Bloodline Destinies

by Iuliana Foos

[chymerra]

I am going to start this review off with a warning. There are triggers in this book. Vivienne was tortured and abused in this book. What she went through before and afterward was a significant part of the plotline. So, if you are triggered by abuse, do not read this book.

Vivienne is GeM who has endured the worst kind of abuse. Escaping from her captor, she crosses paths with Theodor De Croix. Theo saves her from certain death. Vivienne is torn between her desire for Theo and her fear of what he is. Can she overcome her fear and her past? Can she allow herself to love Theo?

Bloodline Destinies has three significant plotlines. Vivienne and her recovery from abuse are one. Theo and his dance with Malvina was the second one. Malvina and her quest to avenge Ivan is the third one. I loved them all.

There were a couple of twists in Bloodline Destinies that I saw coming. They both involved Malvina. Even though I guessed at what was going to happen, they still surprised me.

I will say that I liked that the book took place almost 500 years in the future. I loved the whole backstory about the alien ship and the destruction it caused on Earth. Also, the entire storyline on how the GeMs were created was fascinating.

The sub-storyline that detailed Vivienne’s abuse and the aftermath from it broke my heart. Her strength poured off the pages.

I liked Vivienne. She had immense strength. I loved how she adjusted to being a GeM. Even though she was made into one the previous year, she was never allowed to learn how to be one (if that makes sense). I thought her fear of Theo was a little much. I could understand why she was scared of him. She had a prey response to him. But he showed her, over and over again, that he wouldn’t harm a hair on her head. That was the only complaint I had about her.

I did like Theo, even if he had a quick temper and came across as a jerk for 90% of the book. Don’t get me wrong; he wasn’t all bad. He came across as a grump. But, he did love Vivienne and was willing to do whatever it took to make sure she was safe.

Malvina was slimy. From her first scene, I knew she wasn’t good news. And man, she was bad. I understood why she wanted to avenge Ivan’s death. That was her dad. She did get what she deserved at the end of the book. She should have been killed off sooner (sorry for the spoiler!!)

As always, the secondary characters added an extra depth to the story. I liked how the author brought in Ana and Andree from book one but kept them in the background. I also loved seeing Thora. I was surprised by Serge and his actions. I didn’t think he would do what he did.

I thought that Bloodline Destinies was an excellent fit for the romance genre. I liked how the author took Vivienne and Theo’s romance slow. I liked that there were setbacks. I also liked that there was a love triangle going on between Victor, Vivienne, and Theo.

As for the sex in this book, it’s there, but the author doesn’t go into detail. It wasn’t until a key scene at the end that I realized that Theo and Vivienne had even had sex. I was confused by it for a minute then the lightbulb went on.

I thought that Bloodline Destinies was a great fit in the paranormal genre. I loved that the author had a new vampire subspecies. The GeMs were fascinating. I do wish that more detail was given about the GeMs. Like why they were so hated.

The end of Bloodline Destinies was what I thought it would be. It was predictable. The storylines were all wrapped up in a way that I liked. I am interested in reading Thora’s story.

I would give Bloodline Destinies an Adult rating. There is no sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Bloodlines Origins. I would also recommend to family and friends.

I would like to thank the author for allowing me to read and review Bloodline Origins.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**