Blood & Guilt
Jade Christy
Paranormal Romance
SOME VAMPIRES CRAVE BLOOD. HE CRAVES ABSOLUTION.
A guilt-ridden vampire hiding in a Montenegro crypt must choose between the darkness of his shame and the dangerous light of a fearless woman who refuses to let him disappear.
He feeds from a priest and hides in a crypt.
She lost everything — but refuses to lose herself.
In the mountains of Montenegro, Luka has spent fifty years punishing himself for a single, catastrophic mistake. He believes he is beyond redemption.
Then Claire, an American tourist sheltering from a storm while hiking, walks into his chapel, and sees him.
Their connection is slow, intimate, and dangerously real.
But the chapel is going to be sold & demolished, so his carefully constructed penance begins to crack. His sanctuary will fall and he will burn in the sun, or he must decide to leave. Will Claire help him? Can she? There are complicated dangers awaiting him… A mysterious vampire king offers a tantalizing but suspicious promise of absolution. Powerful immortals do not offer gifts without strings — and the price of redemption may cost Luka everything he is only just beginning to want.
Uncaged Review: This is the first book of the Vampire of Montenegro series, where one night Luka Iliev is changed into a vampire and accidentally kills his betrothed. Luka is so upset by this that he takes refuge in a chapel. Where the local priest, Father Petar, shelters, protects and even feeds him. Fifty years go by and Luka still stays in the chapel, but Claire Holloway, an American tourist, is caught in a storm and takes shelter in the chapel. Claire meets the mysterious Luka, and can’t help but be entranced by him. As Claire gets to know him, she can’t help but like him. Luka also feels the same about her. Claire doesn’t know Luka’s biggest secret, though that he is a vampire and desires Claire for more than just her company, he also desires her blood.
This is the start of a brand new Romantasy series by Ms. Jade Christy which I just love her many different vampire stories! The tale flows beautifully even with a few formatting issues which hardly do seem noticeable. The cover is really beautifully done too. I really like the strong independent heroine Claire Holloway. Yes, she’s a bit bossy and pushy, yet I found her easy to associate with. While Luka’s massive guilt complex and self-suffering did get on my nerves. Yes, he’s a vampire but who, what he is or what he has done, is not his fault. I kept wanting to shake him and tell him to get over it and move on. Yes, he made a mistake, but he has done enough atoning for it. I found it really hard to believe that, with everything that he was feeling, he could even feel love. As the story moved along, it did get significantly better and I do look forward to the next book!
Reviewed by Roslynn Ernst
4 Stars
