Blood Type by K.A. Linde
Book One of the Blood Type series
Publisher: Loveswept
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
Rating: 4 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley
Summary (from Goodreads):
A startling new vision of paranormal romance: When a human ventures into the world of vampires—a decadent milieu of blood-bonds and betrayal—she discovers that not all is what it seems.
For Reyna Carpenter, giving up her body isn’t a choice. It’s survival.
In a civilization laid waste by poverty and desperation, Reyna accepts a high-paying position with the wealthy and hungry vampire elite. Her new job is as the live-in blood escort for the intimidating, demanding, and devilishly handsome Beckham Anderson. He’s everything she expected from a vampire, except for one thing—he won’t feed off her.
Reyna soon discovers that behind Beckham’s brooding, wicked façade lies a unique and complex man. And that, in a dark and divided world, she is more valuable than she ever would have believed.
For with each passing night, Reyna can’t shake the sensation that it’s Beckham who’s afraid of her.
Note: Reyna and Beckham’s story continues in Blood Match.
What I Liked:
Vampire romance stories are BACK and I am so excited! For the last few years, I've been wanting to read some adult PNR novels that are vampire-focused, and well-written. It has been a while since the vampire craze, so when I started to see some pop up recently, I figured it was safe. I read Megan Erickson's Blood Guard and really enjoyed it, and when I saw this book on NetGalley, under the same publisher as Blood Guard, I knew I wanted to read it. I've not read any of K.A. Linde's books but I've heard such great things about them. I am so happy to say that I enjoyed Blood Type, and I am definitely going to be continuing the series as soon as possible. I don't usually read continuation series in adult romance (companion series only!) but I bit the bullet with this one and I have no regrets.
This story takes place in a world of desperation and violence. Humans are struggling to find work, to feed themselves, to stay alive. Vampires either want to drain them, or coexist in peace. Reyna Carpenter has depended on her brothers long enough. She decides to take a position as a permanent live-in blood escort for one of the most powerful and intimidating vampires, Beckham Anderson. Beckham is cold and aloof and almost seems like he doesn't want her in his space - he doesn't feed from her, like he is supposed to. But beneath his granite exterior lies a dangerous predator who will stop at nothing to keep Reyna safe - and make her his.
The neat thing about this story is that it's not just a sexy vampire romance novel. The world-building is pretty elaborate and almost realistic in a way. There is so much poverty and hunger and desperation, and people are willing to do whatever it took to make ends meet. In the vampire "world", there are powerful, rich ones who govern the others, and there is tension among the vampires, because some want to treat humans like feed bags, and others want to live peacefully with humans. You can imagine where this is going - there is a lot of unrest between vampires and humans, and among vampires.
The book starts with Reyna going in to become an escort, and finding out that she has been chosen to be the permanent and sole blood escort of Beckham Anderson, the rich and powerful vice president of Visage (a really rich and important company in the vampire world). From there, Reyna goes to live with Beckham, and enters the treacherous world of vampires.
Reyna seems like she might be weak and scared, but she is so tough and at times, prickly and stubborn. She doesn't like nonsense and doesn't take Beckham's orders well. She is inquisitive and persistent, both of which infuriates Beckham (he likes order in his life). I liked Reyna's decisiveness and how she stuck with decisions once she made up her mind.
Beckham seems cold and disinterested, but he is so complex and intriguing. He doesn't feed off Reyna and doesn't even seem like he wants her around - why? Reyna finds out slowly. Beckham seems demanding and kind of a control freak, but he has reasons for everything he does. He's actually a good guy with a dangerous past, and I liked him for that. He always comes back for Reyna and finds Reyna and takes care of her.
This book is written entirely in Reyna's third-person POV so unfortunately we do not get to read anything from Beckham's POV. I'm hoping the author will write the next two books in dual POV narration, or maybe share excerpts in Beckham's POV. I adored Beckham and sometimes I really wanted to know what was going through his head!
Even though Beckham refuses to feed off Reyna, he can't deny their connection, and neither of them can stay away from each other. I love how aware of each other they are. They spent a whole month circling each other and arguing with each other and pressing each other's buttons, and things were heated and intense throughout the time. I love their chemistry. This book is super hot even though most of the book passes without Beckham feeding from her.
No love triangle! I thought there might be at first, but there wasn't. This series is all about Beckham and Reyna and there aren't any sidestreets!
I already talked about how this isn't just a romance, and how there is unrest between vampires and humans, and among vampires. This plot becomes really important as the story goes on, and is heavily connected to the cliffhanger ending. The ending is so torturous! I won't say anything specific about it but it made my jaw drop for several reasons (one I expected all along, but several others I was pretty anxious about!). I need book two! And book three!
What I Did Not Like:
I think the cliffhanger ending was the only thing I really didn't like. I hate cliffhangers and this book is book one of a continuous series, so now I have the long wait until book two publishes (and then book three). This ending has an aspect that I never like in any book's ending, but I'm expecting book two to "fix" things.
Would I Recommend It:
If you're in the mood for steamy adult PNR, look no further. I am really enjoyed the return of great vampire romance novels, don't mind me. I recommend this book if you enjoyed Megan Erickson's Blood Guard (and vice versa). Note that this is NOT part of a companion series (like Erickson's is) - it's a continuous series following Beckham and Reyna for all three books.
Rating:
4 stars. I requested this book on a whim, and read it as soon as I got approved. It's very early to write a review for the book but I really enjoyed it and couldn't contain my excitement! I am more than ready for Blood Match and I already know I am going to be wanting Blood Cure soon after I read book two. I wish I could binge-read the books, but alas, I'll be waiting!
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