Hello fellow bookworms, today, I’d like to share my thoughts about Blood Rites by Jim Butcher. Book 6 in his bestselling urban fantasy series, The Dresden Files.
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Title: Blood Rites by Jim Butcher
Series: The Dresden Files #6
Published by Penguin Audio on 6 April, 2010
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Narrator: James Marsters
Length: 13 hours 5 minutes
No. of Pages: 464
Meet Harry Dresden, Chicago's first (and only) Wizard P.I. Turns out the 'everyday' world is full of strange and magical things - and most of them don't play well with humans. That's where Harry comes in.
Harry's had worse assignments than going undercover on the set of an adult film. Dodging flaming monkey poo, for instance. Or going toe-to-leaf with a plant monster. Still, there's something troubling about this case. The Producer believes he's afflicted by an entropy curse - but it's the women around him who are dying. And Harry only got involved as a favour to Thomas, his flirtatious self-absorbed vampire acquaintance. Thomas has a personal stake in the case Harry can't work out, until his investigation leads him straight to Thomas's oversexed relatives. Harry's about to discover the skeleton in Thomas's family closet: a revelation that will change Harry's life for ever.
Magic - it can get a guy killed.
Source: Bought
Formats Available: Audiobook, eBook, Kindle with Narration, Paperback
Purchase Links: Books2Read - Universal Link ¦ Amazon* ¦ Audible* ¦ Book Depository* ¦ Waterstones*
This year, as you may know, I set myself the long-overdue challenge of actually finishing some series! 😉 I’m linking up to the 2020 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge. Check out my progress here.
Today, I’m so happy to be able to check off another one from my TBR pile. I started The Dresden Files back in 2018! Eek!
So, what did I think of Blood Rites?

A Deadly Game Of Cat and Mouse
I’ve read the previous books in this series and really enjoyed them. The Dresden Files has become one of my favourite reads. The magic and paranormal abilities found in these books feel perfectly credible.
I love the way that the characters in these books are written.
They’re multifaceted creations that feel believable; they have depth and layers to their personalities. Good or bad, light or dark is an illusion, the reality is actually one of the myriad shades of grey. Aside from Harry, I loved getting to know Thomas and Murphy during this adventure. There are revelations that took my breath away.
Blood Rites was more than a good story, it had everything that I look for.
There’s a great balance between the various aspects of this story: Mystery, crime, thriller, horror, detective, and the paranormal. Jim Butcher blends the more brutal aspects with well-written humour, love, friendship and hope. This mix helps to keep the story from being too dark and heavy. Blood Rites also managed to surprise me a few times; not taking the direction I was expecting. I enjoyed trying to second guess what would happen next and how Harry would get out of the various deadly situations he inevitably found himself in.
I bought the audiobook format as well as the ebook.
However, I found myself just listening to Blood Rites rather than reading it. James Marsters performance was amazing. The pace at which he read the narrative was appropriate for each scene, while the voices he gave to each character added another level of credibility to the dialogue. I feel that James has personified our protagonist. Bringing Harry to life in his narration of this series.
Blood Rites is a gripping book.
However, it’s part of an ongoing series so don’t expect all the loose ends to be neatly tied up. There’s no life-or-death cliffhanger at the end. However, although Harry may have won the battles in this book, we’re left in no doubt that he’ll need to face many more before the war is over. I for one, can’t wait to find out what adventures Harry is forced to go on in the next book.

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read my thoughts. I hope I’ve sparked your interest in Blood Rites and that you add it to your towering TBR piles. However, if you’ve already read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts. 😉
Bye for now,
Flora x
Audible Subscription
Just in case you didn’t know, here’s a bit of information on what an Audible Membership really means.
An Audible trial is a great way for you to try an audiobook for FREE – you could choose this one! As you can tell from my reviews, I’m “reading” more and more books like this and find it a relaxing but more immersive experience. If you sign up today for a month it’s easy to cancel AND any audiobooks you download are yours to keep forever, even if you cancel!
Here are the links:
I’m not a fan of audiobooks but I’d be interested to listen to James Marsters read this, i think it sounds like a great combo.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Flora
You’re welcome, Shelleyrae. I’ve gotta admit hearing James read about the vampire characters always puts a wry smile on my face.