Alexandra Ivy

This one started out meh, continued meh and ended meh.
I technically did dnf it but in the middle of the epilogue so whatever.
I don't have any strong feelings about this because it never promised to be more than a clichée ridden romance with a lot of sex being true to the widest beaten path available.
I can see how someone new to the genre with generally not a lot of exposure to stories of this kind might enjoy it but for everyone that has read the odd book in this general area this probably will be pretty boring and a lot of eye-rolling.… (més)

FROM AMAZON: It's been a hell of a day for Abby Barlow. In just a few hours, she's survived an explosion, watched her employer die, had a startling dream, and now she finds herself in a seedy Chicago hotel with the sexy, unearthly Dante, a man she both desires and fears.

For 341 years, Dante has stood as guardian to The Chalice, a mortal woman chosen to hold back the darkness. A terrible twist of fate has now made Abby that woman. Three hours ago, Dante would have used all his charms to seduce her. Now she is his to protect. And he will do so until his very death.

A terrifying plan has been set in motion, one that will plunge Dante and Abby into an epic battle between good and evil - and a desperate race to save their love.… (més)

Blood Lust by Alexandra Ivy is the perfect mix of action, romance and drama!

Bas and Myst have two of the coolest names I've ever seen in a book, let me say that outright. And now, onto the review!

I've been hoarding Alexandra Ivy books on my shelves for years now, so I was thrilled to finally pick up one of the books hanging around on my shelves. This book was a lovely book to start off with, even if it was third in the series. I had no problem jumping into this story and I fell in love with these mysteriously epic characters! In this book, Myst and Bas have a young girl named Molly (she has such a normal name for her parents having cool ones, just saying...) and she brings them back together. Bas, the assassin, and Myst, the woman who's seen a very important vision, are such a strangely well paired couple. They are hot and bothered and ready to fight.

I loved that this book wasn't purely romance - I've gotten tired of the "this is a fantasy book" but it really is all romance trope that I've been seeing lately. Having this book full of intense drama and action with the romance coming in closer to the end felt REALLY nice. These two characters are definitely made for the romance sphere, but they also have such incredible back stories that it would have been a waste to not explore them. So, kudos to Alexandra Ivy for making this book so different.

My notes on the book are as followed:
1. You can see the ending coming from a mile away, but that's probably just me reading too much and watching too many movies.
2. This book is easy to jump into as a stand alone, but I might have understood a little bit more of the world building if I had read the first two books in the series.
3. The fantasy in this book is REALLY COOL. You can tell a world is being built around this series, so I really hope there's more books to come.
4. I love the relationship between Bas and Myst. They are sassy, sarcastic and yet romantic at all the right times.
5. The story felt "real" - you can believe that Bas and Myst would go save their daughter. All of the plot points didn't feel forced and worked really well within the story as a whole.
6. If I had to pick one negative for me, it would be that the book felt just a little too long. Some scenes could have been cut out and the story would have made just as much sense.

Overall, I really liked this book! It was a great mix of fantasy, action and romance and I'd highly recommend it to someone looking to fill the void in those genres. I wouldn't recommend purely binging it. I liked it much more when I was able to set it down and jump back into the world.

Four out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.… (més)

Read this because I like Zanetti's Deep Ops series. Shaken is the story which is 2.5 in the series. Michelle & Evan are the main characters who were in foster care years ago with Raider & Wolfe. The men are all former or current military & work in private or government sector. This short story weaves the relationship between Michelle and Evan reconnecting after years when Michelle's drug addles mother steals her work tablet and starts blackmailing dangerous people. The other two stories were OK. I've never read Kat Martin or Alexandra Ivy's books. The stories were OK & I didn't know much of what was happening because I didn't read their series of books… (més)