Deep within the forests of the Pacific Northwest, the battle for supremacy rages on between two Vampire coalitions:My Thoughts: I always love when authors take a character that comes across as shallow *cough*and man whore-ish*cough* and gives them a great reason for doing the things that they do. In this case, Jackson is a lady killer. His fellow Guardians see him as a womanizing playboy who can score a new lady (or three) every night. What they don't know is that he has off the charts energy needs and he seeks out these women to keep those needs in check.
Guardian enforcers sworn to protect humanity, and Darkbloods, rogues who kill like their ancient ancestors….
He might be known for his effortless charm, but Guardian Jackson Foss is hiding a terrible secret. For months, he has battled the emergence of his dark nature—deadly urges that threaten to consume him. And those cravings only intensify when he meets Arianna Wells, the human he's been assigned to protect. Smart and perceptive, Arianna doesn't seem like a dangerous temptress. Yet she awakens in Jackson an unstoppable need that, if left unchecked, will brand him a traitor…a crime punishable by death.
But soon their bond may be Arianna's only hope. For stalking her in the shadows is a merciless enemy—one who will stop at nothing to claim her completely...
I guess I'm trying to say that Jackson never really pinged my radar in the first books because I did see him as the goofy, shallow playboy. Yet, he ... isn't. He's desperately afraid that his energy needs are a sure sign that he's reverting. As a Guardian, reverting will earn him a one way ticket to dead and that's not really something Jackson wants to deal with. So he hides his needs and lets everyone keep thinking that he's a sex fiend who scores on everything in sight.
Enter Arianna. Jackson is drawn to her but he's afraid of sucking up too much of her energy so he holds himself in check. Due to a trauma in her past, Arianna is pretty accepting of Jackson and his ways once her eyes are opened to the vampire population. She's not a sweetblood herself but her young cousin is one of the ones that was rescued at the end of book 2, so she's fully immersed in her world before she even knows it exists.
Simply put, I like these books. I think the worldbuilding is well thought out, the characters are sassy and protective, the bad guys are bad enough that I wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley. Because they'd, you know, kill me. Overall, it's an extremely enjoyable read. Have I mentioned that I love the cover? I do. Jackson keeps following me with his eyes. *shifts from side to side* See? I like it.
Other books in this series
Book 1: Bonded by Blood
Novella 1.5: Hidden by Blood
Book 2: Embraced by Blood
More books by Laurie London
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Tempted by Blood was provided for review by Harlequin through NetGalley.
I like the name Arianna.
ReplyDeleteHave you read any of the books in this series? It's very good. Totally fun and sexy.
Delete