Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce

Finished and written during a power outage! What fun!

Spoiler Free Reread Review

Bloodhound was in some ways more interesting than Terrier and in some ways more boring. I don’t know if it’s this style of novel that I’m having an issue with or the subject matter… the Beka Cooper series just doesn’t grab me like other books do or have. That’s not to say they’re bad, just that my brain isn’t as engaged with them.

It’s interesting that Pounce has just decided to talk to people now, rather than just Beka. He’s largely absent from Bloodhound for constellation reasons, but he is ever the sardonic talking cat we all love to read.

Got our LGBTQ+ representation in Nestor and Okha. I’m not sure how I feel about the terms “bardash” and “honeylove,” but… eh. They are what they are. I do kind of like the explanation for trans people from Okha’s explanation. Not sure how actual trans people view it, but… yeah. I think it’s kinda neat.

Pearl was probably the only thing from Bloodhound I even vaguely remembered about it from my one previous read. My remembrance of her was incorrect, appearance-wise, but otherwise pretty spot on. I didn’t enjoy her as a villain, though her presence is definitely felt when she’s not around.

Not sure how I feel about Dale or the Dale/Beka thing. Not really into the romance side of things to begin with so… bleh. I did think it was really convenient for Beka to find out that Dale definitely wasn’t in on the crime through her dead contacts, but whatever. Glad it pretty much ended the way it did.

I also feel like I should definitely mention Achoo. She is a very good doggo. I’m glad Beka “rescued” her from her previous handler. I also enjoyed the peek into the scent hound handler life we got because of it.

I’m mostly really glad to be done with Bloodhound. That finishes up my reread portion of the Beka Cooper trilogy, so I’m a tad excited for Mastiff. Like I said in the beginning of this review, I’m not hating this trilogy, I’m just not enjoying it as much as I feel like I enjoyed other parts of the Tortall series.

Favorite Line

“Why do I argue with a cat?” I always ask myself that, when I know there’s only one answer: I don’t learn. I can’t even sat it’s because he’s a talking cat. He’s a cat, and cats just aren’t reasonable. - Beka Cooper