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Bloodlust (The Rise Of Iliri #1)
Bloodlust (The Rise Of Iliri #1)
Auryn Hadley | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror, Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
9
5.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
When you were once a slave, freed only to become a ruthless warrior, "belonging" seems a trite concept. A pipe dream, the stuff of naive fairy tales. But not for Salryc Luxx. Private Luxx—Sal for short—is iliri, a member of an untamable race surreptitiously dubbed "their kind" by humans and bred thousands of years ago to protect them. Humans consider them expendable, barely more than animals. Freaks. But in a karmic twist of fate, they’re also one of mankind’s most feared predators. Abused and enslaved, the only control Sal has over her life is what military unit she serves with – if she's good enough to be accepted – and the only one to consider her is the best in the land, the Black Blades.

Everyone has secrets, and the Blades are no different. But acceptance into the Blades gives Sal something she never expected—the family she’s never had, and with it, the undying protection of seven of the greatest warriors the world has ever seen. It also gifts her a devoted line of potential mates. Many of her fellow warriors will submit to the bloodlust that overtakes her in the heat of battle and can only be quenched by rough, passionate lovemaking (making way for the steamiest of love scenes). Though it’s not all war and sex. Sal very gradually cultivates deeply loving, evolving relationships with each of the Black Blades, which morphs as a unit into a reverse harem as sweet as it is fierce, and as protective as it is impassioned.

But belonging has its own price. Each of the Blades would die to protect Sal. And it’s only a matter of time before the enemy moves to use this against her.

This series was recommended by a friend and I finally got round to starting it. So glad I did what a brilliant series full of action. The relationship dynamics are very well written and they don't have Sal casually sleeping around all of the men! I love how it's handled and written!

⭐⭐⭐⭐
  
Pricked
Pricked
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is my second book by the author, the other being P.S. I Hate You which I read a few months ago and, if I'm honest, I wasn't all that impressed with. I blame it on the written letters in the book. I do like to try an author more than once, though, as it could just be the storyline that I couldn't get into so here's my second try of Winter Renshaw.

So Madden is a tattoo artist who gives Brighton her first very discreet tattoo, hidden so her parents don't give her the third degree/make her get it laser removed for daring to do something like that to herself. They are very...controlling, the type who make it known when they disagree with something you've said or done. Buy clothes for you to wear to outings. Want to know where you are at all times, etc. Anyway, Brighton gets the tattoo and becomes fascinated with the inkless artist, Madden, while Madden becomes obsessed with the pretty rich girl. And so their story begins.

I really liked this book. They try the whole friends-with-benefits-while-pretending-to-be-together thing and it works really well with them. They are actually really great together. But of course, feelings grow and the guy who told her not to fall for him starts to pull away.

I liked these two characters. They have a connected past that makes itself known towards the end and it's a little sad but they make it work--just not without being apart for a while. I actually really liked the fact that her dad got his comeuppance in the end.

I like how he dubbed her "The Girl with the Butterfly Tattoo" in his phone, too. Another plus for Madden.

So it seems that this book hit a lot of the right notes for me and I will be looking out for more books by this author in the future.