Blue Blooded Vamp is the last installment of the Sabina Kane series. I have to say that it was absolutely epic and I didn't want the story to end. It is always wonderful to find a great series and heartbreaking to see it come to an end.

Sabina is out to kill the one man who cannot be killed - Cain. Unfortunately for Sabina, she is also being hunted by Cain because he wants to use her to gain access to Lilith. The God Asmodeus also has chosen this time to demand that Sabina repay a blood debt, thus throwing a wrench into her hunting plans. Sabina must travel to Rome to find the mage Abel in the hope that the mage who once trapped Cain, will know how to neutralize him again.

As a rule, Sabina always doubted that she was the chosen one and when she does decide to take on this label, it is only to further the fight against Cain. With everything she has done, she finds it hard to believe that she above all people is capable of bringing peace to he supernatural species. With Giguhl and Adam by her side, the clock is quickly counting down to the moment where not believing in her destiny, could mean the death of all she loves.

Okay, from the start of this book, there was never any doubt that Sabina was indeed the chosen one, and so it was only a mater of how Wells would tie up the loose threads. What made this compelling is how they all came together moving swiftly from revelation to revelation. I particularly loved that Wells took great care in making it clear that what Cane was doing was unacceptable and that Lilith was well within her rights to leave a man who stalked her and demanded that she love him. This kind of behaviour is too often cast as romantic in urban fantasy.

I think that Wells is an excellent writer and the Sabina Kane series is particularly imaginative; however, once again it is filled with social justice fails.

In the last few books, Brooks / Pussy Willow was a huge problem. In Blue Blooded Vamp, Brooks has cast aside the identity of Pussy Willow and now completely identifies as male. Brooks explains the transition back in the following:

"Zen helped me realize that I was hiding my pain behind all the makeup and the fabulous accessories She encouraged me to let my Brooks flag fly." He executed a Z - shaped snap through the air. (page 25)

Brooks is still very much a caricature. There are certainly gay men who are camp, the problem is that when gay men are represented in the media, this is overwhelmingly how they are portrayed. I can understand wanting to hide behind one's pain but there was still the appropriation of a trans identity. This really plays on the myth of the deceptive trans woman and if Pussy Willow is indeed a character he put on, then why did we not see a more significant change when he returned to being Brooks? Wells rushed through this entire transition and didn't develop this to the point where it could be read as unproblematic. It further didn't help that the characters surrounding him spoke of wanting to do violence to him in his alternate identity, which parallels too closely to how people who transgress the gender binary are treated. Now that he is Brooks again, suddenly everyone is accepting and loving towards him - he has appropriately conformed.

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BLUE-BLOODED VAMP is the 5th and final book in the Sabina Kane series. We have watched Sabina go through a lot since RED-HEADED STEPCHILD. She had been an outcast with the vampires and is now a respected part of the Mage family. She has lost, she has loved and she is ready to finally show Cain where he can stick it.

Sabina is still grieving her sisters death when she heads out with her lover Adam and her friendly demon sidekick Giguhl to find Abel the one person that might know how to defeat Cain. We get tons of action, surprising revelations and all of our favorite characters are along for the ride. The final battle played out at a great pace and left me satisfied.

There was not one Sabina Kane novel that I didn't love and I'm happy to say that Jaye Wells not only gave us another great novel but she ended the series in a way that made it complete. Cant wait to see what Jaye might bring us next. ( )

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/06/blue-blooded-vamp-sabina-kane-5-by-jaye-wel...

With every book in the Sabina Kane series I’ve thought “wow, Jaye Wells brought the awesome with this one”. I’d think the next one couldn’t possibly be better. Every time, I was wrong. Blue-Blooded Vamp is the last installment in the series, and while I was sad to see it end, boy, what an ending! I’ll get to that, but first… BBV picks up pretty much right after the events of Silver Tongued Devil, and our girl and her mage hottie Adam are in New Orleans to meet with Erron Zorn. They’re going to need his help to find the mysterious Abel, because he’s the only one that can help them kill Cain. To refresh your memory (you may want to cover your eyes here if you haven’t read Silver Tongued Devil), Cain is the big bad nasty (and co-creator of the vamp race along with the lovely Lilith) who made Sabina’s twin sister Maisie his killing puppet before causing her death (among many, many others.) He desperately wants to reunite with Lilith, but doing so would cause the destruction of the dark races. Sabina and the gang can’t let that happen, of course, but getting to Cain will be tough, and Sabina is going to need every bit of help she can get.

Sabina has come a long way since Red-Headed Stepchild. She’s gone from cold blooded vamp assassin for her (not so warm and fuzzy) grandmother who didn’t really know her place in the world, and carried more than a little bit of self-loathing, to a (even more) kickass magevamp who has found a reason to live, surrounded in the love of her friends and family (especially Adam.) It’s been a wild and crazy ride for Sabina, but this was in the wildest yet. Not only does she have to deal with Cane, but she’ll find out the real identity of Abel, and it’s a doozy. Then there’s that deal she made with Asclepius… He’s calling in the favor, and it causes a conflict of interest, to say the least. Oh, and did I mention that drama with Persephone (supposed new head of the vamps), is blowing back on our gang, as well? Sabina and the crew take a trip to Italy to see this one through, and unfortunately, there’s not much time for sight seeing. Your favorite dirty demon Giguhl is along for the ride, and prepare for more than a few gems like this:

“Bael’s balls, it suddenly feels like Cupid farted up in here.”

As usual, the action is nonstop and Ms. Wells does a wonderful job of juggling lots of details without ever getting confusing. She’s an ace at it, and you won’t want to put this one down. I promise. Also, be prepared for a trip to the Underworld that you won’t soon forget, and the Best. Ending. Ever. It was totally awesome, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll close the book with a big goofy grin on your face. There may even be a couple of tears in the mix. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Snap this one up, pronto. ( )