Having finally realised that Frey is the one for her, Anna and Frey begin to dream of a life together. For the first time, Anna is not only deliriously in love but happy. Unfortunately, this doesn't last for long and Anna is informed her mother is dying. Now she must make the decision whether or not to reveal her true nature in order to save her mother or watch helplessly as she dies.

In order to make her mother happy, Anna and Frey decide to move up their wedding day. It promises to be the happiest day in Anna's life. Once again however vampire politics intrude and Anna finds herself meeting Vlad the Impaler and dealing with the European Council who not only do not recognize her position but have a completely different plan for how to deal with the humans.

Blood Bond is very different from every single novel in this series. Rather than dealing with vampire politics, it is largely focused on Anna's human life. Being immortal sounds great, especially when you factor in the things one will be witness to until the reality of the fact that at some point everyone you love is going to die and leave you behind sinks in. Anna has love and happiness but the reality is that even though she and Frey promise each other forever, it can only really be temporary. It gives the book a tinge of sadness, even as it allows Anna to experience the most growth she ever has.

Blood Bond is the last in the Anna Strong Chronicles and it is all very fitting. For the first time, we see Anna really begin to accept what has happened to her and what it really means. I found myself embracing this series in a way that I never have. The Anna Strong Chronicles essentially falls into the ass kicking protagonist trope were strength and spunky agency are meant to suffice for the purposes of character development and personality. If one is a fan of copious fight scenes, I suppose this is a plus; however, it's not something that never really worked for me.

The Anna Strong Chronicles had many problems from the beginning chief among them Anna's relationship with women. Anna is not able to get along with women who are not related to her. I thought that we were going to get a reprieve when Tracey entered the story but all they ever did was talk about the men in their lives. This series does not even come close to passing the bechdel test. A book is not simply pro woman because it has a female protagonist who defies gender stereotypes and is written by a woman. The female characters need to be developed, engaged and not constantly snarking at each other.

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Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Associate Reviewer - Kathy M:
--Actual rating 4.5 Skulls

Jeanne C. Stein is a top notch writer of fast paced Urban Fantasy and her creation of the Anna Strong series has been one of my favorites.

The first eight books in this series are what you would expect from a well written Urban Fantasy - a kick ass heroine, fights to the death with evil doers,betrayal, and unexpected twists and turns. Blood Bond is different. And different isn't always a bad thing. Blood Bond slightly steps off the normal Urban Fantasy path and gives the reader a more emotion driven road.

Relationships, both romantic and familial, are front and center in this
final installment. Will Anna finally open up her heart and let Frey in? How will she cope with the impending death of her mother? Etc.

Blood Bond takes us on Anna's emotional journey and when I closed the book after reading the final page, I realized that this was the perfect way to say goodbye to Anna.

Recommended for all ANNA STRONG fans. ( )

I was a tad bit surprised to see BLOOD BOND because I thought that HAUNTED was the last book of the series but I am not complaining.

There was not a huge conflict, big fight scene or close call with death in BLOOD BOND. The total feel of the book was about emotion, bonding and finding peace. Although BLOOD BOND had a different feel than the past books I still ended up really enjoying it. We got to see a softer side of Anna as she navigated her mothers sickness and her relationship with Daniel. There was a bit of vampire politics going on but it was not in the forefront of the story.

Now the question is, will BLOOD BOND be the last book for the Anna Strong series? I would not be disappointed if it was not as I enjoy reading about Anna but I feel Anna has reached happiness. ( )