Author: Laurie London
Description: Deep within the forests of the Pacific Northwest, the battle for supremacy rages on between two vampire coalitions: Guardian enforcers sworn to protect humanity, and Darkbloods, rogues who kill like their ancient ancestors... Hot-blooded and hard-edged, Tristan Santiago has an uncanny ability to see beneath the surface-a power that serves him well as the Guardians' region commander. But when a deadly plot against his fellow vampires is uncovered, he must turn to the one woman he can't read: the beautiful yet mysterious Roxanne Reynolds, whose sensual presence soothes his tormented memories. Roxy had put love before duty once before, with devastating results. But to root out a dangerous traitor in their midst, she must put her faith in Santiago, the one man skilled enough to break through her defenses. Posing as lovers, Santiago and Roxy work side by side-and discover a powerful craving that threatens to consume them both...
My Thoughts: The “Sweetblood Series” returns with a bang. The Sweetblood/ Darkblood battle rages on. In this book, Roxanne Reynolds fills in for one of her previous students and good friend, Lily, so that Lily and Alfonso can go on vacation to celebrate their engagement. On her way up, she encounters a Sweetblood and helps him by taking out the Darkbloods after him, with no weapons none the less. Santiago is impressed with her abilities and feels stirrings of desire, but pushes them out of his head. Santiago is hardcore, hot headed, and a mystery to most, but respected by those he leads. When he says do something, he expects it done no questions asked. Roxy doesn't play by those rules, after all he isn’t her boss, and she has no problem standing up to him.
After a botched mission and some of his people getting injured, they suspect a mole in the Guardians. To suss out the mole, Santiago tells Roxy she is to pose as his girlfriend to help solve this mystery. He doesn’t want to believe a Guardian could really be the mole, but has no other theory as to why the mission went south. At first Roxy said no, but changes her mind because she saw something in Santiago, plus it is a way to further her side investigation, (her past relationship and hopefully closure). What occurs is the pretend relationship winds up being a battle of wits, not to mention sexual tension turning up from so much closeness. You get some deep feelings with some hot sexual encounters as they both strive to battle the demons of their pasts, to heal, and finally move on.
This is the fourth book and in this book we get Santiago's story. I would say it could be read as a stand alone, but it would be enriched more if you read the books leading up to "Seduced by Blood". That way you can get a feel for Santiago in previous books and a deeper understanding of him as a character. I really enjoyed London's newest installment into the Sweetblood world. You have all the things you love such as alpha male, strong heroine, villains you love to hate, mystery and action. Santiago and Roxy give a whole new meaning to "opposites attract". Roxy is a bit of a loner at first. Sweet, tender, and caring, she takes no BS and stands up for what she believes in. Santiago is hotheaded, prone to temper tantrums when things don't go according to plan and tortures himself for what he sees as “failings“.
I loved reading the banter between the two. It was a true battle of wits when they are pretending to be together. The sex scenes are steamy and the tender feelings between the two wrapped this story up with a nice bow, even if they fought them for a while. You also get to see a bit of the villain, Ventra. Now that is one evil, hussy of a vampire with some real sick tendencies. I rooted on the things the Guardians were doing, yet Ventra is written just right that even I going back and forth. Thinking one minute what a sick sucker she is to “Geeze I feel sorry for her past”, then I would remember why I love to hate her and those feelings of empathy would vanish.
London did not disappoint with this installment at all. She gives us sexy males we love to swoon over and want make our own, as well as ladies who are strong with traits we can see in ourselves or aspire to be, except for Ventra not sure anyone would want to be her. The Sweetblood series is never dull or boring. There is always action and you will find yourself cheering until the end. This book leaves us with a promise as to what is next and I can’t wait to see what London has in store for us. As for now, I was definitely “Seduced by Blood” into loving this couple’s installment and will be counting the days until I can get my next Sweetblood fix.... not with fangs or anything... oh you know what I mean.
5 out of 5 Stars
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