha and Jakob are still missing, Isaac is desperately ill and Paul is readying himself for a war against a very sneaky demon.  The next book can’t come out soon enough for me!  Thank you,  C.N. Rowan for a nail-biting adventure and for your magical story weaving.