Title: Blood Guard
Author: Megan Erickson
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept
Date of publication: September 12th, 2017
Genre: Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Number of pages: 230
POV: Alternating 1st person
Series: Mission
Blood Guard – Book 1
Blood Veil – Book 2 (expected publication: November 2017)
Where you can find Blood Guard: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Book synopsis (from Goodreads):
Enter a world of immortal danger and desire—and discover an incredible fate borne of blood.
Tendra: One minute, I’m a bartender in gritty Mission City; the next, I’m whisked away by a vampire named Athan who tells me that I’m the lifeblood of his clan. It sounds unbelievable, but he’s got evidence I can’t deny. Turns out, Athan belongs to an underground society of vampires who feed only on humans with their consent. Their enemies have no such qualms, and they want me dead. The only thing standing in their way is strong, sexy Athan. And the closer we get, the more tempted I am to let Athan feed. . . .
Athan: How could I have known when I snatched this snarky, beautiful human off the streets that she would change my destiny? As a loyal soldier, I must deliver Tendra to our future king—my brother. Empowered with the blood of ten generations of the Gregorie breed, she is fated to rule as our queen. But there’s something between us that’s so intoxicating, so carnal, I can’t help wanting Tendra for myself . . . even if it’s treason.
Trigger Warning: None
My review:
When I saw Blood Guard being offered on NetGalley, I was pretty excited about it. When I was approved, I was stoked. Vampire romances are my guilty pleasure. I do try to read as much as I can with reviewing only the ones that I have been approached/seen on NetGalley. I was not disappointed with Blood Guard. This book lived up to my mental hype!!
Blood Guard was a very interesting book to read. It had your typical vampire stereotypes and it also had some new stereotypes. The usual stereotypes that we have all come to associate with vampires. One of these stereotypes is that vampires couldn’t go out in the sun. Other stereotypes are that they need blood to survive and were super strong/super fast. Tendra’s journey on Athan’s back while in the woods is a great example. The newer stereotypes are that there are different species of vampires. They have different roles in the vampire society. Also, the vampires are not known to the human population (except those that are used as blood donors).
The romance between Athan and Tendra was most definitely Instalove. But it didn’t take away from the book. Instead, it added to it and made Tendra and Athan’s bond so much stronger. I did find it strange that Athan had such a pull towards Tendra. Let’s say that there is an interesting twist to this story that took me by surprise because I didn’t see it coming. It explained the pull that they had to a T.
The sex between Athan and Tendra was smoking hot. I didn’t think that they actually have sex because of the situation that they were in. This is the only book that I actually was chanting, in my head, “Do it!! Do it!!” up until the sex in a cave scene. When I say that it was hot, it was smoking hot. I had to put down my Kindle and fan myself. Usually, after a great sex scene, the rest is “meh” because everything was wasted on that one huge scene. Well, in this book, each sex scene was as good as the first one.
I did feel bad for Athan. Here he is, told to bring home the Sanguivita and then his brother would be king. He was not expecting to be as attracted to Tendra as he was. He definitely wasn’t expecting her to be as, well, stubborn as she was. He was so stubborn. I wanted, at one point, to reach through my Kindle and smack him because of certain choices he was refusing to make.
Tendra was still reeling over her mother’s death when she was kidnapped by Athan. I think her reaction to Athan’s news, that she was the Sanguivita was pretty much the same reaction I would have had. The journey through the underground, into safe houses and finally into the woods was epic. I definitely would not have lasted as long as she had. I also wouldn’t have had the cojones to do what she did when Athan needed help.
The end of the book was fantastic and I did not see the twist in the plot coming. I am going to be waiting for book 2 to come out. Hopefully, it will be Idris’s story!!!
My Summary of Blood Guard: 4 stars
Blood Guard is a vampire/romance novel that will stay with you long after you are done reading it. The plotline was great and original. I also loved Athan and Tendra together. Sparks flew from the moment they saw each other. This is going to be a series that I cannot wait to read
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Language, Sex, and Violence
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
