Early Review: Embraced by Blood by Laurie London

Embraced by Blood (Sweetblood #2)

by Laurie London
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Expected publication: June 21st 2011 by HQN Books

ISBN 0373775865

Courtesy of NetGalley

GoodReads

Is she a deadly temptation...or the one woman who can quench his eternal thirst?

Alfonso Serrano is a hunted man. For months he’s managed to elude the Darkbloods, vengeful foes who won’t rest until he’s dead. But he still craves one dangerous temptation: Lily DeGraff, the sexy Guardian agent he’ll risk anything to protect.

Lily is a wanted woman. Her talent for tracking Sweet-a rare blood type that’s addictive to vampires-makes her a prime target for enemy capture. Her only hope is the stealthy vampire operative who stole into her bed...then left her in despair. Danger aside-Lily won’t let Alfonso near her heart again-until an irresistible hunger draws them back together...and into an assassin’s snare.

4 Loveys!

Another smashing read from author Laurie London, definitely a writer to add to your auto-buy list!

Embraced by Blood begins a year following Bonded by Blood where we found out that Dom’s brother, Alfonso Serrano, was not the evil Darkblood we thought but a double agent working undercover and having a secret affair with his agent contact, Lily DeGraff, which was broken off at the end of the book. But what they didn’t realize was that they were blood bonded, and there is no turning back from that.

London continues the unique and exciting world of the Sweetbloods with this second installment. The story flowed smoothly with captivating characters and an interesting plot that dealt with many different points; Lily & Alfonso re-discovering each other, the latest plot by the Darkbloods of capturing top Trackers, the riff between Alfonso and his brother Dom, Lily and her family, including her ex Steven, and some snippets of earlier characters that we are sure to see more of in the continuation of this series.

Being a paranormal romance, the main characters relationship is the main factor of the story. Lily and Alfonso are both protective of each other which sometimes works against them, and they are both unsure in their ability to be loved and this is the crux in their relationship development. It did move slowly at times and I guessed the big twist right away so that wasn't a surprise for me, but there was a heap of action and drama with plenty of sexy scenes to keep smutty gals like me happy. For me, the side character of Jackson really stole the show and I am really looking forward to his story.

Embraced by Blood is dark & gritty with a heavy dose of romance and a dash of humor. A must read for sure!