Review: Blood Kiss

BLOOD KISS
Black Dagger Legacy #1
J.R. Ward
Paranormal Romance
397 pages
Signet
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
The legacy of the Black Dagger Brotherhood continues in a spin-off series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author…

Paradise, blooded daughter of the king’s First Advisor, is ready to break free from the restrictive life of an aristocratic female. Her strategy? Join the Black Dagger Brotherhood’s training center program and learn to fight for herself, think for herself…be herself. It’s a good plan, until everything goes wrong. The schooling is unfathomably difficult, the other recruits feel more like enemies than allies, and it’s very clear that the Brother in charge, Butch O’Neal, a.k.a. the Dhestroyer, is having serious problems in his own life.

And that’s before she falls in love with a fellow classmate. Craeg, a common civilian, is nothing her father would ever want for her, but everything she could ask for in a male. As an act of violence threatens to tear apart the entire program, and the erotic pull between them grows irresistible, Paradise is tested in ways she never anticipated—and left wondering whether she’s strong enough to claim her own power…on the field, and off.

MY THOUGHTS
Blood Kiss sees a return to the style that made the early books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood so addicting, Ms. Ward limiting the number of characters we follow to a delightful four rather than subjecting us to the character merry-go-round that has dominated the BDB series of late. Our time is spent divided between new couple Craeg and Paradise as well as Butch and Marissa–a beloved pair who had their happily ever after in book four of the original series–and Ms. Ward manages to make both couples shine equally, neither fighting for our attention but both keeping us rapidly flipping the pages until we sadly find ourselves at the end.

Revisiting a couple who've already had their time in the spotlight can sometimes be problematic, the feeling that new issues have been created simply for the sake of drama causing us to be a bit wary in the beginning, but Ms. Ward gives Butch and Marissa a realistic set of relationship difficulties to overcome in this spinoff. The two of them are still immensely happy together, but as can be the case with established relationships, making time for one another and communicating effectively amidst incredibly busy lives can be a challenge, and it's almost comforting to see familiar struggles reflected in a fictional romance. Nothing between them feels manufactured, and the way they face their problems as a united front brings a smile to our faces throughout.

Craeg and Paradise hold their own against romantic heavy-hitters Butch and Marissa, the two of them piquing our interest quickly as they face the gauntlet thrown down by the Brotherhood's training program and fight to prove themselves worthy. Craeg is a classic J.R. Ward alpha male, physically intimidating and sexually potent, but it's Paradise who ends up being a pleasant surprise. Given her gentle upbringing among vampire high society we can't help but wonder if she's going to be passive in nature despite her desire to join the program, but what we find instead is a young woman unafraid to put Craeg in his place when necessary and stand up for herself both as a trainee and a woman.

The mystery element surrounding a young woman brutally beaten to death could have benefited from more substance and a deeper exploration of the motivations of the guilty party when their identity is revealed, but that is a very minor complaint in an otherwise hugely successful first installment. J.R. Ward fans like myself will love every glimpse of Vishous, Rhage, Lassiter and a few of the other Brothers, their crazy slang and general badassery making us feel as though we've gotten back on a track we veered from drastically in the past few Brotherhood books.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find J.R. Ward

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Super Six Sunday: Authors I've Met/Want to Meet

I'm really excited today to be participating in a new feature put together by the fabulous ladies over at Bewitched Bookworms! Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each topic in the form of a list of six. Obviously. This week, the focus is on authors I've met or would like to meet, so below are just a handful of the authors who turn me into an utter fangirl at the mere mention of their names!

KATIE MCGARRY

(Pushing the Limits/Dare You To)

I first met Katie when she came to Columbus for a YA author panel at my local bookstore, and even while hyperventilating with excitement, I still managed to plaster a smile on my face and carry on what I hope was a coherent conversation. I don't remember it all that well, it's just a haze of happiness really, but I'm pretty sure I didn't scar her for life. A couple months later I had the pleasure of meeting up with her again for dinner while in NYC for BEA, and I fell in love with her even more. She's adorable and funny and I just need to stop talking before I embarrass myself ;-)

 (Pushy, Me, Katie, Julie Kagawa, and Danny)

JULIE KAGAWA

(The Iron Fae/Blood of Eden Series)

Dinner with Katie at BEA included Julie Kagawa, a happy surprise addition I had no idea was joining us. It's for the best I didn't know she was coming ahead of time as then I didn't have as much time to stress about being cool, so aside from a brief flustered moment I was able to rise above my awkwardness and not just stare at Julie with a dreamy expression on my face. The whole dinner was simply one giant win and definitely not something I will ever forget.

MICHELLE HODKIN

(The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer)

I unfortunately don't have a picture with Michelle, but I was lucky enough to meet her for lunch at BEA last year, and had one of those surreal moments where I looked around me and realized I was sitting in Bryant Park with my mom, my mother in law, Melissa from I Swim for Oceans and Michelle Hodkin, just chatting away with the author of one of my very favorite series. Thankfully I was able to say more than "I love Noah" to her, but I'm pretty sure it still came out of my mouth a time or two. Or four. Whichever.

ALLY CARTER

(Heist Society/Gallagher Girls series)

I wrote a whole big blog post about my time with Ally Carter here if you're so inclined to read it, but meeting her definitely deserves another mention! At the request of the fantastic people at Disney-Hyperion, I was asked to attend Ally's signing in Cincinnati and come a half hour or so early for a blogger-author meet and greet. Due to a misunderstanding on my part, I arrived under the impression it would be a group of bloggers meeting with Ally, but when I got there it was just me (and my mother in law who I drag to all bookish events). Me and Ally. Ally and Me. Alone in the corner of a bookstore. I had zero questions prepared, but Ally was so incredibly personable and easy going that I was able to shake off my initial shock and enjoy the fact that I had her all to myself for nearly a half hour.

J.R. WARD
(The Black Dagger Brotherhood)

I actually met J.R. Ward before I started the blog, but I'd been a longtime fan of her Black Dagger Brotherhood series and nearly fell out of my seat with excitement when I saw she was going to be in Columbus for the RT Convention a few years back. I'm obsessed with this series. Obsessed. I took my mother in law (of course) with me to get copies of Lover Mine (my favorite of the series) signed for me and my mom who lives out of town. We were allowed to bring our own books to the signing, so I was holding both copies as we approached the table to buy our tickets.

When purchasing our tickets, the woman informed me that J.R. was only signing one book per person. I nodded that I understood and figured I was good to go because I had two books and there were two of us there. Win. The woman at the door collecting the tickets noticed I was holding two copies of Lover Mine and once again told me that J.R. Ward was only signing one book per person. I blinked this time, looked at Cathy, looked at the two books in my hand and smiled at the woman to indicate all was well. Awesome. I went straight for J.R.'s line once I was in, and upon arriving at the back the woman trying to keep things under control looked at the books in my hands and said what you ask? You guessed it, apparently J.R. Ward was only signing one book per person. I DID NOT KNOW THAT! I finally just gave up and handed a copy to Cathy and we sat down and waited.

The signing itself was only scheduled to be I think 3 hours, and it was glaringly apparent at the 2.5 hour mark that she wasn't going to get through everyone in her line before time was up. Instead of getting up and leaving after 3 hours though, she stayed and made sure every single person that was in her line got their book signed. The people regulating the line wouldn't allow her to take pictures with anyone (understandable, there were a ton of people there), but J.R. made a point to talk to everyone instead of simply signing her book with her head down and then moving on to the next person. She was fantastic.

• • • • • • • • • •

I decided to use my sixth spot for an author I desperately want to meet (aside from Wendy Higgins who knows I adore her and am counting down the minutes until we're finally at the same event and I can hug her). This is likely someone I will never have the chance to meet unless I attend FeverCon, but I dream of coming face to face with the woman who gave me Barrons and Ryodan.

KAREN MARIE MONING

(The Fever Series)

If any of you haven't read the Fever series, I beg you to drop what you're doing and run to the nearest bookstore to pick up all 6 books (technically book 6, Iced, is a spinoff, but they need to be read in order). She writes alpha men like no one else, and I, like untold numbers of others, fell madly in love with Jericho Barrons. He's a complete a-hole, but there is something about him that's indescribably magnetic and I've read the Fever books more times that I care to admit. Even if you end up not liking him or the books, I guarantee you will walk away with strong feelings about the man.

More recently (with the release of Iced), I fell hard for Ryodan. Ryodan is in the Fever series, but he's a smaller secondary character, and is quite frankly overshadowed by all that is Barrons, but in Iced he's very much the alpha among alphas. Karen sometimes teasers her readers on her Facebook fan page with pictures of beautiful men who fans think fit the image of Barrons and Ryodan she's created in our heads. Not too long ago she posted some pictures of a model by the name of Stuart Reardon who many fans thought embodied Ryodan. I feel the need to share some of these pictures with you, as they will no doubt inspire you to pick up the books and will definitely make you want to meet the woman who wrote his character. You're welcome in advance ;-)

(photo by Gilles Crofta Photography)

(photo by Kemuel Valdes)

(photo by Kemuel Valdes)

Book Boyfriend: John Matthew aka Tehrror

My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader, one that gives us the opportunity to introduce our latest literary crushes and match up their descriptions with a few pictures of a gentleman we think fits the bill. Since I'm on a Black Dagger Brotherhood kick due to the release of Lover Unleashed last week, I thought I'd share one of my very favorite characters with you. John Matthew shows up in book two of the series as a pre-transition vampire who doesn't know anything about the vampire world and has grown up on his own. He was born without a voice box, so all his responses in the below passages are either signed or mouthed. I hope you enjoy him as much as I do!

A brief description of John Matthew:

With his size, he absolutely dwarfed the three room shop–to the point where it was like he came from another planet. In contrast to his pre-trans state, the guy now had the muscle mass of a pro wrestler, although because his skeleton was so big, the weight was stretched out on long bones, giving him a more elegant look that those swoll'd up humans in tights. He'd taken to buzz-cutting his dark hair and this made the lines of his face seem harsh rather than handsome–with the dark circles under his eyes giving the hard-ass look some serious backup. (pg 12 of Lover Mine)

I tend to ignore the hair color in these descriptions and just go with a default dirty blond, I can't seem to help it! John is in a bad place in the above description and is a long way from his happily ever after, but he's one of those characters who finds their way under your skin and refuses to budge. I think William Levy fits the John Matthew I have in my head, he's got a smile that's all innocent but he's also oozing sex appeal. Not a bad combination if you ask me;)



And then suddenly all she saw was John's face.

He'd somehow managed to turn her around in his arms and they were nose-to-nose, eye-to-eye, his hands digging into her sides and her hips. With the sight of that institutional corridor replaced with his blue stare, the grab of the past was broken and she was caught by him.

He didn't say a thing. Just stayed still and let her look at him.

It was exactly what she needed. She locked onto his eyes and used them to turn her brain off.

When he nodded, she nodded back to him and he started moving forward again. From time to time, his stare flicked away from hers to check where they were going, but it always returned.

It always came back. (pg 174 of Lover Mine)



You are so beautiful, he mouthed.

But of course she couldn't see his lips.

Guess he was going to have to show her.

John took a step forward and another and another. And it wasn't just him going toward her. She met him in the middle, halfway between her point A and his point B, her form encased in the shadow thrown by his body and yet nevertheless the only thing he saw.

As they came together, his chest was pumping and so was his heart. I love you, he mouthed in the dark slice he'd cut out of the light. (pg 303 of Lover Mine)



It was hard to explain. But what was between them went further than a mating ceremony or a back carving or a witnessed exchange of commitment. He couldn't put his finger on the why of it...but she was his missing puzzle piece, the twelfth of his dozen, the first and last pages of his book. And at some level that was all he needed.

All I want is you. However that comes.

She nodded. "Well, I want the whole deal."

He kissed her again, softly, because he didn't want to hurt her. Then pulled back and mouthed, I love you. And I'd love to be your hellren.

She blushed. She actually blushed. And didn't that make him feel like he was the size of a mountain. (pg 482 of Lover Mine)