Review: Blood Born by Renee Lake

Blood Born by Renee Lake
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions included in this review are my own.

This book is aimed at a New Adult audience, which is obvious from the start, as the book opens with snippets of social media messaging between the main characters. It felt a bit gimmicky to me, but then I’m old and not the target audience, however, it did show communications between the characters and as such were part of the story and introduced the main characters.

The story was about a group of young women who roomed together at university. They were living in a big beautiful house that was filled with history. Two of the women with rooms were Jo and Maddie who became girlfriends in High School. Maddie’s twin brother, Lucca was also starting at the university but was staying in a dorm. Maddie is a touch idealistic and is a passionate women’s rights activist. Jo is much more intellectual and plans to be a lawyer and work with her father on graduation. They spent the summer apart and this has exposed a few cracks in their relationship, even though both still love the other.

They find out that a professor of Jo’s actually owns half the town as well as the house they are renting. She is originally from Romania and oozes sex appeal, power and mystery. When Jo and Lucca start working at her mansion on a cataloging project, Jo begins to be very wary of Valora and her strange interns. At the same time Maddie becomes captivated by her, meeting randomly and spending time together without Jo’s knowledge.

Jo and Maddie’s room mates are also very wary of Valora, Queenie in particular is frightened of her and states her uncle believes Valora to be very dangerous indeed. It becomes obvious, as the book progresses, that though Queenie’s uncle may be right, he is quite a dangerous man himself.

The reason I gave this book 3 stars is because whilst the book is incredibly plot driven, there is a distinct weakness in the characters. It felt like the author had no sympathy for anyone, so the telling of the story was cold and distant. I couldn’t relate to any of the characters and it isn’t just because I’m old because I have read plenty of NA books where I find the characters sympathetic and remind me of myself at that age. Sadly none of these characters had depth, they were all self absorbed and shallow. Blood Born is definitely a plot focused story rather than one that is character driven.

This book felt like a ghost story told round the campfire like Queenie’s when she told them about the monster who protected a castle and it’s lands. This kind of story has it’s place, and maybe a younger reader may it enjoy the book more than I did, but I felt like the book could have been much more if the characters had been more sympathetic.

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Review: Triad Found (Claimed By The Goddess Book 1) by Rozie Marshall

Triad Found by Rozie Marshall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very Steamy Paranormal Reverse Harem

I think that if I could, I would give this book 3.5 stars. The start of the book felt quite stilted but as it progressed the author seemed to relax into her writing a lot more and the characters started to flesh out a little bit.

The story revolves around Luna, who moves to Denver because of a necklace that was left to her by her deceased mother. Luna never really knew her mother so the necklace was special to her, especially the message on it “It Begins In Denver”. Luna moves there and ends up renting an apartment above the garage of a very big house. The house is owned by the father of one of the occupants. There are three men, all of which are gorgeous (of course). The men are very friendly and Luna is attracted to all of them.

It turns out that all three men have supernatural abilities and by meeting them Luna’s own powers have been released. Her mother sent her to them, without Luna understanding it. All three men want Luna and it seems they were pre-destined to want to be together with Luna and each other.

There is a LOT of sex in this book. I would definitely count it as erotica as well as paranormal romance, as it is explicit in nature. If you aren’t interested in a sex heavy book then give this one a miss. If you like some smut with your paranormal romance and are happy with multiple partners being involved at the same time you might give this one a go.

I haven’t decided yet whether I’m going to read the next in the series, but as the writing improved as the book progressed I am inclined to at least think about it.

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Review: Oath Sworn (Jacky Leon Book 1) by Kristen Banet

Oath Sworn by Kristen Banet
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another bullseye from Kristen Banet

This book is a cracking urban fantasy book, the first in a new series, by Kristen Banet. I have to be honest here and say that I’ve never read a book by this author that I haven’t loved. Kristen Banet knows how to write about strong women, without them becoming two dimensional. It takes real skill to avoid shortcuts when creating a fictional universe but this author has that in spades.

The book is about Jacky Leon, a werecat. Jacky has been a werecat for 10 years and lived alone for 6 of those years. Werecats are loners by nature and create and hold territory by themselves. They defend that territory with their strength and fierceness. They are incredibly protective of what they own. They also hold incredibly tightly to their oaths. This means when an 11 year old human daughter of the local Alpha werewolf turns up at her door asking for protection, by treaty and Duty she is bound to protect her, from all the supernatural shenanigans going on around Dallas.

This Duty would normally be relatively simple, keeping humans away from supernatural wars is written into Law and therefore Carey should be safe with Jacky, 2 hours away from where a werewolf war is going on. As this happens in the first section of the book, it should be obvious that this doesn’t happen.

I love the intricate web of Laws that are set up to determine the actions of the supernatural community. These Laws are slowly revealed as the book progresses in a natural way, that also informs the reader.

I really like that Jacky is not only an outsider within the supernatural community as a whole, but also with her werecat ‘family’. She is lonely and isolated, but also strong and protective. I love that her werecat instincts run parallel to her human ones to protect a child. Her situation explains why she bonds so hard to Carey.

Being dragged into this supernatural mayhem allows the author to gradually expand the reader’s knowledge about the supernatural community at large, as well as learning about Jacky’s true depths. We learn about her fears and pain as well as her loneliness. I love that Jacky isn’t the perfect warrior, but is determined to do the best that she can do to protect Carey.

This is not a book with any romance. This is about Duty, family and Law. It is about people and what they are prepared to do to protect what they believe in and those they care about. It’s a book that I devoured in one sitting and I loved every page.

If you love a book about a strong woman who isn’t afraid to show her fears, but continue on doing what she believes to be right, then this is the book for you. If not, find another book, there are lots out there!

I can’t wait for the next in the series. As this one just came out, I’m sure I’ll have to wait a while, but I know that the wait will be worth it.

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Review: Queen Takes Darkness (Their Vampire Queen Book 8) by Joely Sue Burkhart

Queen Takes Darkness by Joely Sue Burkhart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweet Short Novella

This is another short story (novella) from the Their Vampire Queen series. We read about Helayna who is trapped in the dark, slowly being consumed. She has forgotten who she is and where she came from. A being wants her to use her power as an Aima Queen to break free of her confines to destroy her prison. Helayna knows this is a bad idea, somehow. Trusting the voice of a Queen who calls to her in the darkness, she reaches for her Blood for the first time and calls forth beings that have slept for millennia.

I really liked how Norse mythology was employed in this short story. We heard about Helayna in a previous book within the series, but we didn’t hear how she escaped. Helayna was an abstract rather than a real character until this book was written. Joely Sue Burkhart does write a good short story and this was enjoyable as we learned about Helayna’s entrapment and the reasons for it.

This is a good short and fun read, a perfect snack of a story.

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