Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Book Review: Bound By Her Blood by Mara Leigh

 

Book Description

A newly-turned female vampire joins four hot males with dark secrets to battle an evil vampire king

Book 1 in a fast burn paranormal romance series.

"Unputdownable!"

I was alone as a human, and as a newly-turned vampire I'm trapped and tormented. But I will not give up--I will never give up. And I refuse to let my past define me.

Held in the dungeons of an evil vampire king who's determined to make me his bride, I escape and meet Rock, a protective giant who's hiding dark secrets, and Grayson, a mysterious and handsome vampire.
With their help, I recover, become stronger and I'm introduced to a world of passion and wealth. But my safety is threatened by Colton, a hunky, vampire-killing cop, and I’m pursued by Pike, a terrifying vampire who won't rest until he claims me as his own.

Bound by Her Blood is the first book in a Paranormal Romance series where the heroine has more than one love interest and does not have to choose.


My Review

Selina is a vampire who was held hostage by the vampire king who wanted to make her one of his brides but she wouldn't or couldn't cooperate. It wasn't as easy as just agreeing to do it and when he doesn't get his way, the evil king throws her in the dungeon where she's abused and tortured. If she had been a human, it would have killed her. It was only her vampire healing abilities that saved her from death but that just meant that they could torture her more and for a long time, which they did. The torture was completely over the top and gruesome.

Once she escapes, she runs into Rock who is a gentle giant, not human but he doesn't know what he is. It was a good mystery but one that I wish we had some closure to. Rock has had his own torture in his past and because of that he refuses to have sex. But when Rock offers Selina a safe place to stay because he knows she's in danger, she feels things for Rock and takes it personally that he won't have a sexual relationship with her. She keeps pushing at him which really irritated me. Once he said no, she should have backed off. The fact that she had been sexually abused and then turns around and is really pushy with this guy just made me not like her at all. We are to believe that because of her vampire nature that she really can't help it but if that's true then the vampire characters in this book are going to be less than likeable. 

Rock is friends with a few vampires and through them she meets Grayson who is also a vampire. Right from the start Gray and Selina seem to feel something for each other which confuses her and makes her feel guilty because she also feels something for Rock and doesn't want to make him feel bad. But She and Gray can't seem to keep their hands or fangs off each other which makes her feel bad but Rock is happy for them since Gray seems to be able to give her the sexual relationship that he cannot. He still loves her and wants to be in her life but things get complicated. 

I was trying to like this story even with the problems that I mentioned but the characters are just not likable. I knew this was going to end on a cliffhanger because of the reviews I read and I could have overlooked that if the story and characters had been better.

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.