Author: Tracy Tappan
Title: The Bloodline War (The Community Series #1)
Genre: Paranormal Romance
THE BLOODLINE WAR, Book One in The Community Series
Beneath the streets of San Diego, California, a unique race of human beings called Vârcolac lives on the brink of extinction. Desperate to save their dying people, a brotherhood of warriors deploys to the surface to steal genetically superior women for a repopulation program.
A car accident changes everything…
A computer hacked hospital blood test confirms that Dr. Toni Parthen carries a gene that’s the key to salvation for a unique race of human beings. Abducted to a secret, underground community, Toni is asked to do the unthinkable: procreate with a man from a race called Vârcolac—a species that must consume the blood of other humans to survive. Then bizarre turns dangerous, because a new, mysterious enemy also wants her special DNA, and Toni finds herself in the middle of an all-out war to possess her.
Destined to be alone…
It’s the job of Jaċken Brun, leader of the Warrior Class, to keep the captured women safe from a demonic race of humans who rule a neighboring part of their underground world. His challenges multiply when Toni inflames the women into mutiny, and then there’s his biggest problem…his growing desire for the infuriating woman herself. Afflicted with a dark genetic makeup, Jaċken can never be with a woman. Until Toni uses her scientific ingenuity to find a way for her and Jaċken to be together. But then the new enemy faction unearths Toni and drags her to their hidden lair, where they’ll inflict an unspeakable cruelty on her to gain access to her valuable genes.
It will take every warrior skill Jaċken owns to save the woman he loves, but only if he can find her in time….
One unique quirk about THE BLOODLINE WAR is that most of the action takes place in a town hidden beneath the streets of San Diego. The Vârcolac are a unique breed of human who have been hunted by us regular humans throughout history. I thought it would be an entertaining change not to have the Vârcolac trying to coexist in harmony with others, but to live someplace clandestine where they could achieve peace. Do they? Well, of course not! That wouldn’t be any fun.
Another interesting quirk is the level of sexual experience of the hot, single guys. I don’t want to give away the surprise, but if readers are looking for a man to be “her one and only,” she’ll find it with a Vârcolac male. I had an enthusiastic Goodreads reviewer say: “I love the level of the unmated men’s sexual experiences, that was new and enhanced my attraction to them tenfold, if that was possible.” So, it looks like this different twist is pleasing!
A little behind-the-scenes tidbit is that I was living in Europe during the time that I wrote this book; I spent seven years total overseas while my husband worked in the diplomatic corps, first in Rome, then in Madrid. We tried to travel as much as possible, and on one of our trips, we went to Romania—this is where the ancestors of the Vârcolac in my series hail from. I researched sites for the ongoing books in The Community Series, but mostly, I reveled in the atmospheric quality of the Carpathian Mountains and especially Transylvania. I visited Vlad Dracula’s birth home (a pub now, which was two doors down from our bed and breakfast), Bran Castle in Braşov, Transylvania, which was the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s famous novel, and Poenari Castle, which is one of Vlad Dracula’s actual castles. These ruins sit high up on a hill, and we were forced to climb 1,480 stairs to reach it. 1,480! My 14-year-old daughter’s mantra became “This better be worth it!” Well, it was.
Big, Dark and Murderous was standing over by a black entertainment center, his hands planted on his hips and a scowl knitting his eyebrows into a fierce vee. The proverbial tower of manhood and menace. He was dressed in that super sexy all-black workout gear the warriors wore for training, and although he was still his usual scary self, he also looked surprisingly…well…super sexy.
Toni’s stomach gave a start and then a funny flutter at the sight of him. Powerful muscles stood out in rigid relief against the tight fabric of his gear, his body so clearly articulated with grooves and crevices he could’ve been held up in anatomy class as an example of the perfect male specimen. These are the quadriceps, class, this, the tibialis anterior, and this part right here between his legs is the…oh, my. Let’s just all make a ‘yum’ noise, shall we.
Toni briefly closed her eyes. She really needed to get some help.
“Well?” he pressed in a peeved tone. “I asked you a question.”
“Yes, I’m…uh…” I’m here to steal a key card so that I can instigate an escape plan. She covertly scanned the room for inspiration on another excuse, figuring the truth wouldn’t go over well with a man of Jaċken’s temperament. It was then she noticed just how black his bedroom was: black wooden dresser and entertainment center, sleek black lacquered wet bar, black bedspread with a dark gray geometric design on it. Sheesh. If her bedroom was Louis XVI, Dev’s like a cozy room out of a château, then this bedroom—in keeping with the whole French theme—was Marquis de Sade all the way. Well, at least the bedroom fit the man this time.
“I just came to see if, um…” Her gaze zeroed in on a stack of DVD’s in his entertainment center. “If you wouldn’t mind if I borrowed a movie.”
“You ever hear of knocking first? I was about to get into the shower. I could’ve been standing here naked, lady.”
That gave her pause. Despite all logic, the thought of Jaċken naked wasn’t a wholly unpleasant prospect. Not at all, in fact. Clearing her throat, she started forward. “I’m a doctor, Mr. Brun,” she said in the kind of overly patient tone she knew would annoy him. “You surely don’t have anything I haven’t seen before.” Mmm, that was about as big a joke as it had been with Dev.
She drew up right in front of him, and startled as a tingle of sensual awareness lit off a short burst of heat in her belly. She was close enough to smell him now, clean male sweat and a hint of Old Spice deodorant and Irish Springs soap; everything that was completely masculine and just about curled all the fine hairs on her body. An immense power radiated off of him, like the force of a tornado barely held in check, along with determination and confidence and ruthless intelligence, and something…strangely raw.
Her lips parted on a small breath, all that was feminine in her helplessly reacting to him. What was it about this man? How was it that she was even more aware of all the glorious differences between men and women while standing here with Jaċken than she had been with Dev, when he’d been naked as a jaybird?
“Would you mind backing the fuck up?” Jaċken ground out, his nostrils flaring white at the rims. “Being this close to your smell is about as much fun as a fork in the eye.”
Cured, instantly, of all wayward thoughts. Bristling, she plunked her hands on her hips. “Up yours, Jaċken. You’re such a misogynist, I swear to God.”
Toni’s stomach gave a start and then a funny flutter at the sight of him. Powerful muscles stood out in rigid relief against the tight fabric of his gear, his body so clearly articulated with grooves and crevices he could’ve been held up in anatomy class as an example of the perfect male specimen. These are the quadriceps, class, this, the tibialis anterior, and this part right here between his legs is the…oh, my. Let’s just all make a ‘yum’ noise, shall we.
Toni briefly closed her eyes. She really needed to get some help.
“Well?” he pressed in a peeved tone. “I asked you a question.”
“Yes, I’m…uh…” I’m here to steal a key card so that I can instigate an escape plan. She covertly scanned the room for inspiration on another excuse, figuring the truth wouldn’t go over well with a man of Jaċken’s temperament. It was then she noticed just how black his bedroom was: black wooden dresser and entertainment center, sleek black lacquered wet bar, black bedspread with a dark gray geometric design on it. Sheesh. If her bedroom was Louis XVI, Dev’s like a cozy room out of a château, then this bedroom—in keeping with the whole French theme—was Marquis de Sade all the way. Well, at least the bedroom fit the man this time.
“I just came to see if, um…” Her gaze zeroed in on a stack of DVD’s in his entertainment center. “If you wouldn’t mind if I borrowed a movie.”
“You ever hear of knocking first? I was about to get into the shower. I could’ve been standing here naked, lady.”
That gave her pause. Despite all logic, the thought of Jaċken naked wasn’t a wholly unpleasant prospect. Not at all, in fact. Clearing her throat, she started forward. “I’m a doctor, Mr. Brun,” she said in the kind of overly patient tone she knew would annoy him. “You surely don’t have anything I haven’t seen before.” Mmm, that was about as big a joke as it had been with Dev.
She drew up right in front of him, and startled as a tingle of sensual awareness lit off a short burst of heat in her belly. She was close enough to smell him now, clean male sweat and a hint of Old Spice deodorant and Irish Springs soap; everything that was completely masculine and just about curled all the fine hairs on her body. An immense power radiated off of him, like the force of a tornado barely held in check, along with determination and confidence and ruthless intelligence, and something…strangely raw.
Her lips parted on a small breath, all that was feminine in her helplessly reacting to him. What was it about this man? How was it that she was even more aware of all the glorious differences between men and women while standing here with Jaċken than she had been with Dev, when he’d been naked as a jaybird?
“Would you mind backing the fuck up?” Jaċken ground out, his nostrils flaring white at the rims. “Being this close to your smell is about as much fun as a fork in the eye.”
Cured, instantly, of all wayward thoughts. Bristling, she plunked her hands on her hips. “Up yours, Jaċken. You’re such a misogynist, I swear to God.”
I LOVED THIS BOOK! (And boy, can Tracy write a hero!)
The story was so full of twists even from the very first chapter. I thought I knew the direction it was going, (because I have read my fair share of vampire novels), but I was completely wrong. That's what was so refreshing about this book. Also, the mythology surrounding the vampires is unlike any that I have read before, which was also refreshing.
I also like how not just the main characters were featured in the story. I learned about the lives of other minor characters who, hopefully, will get their own books in the series! Each male was SO alpha, and yet so devoted to his woman, family and duty. I also want to know what happens not only with the war itself, but with the singles who are still single at the end of the book!
Jacken is one of my all-time favorite heroes. He is so dark and tortured, and yet it's clear that he has so much good in him that just needs a way to come to the surface.
I would absolutely keep reading this series. Tracy is a very talented writer; not only is the book well-written in a technical sense, but she had me almost chomping at the bit to see what happened next! I found myself limiting the number of pages I read to make the book last longer, but before I knew it, I was done!
I am eagerly awaiting the next installment, and I am now a HUGE Tracy-fan!!!
***A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review***
The story was so full of twists even from the very first chapter. I thought I knew the direction it was going, (because I have read my fair share of vampire novels), but I was completely wrong. That's what was so refreshing about this book. Also, the mythology surrounding the vampires is unlike any that I have read before, which was also refreshing.
I also like how not just the main characters were featured in the story. I learned about the lives of other minor characters who, hopefully, will get their own books in the series! Each male was SO alpha, and yet so devoted to his woman, family and duty. I also want to know what happens not only with the war itself, but with the singles who are still single at the end of the book!
Jacken is one of my all-time favorite heroes. He is so dark and tortured, and yet it's clear that he has so much good in him that just needs a way to come to the surface.
I would absolutely keep reading this series. Tracy is a very talented writer; not only is the book well-written in a technical sense, but she had me almost chomping at the bit to see what happened next! I found myself limiting the number of pages I read to make the book last longer, but before I knew it, I was done!
I am eagerly awaiting the next installment, and I am now a HUGE Tracy-fan!!!
***A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review***
After earning a master’s degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling, Tracy Tappan enjoyed several years of doing clinical work before devoting herself full time to writing. She was born with a fertile imagination that has compelled her to write gritty romance novels, spanning paranormal, historical, and military suspense genres. During nearly a quarter of a century spent as a military wife, she lived all over the United States and in Europe, enjoying seven years overseas in the diplomatic community, first in Rome then in Madrid. She is also the founder and creator of a fan-based website called The Character Couch, where romance’s favorite couples are brought into a session with therapist, Regan Malloy.
She’s now settled back in sunny San Diego with her husband, a menagerie of pets, and two children who seem to think they can come and go as they please.
Prizes (4 total): (1) $50 gift card to Chili’s Restaurant, (1) One pound box See’s Candy assorted chocolates, (1) $15 Amazon gift card, (1) swag pack, including Character Couch T-shirt, scented sachet, bookmark.
Go here to enter:
No comments :
Post a Comment
PLEASE NOTE: I do not moderate comments, but some go to Spam anyway. Rest assured, I check regularly and will publish non-Spam comments shortly!