IN THE BELLY OF THE BLOODHOUND

This is Book Four. Click here for the Bradt Cousins' review of Book One.

Stephanie Bradt: IN THE BELLY OF THE BLOODHOUND kind of disappointed me. The plot seems like it would be fun: the Lawson Peabody girls get kidnapped aboard a slave ship thing and have to try to escape. It is all very dry though. They are constantly digging this hole thing to escape and it just seems to go on and on. And Jacky, of course, is the narcissist she is and tells the girls stories of her life in Cheapside and beyond because she is just oh-so-fascinating.

Here is what I remember about this book:

Negatives:
For one, I did not find it as fun as it could be. The stories every night and digging the hole and boo hoos kind of got boring rather quickly. However, I guess by this book, being the fourth in the series, I became used to L.A. Meyer’s randomness and pointlessness and learned to accept and embrace it.

Wow. Jacky reaches a new level of her sluttiness and makes out with a girl and likes it. There is a reason behind this, of course, but really, L.A. Meyer/Jacky? Of all things? This is still a YA book—ages 12 and up, kids.

Positives:
I think this is where the character Katy Deere is introduced, who has a rather interesting and unusual backstory. Katy returns for one of the 75 subplots of the subsequent Bloody Jack book, one of the better pointless subplots in my opinion.

I also think that this is the book where we learn that the little Lawson Peabody girl Rebecca Adams, who is introduced in book 2, is actually the granddaughter of former President John Adams. I thought this was kind of cool too. Jacky teaches Rebecca and about half the other girls about the Birds and the Bees. Of course she does.

I don’t remember the particulars, but there is an ugly creepy kid on the ship who is one of the bad guys who *gasp!* thinks Jacky is hot! What I find fascinating is that I think this is the only male soul between the ages of 12 and 50 whose affections are not embraced and reciprocated by Jacky. Maybe because he is ugly and Jacky is just shallow. Really, before this, I thought that Jacky was in love with everything with man-parts that breathes.

This book's featured side in Jacky’s love dodecagon: No one? I can’t remember!
My favorite new character: I can’t remember any. Let’s say Katy. I think she was new…


Jordan Bradt: I love the Bloody Jack series by L. A. Meyer. By far, it is one of my favorites. Not only is there romance and adventure, but it takes place in the 1800’s. I can’t get enough historical fiction. IN THE BELLY OF THE BLOODHOUND is the fourth installment. I like it better than some of the books in the series, but it’s not one of my favorites. I read it when it first came out back in 2006, so this review will be short. Again, I’ll concentrate on the things I remember.

Jacky and her friends from the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls are kidnapped by pirates. What’s awesome about that (besides the fact that pirates are included) is that it puts Jacky right in her element. There are many opportunities for Jacky to show her craft, and L. A. Meyer writes beautifully. The reader really gets into Jacky’s head.

Okay, here are the parts I didn’t like. Jacky and Jaimy still don’t get together! Argh, I found it very frustrating. One of the main reasons I read the book was to see if they finally get married and nope, they don’t. So, moving on…

Jacky acts like a slut. All the “sexy” men want her, and she wants them back, then at the last minute decides to wait for Jaimy – uh-huh, total tease. She also makes out with a girl, so it’s not just the guys. Clearly, Jacky goes both ways.