Blood Cursed: Rogue Angel, Book 44

Rogue Angel #44

by Alex Archer

A local superstition or one of history's monsters come to life? Deep in the Bavarian forest, archaeologists unearth a medieval human skull with a brick stuffed in its mouth. When Annja Creed catches wind of the strange discovery, the TV host and archaeologist rushes to join the dig. But the superstitious locals are furious, fearing the excavation has angered one of the chewing dead-those who rise from their graves to feast on human flesh and blood. And soon she and her colleagues are facing down violent mobs and death threats. As far as Annja is concerned, though, the vampire myth is a load of bunk. 

Then a child goes missing. 

Suddenly ensnared in the Czech Republic's black market underworld, Annja has no trouble believing that someone wants blood. But in this world, evil comes in human form, and Annja has no choice: she must wield Joan of Arc's sword to protect the innocent....

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Adventure, Audiobook, Mystery, Action, Fiction

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 2, 2013

About the author

A house name for the Rogue Angel series, published by the Harlequin Publishing's Gold Eagle division.

The first eight novels were written by Victor Milan and Mel Odom. New writers joining the series starting with book nine include Jon Merz and Joseph Nassise.

Reviews

[Lianne Burwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annja goes off to Europe to meet with a friend/cutie she'd like to really get to know at an uncovered burial site with a possible vampire burial. And the Roma are up in arms because children are missing, and clearly it is the vampire/chewing dead.

Meanwhile, Garin is after a rival who also killed his lover at some unnamed point in the past. And that rival may be linked to the missing children.

I enjoyed this volume, but there were a few dangling loose ends that really annoyed me. There was no explanation of the vampire burial, or the blessing inside the brick in the skull's mouth. Not to mention how that told the gypsy villain's mother that her son was up to no good. And why did he have a trained wolf? There was no point to that.

As well, in the final confrontation with Garin's rival, Annja makes sure to point out that there is still a missing child who might be alive. And then... nothing. Bad guy dies, and the kid is never referenced again. Not even a sad mention that the kid was later found dead.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read, but there were plot holes, and a few spots where it seemed like a chapter might have been cut for length, but no effort was made to spackle over the resulting hole.

(and one more book and I will be completely caught up on the series!)

[Paraphrodite · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars.

I think one of the major issues I have with this series is the way the different authors take on the relationship between Annja, Garin and Roux. In the previous installment Clockwork Doomsday, they worked so well together but in this one, with another author, Garin's actions were very adversary and I found quite shocking He actually punched Annja in the face twice!

[Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't a bad book, but not one of my favourites either, I found the point that the team dismissed vampires as silly things from the movies but 500 year old men and magic swords perfectly normal a little weird.

[Rick Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action packed story of sword-wielding woman warrior and her funny assistant investigating murders similar to that of vampire attacks. Very sad twist at the end, left a bitter taste in my mouth.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the short, I loved it. At times I wasn't sure who to cheer for and was astonished that Anja was able to figure out what to do as quickly as she did. She never ceases to amaze me. Then, out of no where, she's overcome somehow by something she didn't see. Boo! I hate that AND it seems to happen in EVERY book.

**This review may contain SOME spoilers**

I love books that have the Romany culture in it. It is always amazing to learn little tidbits about their culture instead of the typical stereotypes. On the other hand, dealing with superstitious societies frustrates me to no end WHEN the superstitions prevent something to be solved, or helped in some way.

It also amazes me a little how often Garin's path crosses Anja's. I love the dynamics between the two. I can totally get the love/hate thing they have going on. In this book, Garin came across more barbaric in a way than in any of the others.

[John Hanscom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though this series is a little silly (a female Indiana Jones), this is the first I've read that was disappointing. The female protagonist was much harder than usually depicted. In addition, the author(s) seemed not tp be able to make up their mind whether the issue was vampires or voodoo, so used each, to the detriment of both. Finally, the books rarely have a sex scene, but there was a scene so poorly written it was unclear what actually occurred. Rats. These books, though absurd, are usually fun, and this one wasn't.

[Ruby Ridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still good but not one of the best