Blood Lust (Preternaturals, #1)

by Zoe Winters

• ISBN10: 0981943608
• ISBN13: 9780981943602
• Publish Date: 2 August 2010
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Imprint: Blue Pencil Media
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 360
• Language: English

Reviews

[Melanie]

This book is a compilation of three PNR novellas all by Zoe Winters. The characters do intersect and there is overlap, as you expect in a PNR series. Whether you listen or read this story, you get three romances for the price of one.

Kept is the first novella. It consists of Greta who is a cat therian (another word for shifter), and Dayne, a sorcerer with a very bad reputation. Greta is sentenced to be a sacrifice. Her mother, who is refusing to save her, but helps her to escape and sends her to Dayne for help. Dayne is in a bind because he needs therian blood to go after the head of cat shifter clain, but can't get it from his normal online source. When Greta shows up to his door, Dayne agrees to protect her until the full moon. There are several hilarious moments between the two. There is also many misunderstandings between the two.

Claimed is the second novella in this book. It contains the story between Anthony, a vampire running to be king vampire for the next century, and Charlotte (Charlee) a human friend of Greta. In a drug induced blood lust, Anthony drinks from Charlee and then attempts to wipe her memories, but completely erases her entire memories of herself. Anthony is forced to care for her while trying to win the tournament, to keep it from Lucas who is evil.

Mated is the last story in this book. We meet Jane in Claimed when she is trying to stay alive in the vampire world. She has been able to see vampires for what they really are, which is part demon, since she was a child. Vampires don't like that much. They are also not able to control her mind, like they can with normal humans. Jane is given to the alpha werewolf, Cole, as payment for a debt. We learn a lot about Jane's past, which is truly horrific.

This is a great PNR series. I can't wait to read more. I would highly recommend this series to people who like PNR stories. The sex does exist in these stories, but not to the graphic detail as in many other PNR stories. I don't this this subtracts from the story in anyway.

I listened to this story after reading it. I have to say, it was done well and I enjoyed going back and revisiting the characters. I think the narration is great. He does a great job with not only the different male characters, but the female as well.

I'm kind of at a loss to figure out what to write. I first read this back in 2013 and it really impressed me. I found it highly original and a very creative take on the paranormal species that usually populate the genre. I hadn't really read anything like it before and I enjoyed it. And rereading it, I still think it's a unique twist on the genre - the problem is I'm not sure what else it was I liked about this book.

None of the characters really interacted or got to know each other. I think the passage of time was more than what it seemed, but it felt fast. Too fast. Which is something you kind of have to overlook with most novels these days, so fair enough.

Greta and Dayne are the first couple that are introduced. I didn't mind either character. But I also didn't really love them. The romance between them was beset by her heat cycles and his wavering over whether or not he was bad. Dayne mainly thought about sex and wanting her and Greta wavered between wanting him and thinking he would kill her. My biggest issue with Greta was how all over the place she was. She was a bit whiny and she couldn't seem to make up her mind - but she was in heat I guess. So the plot is pretty much they jump into bed with each other. There's a tiny bit of action at the end and a lot of dancing around each other but nothing much really happens. There are hints at love and permanency but it's not explicitly stated. Which makes the novel better for it. Love declarations often sound ridiculous when the characters have just met.

The second couple are Anthony and Charlee. I enjoyed Charlee's humour and personality in the first novella. In the second, I just felt sorry for her. Leading on from Kept, Anthony was high and accidentally wiped her memories of well everything. Anthony feels guilty but he's definitely more of a realistic vampire than human friendly. I did like that Charlee's default personality was rational and willing to question, I just hated pretty much everything else. It was all over the place. Charlee was all over the place. She was attracted to him. She liked him. She's terrified of him. She hates him. It was a rollercoaster. What's worse, she had no idea what she was thinking. Every time she did get herself sorted, he kept influencing her emotions. I'm seven years older than I was when I first read this and although I don't think I've ever supported abusive relationships, this felt a lot more horrifying. Maybe because I've seen how often it happens. Before they were just words on a page.

The last couple are Jane and Cole. I think I may have liked this one least. Cole is okay, sort of a nothing character. Jane was a tough cookie. She's survived a lot but frankly I didn't like her. She just rubbed me the wrong way and it really annoyed me when she leaves the den the second she gets the code. She knows why she has to wait and that she's in danger and that she can't fight a werewolf and she literally runs headlong into it. Yes, I know lots of heroines are TSTL but it drives me nuts.

The sex is all pretty tame, a lot of it is kept "off page". The first novella had the least amount of action but the other two had more. I rated five stars back in 2013. Today I feel it's more a 3 star read. Maybe 2.5. I didn't hate it but I struggled to read it through and the romance isn't as all consuming as I remember it. That said, it is a creative twist on the paranormal genre and does stand out from the pack with the world building. Best to just read and make up your own mind.