Title: Crazy in the Blood
Author: Lucienne Diver
Series: The Latter-Day Olympians #2
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Mythology, Paranormal fantasy, Strong women
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: At least one person’s already been killed.

Hell on Earth. It’s not just an expression anymore.

It’s an ill wind that carries bad news, and Tori’s just had a double load of it blow through her door.

Just a few weeks after she prevented some rogue gods from blowing L.A. into the ocean, more dead bodies are turning up near the leftover crater. Bodies that have been shredded by something too big to be…shall we say, of this world? Worse, Uncle Christos has disappeared after stumbling onto a deadly cult masquerading as the Back to Earth movement.

The connection: Dionysus. Yes, that Dionysus. He’s resurrected his bloody fertility rite, complete with frenzied female groupies who tear men limb from limb. And he’s lured Demeter, goddess of the harvest, over to his side by finding a way to get her daughter away from Hades for good.

Predictably, Hades isn’t about to let her go without a fight. Unless Tori finds a way to bring her back, he’ll abandon the gates of Tartarus. At which time all hell will, literally, break loose.

Between saving the world, the woman, and cultists and her crazy uncle? So much for getting to the beach before all the good spots are taken…

Product Warnings
The wine country is going through a heat wave of epic proportions, and it’s not all about the weather. Beware steamy gods with seduction on their minds or brimstone in their blood.

Tori’s sass and inability to stay out of trouble continue in Crazy in the Blood. Her drive to find the illusive Uncle Christos is a great catalyst to the rest of the ensuing chaos. It is also a great reminder that although Tori is estranged from her apparently vast family, she has a strong connection to them and is unwilling to simply let her eccentric uncle disappear into the sunset. She risks everything (including her own life) to rescue him and bring him home for a wedding.

I thoroughly enjoyed Armani and Tori’s courtship in Bad Blood, so finding out how their relationship is progressing was a welcome revisit. The increasing tension between Tori and Apollo just helped to add drama to the situation. Apollo’s pure magnetism and the possible, serious consequences Tori faces in their courtship act as a fantastic counterpoint to Nick’s steadfast loyalty and ability to see behind her bravado.

The war between the Gods also gains traction throughout Crazy in the Blood. It also gives more meaning to the idea of The Latter-Day Olympians and future conflicts between such powerful characters, in more than one sense of the word. Hades, Persephone and Demeter’s personal war is a good window through which the greater disagreements between the Gods is explored. Not only is this a great new window through which to view a modern-spin on the battles of the Greek Gods, but it is also a incredible new twist on tales that have been around for a very, very, very, very, very long time.

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