Blood Kiss by J.R. Ward Series: Black Dagger Legacy #1
Published by Signet on December 1, 2015
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Vampires
Pages: 397
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
ISBN: 0451475321
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.
Blood Kiss is a book that I was a bit anxious for and I was curious to see how J.R. Ward would handle this book especially since in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series we see multiple plots in the later books of the series and definitely was hoping that it wasn’t the case in Blood Kiss and *whew* yep there are a ton of plot lines that confuse the reader. We have only two plot lines. We see a storyline with Butch and Marissa as they work on their own lives and the intricate lines of their relationship. Then we have the story of Paradise and Craeg which brings some forbidden love and opposite sides of the track tropes to their story.
Paradise is the daughter of the advisor to the King and works as a secretary and even though she has been going to the gym to get in shape, she wants something more from her life and wants to learn how to protect herself from the lessers who are becoming a menace and more threatening to their way of life. She has already lost most of her family because of their attacks and wants to know more about defense and protecting herself and entering into the training school of the Brotherhood is her ticket and is just about ready for anything.
Craeg, is the son of a commoner, and has had to scrape by and has a vow of vengeance against those Aristocrats who were cowards and let his father be killed by the lessers instead of protecting the serving staff. His father was a carpenter, his mother abandoned them when he was young, but now he is on his own. But now he has something to prove, he is determined to come out on top with the training school. But he knows that his attraction to Paradise can’t go anywhere, he has nothing to give her, but sometimes fate takes certain choices out of your hands and he and Paradise will need to fight for the beautiful love they have for each other…
Don’t put me on a pedestal. All I’ll do is fall from grace.”
Blood Kiss was such an epic love story and I was swept up in this book in so many different ways. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but this book starts off with such an intense feel to it. There is a strong level of suspense and yeah I was SO not expecting it to have such a edge of your seat in the training academy that the Brotherhood has created and boy they do a number on these trainees. There is a connection between Paradise and Craeg, so much so its almost electric. But both Paradise and Craeg and the others will have to use every bit of strength and determination they have to get through the first day.
There is a ton of forbidden love but that is more on the side of Craeg. He knows that there is something strong between himself and Paradise, but he doesn’t want to give into what he feels for her because he has nothing and doesn’t believe he has anything to offer. I adored Craeg though, he is a true leader and goes far in the program. He does let male pride get in the way at times, but he learns as he goes and in the end he does fight for Paradise even if he has to get pushed in the right direction.
“If I kiss you,” he growled, “there’s no going back. I might not fuck you right here, right now, but I’ll have you on your back the instant I get the goddamn chance.”
Paradise was such a delightful heroine and she is the type of alpha female I LOVE reading. She isn’t so arrogant and conceited that she can beat anyone. She does have humility and kindness in her heart. She wants to improve herself and help protect others in need. She is such a well-rounded character and I adored that. She also is a fighter especially when she finds Craeg and finds herself falling in love with him. Paradise is one strong woman though, I love how she comes out on top though, seeing her inner courage and determination to succeed and her relationship with her father and how much she is willing to fight for Craeg even when he is being too stubborn for his own good, she never gives up on him and I love that.
Then we have the story involving Butch and Marissa. I just love these two, but the issues I had in their main story, comes through in this book and I am happy that Ward resolved those issues that I felt was a bit unresolved. We see how much these two have grown and changed over the years but they have plenty of growth to happen in their relationship. Seeing them put demons to rest and really communicate fully with each other and finds some more depth of intimacy in their relationship was so fulfilling and had a blast seeing these two again.
Overall I found Blood Kiss to be a stunning story that was truly an eventful romance that keeps you packed with thrills and sensual touches and a badass love tale you can get on board with!! A WINNER!!
About J.R. Ward
J.R. Ward is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of numerous novels, including the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. She lives in the South her family.
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