Tendra was running late and with all the time she had missed at her job she was in danger of being fired. Tendra worked at a bar called The Rose is a not so great part of town. Brex was Tendra’s cat and the closest thing Tendra now had to family now. Brex and tendra understood each other somehow. Like how Brex had never left Tendra’s side when her mom died. Tendra had lived in the apartment now for five years even though it was rundown. Tendra hated feeling vulnerable and had felt nothing but that for weeks. Maybe it was time for tendra and brex to leave Mission City to start over. Tendra knew how to start over as Tendra had been doing that all her life. Tendra felt like she was allergic to laying down roots, to allow herself to be beholding to anyone else. Five years had been the longest tendra had lived anywhere. It was great working at The Rose in that not only did Tendra make money but it also took her mind off everything. Moving so much Tendra was always the outsider but she did have a couple of friends she trusted especially Ruby. Tendra wasn’t sure what it would be like to be fully accepted. Tendra’s mom said her dad had left when Tendra was a baby and later on her mom had heard her father had been in a car accident and died. So after her mother had passed tendra had no living relatives. Also tendra hadn’t found someone she wanted to have a child with. Tendra knew she was being followed when she walked home after work and readied her switchblade that she always carried with her. But he was too fast and big and neither her switchblade or her stiletto made contact on the man. Then he put Tendra to sleep. Then when Tendra came to Brex was next to her and the man told her the cat there with some of her clothes. The man also told kendra he was a vampire and her blood guard as she was to be delivered to his older brother to make their clan stronger. Then the man said his clan was of Vampires and his name was Athan. Tendra believed vampires weren’t real but then Athan proved to her and she started to believe him. Then Athan commented on how Tendra knew self defense and she told him when she was still in school she and a couple of friends had been on a field trip and had been kidnapped. The girls were told they would be held until after dark. But a classmate had followed and got the license number of the car and they were rescued before dark. Neither Tendra or her friends knew why they had been kidnapped. She remembered every time her and her mom had moved when Athan brought up they had moved around a lot. There had always been real fear in her mom's eyes when they moved and the had moved quickly every time. Athan told Tendra her mother’s duty had been to prepare Tendra to take her place as Sanquivita of the Gregorie vampire clan. Which meant Tendra was the sole human provider of blood for Athan’s brother the future king. Athan said her mom would have told her soon about everything but the Valyrians had killed her mom first. The Valyrians were a rival vampire clan and they wanted to enslave all humans as blood banks for the vampires. The Valyrians had been trying to kill Tendra since they had learned of her existence. Tendra’s blood will make Idris - Athan’s brother- strong enough to beat the Valyrians. Tendra was the first in ten generations as it had taken ten generations to make this power in Tendra’s blood. Athan said his brother idris was a good man and would treat her well. The Valyrians had hired vampire assassins to find and kill tendra before she could fulfill her destiny. The whole Gregorio clan would have to help to get Tendra to Idris.
I loved this story and could find nothing bad to say about it or I didn’t like about the book. I loved that. I loved how Athan was with Tendra after he explained things to her and as time went on. I loved the plot and pace of this book. It was a unique take on a vampire paranormal story and I loved it. I loved Athan and Idris but the names were a mouthful. I loved the action,suspense, betrayal, lies. greed, and all that went into this story. I loved Athan and Tendra together and was very happy how things turned out. This was a great fun read and i never had a problem with the story keeping my attention. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this story and i highly recommend.

3.75 stars. This was a pretty good book. This is Tendra and Athan's story. Tendra works in a bar in Mission City. Her single mother recently died and she doesn't have many friends, so she leads a lonely life. One night, Athan shows up at the bar she works at and then follows her home. He tells her a crazy story that he proves to her is true, by showing her a letter her mother left her. Athan is a vampire, the second son of the Gregorie vampire clan's king. Tendra is fated to be the Sanguavita, the blood queen, that prophecy fortells will save the clan and the future of the human race. She is a human with very strong blood passed down through her family. She is meant to marry Idris, Athan's brother and heir to the throne, and feed him with her blood, which will make him strong enough to defeat the rival vampire clan, the Valerians. Athan is meant to be her blood guard, to protect her with his life, and to bring her to his brother at the castle. Tendra is skeptical at first, but she believes soon believes him. Together, the begin a journey through underground tunnels to take her to Idris. Along the way though, they become close and fall in love. It is heartbreaking to them that they cannot be together, but they soon discover that everything is not it appears. There are some exciting times, adventure, suspense, sexiness and love for them along the way but they get their HEA.

I really liked the book. It took me awhile to get used to the writing style. The writing felt a little young feeling. It came off as almost YA, but there were sexy times. Some things were cheesy and sometimes I didn't feel the emotions that I was supposed to. But the story was interesting and original. I liked Athan and Tendra. Athan was strong, silent, but protective and very sweet. Tendra was supposed to be badass and funny. I liked her but I wasn't blown away by her personality. Still, I believed in their love and they felt like they were meant to be together. The way the vampire world is built here is interesting. I like the possibilities for more books in this series in the future too.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will definitely continue this series in the future!

2.5
Sooo, I was not impressed. I swear I’ve read this book before. I’m not throwing out the big P word or anything. Good lord, nothing like that! But it just felt like a common plot, with a pretty common heroine and a fairly common hero and noting about it felt particularly new or fleshed out. When you really boil it down, this was a bog standard paranormal romance with nothing (good or bad) to make it stand out in any way.

What’s more it was about as subtle as a sledge hammer. Nothing had enough time to develop or for me to become invested in it. The book isn’t bad. It’s just not overly good either. But for a quick, you’ll-know-exactly-what-to-expect kind of read it’ll fill the bill.

4.5 Stars

‘Mission was not a city where dreams were made. At least, not for people like me.’

It’s no secret how much we love our paranormal reads! It’s our go to when we’re in a book funk and our pleasurable indulgence. We immediately got sucked into…pun intended…Blood Guard by Megan Erickson and loved the initial world building and introduction of a Vampire world living under the streets upon which humans walk unbeknownst to them what lurks beneath.

‘Maybe we weren’t all meant to belong somewhere.’

This was a slow build romance which perfectly set up a forthcoming series full of vampires, turf war and ultimately love. We have to mention that reading Blood Guard took us back to how we used to feel when reading paranormal books. For want of a better description, the way in which this story was written and how it made us feel was like proper old school PNR which is why we loved it so much. We were filled with nostalgia for the time, back when we first became addicted to this romance genre.

First we meet Tendra, who works as a bartender and comes across as a bit of a loner and orphan to boot; having been shifted from pillar to post by her deceased single mother. She feels unlucky in every aspect of her life yet keeps a sassy attitude with an inner quiet strength that stands her in good stead when her whole world is turned upside down. Along with her cat she finds herself in a situation that shocks her to her core. It all begins when she notices a somewhat intimidating man watching her in the bar where she works who then follows her into the night.

‘The sun on my face was like life. I’d spent all of my life looking at the sun as my killer, and now I saw it as my savior.’

Athan is the sexy warrior brother of the future Vampire king, Idris, and has one mission. To retrieve and bring home the woman whose blood is prophesised to give his brother the ability and strength to fight and overcome a clan of vampires set to destroy the human race and make them blood slaves. There’s a revolt happening and it needs to be stopped. But just who is pulling the strings for a change that will affect not only humans but the vampire race too?

‘I’d never abandon her, and if my father forced my hand, he’d see just how strong his youngest son had become.’

Athan and Tendra’s journey was jam packed with action, humour and sexual tension. We loved every minute we spent with them wishing we had more! Their story set up a series we just know we’re going to love. Whilst Blood Guard can be read as a standalone in the sense that each book will feature a different couple, the overall storyline does continue from one book to the next.

Enter a world of immortal danger and desire—and discover an incredible fate borne of blood.

Tendra: One minute, I’m a bartender in gritty Mission City; the next, I’m whisked away by a vampire named Athan who tells me that I’m the lifeblood of his clan. It sounds unbelievable, but he’s got evidence I can’t deny. Turns out, Athan belongs to an underground society of vampires who feed only on humans with their consent. Their enemies have no such qualms, and they want me dead. The only thing standing in their way is strong, sexy Athan. And the closer we get, the more tempted I am to let Athan feed. . . .

Athan: How could I have known when I snatched this snarky, beautiful human off the streets that she would change my destiny? As a loyal soldier, I must deliver Tendra to our future king—my brother. Empowered with the blood of ten generations of the Gregorie breed, she is fated to rule as our queen. But there’s something between us that’s so intoxicating, so carnal, I can’t help wanting Tendra for myself . . . even if it’s treason.

Review:

Vampire books are a dime a dozen, but this one had a unique twist on this one to make it stand out.

I have read one other book by this Author and knew I liked her writing, but the one I read was contemporary so was not sure how I would like this genre by her. I loved it! It was full of action, intrigue and sexiness. I liked that both Tendra and Athan can kick butt and take names. Besides that their chemistry is off the charts besides adding in all that forbidden fruit tension between them. I have to ask, what is the deal with Brex, Tendra's cat? There has to be more to him than meets the eye. I won't give away the whole story, I think the blurb gives a good gist as to the premise of the book. I will end with it was totally engrossing and I did not want to put it down. Now, to wait for the second book.

4.5Stars
*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book provided by the publisher.*

3.5 Stars!

While I am quite familiar with her work in the MM genre, this was my first MF Megan Erickson book. When I got approved for the ARC, I literally squealed for joy! THATS how much I was psyched for this book.

To my immense satisfaction, though I had a few niggles here and there,I really really enjoyed reading this book.

Tendra was funny(always a plus), spunky, tenacious and as far from TSTL as you can think of. Yes, she made some silly decisions in the book that might have cost her life but someway somehow I'm happy she did. This is because she recognized what she did what silly, owned up to it , apologized and learnt from it. It made her more relatable to me.

Athan was your typical book Vampire: as tall as Everest, ripped to all hell and handsome with a broody countenance . However, what made him stand out was his heart. He was a kind , thoughtful & caring man when he needed to be and a completely ruthless badass also when needed. Not a single asshole trait was in sight. He was great.

As a unit, I truly loved them together. However, I believe the progression of their relationship was quite rushed. It was not insta-love per se , but it didn't grow as organically as it could have.

Also, I found the world building to be just okay. It had the potential to be explored further and extrapolated on better, which I think is always a good trait for a PNR. I'm hoping the subsequent books in the series do it more justice.

Aside from that, I really liked the writing, the storyline , the secondary characters and the overall feel of the book.

I'm sure Idris' book is next in line. I'm curious to get into his head and know how he'll deal with his responsibilities now that they have completely changed.

Needless to say, I'm definitely getting it.

‘Mission was not a city where dreams were made. At least, not for people like me.’

It’s no secret how much we love our paranormal reads! It’s our go to when we’re in a book funk and our pleasurable indulgence. We immediately got sucked into…pun intended…Blood Guard by Megan Erickson and loved the initial world building and introduction of a Vampire world living under the streets upon which humans walk unbeknownst to them what lurks beneath.

‘Maybe we weren’t all meant to belong somewhere.’

This was a slow build romance which perfectly set up a forthcoming series full of vampires, turf war and ultimately love. We have to mention that reading Blood Guard took us back to how we used to feel when reading paranormal books. For want of a better description, the way in which this story was written and how it made us feel was like proper old school PNR which is why we loved it so much. We were filled with nostalgia for the time, back when we first became addicted to this romance genre.

First we meet Tendra, who works as a bartender and comes across as a bit of a loner and orphan to boot; having been shifted from pillar to post by her deceased single mother. She feels unlucky in every aspect of her life yet keeps a sassy attitude with an inner quiet strength that stands her in good stead when her whole world is turned upside down. Along with her cat she finds herself in a situation that shocks her to her core. It all begins when she notices a somewhat intimidating man watching her in the bar where she works who then follows her into the night.

‘The sun on my face was like life. I’d spent all of my life looking at the sun as my killer, and now I saw it as my savior.’

Athan is the sexy warrior brother of the future Vampire king, Idris, and has one mission. To retrieve and bring home the woman whose blood is prophesised to give his brother the ability and strength to fight and overcome a clan of vampires set to destroy the human race and make them blood slaves. There’s a revolt happening and it needs to be stopped. But just who is pulling the strings for a change that will affect not only humans but the vampire race too?

‘I’d never abandon her, and if my father forced my hand, he’d see just how strong his youngest son had become.’

Athan and Tendra’s journey was jam packed with action, humour and sexual tension. We loved every minute we spent with them wishing we had more! Their story set up a series we just know we’re going to love. Whilst Blood Guard can be read as a standalone in the sense that each book will feature a different couple, the overall storyline does continue from one book to the next.

Although its far fetched as fantasies tend to be, Blood guard was entertaining and engaging..I would recommend to my fellow fantasy lovers

This was a quick read that I ended up really enjoying. The world created here was interesting and I loved most of the characters. While I am not a fan of insta-love, with this couple I could almost go with it. It took them only a week, but they had been thru a lot together during that time so it created a bond there. There's also Tendra's cat, that just has to be more than a mere cat, that makes me curious.

Tendra hasn't really had a typical childhood and with the death of her mother she's at a loss as to what she wants to do now. What she doesn't expect is to be kidnapped one night after work by a guy that terrifies her while intriguing her at the same time. Now she finds herself thrown into the world of vampires and at the center of a prophecy. Aethan is a prince of his people, but it's his brother that has been groomed to be the next king. It's Aethan's duty to bring the girl meant to be queen to his brother, and he takes his duty very seriously. But the more time he spends with Tendra, the more he wants to keep her for himself. As the two of them try to stay ahead of vicious killers, Tendra learns more about Aethan's people and his way of life. Given the situation, it was only a matter of time before she finds herself falling for her protector. When something happens to Aethan, Tendra has a choice to make. One that will change more than just her life and will also reveal that almost Aethan's whole life has been a lie.

I really liked the ending and was even surprised by a couple things. Now Aethan finds himself in a position he never expected, but he's not alone. There's a fight to come, and I'm curious to see how things go.

I guess I haven't read anything from Megan Erickson, but I have a ton of friends who have read her and love her. So, I decided to take a chance on Blood Guard. Actually, she had me with vampires. If that wasn't enough, the cover for Blood Guard was clincher. Seriously, this cover is yummy. Vampires and hot cover got me to read the story, but it was pretty good. I can't wait for book 2, because that should be good.

Anyway, we have Tendra who is basically living day to day. She's trying to decide if it's time to uproot herself and leave, because she has a feeling she should. However, she gets taken by this guy Athan. Athan isn't a typical guy, I mean he's a vampire. She's trying not freakout, and while given information that she's suppose to help save the human and the vampires. We have one sect that wants to enslave humans since they are inferior to vampires, and we have another group that wants to live with the humans. As the story continues we see that war is upon us.

I liked Blood Guard. I like how it's setting up the series. We have Tendra and Athan who are trying to do their duty to save everyone. However, key information is being with held, and we don't realize it until towards the end. That's when all chaos starts to ensue. Tendra and Athan's relationship a complicated one. Tendra is intended for Athan's brother, but he's lusting after her hard. Yet, Athan is duty bound to do what needs to be done even if it would cost him his life. Anyway, I actually like these two together once most of the information is laid out, again I said some stuff is missing. Overall, a pretty good start to a beginning of a new series. I like how things were getting laid out in this and I can't wait to see what Athan's brother does. He seems like a hot head and that should be interesting.

Copy provided by LoveSwept via NetGalley

I really enjoyed Blood Guard by Megan Erickson. I haven't read a vampire book in awhile and I felt the plot of this book was a bit of a departure from your traditional vampire story.

Athan is a Blood Guard. His primary objective is to protect the Sanguivita until she can be delivered to his brother, Idris. Athan and Idris are elite vampires, basically princes of the Gregorie Clan. But Tendra is human and knows nothing about this! Tendra's thoughts must be, "Wait!! I'm supposed to be a blood bank for a bunch of vampires??!!" She is the Sanguivita, a special, tenth generation blood donor who will make Idris, the new king, extraordinarily strong. Athan and Tendra develop quite a connection on their journey. The main antagonist of this book is a rival vampire clan that has a rather vicious agenda. Will Athan and Tendra reach Idris intact?

This is an exciting read that has some plot surprises and a good amount of sexy heat. I give Blood Guard 4 stars. It's well worth the read!

Synospsis:

What happens if you spend your life moving around constantly not because your mom likes changing locations constantly? If you are moving to escape something you didn’t even know was a problem? That’s what Tendra finds out after meeting Athan. They have to journey through Mission City and avoid the rival vampires out to kill Tendra.

Review:

I enjoyed this one a lot. I’m a sucker for vampire romances (yes I did it on purpose I’m full of good puns). This one is great we follow a rather headstrong heroine Tendra (Ten) who is not going to take shit from nobody even Athan who is your typical Alpha male. The story unfolds over a series of days on their path back to the Gregories compound.
We follow them as they slowly figure out how to get along and survive together. Of course this doesn’t mean it’s all smooth sailing. There are some dumb mistakes made by Ten, but she recovers okay from them. Seeming to grow and learn her lesson as we move forward. We see her develop a good bit throughout the story. I liked that she was not going to take shit or let Athan make a bad decision in the end. Erickson manages to give us some really interesting glimpses into the world as they travel through underground Mission City.
I was impressed at how a seemingly predictable plot unfolded and still surprised me. I enjoyed reading the story and how the characters fell in love with each other. There was enough happening to keep me very interested and engaged.


Final Thoughts:

Will I read the rest of the series: Yes

Cliffhanger Ending: No

Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

It has been a while since I have read a PNR book and with a slightly new spin on the vampire world Blood Guard didn’t disappoint. I won't bore you with a recap because the synopsis explains the story well.

I think Blood Guard is a great start to a new series. I found Athan to be extremely protective and honorable. He was a refreshing take on a vampire. Usually they take without concern for the consequences but Athan was loyal to the bone. Even though he wanted Tendra for himself he stood his ground and wouldn’t let himself have her. Tendra was a fun heroine. She had to quickly accept her new reality but the author did a good job here of not dancing around the subject. Athan had to show himself to Tendra and even though it seemed crazy, seeing is believing. Blood Guard is rounded out nicely with some interesting side characters including Tendra’s intuitive cat Brex. If you are looking for a new PNR world to step into I definitely think Blood Guard is worth your time. I particularly loved the ending and can’t wait to see what the next couple has in store for us in book two. Well Done!

3.75 stars--BLOOD GUARD is the first installment in Megan Erickson’s contemporary, adult MISSION paranormal, erotic, romance series. This is vampire Blood Guard Athan and human waitress Tendra’s story line.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Athan and Tendra) BLOOD GUARD introduces the world of the Gregorie vampire-their enemies, a rival vampire clan, known as the Valarians who want to enslave all of humanity as blood banks, and the Quellens (assassins for hire). With the impending arrival of the King-to-be’s Sanguivita, the Gregorie clan prepares for a future awash in unmentionable powers.

Our heroine Tendra is a strong female character; the Sanguivita of the Gregorie clan-the sole human provider of blood to the king-a position she is ill prepared for, and a position of which, she knew nothing about. Athan is Gregorie vampire royalty but a royal designated as the Blood Guard to his brother’s future bride-a spare to the heir, so to speak but a spare whose position within the royal elite will soon come to light. Athan has been tasked to safely escort his brother’s future bride to her new home at the Gregorie compound but the compound has been compromised, and the royal family struggles to stay one step ahead of an unknown threat. What ensues is the building relationship between Athan and Tendra, and the potential fall out when the truth about the royal legacy and the Sanguivita prophecy is fulfilled.

BLOOD GUARD is a story of insta-love; of forbidden romance between soul mates; two people pulled together by love and fate; and the unmistakable allure of what should have been. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. There is a palpable, sexual attraction between our leading couple-an attraction that does not go unnoticed by the man in charge. Fair warning, there are some M/M, F/F sexual situations between non-relevant characters but situations that explain the attraction and desires during vampire feedings.

We are introduced to Athan’s brother Idris; his best friend Zeb, and Tendra’s co-worker and friend Ruby. There is a large assortment of secondary and supporting characters who come and go throughout the story including Athan and Idris’s father King Connell. Idris’s story line is next BLOOD VEIL November 2017. Here’s hoping the author has plans for Zeb’s HEA.

The world building reveals some of the backstory and touches briefly on the history of the Sanguivita-her role as the sole human blood provider of the Gregorie king including the potential power her blood can gift to the rightful heir. Athan’s earlier years, including his relationship with his brother, struggled in the face of their father’s power and control- a control that will dissipate as the Sanguivita takes her place on the throne. I was hoping for some more information as to the reasons why the Gregorie vampires chose the town of Mission-perhaps it was the availability of the old, underground subway system that allows for a secret city beneath the town.

BLOOD GUARD is a fast paced and intriguing story line. The premise is sexy and energetic- there was nothing earth shattering or new but the story line kept me entertained and interested in the fate of the leading characters; the romance is intense; the characters are colorful and charismatic. Megan Erickson’s BLOOD GUARD is a great start to a new series. I hope you give it a try.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

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3.5 stars~

I am a reader that you would consider as being "very picky" when it comes to paranormal books. I want them to have romance in them but I always want them to have a really solid story to it that doesn't revolve around the romance. I love the world building and the thrill of it all. While Blood Guard is a book I enjoyed, it isn't going to be rated very high for a PNR for me. I liked it but it revolved around romance and didn't have the story line that would have carried the book outside of the romance aspect. If you like them and don't need more than the romance then this would be a book for you.

In this new series from Megan Erickson, there's a secret society of vampires living in the shadows of gritty urban underground. The Gregorie clan has been at war with the Valerian clan over how they treat humans. The Gregorie clan wants to protect the humans, but the Valerians do not. It's taken ten years to develop the Sanguivita, a special human who will provide the blood to feed the Gregorie clan and keep them in prominence.

Tendra has no idea about the vampires that exist in her neighborhood until the day she is taken by one of them. Athan is committed to protecting Tendra but first he has to tell her how important she is to their clan. After everything that she's gone through with her mother in the past, it doesn't take a lot for her to put the pieces together and believe Athan. Now they just need to get back to their clan headquarters, which isn't an easy task considering they have assassins after them.

Blood Guard is an action packed paranormal with a great romance between Athan and Tendra. I could feel their growing passion as I read the book and I worried about the fact that Athan was supposed to deliver Tendra to his brother Idris who is supposed to take the throne with the Sanguivita as his wife. The action and romance come in equal amounts and I loved that about this book.

Blood Guard had everything I want in a paranormal romance. The world building was nicely meshed into the scenes between strong characters that I cared about from the start. It was the romantic elements that really had me with this book too. There's plenty of intrigue too in an action filled conclusion.

If you like paranormal romance, you should definitely pick this one up.

An ARC was provided for review.

I like where this is going. I am a huge fan of Paranormal Romance and vamps are definitely one of my favorite to read about. I have read my fair share (a lot) and I like when an author can weave the standard “what we know” in this case, about vamps, with something original and refreshing. I feel like Megan has totally done that with this new series and I can’t wait to see where it goes next. The world building in this one is interesting, the monarchy so to speak and who doesn’t love a good ol’ prophecy? Just this new take on vamps is something I want to read more about.

With only a few minor issues while reading, some the book and some personal, that were not a deterrent to the overall story, I for sure think fans of Paranormal Romance and Megan Erickson this will be a winner.

I liked this one. I was in the mood for a vampire book when I decided to pick this book up and it ended up being a pretty good fit for me. I read another book written by Megan Erickson earlier this year and was curious about what she would do with a completely different kind of story. I really liked what she did with the start of this new series. This was a fairly short book that I ended up reading cover to cover in a single day and really enjoyed the experience.

I really liked the world at the center of this story. The rules of the vampire society are worked into the story gradually so that it was never too much new information given at the same time. We learn things little by little right along with Tendra but everything makes sense in connection with the plot. There were a few really original ideas built into this world which I really enjoyed.

I really liked both of the main characters. Athan is the perfect combination of honorable, tough, caring, and loyal. He is a great leader who isn't afraid to make tough decisions when needed. He cares about the vampires in the clan and tries to help when he can. Tendra accepts what she is told about her destiny pretty quickly. She wants to do what her ancestors have set up as her calling. I loved these two together and thought that the chemistry between them was really well done.

The overall plot was rather exciting. Athan and Tendra have to travel together so that she can be delivered to the future king of the clan while other groups are trying to stop them. They run into quite a few obstacles and things become desperate several times. There are a few sexy scenes worked into the story that do a great job at balancing out some of the action.

I would recommend this book to fans of paranormal romance. I had a lot of fun reading this fun little vampire story. I am looking forward to reading future books in this series.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Loveswept via NetGalley.

My 4 star review is posted on Goodreads and will be posted on blog and social media upon release and links will be updated at that time below. . UPDATED 9/12/17

4 stars
I really do not read much paranormal anymore, but when an author I like comes out with a paranormal series, I am more likely to jump in. I did so with Megan Erickson's Silver Tip Pack shifter series and I enjoyed that, so figured I might as well try out her new vamps too.

Tendra Parrish is a waitress in Mission. After the death of her mother, she is alone and just trying to figure out what she is going to do with her life. Then one night that choice is unexpectedly taken away from her. A vampire named Athan of the Gregorie Clan comes for her and explains not only her destiny, but also helps her understand more about her past.

It is hard for her to believe, but he makes a compelling argument. She is intelligent, sarcastic, opinionated, strong, and a fighter. She won't make it easy on him, but soon she and Athan are on a perilous journey trying to make it back to his clan. Athan is supposed to be her Blood Guard and protect her until he can deliver her to his brother who will take over as King. With Tendra by his brother's side and providing her special blood, it is supposed to make their clan the most powerful.

Athan has been has been trained for this position, and has a strong sense of honor and duty. He knows his place. He is dangerous, protective, and smart, but also patient and kind. He knows she is off limits to him. But that does not stop him from wishing their lives were different. And all Tendra knows is that Athan is risking his life for her and is being a support to her during a challenging time. She does not know his brother, but sure knows that she is attracted to this vampire that she is not supposed to be. And it is getting harder and harder to follow the rules while outrunning their enemies.

What happens if they make it to the Gregorie compound where their destinies are supposed to be fulfilled?

I liked the world building here with different types of vampires and some unique characteristics that I have not seen in vamps in other books. I liked Athan and Tendra and I enjoyed getting both of points of view. Their connection is intense, primal, and a constant source of tension. This one has some humor, steam, emotion, suspense, danger, and action. There are some twists and surprises. The side characters added more depth and drama. It kept me interested and it teased the next book, Blood Veil and I will definitely be interested to see how that story goes.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.