Riptide: Betrayal of Blood (The Maura DeLuca Trilogy, #3)

Maura has made some big mistakes. As a result, the changeling vampire has been grounded and sentenced to college alone by her father the Vampire King. Her soul mate Ron has been compelled to leave her, and both her adoptive sister Susie and best friend Valdamir, have been sent to Vancouver Island while Susie comes to terms with becoming a vampire and subsequent death of their mutual friend. Struggling with her solitude and slow transformation, Maura also has to fend off her vampire cousin Aldiva, who has decided that Maura must die for reasons no one can comprehend. With Aldiva threatening her life, and Maura’s vampire change taking an unexpected turn, Maura and her Vancouver cousins must determine how many of her father’s rules they are willing to break, and to bring Ron back, how much danger they can risk to save Maura’s future?

The third book in “The Maura DeLuca Trilogy” this YA book completes this arc and opens the door to the next part of the series, as Maura’s transformation to Vampire Princess undergoes a few unexpected glitches. Although the story picks up where the previous book left off, it is slow to start and a great deal of conversation occurs before any action at the very end. However, with a large cast of characters introduced in this story, Ms. Melanson has set the stage for a great deal of development in further books, as the world moves beyond just vampires to include elves and more overall making this an interesting read.

Sarah E. Bradley