There seem to be two things that make me look twice at a book cover, a striking (not necessarily handsome) bloke and a beautiful cape. I’m not sure what it is about them, but I would LOVE to have a hooded cape of my own. Maybe it's the historical romance reader in me because I'm still envious of the one Jane Bennet wore in Pride and Prejudice (BBC version). Now, the practicality of having a big sweeping hooded cape in Australia has held me back from ordering one. For starters, it would be too bloody hot. Secondly, where the heck am I going to wear it? So, I saw the cover of Gypsy’s Blood from a recommendation (thanks, Lily) on Goodreads and I was intrigued enough to look a bit closer.
So, I’m reading the blurb and nodding my head thinking *Yes, this works for me…*
THEN
REVERSE HAREM?!?!?!?!?!?!
Now, don’t mistake my explosive reaction as being fully in the negative. It just kind of shocked me for two seconds. It’s been a wee while since I’ve stumbled across any group “action” in my reads so I had to readjust my expectations. I’m feeling kind of risqué and up for taking a walk on the wild side…why the heck not???
Ummm…excuse me, I think someone left out the harem action.
Ok, what I was expecting and what I got was completely different, but, as you can see by the four stars, I still really enjoyed Gypsy Blood. In my dirty little mind, I was picturing Violet getting ravished by the monsters. What I got was a young woman moving to a town and finding out that all those scary stories she thought were unreal, were very, very real. Violet is surrounded by monsters and some of those monsters won’t leave her alone.
Side note - these are my kind of monsters, there are no 3 headed, green-skinned or ugly monsters in sight. These monsters are the bossy, growly, sexy and magical kind that I love.
At times while reading Gypsy Blood I was a little frustrated. Things seem to be moving along at a snail’s pace and I had so many questions that needed to be answered. And, of course, I was waiting the whole time for a little of this “harem action” to kick in. But, alas, we’re in the first book of the series, and I need to get to know the lay of the land before I get any action.
Honestly, I chuckled when I read the author’s note…”Don’t kill me. Please.” I was lucky enough to have Gypsy’s Blood recommended to me at the same time the second book was released. I went in knowing it was going to have a cliffie ending, but with the second one waiting, it hardly fazed me.
The characters were interesting, the storyline, while slow to begin with, definitely picked up speed. There is an underlying hum of sexual attraction between Violet and the monsters but at this stage, we’re still mostly in the dark as to where it will go. I’ve already bought Gypsy Freak and I can’t wait to see if All the Pretty Monsters come together for the reverse harem thingamajiggy.