Thicker Than Blood

The Twenty-Sided Sorceress #6

by Annie Bellet

If you are going through hell… keep going…

Wounded, defeated, and flung across the wilderness, Jade Crow and her peeps faced their worst enemy and not all have escaped… or survived.

Separated from her friends, their fates unknown, and without her magic, Jade must discover her own heritage and unlock her true powers… or else her next fight with Samir will be her last.

For Jade, life has come down to two choices...
Level up. Or die.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Dragons, Shapeshifters, Vampires

117 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 11, 2015

About the author

Annie Bellet is a full-time speculative fiction writer. She holds a BA in English and a BA in Medieval Studies and thus can speak a smattering of useful languages such as Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Welsh.

Her books include Avarice (Pyrrh Considerable Crimes Division: Book 1), The Gryphonpike Chronicles series, and the Twenty-Sided Sorceress series.

Her interests besides writing include rock climbing, reading, horse-back riding, video games, comic books, table-top RPGs, and many other nerdy pursuits.


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Reviews

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎲 A Let's Play Dice with the Slightly Awesome Crow Sorceress Buddy Read (LPDwtSACSBR™) with the MacHalos of Mischief and Mayhem (aka M³) 🎲

➽ And the moralssss of this reread are: I’m afraid Lucy can’t come to the phone right now, she’s a little dead and stuff . Also, damned cryptic magical shit. There’s nothing quite like it, methinks. Also also, I want to be Ash’s grasshopper when I grow up. Just so you know.



Okay, so that’s not really what I had in mind (I’m way sexier than David Carradine playing insectile shifter, obviously), but whatever and stuff.



[Original review: January 2016]

I am almost done boring you with my reviews with this series, people! Be glad and rejoice! This is the last published instalment, and if all goes well (for me, not for you) the next one will be published next March. Which means you are going to get a full two-month, Jade-Crow-fangirling-free holiday! Now aren't you a lucky bunch?! Go right ahead and have a little celebratory dance. No, really, I insist!



Those are some, um, smooth moves you have there. I am, um, most impressed. I think.

Feels pretty amazing, huh? Yeah, I know. And you know what, since I have a heart today (don't worry, it won't last), this is going to be my shortest review to date for a book in this series. Maybe. You know how I get with this reviewing thing, I start rambling innocently and next thing you know it's two days later and you are on the brink of exhaustion, starvation AND dehydration. But I am confident this will be dealt with swiftly enough. I'm keeping my pincers crossed for you, though. Just in case and stuff.

Okkaaaaaayyyyyyyy, let's do this. And to make this swift thing swiftier, I'll go ahead and do the add-on thing. No clue what it is? Why am I not surprised? It is simply the addition of all the Awesome Jade Crow Things (AJDT™) I mentioned in my previous reviews to the AJDT™ found in this particular instalment. Now I could ramble on and on about the AJDT™ to be found in books 1-5 again, but you recently made it abundantly clear that you wanted none of that, so now you'll just have to painfully live with that terrible decision.



Ha. Not going to say “I told you so” but, you know, I told you so and stuff.

Anywayyyyy, let’s see what we have in this instalment, shall we? Here goes:

✔ Psycho ex-lover smackdown, part 2
✔ Technical Magical difficulties
✔ Coolest Deus Ex Machina issues ever (I think I want Ash to adopt me).
✔ Ever-growing, ever-yummilicious Cast of Yummy Characters (CoYC ™).
✔ The coolest RV in the history of coolest RVs. Puts the silly Mystery Machine to shame, if you ask me.
✔ Draaaaaaaagggggoooonnnnnnnnnnnnn alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
✔ Fun-filled prison break fieldtrip.
✔ The Veil. The Veil? THE VEIL??!! Pippa DaCosta will you stop doing this?! How many times have I told you not to holiday in other people's books? Some things are just not done!
✔ Gods and oaths and bloody shrimping Siamese shifters and prophecies and immortals and cookies of death and totally not creepy knives and humanity rising and magic shrinking and so much wondrous deliciousness and excuse me I think I need to go all AHHHHHHHHHHHH for a little bit and stuff.



A little over-excited? Me? Sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about.

Anything else? Sure. The quote of the day, courtesy of Awesome Jade Crow is Awesome:

“I’m your grasshopper. Show me your dragony ways.”

*dies*
*resuscitates*
*screams "AHHHHHHHHHHHH" again*
*dies again for good measure*

As for the ending of this book, all I have to say is: seriously, Annie Bellet? Really, Annie Bellet? Honestly, Annie Bellet? Do you truly expect me to sit here and wait patiently for the next instalment to be published? You have got to be kidding me. Is this your idea of a joke? Well let me tell you, your sense of humor sucks. Because you can't leave me hanging when there are unicorns involved. And freaking dragons. That is just not done.



Slightly not very happy about this I am, so knock off a star from my rating in retaliation I shall. Because I'm petty like that and stuff.

I better see you in March, Jade Crow. Things might get ugly if I don't. But hey, no pressure and stuff.

PS: did I say that this would be my shortest review for a book in this series? Hahahahaha. I’m so funny sometimes.

• Book 1: Justice Calling ★★★★
• Book 2: Murder of Crows ★★★★
• Book 3: Pack Of Lies ★★★★
• Book 4: Hunting Season ★★★★★
• Book 5: Heartache ★★★★★
• Book 7: Magic to the Bone ★★★★
• Book 7.5: Harper's Tale ★★★★
• Book 8: Dungeon Crawl ★★★
• Book 9: River of No Return ★★★★
• Book 10: Balancing the Scales ★★★★

[Elena Linville-Abdo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, we had a few surprises in this book, including Alek's sister and daddy dearest.

Review to come.

[Kim Power · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novella masquerading as a novel

Six novels and counting. And I'm getting tired. This novel ended on a discovery for Jade, but all the companions who helped her in this story just disappear. We have no idea what happens after they set off to provide a distraction and a story that should have ended about two books ago is still going. I'd rather pay more for a novel of decent length than these dribs and drabs. If the next instalment isn't the conclusion, then I'll be over it. I think the author has tried to pack too many plots into one series and it's losing its impetus. To add insult to injury, there are multiple spelling errors.

[Charlton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our heroine Jade Crow is no longer able to use magic,which sucks for her.She sees her dad in a vision and he says " ...find I can help,,,".So this is good but,she has no idea where to look.She does however know a person who collects information and he tells her where to find him.Yea, it's a prison and she has to get him out so he can help her get her magic back.

Jade meets a group of four shifters who go with her on this quest



Three books left in the series..

[Elinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

So not as much action as the last one, and the plot doesn't progress a lot despite the big reveal of the end. But it was still very nice to read.

[clinton n smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the plot, hate the length

This is really a novella. You can finish it in a couple of hours, but I guess I'd pay just as much for a couple of episodes of a tv show on Amazon Instant Video. Still frustrating how long I have to wait for the next episode though.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars... I loved the multiple POVs we got to hear in this book; most of all Harper... I enjoyed getting into her mindset and watching her outsmart Samir... Jade's journey is more subdued but no less poignant as she travels to discover the true nature of her power and what she discovers is BIG.... I look forward to how all the revelations in this book will impact the story moving forward:)

[Mark Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, just yes

I want more of this. This is awesomesauce. Being a nerd the references were spot on and perfect in every way...almost like she crafted them to be. Get story and I can't wait to see what's in store with the next book.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the last couple of books really gaining some momentum, ‘Thicker Than Blood’ the sixth book in The Twenty-Sided Sorceress series by Annie Bellet comes to a screeching halt. There is very little that occurs in this book. No heart-stopping moments of ‘Will they make it?’ or nail-biting scenarios as the heroes battles the big bag or even some progress in the characters relationships. Instead, ‘Thicker Than Blood’ reads more as a novella length book of exposition. The only redeeming part that stopped this being a 3-star review for me is the addition of several chapters from Harper’s POV which helped breakup the someone endless monologuing of Jade. The book is shorter than the last couple of entries at a little over 100 pages and I managed to get through it in about an hour and a half.

As you might have guessed by the title, ‘Thicker Than Blood��� focuses a lot on the unknown relationships of Jade and her friends. The over arching plot is the quest to find Jade’s father who can hopefully restore Jade’s magic which is worrisomely missing after the conclusion of Book 5, ‘Heartache’. The story picks up around a day after the cliff-hanger with Jade separated from the rest of her ‘Scooby’ gang and uncertain what to do now her magic has vanished. She has a vision of her father telling her to come see him in order to get her powers back. Only problem is she has no idea where her father is considering she never met him.

‘“Come see me,” he said.
I wondered if there had ever been an actually helpful vision anywhere in the history of magical (redacted) happening or if they were all so damned cryptic.
“Great, where are you?” I asked, keeping my voice low and trying not to get openly annoyed. Though if he was in my head or whatever, he’d know I was frustrated anyway.
“You don’t know, so I can’t tell you,” he said with a sad shake of his head.’

Jade enlists the help of The Archivist, the vampire we met back in Book 4, ‘Hunting Season’, and the book covers most of her journey to find her father and the truths about her parentage. We are introduced to several interesting new characters, but I really missed the rapport and familial banter that is normally present with her friends. Whilst part of me understood why Ms Bellet wanted to separate Jade from the rest of the group as she searched for answers about her father. I found myself less interested in what was happening without the camaraderie of her ‘Scooby’ gang.

We get several chapters from Harper’s perspective that just makes me like and respect her more than ever. Whilst I always enjoyed Harper’s witty, if cutting, remarks in previous books. She certainly steps up during her sections and shows she is not just a sidekick but a hero as well. After the events of ‘Heartache’, she is down but not out.

As for Alek, well there is only one chapter from his perspective that I am unsure if we needed. Its not bad in and of itself, but he came off as being a bit lovelorn and pathetic missing Jade and not really thinking ‘big picture’. Certainly not like the Alek I remember him being in the first few books where he walked into Jade’s shop and accused her of murder. He does step up but is almost forced into the roll by the others. I think Ms Bellet was trying to illustrate how much Jade and Alek love one another but it fell a little flat too me.

Overall, I would read Book 5, ‘Heartache’, Book 6, ‘Thicker Than Blood’, and Book 7, ‘Magic to the Bone’ as if it were one book. The three really do make up one overarching storyline with the end boss fight with Samir occurring in Book 7, ‘Magic to the Bone’. You will need to read ‘Thicker Than Blood’ for a lot of the backstory on who Jade is to make sense of the arc conclusion. I do think Harper’s sections make this more than worth while as she proves that whilst you might only be a side-kick character, that doesn’t mean you are not a BD Hero!

A weak 3.5 out of 5 stars! Rounded down to 3 stars.

[Leather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the previous one. Fun, well paced, light entertainment, with nice developments of the narrative.
There is again a cliffhanger at the end, but it's less frustrating than the previous one.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

:(

[Alayna Payton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loving this!


This story just keeps getting better and better. I laughed and screamed out loud more than a few times reading

[Timelord Iain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than Heartache, but not good enough to make me continue with the ebooks for #7-10... maybe if/when the rest of the series releases on audio, I'll return...

[Anthea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars really

I am enjoying this series, although they are very short with this one and the previous one having cliffhangers, which I found a little bit of a painful.
The spelling mistakes and grammar errors in the ebooks also irked me somewhat.

[Ana Paes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes: I really liked this one!!! Although I felt like every Harper's pov was excruciatingly slow, I got it going by half of the book and finished it in one sitting.
I wanted to punch Kira so bad, but by the end she grew on me. I hope to see that gang again in the future. On to the next book!

[Angie ~aka Reading Machine~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jade Crow separated from her friends and lover doesn't know whether they live or died at this point. Jade gets a visit from her father while in a diner and needs to make a trip to Seattle to talk to a vampire. Jade knows she's the only one that can defeat Samir but she's empty of magic or simply burned out. Only Jade's father has the answers to helping her defeating Samir. Can Jade find her father? Will Jade be able to learn or control her magic? Who will the final battle between Samir and Jade? Your answers await you in Thicker Than Blood.

I love this series! The story and characters really move me and make hungry for more. It's gritty, raw, real, honest, compelling, intriguing, quirky, and a hell of a read too. I look forward to more from this author in the future.

[SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

We find out that Harper was not killed at the end of the previous book but is captured by Samir who is planning on using her as bait to trap the rest of Jade's friends. She escapes but sees that Samir has captured a young unicorn. She helps the unicorn escape but is captured herself again by Samir. She manages to escape a second time and is aided by an adult unicorn to outrun the shifter wolves. Harper is reunited with her mother and friends in a magical spot in the forest controlled by the druid Yosemite. Meanwhile, we find that Jade lost her powers when she shifted time in the last book to rescue her friends. In a vision with her father, he tells her he can help her get her powers back but she has to find him IRL. She travels to Seattle to meet the vampire Noah, the Archivist, to get help finding her father. He pairs her up with Kira, who happens to be her mate, Alek, hated sister. Also joining them is Agent Salazar from NOS (Not Otherwise Specified). They travel to a secret government detention center in Custer, South Dakota for paranormals. They break Jade in and she escapes with her father, Ash, to Oregon. She finds out her father is a dragon and so is she but her powers have been locked up for her own protection. The book ends with Ash showing Jade how to release her inner dragon. There, I saved you from having to read a pricey 200 page book. You are welcomed.

Kindle e-book. I'm reading the series.
===================================
If you are going through hell… keep going…

Wounded, defeated, and flung across the wilderness, Jade Crow and her peeps faced their worst enemy and not all have escaped… or survived.

Separated from her friends, their fates unknown, and without her magic, Jade must discover her own heritage and unlock her true powers… or else her next fight with Samir will be her last.

For Jade, life has come down to two choices...
Level up. Or die.

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm rounding up to four stars. This wasn't quite as good as the previous novellas. It was still an enjoyable read and it does a good job of advancing the larger narrative arc, but it just didn't draw me in and get me excited like the previous stories. Jade is separated from her friends and we get some chapters from Harper and Alek's perspectives, which were interesting story-wise but didn't really land well for me. And there's another crew that Jade works with that's kind of like a pale copy of her friends so that she can still have some geeky quips and references, but they're kind of just there and we don't get enough of them to really develop a sense of character or really care about them. Harper's tale is pretty cool but she's not as bad-ass as Jade and her perspective doesn't really feel that much like a departure from Jade's, so it felt a little contrived to me. Alek isn't really that interesting: his perspective is mostly to let us know what's up with the rest of the crew. Jade's story lacks anyone to really care about and, though she does some cool stuff, she doesn't get to be the bad-ass sorceress who cleverly figures out what's going on and how to deal with it. I think that part of the draw of this series for me is that Jade is just so freakin' competent and that doesn't come through for me in this one.

[Modrukinstealer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it too early to start asking when book 7 will be out?

I'm not sure why you're still reading this, how much more of a recommendation do you need than that?

Fine... It's got the same style of humor and gamer references that the first 6 books had. It's been a couple months since I read the earlier books at this point but the amount of action seemed roughly on par with the rest. Though I will say that the action is almost entirely with Jade's friend Harper. Jade has a bit but Jade is mostly character development in the book with a bit of action at the end. If you're favorite character is Alek you might be a bit disappointed as he's only in the book a little bit though you do meet someone from his past in this book.

Last I knew you could still get the first book in the series for free for Kindle Justice Calling pick it up and give it a try, if you like it buy the other 6, you won't regret it IMHO.

[Vannessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book carries on straight after the events of the previous book. That cliffhanger left me shocked and so I had to jump straight into this one to find out what happened next. Luckily for me and for the character, it was not as bad as I had initially thought. Phew!

Jade, however, is not looking so good. She has no magic and no Wolf. Nothing. Not a spark. How on earth is she going to kill Samir now? Luckily for her, she has a visitor that tells her who to go to, but it is not as easy as knocking on this person's door. Of course it isn't!

Although this book feels like the second half of Heartache, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It was all about Jade getting her magic back and learning how to trust others, even if she didn't especially want to trust them. It was also time for the group to recuperate and deal with their losses.

So looking forward to reading the next book which I believe is the final showdown!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series started off very well but have waned in content and plot.
This book is way to short and no real progress was made in the development of the
characters or storyline. I grudging ingot give it a 3 star only because of the past
novels

[Vero · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why oh why did I not stick with my decision to leave that series alone?
 
That was not a great or even good read.

[Heather Rainwater-Alvarado · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to admit, frustration is seriously starting to build. This short novella of a book is another bridge to yet another novella yet to come. It is completely lacking in a conclusion. Thicker Than Blood begins off-kilter from where the last incomplete book left off. Unlike her other books though, Bellet has changed her writing style to include other first person chapters told from the secondary characters' persepectives to supplement the main storyline as told by Jade. I have to admit that this is necessary at this point due to the separation she has given to the characters, so otherwise the reader would have no clue as to what is happening with the secondary characters. It's frustrating however that she has realized this so far into her series already. This is already book 6. I feel like this should have been established way earlier in her books.

Mysteries continue to build on other mysteries leaving the reader baffled with crumbs of hints before leaving them hanging at the end... again. I have to admit this book has slightly more of a semblence of a conclusion than the last story since the last book completely lacked one, but that still is not saying much. I will acknowledge that the continuity gaps have lessened in this book; although the grammar and editing errors remain. It's also becoming clear that Bellet's only method of distinguishing non-native English speakers is to pose a question ending with ",no?" I wish she would truly put some time and effort into developing her individual characters' mannerisms. Throughout the series I have constantly heard her voice come through multiple characters rather than developing their own. As I said before, I will likely continue the series because of the time I've invested into it more than the actual interest in the books.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing — Mystery, Revelations and Plenty of Gumption!

I'm already a fan of Annie's writing style and this urban fantasy series. Thicker Than Blood is the 6th book. I should stress that the books in this series need to be read in order to understand the plotline.

I downloaded the narration by Folly Blaine for my Kindle. However, I ended up listening to most of the story through Audible rather than reading it. I like the way Folly reads the narrative, it's good. The majority of this story is told from Jade Crow's perspective and Folly's performance mirrors our protagonist's personality. There are also fly-on-the-wall sections showing us what Harper and Alek are up too. Folly has a very limited number of accents or voices and none of them are overtly distinctive. Many of the characters sound the same, making scenes with more dialogue than narrative harder to follow.

The plot in this book is pivotal to the series. However, it definitely feels like a middle book - Empire Strikes Back vibes. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the unfurling mystery, tension or being introduced to a host of new characters. Annie is really good at writing dynamic fight scenes and this book had its fair share of those to keep my adrenaline pumping. I also liked the soul searching that certain situations forced Jade into.

Thicker Than Blood has left me with a million questions. Although there's no perilous cliffhanger, the ending leaves us in a kind of limbo which is why I've sulkily rated this one 4-stars not 5. However, it's still a good story that I really enjoyed reading. Loving all the geeky references and nerdish quotes sprinkled throughout - they warmed my heart and put a smile on my face.

[Liz Etnyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a review for both 6: Thicker Than Blood and 7: Magic to the Bone. It looks like the last 3 books (5, 6, and 7) need to be one book. The ending for 6 is better than 5, but still a cliffhanger. There is LOTS of repetitive angst on the main character's part (Yes, we know you are not sure you can stop/kill the bad guy. Yes, we know you are worried about your friends dying. Yes, we know you feel responsible for every death that has already happened. We do NOT need to remind us every couple of pages.) Good editing could have cut the pages by at least 1/3 and combined it with 5 – and advertised it as a two book ending to the series. Anyone who enjoyed the first 4 would likely be OK with two slightly longer books for the conclusion of the series. A satisfactory end is finally reached, ( – but apparently not the final end! It seems there is an 8th book which should come out in the next few months: Dungeon Crawl. I am totally OK with 'the further adventures of!' Here's hoping they will be cliffhanger free.) 3 of 5 for both book 6 and book 7.

[Leah Speller · Rating 5 out of 5]

By this point, you should agree that this story is one you just have to finish and can't wait for the next one. This was certainly a transitional book and I had been expecting it. Like with most main characters when having to face enemies like her X, then add her life choices in wanting to push her friends away to protect them, the point comes where she will need to learn a new way. I loved how Annie taught her those lessons to her through others.

As others have stated there are several of these books that certainly could have been joined. But there are many that complain that books that are 300 or 400 pages too long. You cannot please everyone so I just take them as they come and enjoy each and every word. I hope you enjoy the life lessons as much as I did.

[Starfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoooof. The stakes have never been higher in this instalment - Jade has lost all her powers, Harper is alive but has been taken, and everyone's licking their wounds after the battle with Samir.

My only criticism with this instalment is that it could have EASILY been a second part of Heartache, and the two books together would have only come to 360-ish pages: saving us all from the freaking depressing cliffhanger where NOTHING was resolved at the end of the last book.

That said, I'm glad Jade and Harper are continuing to fight the good fight, and I'm looking forward to seeing where they take it from here.

[Selaya Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspense and excitement rules in this episode of Annie Bellet's series. I managed to finish it in one sitting and I must say that the ending wasn't a total surprise, the - I LOVE anything to do with dragons! The chances are very good that I'll be finishing #7 & #8 in very short order. Can't wait to see where they lead. Now, time for a coffee break I think.....

Oh, and thanks for actually including the eBook version on the alternative editions list. Makes those of us who use that format so wanted.

[Books Lucy King · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this urban paranormal serie. This one was great, revealing some new interesting information. I am really curious what will happen in the next books and how all this ends. I also liked the new characters a lot. And I appreciated the different points of view this time, not only Jade´s. It gave it more dimension.
If you are looking for a fast paced, interesting, urban paranormal where the focus is actually on the story itself and not that much on the romance (there is one, a nice one, but not the center of everything), then try this serie.

[Ju Transcendancing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went straight into this one from the cliffhanger and I was pretty grumpy about it, I think this should have been one book with the previous one. But I love the characters and story so I'm continuing to read. I like being hooked like this, but I also want it to feel like good value not like I'm buying a whole book in 2 halves. It definitely impacted on my enjoyment of the start of the book, but I am fascinated by the group of them and Jade's story.