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Book Review-A Fire in the Blood by Amanda Ashley

by | Jun 9, 2022 | Book Reviews | 7 comments

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

About The Book

A master of her craft.” –Maggie Shayne

“I see a man. He is old. Very old. He will come into your life in a moment of danger. He will watch over you and protect you.” The gypsy’s hand gripped Tessa’s tighter. “He will bring you death,” she whispered, her voice like the rustle of dry leaves. “And life.”

Ten years later, when Andrei Dinescu saves Tessa from a vicious attacker, she has no idea that the handsome stranger the gypsy fortune teller predicted is not a hunter but a seven-hundred-year-old vampire. Darkly powerful, unbelievably compelling, he is obviously pursuing Tessa, but is it her love he’s after or her blood?

“A classic vampire tale of sensual, spine-tingling suspense.” –Christine Feehan on Desire After Dark

“Sexy, fast-paced, gritty, this is Amanda Ashley at her best! A must read!” –Ronda Thompson on Dead Sexy

This was what home felt like, she thought. Warm, secure, and so right.

My Review

First Impressions

A Fire In The Blood is technically a standalone but it is part of the world that Amanda Ashley has created with her paranormals which all are vampire-themed stories. I always get a kick out of reading her books because she has this spooky vibe that we just don’t see that much in vampire romance, it’s perfect for Halloween time but she has so many in her backlist and when I saw this one available in the library, I jumped at the chance to read it especially since I have been wanting to read more paranormal lately. I was really intrigued by this one, it had a similar style to some of her other books and there was this level of danger that kept me on edge all the way through it. I found this book to be difficult to put down and really invested in the story. The world-building is superb and really adds a aura of mystery and danger to it that scream “things that go bump in the night”. While this author isn’t like a five-star read for me all of the time, she always delivers in solidly written stories.

Summary

Our story begins with our heroine, who when she is a teenager visits a fortune teller who says that her life will be in danger and that a tall dark stranger will save her life and bring death and life to her. Then we skip ahead ten years later, and our heroine feels like she is being followed and as the reality of vampires has recently been revealed to the world, she knows something is off. Then she is attacked the next night but her life is saved by a mysterious stranger who protects her. Through a course of events, Andrei and Tessa begin dating and there is a level of trust that is built between them. At first, Tessa doesn’t know what to make of Andrei, she believes he won’t harm her, but she senses something more about him even though he walks in sunlight. But when the truth is revealed of his true nature, Tessa isn’t as afraid as she should be because he has been protecting her. She learns that newbie vampires are hunting her as a rumor is being spread that her blood will make them stronger. Andrei has built a home in this town and won’t let these vampires overrun it or kill Tessa. But when the past comes to the present and a threat to Tessa becomes more real than ever, will Andrei and Tessa be able to defeat her or lose everything in this villain’s rage and obsessiveness?

What I Loved

This was quite an interesting story and I really liked how the hero is with Tessa and the different things that built toward the climax. The world-building as always is stellar, I am always intrigued by the tone in which this author builds her stories, and it’s always so fascinating to see where its been going and how she builds it toward the end. It was so fun to see them “date” you normally don’t see that in vampire romance, there is a splice of life feel to the story that I found intriguing. I also liked how we get more than vampires but also a bit of shifter lore packed into the story. I really loved how Tessa has a level of trust with Andrei and doesn’t resent him for being a vampire and is mature about learning his identity. I really liked her for that, even when she has these moments where she falters in her faith in him, she still always impressed me throughout the story in how she takes the threat against her life and falling in love with a vampire with such ease that it felt highly relatable. And she has such a strong will of iron that turns her into the perfect match for Andrei. Its a solid vampire romance that kept me entertained all the way through.

What I Struggled With

I will be honest, this wasn’t exactly a five star read and I think if the story had been more engaging (it was engaging but not exactly a page-turner you can’t put down) and if I had been more invested in the romance, I just didn’t feel the chemistry like I wanted to.

Overall View

I found A Fire in the Blood to be a thrilling, edgy vampire romance that kept me on my toes, and had me eager to explore more of this world that this author has created! A solid win of a read!

Title: A Fire in the Blood

Author: Amanda Ashley

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Format: eBook

Source: Library

Length: 368 Pages

Amazon| Barnes and Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club

Book Evaluation

Storytelling Quality: 4

Story Itself: 4

Character Development: 3.75

Writing Style: 4

World Building 4.25

Feels + The Romantic Heart 3.75

Pacing 4

Plot 4

Cover Art 4

Ending 4

Book Ratings

Overall Rating of the Book

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Steam Level

Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy

Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.

Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.

Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.

About The Author

 write paranormal romances for Zebra Books, and I love it. Most of my stories are about vampires because, I admit, I’m fascinated by them. I also admit I don’t like most vampire movies. I’m not really into blood and gore in living color on the big screen.

I also write historical romances as Madeline Baker, many of which have been reissued on Kindle with new covers.

I’ve written over 80 books, many of which have appeared on various Bestseller lists.

Anyone who knows me also knows I love all things Star Wars, Phantom, and Beauty and the Beast.

We have an adorable Pomeranian named Lady, a mischievous cat named Kitty and a tortoise who remains nameless.

My favorite authors are Lee Child, C.S. Harris, and Patricia Briggs.

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7 Comments

  1. Jen

    I haven’t read a vampire book in a while (except a re-read of Cat and Bones for read along). This one sounds pretty interesting. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer

    Is there somewhere to get a reading order …even though they are standalone? You had me a spooky vibe.

    Reply
    • Lover of Romance

      Yes! even though it wasn’t on the edge of your seat type of read, it was still highly entertaining.

      Reply
  3. nbiblioholic

    This is an author I haven’t heard of. It may not have been 5-star worthy and you may not have been able to really connect or believe in the characters, but at least it didn’t suck LOL.
    Another excellent review! xoox

    Reply
    • Lover of Romance

      Oh I still enjoyed this one quite a bit, a very solid 4 star read for me. It just wasn’t five star material (which takes a lot for me) but just a fun spooky vampire romance that was entertaining and different.

      Reply

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