Week two of the Allie Beckstrom series marathon reviews: A return into the world of magic, private investigations, and blood magic. Allie's forgotten her recent battle and her recent spree of saving people's lives. But her surviving enemies haven't forgotten her (and there do seem to be a growing number of them, too). And they're quick to make an appearance.

Book Title: Magic in the Blood
Book Author: Devon Monk
Book Publisher: Roc
Release Date: May 5, 2009
Retail Price: $7.99
Buy it at: Various Outlets

Allie Beckstrom returns in this sequel to Magic to the Bone along with Zayvion Jones, who is indeed more than just a pretty face with the ability to be in the right place at the right time. Too bad Allie doesn't remember any of it. But just because Allie's forgotten things doesn't mean that everyone else has. Trouble keeps on brewing in Portland, and once again it looks like Allie is being brought into the thick of it.

As more enemies lurk in the shadows, "new" friends...or at least compatriots...perhaps fellow Hounds would just be the simplest description...enter the storyline. Up until now they've more or less been hinted at, the other Hounds. Now we start getting to meet them and their unofficial leader (alpha male?) of "The Pack": Pike.

I want to say for the record now that the concept of The Pack, effectively a support group for Hounds, is awesome. It's sad to think that Pike's shining moments only last this one book, considering the way things end with Lon Trager. Note to self: Blood magic looks painful, dangerous, and should be avoided if at all possible.

Then again, Allie's father pops up here and there, both as a ghost of sorts and even as a corpse. Just can't keep a power-hungry man down, even when he's dead. So who's to say if a character dying really means that they're gone from the series forever? (Trying not to blatantly spoil who dies in this one. (It's not Allie.) Seeing as how this series looks to be going that may get harder as we go on. Death looks to be kicking things up a notch and there are still seven more books to go in this series.)

The whole Swiss cheese memory deal continues for Allie, which is getting a bit awkward considering all that she forgot from book one. I sincerely hope that this isn't going to become a recurring theme after every climactic "boss battle" otherwise she'll be a walking vegetable by the time she's done saving Portland from imminent doom. I'm curious just what the behind-the-scenes logistics of this magical memory loss are, what really triggers it, and if there's a reverse button somewhere in that brain of hers. But only time will tell (hopefully) as to whether or not she'll recover mentally from all the magical usage. I certainly wouldn't manage to deal with all those aches, pains, sniffles, coughs, and fevers that magic seems to take as a toll for using it.

If you've read the first book, Magic to the Bone, and wanted to read more of that universe, then checking out this sequel is a must. And I'll predict that reading the following seven sequels will also be a must. (You'll just have to wait a little while until they're all published, though.) Trust Roc to find yet another diamond of a writer amongst the coalmine of those still working on their literary aspirations.