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| Blood Entangled by Amber Belldene (Blood Vine #2) July 23, 2013 Omnific Publishing 298 pages Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance Contains: Sexual scenes including M/F, M/M, F/F, language, violence Source: eARC for honest review |
KOS MARAS’s orderly life is in shambles—he must distribute Blood Vine to a population of ailing vampires, but Hunters block him at every turn. To make matters worse, each night he watches over a temptingly beautiful woman sleeping in his bed. He is convinced love cannot last a vampire-long lifetime and an entanglement will only cause them grief, but he doesn’t have the heart to send her away.
From a long line of blood servants, LENA ISAAKSON is destined to serve a vampire, but a string of humiliating rejections thwarts her pleasure. When Kos shows her kindness, she hopes he will claim her. Instead he proves himself a coward in the face of love and sends her to serve another.
Will the dark seduction of a rakish new vampire finally bring Lena the pleasure she desires or deliver her into the hands of Hunters who want to destroy everything the Maras family has worked for?My Review:
Find my review for book one here: BLOOD VINE.
Once again Amber has pulled me into this world with the characters I love and a non-stop story. I had a hard time putting this book down and read the first two books of this series in three days. Don't let the book blurb fool you, however. It's focus is on Kos and Lena, but once again we get to see all our favorite (or infamous) characters once again, along with some newbies thrown in, who have me quite intrigued with what will be happening in the future. But really, and this is not a complaint, but I'd say this book is probably closer to 55% Kos and Lena, 35% Pedro and Lucas, 10% everyone else, with crossing over between characters. This is just a rough estimate, but you get the idea that we really get two main romantic stories along with an overall story. All of this combined makes for a fascinating, full-bodied read.
Knowing Kos and Lena's history from the first book, we know their road will not be one travelled lightly or easily. There's a whole lotta mess to trudge through. But with their histories and past hurts, travel they must. I really liked their relationship, especially when it wasn't being weighed down by insecurity or misunderstanding or past hurts. Honestly, I wanted to smack Kos on the head a few times for being so stupid, but the boy had to wake up on his own. Some of the things that happened really broke my heart and frustrated me. I commend Lena on being a better person that I would have been. But the entire time I could not help but route for Kos and Lena and their love. What I also loved was that it wasn't just the two of them, but also how they fit into the big family picture. I love that these vampires and their housemates are a family and truly love each other.
There is also the secondary story of Pedro and Lucas, whom we also know their history from the first book. I like both Pedro and Lucas's characters and liked the layers that they brought to the story. The whole falling-for-your-enemy thing is always fun. I also found the complications to their situation really interesting, not just on a relationship level, but also how the Hunter blood thing will play out in the larger plot of the story. Now honestly, I am not a reader of M/M or F/F intimate scenes. These types of scenes are in this book in far more detail than in the first book. But whether intentionally or not, Amber made these scenes easy for me to skim or skip and not lose anything important from the storyline. I appreciated that the reader has the option to read or not read these intimate scenes without missing out.
Once again, I liked not just the great cast of characters, but the gripping plot that completely held my attention. Even when I wanted to shake sense into Kos, I still didn't want to put it down. Amber continued to throw twists and turns in that kept me on my toes, and my head in the game thinking about everything going on. I think my jaw even dropped a few times with a "Did that just happen?" going through my mind. Not only are we still dealing with the wine issues and the crazy Hunters, but now there's a new thing or two that I did not see coming. I commend Amber on her creativity and unpredictability and can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
Bottomline: This second book of the Blood Vine series had my complete attention with characters I love and a non-stop plot that kept me in its grips with its twists and turns. I'm very excited for the next book!
5 STARS
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Tour-Wide Giveaway:
Numerous Winners
Signed paperback of Blood Vine (Blood Vine #1)
Ebook of Blood Entangled (gifted from Amazon)
Swag magnets and wine glasses
About the Author:
Amber Belldene grew up on the Florida panhandle, swimming with alligators, climbing oak trees and diving for scallops…when she could pull herself away from a book. As a child, she hid her Nancy Drew novels inside the church bulletin and read mysteries during sermons—an irony that is not lost on her when she preaches these days.
Amber is an Episcopal Priest and student of religion. She believes stories are the best way to explore human truths. Some people think it is strange for a minister to write romance, but it is perfectly natural to her, because the human desire for love is at the
heart of every romance novel and God made people with that desire. She lives with her husband and two children in San Francisco.
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