"Throughout American history , every major conflict has been due to either a misunderstanding between parties or a failure to live up to a promise – and needless bloodshed was always the result."
And bloodshed was something with which Janiss Connelly was all too familiar, either by her own or someone else’s hand. Friends. Lovers. Enemies. But as the administrator of Cedarcrest Sanctum, it was a necessary evil: keeping the facility’s residents safe – and, thanks to infusions of her vampiric blood, alive – was both her responsibility and mission.
It is a mission that is jeopardized by a very old – and private – vampire living and working as a college professor in Charleston, West Virginia. Janiss visits to determine her undead "neighbor’s" true intentions, only to find that she and Cedarcrest are on the professor’s "syllabus." Left with no choice, the administrator must become the student and ask her own hated teacher for the deadly tutelage she needs to rescue the Sanctum.
In The Matriarch: Changeling, Janiss will learn that friends and enemies are never who they seem to be – a lesson that must be paid in blood.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Waiting over a year to get the next installment of a beloved series is difficult. Fans of The Matriarch series, like myself, had to wait longer than a year to see what Janiss and the gang at Cedarcrest Sanctum were up to. As a reader, nothing more, when I have to endure such a wait between books, I usually say one thing: "This better be good."
Changeling was more that just "good"!
As with the previous installments, you are intrigued from page one, and this book does not necessarily require that you read the previous books (though I do recommend that). To recap what I love with each book, the one thing that stays consistent, is the vampires themselves. They are modern, sleek and still extremely deadly without being parodies of themselves...and also without sparkling. Janiss has improved a lot as the series has gone on. Despite being unable to age, she has grown up quite a bit and has adapted to her role in the series. She's quickly becoming a favorite vampire character to me.
The new vampire in the book, Nancy, piqued my interest and the way she acts, her past and her sometimes questionable intentions, kept me reading as fast as I could.
The human characters, both the old and the new, are well-rounded, easy to like or dislike depending on the character.
Jumping back into this book so much time later was easy. The characters were just as vivid, the backstory just as fresh in my mind. Not a lot of books can do that. The horror elements are not over the top. Chapters upon chapters go by without any blood being spilled, but the very cadence of the story gives you that little shiver. It's creepy, even when it isn't trying to be.
This is a great series for fans of vampires and mystery. It will keep your eyes glued to the page.
5/5--the best in the series so far!
Purchase The Matriarch: Changeling via Amazon!
Visit Cedarcrest Sanctum for more information!
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