Book Review - Bloodhound

Hey folks! Sorry for the rather meagre posting this week and for the lack of Covers So Lovely - Jess and I were both pretty busy with RL stuff and our poor frazzled noggins couldn't come up with a decent cover to choose for you to drool over so it'll be back next week when we've got a bit less on our plates! I've spent this past week helping out my mum with work and I've been getting up at the ungodly hour of 6am O_o so I am *extremely* glad for the lie-ins I'll get this weekend!

But anyway this will hopefully be a mini-review although since it's for a Tammy book there's always a chance I'll spill over into gushing territory :P

Title: Bloodhound
Author: Tamora Pierce
Date: 17/2/2011 PM
Source: Bought
Description: Beka Cooper, the heroine of Terrier, is no longer a Puppy.
She's a Dog now—a full-fledged member of the Provost's Guard, dedicated to keeping peace in Tortall. But there's unrest throughout the land. Counterfeit coins are turning up in shops all over the capital city of Corus, and the nation's economy is on the brink of collapse.
The Dogs discover that the counterfeit money seems to originate in Port Caynn. So Beka heads upriver to investigate, traveling with her mentor, Goodwin; Achoo, a hound whose nose is as sharp as her claws; and the pigeon Slapper, who carries the voices of the dead.
In Port Caynn, Beka delves deep into the gambling world, where she meets a charming banking clerk named Dale Rowan. Beka thinks she may be falling for Rowan, but she won't let anything—or anyone—jeopardize her mission. From the Silversmith's Guild to the Provost's House to the city sewers, it won't be enough for Beka to be her usual Terrier self. She'll have to learn from Achoo how to sniff out the criminals—to be a Bloodhound. . . . (Description taken from Amazon.com)

My Review

Just in case you didn't know by now- I am a *massive* Tamora Pierce fangirl - no really have you not noticed? :P But anyway I had a random urge to re-read this second volume of the Beka Cooper trilogy last month and with the final book Mastiff finally coming out this October *squee* it felt appropriate to refresh my memory with how fabulous Beka and Co. are in this book.

I adore the journal format of this trilogy and Beka's voice is no nonsense, witty and interesting while still being easy to relate to as a teenager - I'm talking insecurities and conflicting emotions making life complicated ;-). Beka has matured since the events of Terrier and I really like that she loosens up enough to enjoy more of a personal life although I will admit that I'm a bit of a Rosto fan so while Dale is charming and handsome I'm rooting for the Piper :P

The whole money counterfeiting plot was really fascinating and made you think how quickly a country's economy can be destabilised by a deluge of fakes in a medieval-era type world like Tortall. We also got to see how corruption in law enforcement really creates more problems than it solves (if it solves any in the first place!).  But in a country where they're still figuring out the logistics of a police force I suppose it's to be expected that corruption occurs since the lines between right and wrong and not yet set in stone.

Overall the book zipped along something lovely and I think Achoo is my favourite literary dog ever she's so adorable and still hard-working and I can't wait to see more of her, Beka and Tunstall in Mastiff (due to two broken legs he's sadly absent for most of Bloodhound). At the end of this second book I really don't know how the trilogy might end and I'm going to be waiting very impatiently for October 25th so I can find out.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Wow I'm actually impressed with myself for keeping the mini-review within the restricted length! I honestly thought that I might ramble on in my ardour for this awesome series - if you've never read a Tamora Pierce book then the Beka Cooper trilogy is a great place to start since you don't have to read the other Tortall books to fall in love with the characters and the world. So go pick up Terrier and I promise that if you like your heroines kick-ass then you'll love Beka.

LadyV