Book Review: Blood Born by Shelley Wilson

Title: Blood Born

Author: Shelley Wilson
Genre: YA Horror - YA Vampires - YA Fantasy
Publisher: BHC Press - Copyright 2023
Publication Date: May 23, 2023
ISBN: 9781643973401
Read: May 5-8, 2023
Disclaimer: I received a digital advance reader copy from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis from Publisher: Emma's brutal death at the hands of a vampire should have been the end, but a mysterious hooded stranger steps in, changing her life forever. 

As seventeen-year-old Emma struggles with her new vampire gifts and cravings, her grandmother isn't surprised at all. Hinting that she knew this day would always come, she leaves to get help, promising to explain everything when she gets back, but she never returns. 

Instead, the beautiful and enigmatic Cara, a fellow vampire, shows up at her door. Promising to help her locate her missing grandmother and uncover her ancestry, she brings Emma to the Haven, a sanctuary for half-blood vampires. 

Thrust into a war between the Immortal vampires and the half-blood rogues, Emma's simple life begins to unravel as blood and secrets entwine to reveal a dark history and an even darker destiny. She'll need to survive long enough to discover who she really is and which side she wants to be on.

Review: Vampires. I love them. From the folklore to their modern re-imagining at the hands of authors like Anne Rice, Jay Kristoff, Charlaine Harris, Jonathan Maberry, and so many more, I can't get enough of the Fanged Folk. (As long as they don't sparkle. Sorry, Twilight fans, but no...just no.)

Shelley Wilson has created a blend of the old and the new vampire tropes. Each vampire has their own set of abilities and powers with a few commonalities. Yes, they're stronger than humans but not supernaturally strong. Yes, they're faster than humans but not supernaturally faster. Yes, they require blood and have issues with sunlight. But the uniqueness of Wilson's vampires makes for interesting reading.

Blood Born is definitely aimed at a young adult audience, and the younger side of YA, truth be told. While it's fun to learn about the vampires and the differences between them, especially the Immortals and the Rogues, from Emma's point of view, we never really dive deeply into the relationships she's forming with the other vampires in Cara's group. I would have like to have spent a little more time exploring these budding relationships, and perhaps this will be something Wilson plans to cover in the continuation of the series. 

Overall, Blood Born is a promising start to a new series. How Emma and the others develop over time will be interesting to watch.

Book Review: Big Bad Me by Aislinn O'Loughlin

Title: Big Bad Me

Author: Aislinn O'Loughlin
Genre: Young Adult - YA Urban Fantasy - YA Fantasy
Publisher: Little Island Books - Copyright 2023
Publication Date: April 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781915071040
Read: April 2-4, 2023
Disclaimer: I received a digital advance reader copy from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Trigger Warnings: Animal harm (brief), blood drinking, self-harm, drugs/being drugged without knowledge, and mild gore.

Synopsis from Publisher: Canadian teenager Evie Wilder just found out she’s a werewolf. Now her mom’s gone missing, she and her sister Kate have to go into hiding, and there’s not a single helpful vampire slayer to be found. 

With the help of Kevin, the dorky-hot manager of the guesthouse where she and Kate lie low, Evie starts to harness her wolfish side. But Kevin seems to know a suspicious amount about vampires… 

Meanwhile, animal attacks are increasing, local teens are going missing, and Evie is about to find herself at the centre of a supernatural showdown.

Review: I loved this book! As a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, I was often reminded of the beloved series, and yet Aislinn O'Loughlin's writing comes across as fresh and immediate.

Told from the dual perspective of sisters Evie and Kate, Big Bad Me is a fun romp filled with werewolves, vampires, slayers, snark, and humor. Evie is just learning that the slightly odd life she thought she had is actually much, much weirder because she's a werewolf and her mom and sister have been trying to keep that fact from her. Now their mom is missing and it's up to Kate--who's a Buffy-esque hunter--and Evie to find her. Throw in a hot guy who knows far more than he should, Kate's crush on the girl next door, general teenaged mayhem, and it's a party!

O'Loughlin's world definitely pays homage to Buffy, Scooby-Doo, Stranger Things, and others in the young adult urban fantasy genre, but also stands on its own as a new voice within that genre. The characters are multi-dimensional and the world is familiar and yet new in its approach. Some of the pop culture references may not hold up over time, but that shouldn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the book. Overall, Big Bad Me is worth the read simply for the pleasure of having read a great book.

Book Review: Crave Me Roughly by Kira James

Title: Crave Me Roughly

Author: Kira James
Genre: Paranormal Romance - Vampires
Publisher:  Kira James - Copyright 2022
Publication Date: August 17, 2022
ISBN: N/A (Ebook Novella)
Read: January 16, 2023
Disclaimer: I received a digital advanced reader copy from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis from Publisher: For almost twenty years, he’s been watching me in secret. This dark, sensual, dangerous man who steps out of the shadows to help me when I need it the most. He won’t accept any payment other than a kiss. But it’s a kiss that sparks a dark desire in a secret, hidden part of me. And when he touches me, all I crave is the kind of dangerous passion that he offers. 

Then I learn the truth—he’s not a man at all. He’s a vampire. 

The love that burns between us is forbidden, but now it’s too late for me to turn back. Perhaps it always was. Because no matter how much danger stalks us both, I’ll sacrifice anything to keep him safe.

Warning: Contains violence, sex, and references to blood drinking. (What do you expect from vampires? Sunshine and daisies? I think not.)

Review: Crave Me Roughly was my first introduction to Kira James as an author, the characters of Luke and Sara, and the world in which they live. And, wow, what an introduction. From the description of Luke and his buddy, Serge, I'm picturing Jason Momoa sans beard and Chris Hemsworth but both have fangs. Um, oh, hells yeah!

As this is a prequel novella set a few years prior to the events of the first book in the Dark Alliance series, Embrace Me Darkly, I won't go into a lot of detail regarding the plot. Basically, the plot breaks down like this: Assistant District Attorney Sara Constantine has been looking for the person who killed her father nearly twenty years ago. She gets a lead from a sketchy dude. Goes to an even sketchier part of Los Angeles, alone, at night, to meet Sketchy Dude and learn what he knows. Mayhem ensues. Sara is rescued by the mysterious and hunky Dynamic Duo of Luke and Serge. Luke and Sara fall in lust. Cue the hot sex. Things happen. Secrets are revealed. More stuff happens. Questions are raised. Can Serge be even snarkier? Will Luke and Sara work out their issues? Will Luke's state-of-the-art kitchen be used for actual cooking at some point? 

I don't know, but I want to know.

Anyone who truly knows me knows just how much I loooooooooove vampires, and just from the short introduction to the Dark Alliance series I got from Crave Me Roughly, I need to read the rest of the series now. But it's not only vampires populating James's world. Other preternatural creatures are hinted at through conversations between Luke and Sara, creatures such as werewolves, demons, fairies, and much more. So, yeah, color me intrigued. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some hot vampire books to download...