Good popcorn reading. Also, Wilks is willing to push changes in her setup much farther than most writers working in urban fantasy. ( )

I'm calling this "paranormal romance" because that's what it says on the spine, but in my little world, it's contemporary fantasy. With romantic elements, to be sure, but the emphasis in this series is more on the fantasy than on the romance.

At 2:52 a.m., Greenwich mean time, on my birthday, there's a magical surge that's felt all over the world, with different effects. FBI agent Lily and werewolf prince Rule from the previous books in the series are attending a performance of Handel's Messiah at the time, and the surge causes a werewolf onstage to change. Rule is able to keep from changing, and helps the out-of-control werewolf, who turns out to be from a rival clan, which sets into motion a deadly chain of events.

Lily and fellow agent Cynna Weaver is tasked with finding the source of the surge, because Cynna was a former follower and apprentice to Jiri, a sorceror who calls demons.

They also call in sorceror and former lone wolf Cullen to help when Rule is dying from a spell that keeps him from healing and his son is kidnapped.

There were sparks between Cullen and Cynna in the previous book, but there are more sparks now that these two very independent individuals are forced to work together.

Blood Lines is definitely a page-turner. There's so much going on, from werewolf politics to an overall increase in the level of magic in the world that there are no slow spots; no places in the story where you feel comfortable just setting the book down and leaving it to finish the next day. And it's not just the action--all the action has an emotional content: Cynna facing her past, Rule's fears for his son and Lily's for Rule, and of course Cynna and Cullen's growing feelings for each other.

Unlike the usual paranormal romance series, the couple from the previous books doesn't fade into the background. Lily and Rule are still very much front and center here, and at least this far in the series, it feels more like J. D. Robb's In Death series, which has other romance stories in it, but Eve and Roarke are still the stars. Whether Lily and Rule will continue in this role in subsequent books, I don't know, but I'm pretty sure this entire series will end up on my keeper shelves. I hope it'll be a long one. ( )

The plot of this - the third book in The World of the Lupi series - urban fantasy waas noticeably weaker than in the first two books. It, and the behaviour of the characters, was predictably and somewhat lacking in originality.
The continuity is well handled, and the novel picks up on the plot threads from the previous novels in a satisfying manner. Using the shared history of the characters in a mostly unobtrusive way as a basis for the new developments. The secondary romantic relationship for which the groundwork was laid in Mortal Danger is resumed and consumed, but never intrudes on the main plot - making this much more than a paranormal romance. The relationship between Lily and Rule continues to develop in a believable and engaging manner.
In this novel sensitive Lily is in Washington for her FBI training - having been recruited in Tempting Danger - when increasingly powerfull waves of magic hits, causing all kings of magical disruptions to happen and beings to occur. Someone uses this power to fuel a coordinated demon attack on the heirs to diffferent werewolf clans - Rule among those.
Due to an unexpected meeting when the first wave of magic hit, Rule is obligated to take on the mantle as heir to a second werewolf clan. This complicates the already complicated situation.
Handling all the magical disruptions leaves the MCD unit of FBI shorthanded, forcing Lily to involve Rule and his pack in the protection of the victims and handling of the threat. ( )

Great book in the set, but it was a little slow-going for me.