Friday, July 1, 2011

Review: Embraced by Blood ~ Laurie London

Embraced by Blood by Laurie London

***NetGalley book

Amazon Product Description:
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 threatens to draw them back together… and into an assassin's snare.
My thoughts:
I truly enjoyed the first book in this series, Bonded by Blood, but I LOVED this one!  
Again, London has given us characters to really sink our teeth in (pardon the pun!).  
We were given glimpses of both Lily and Alfonso in the first book, but this is their story and it does not disappoint!!!
Alfonso and Lily are absolutely incredible characters.  Their ability and willingness to sacrifice and fight are only two of the characteristics that make you fall in love with them.  
Alfonso is the ultimate "guy" and always trying to make up for what he sees as his own faults and failures.  He is sexy and attractive, driven and noble.  He is misunderstood just enough that your heart goes out to him.  He is fierce in his desire to protect those he loves.
Lily is the kind of woman we all desire to be.  Strong, courageous, loyal, skilled, fierce, and capable.  Of course she doesn't believe all that.  
The relationship between Lily and Alfonso started long before this story and we are given enough background and details to easily read this book without having read the first one.  
The blood oath that Alfonso has taken risks all as the assassin finds him and realizes the connections between Lily and Alfonso.  They battle more than just the assassin to ensure the safety of loved ones and even the hope of a future!
The story is filled with deception, feelings of betrayal and danger.  On top of all that of course their is desire, need and love.  This is a fantastic read, but not one for the non-adult reader!  It's a hot one!
***a bit of a spoiler below...(It may seem a bit jagged here, as I have pulled pieces out, but when you read the story it will all make sense!).
These are the lines that make me completely love Lily!  
"...what he heard was the sound of a boot making contact with a body. Hard."
"That's for killing my friend...(thunk)"
"That's for threatening my daughter...(thunk)"
"And this...is for putting my man through hell."