Kathryn Smith (1)

Let the Night Begin
4.5 Stars

The story of the Brotherhood of Blood continues with Reign and his estranged wife, Olivia Gavin. When Olivia's nephew is abducted, she is forced to put aside her anger for Reign and seek his help as the kidnappers are demanding a ransom that only he can provide. Reign is only too eager to have his wayward bride return, but conditions his assistance on Olivia's willingness to share his bed once more. Can these two former lovers rekindle the passion that brought them together or will they kill each other before their enemies can do it for them?

A significant improvement on the previous installment.

Reign and Olivia have incredible chemistry and their love/hate relationship is intense and satisfying. While the keeping secrets trope usually annoys me no end, Smith manages to avoid all of its pitfalls as Olivia's reasons for withholding information makes sense within the narrative, and Reign is well aware that his beloved is not revealing the entire truth.

The ongoing story arc involving the Order of the Silver Palm takes an interesting turn, and I am eager to see how it all turns out in the last book.

… (meer)

Night of the Huntress
4 Stars

After a hiatus of several years, I have finally gotten around to reading the second book in the series and am angry with myself for putting it off for so long.

Kathryn Smith's Brotherhood of Blood series is a shining example of the best of the paranormal romance genre. The backstory involving a group of warriors in search of the Holy Grail, who inadvertently stumble across the Blood Grail and find themselves turned into vampires, is unique and compelling.

This second installment focuses on the warrior known as Bishop and Marika, a dhampir (vampire-human hybrid), who has made it her mission in life to eradicate the creatures she views as evil. Hired by a mysterious group to capture Bishop, Marika finds herself inexplicably drawn to the enigmatic yet strangely "human" vampire, and begins to question her preconceived notions. Their love-hate relationship is very appealing and their chemistry sizzles.

The ongoing arc concerning the Order of the Silver Plam and their quest to obtain the Blood Grail continues, and it will be interesting to see how this develops.

Overall, an excellent read, and I will not be putting off the rest of the series.

… (meer)