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Thank you for the arc!

A very steamy fantasy book! Loved every minute of it!

I thought that this was a great book!!

The storyline was superb – it was action packed

The characters were strong and sexy and I lobed getting to know them as the books progressed, there is some great interaction and the author has done a great job with this one.

It is a must read from me – no hesitation it is 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!

This was a little too dark for me, but I really should have been prepared from the back cover blurb. "These vampires do not sparkle" made me laugh, so I didn't really heed the rest: "They have been described as psychopaths with fangs. Read at your own risk."

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

Violent Desire (Blackrose Brotherhood 01) by Ariana Nash
★★★☆☆
364 Pages
POV: 3rd person, dual character POV with an extra POV in the epilogue

Content Warnings:
Historic or off page – mentions of captivity/slavery, child abuse, forced blood letting, forced violence, mind control; death of a partner, torture
On page – blood letting, forced drug use, forced captivity; morally ambiguous MC, PTSD



Violent Desire is the first book in a series by a new-to-me author, Ariana Nash. It's a new take on vampires in a modern day world, with all the knowledge and tech advancements that would come with centuries of experience.
I enjoyed the book, which had great potential to be an incredible, addictive read, but there were a few snags that just prevented me from feeling that way.

PROS

I really liked the main characters, Eric and Zaine. Together, they had some great chemistry and a strong emotional attachment that drove everything that came after. Individually, I think both had strong characterisation and backstories that kept me interested about them.

Eric is a detective in NY whose previous partner was killed by a gang of drug dealers. Finding the injustice of it hard to bear, he begins stalking and infiltrating the dealers crew. The book starts with Eric finally reaching a comfortable closeness with his targets, only to find himself caught up in something he can't control and doesn't understand. He's soon drawn back into the dark world of vampires that he'd been told, and convinced himself, didn't exist. But at the age of 15, he watched his family being murdered and was captured by the killer – a vampire who has come back for him.

Zaine is a vampire – nyktelios – and part of the Blackrose Brotherhood, which is a vampire organisation that hunts the vampires who have lost control. The ones no longer able to curb their need for blood are called nyk and are hunted by the Brotherhood, often at the expense of the human “feeders” who keep them supplied in blood. While tracking a particularly slippery nyk, Zaine and Eric's paths collide and begin a snowball of events that can't be contained.

The concept of Eric's past and Zaine's present conflicting and yet drawing them closer together was great. I loved that Eric was determined to face his inner demons, that Zaine wanted to protect him but also knew when to step back and accept that Eric was a man who knew what he was doing. I loved that they built trust, that it was broken and they had to find that with each other again, and that everything wasn't instantly perfect when they were together. I like that outside forces tried to keep them apart, and how they tried to integrate into each other's lives in whatever way was possible.

I'm intrigued by the secondary characters too – the Brotherhood members, and Eric's Captain at the precinct who knows more than he's letting on. I love the high tech environment the Brotherhood have created and how cleverly that allows them to operate in the human world.

The take on vampires was a comfortable blend of old and new – from the wings to the unexpected biological consequences, to the feeders and adaptability over time. I got flickers of Blade and Vampire Chronicles all meshed in with a modern story.

While we didn't swap into dual POV until 9% – which would normally annoy me – it made sense here, because we had to see everything through Eric's eyes, before we learned what was going on from a different POV. That was a really smart decision that worked well for the story.

~

CONS

However...there were things that didn't work for me.

To start with, there was not ONE trigger warning for the content which is Eric's backstory – at the age of 15, he watched a monster kill his entire family, and was then kidnapped by that monster. Kept captive and a slave for two years, he was sexually abused, mentally tortured, mind-controlled and blooded by a vampire for that entire two years. I feel at least one of those things should have been mentioned in trigger warnings, but they weren't and if I wasn't prepared for the serious mind-f*ck that is, then I don't imagine how awful it would be for anyone who needed those warnings.

I say it all the time, but let me say it again...trigger warnings are NOT optional. If you want to be an author, the first lesson you learn is that trigger warnings are MANDATORY and your DUTY, if you want to protect your readers and have them come back to read your books again. If you do harm by not including them, expect that reader to never forgive you, because you're not doing your job.

I also found it a bit disturbing – mainly because it was a HUGE part of the book – that Eric was continually put in the position of facing this monster during the book, as an adult. The trauma had been so severe, and no one had ever believed him, that he blocked it from his mind until he stumbled across that same monster in his adult life. Fine. That emotional torment would have been enough, but Eric actually faces multiple instances of forced intimacy with that monster and chooses to be intimate with him to save another character. That's no different to offering to be r*ped by your r*pist to save another person. It's still blatantly r*pe, and on-page which was seriously NOT what I signed up to read.

In relation, my other issues seem minor.

For example, I feel like the author planned this as a multi-book series from the beginning, and by making all the secondary characters on-page but mysterious was supposed to grab my interest and make me eager to read their stories, except...it didn't. I think they did too good a job at keeping everyone in the background, to the point that the only one I'm mildly curious about is Mikalis, and it's not really to the point where I'd be rushing to buy the next book.

I have bought the next book, and the anthology featuring Book 2.5, because I'm willing to keep reading the series and see how it goes. But, I have to admit that I don't feel like “gimme the next book now” when I probably should. It just lacked that obsessive factor that made me want to go straight from Book 1 into Book 2, and I'm struggling to find the words to explain why that is.

I found it quite confusing that they nykelios were the good guys and the bad guys. I get that they were the same species, but only using a the shortened nyks for the bad guys and the full length for the good made it often quite confusing to read. It would have benefited from using another word for the bad guys to help differentiate between them, even if it was some ancient word from another language.

I feel like the blurb is either not well written or misleading, because I was about 6% into the story and had to re-read it twice, then again at about 10%, to check if I'd misunderstood something. The way the blurb is written, the “handsome, mysterious man” who has come to reclaim Eric sounds like it's Zaine. Only, that's not the case and I got really confused by that fact, because I'd been so excited at the prospect of a morally ambiguous vampire who had once crossed Eric's path, and knew his dark secrets, sweeping in to reclaim Eric.
Maybe that's why I didn't immediately fall in love with the story, because I'd been set up for something that never happened. I'm not sure. But I know I was disappointed by the misconception.

The story – while dual POV throughout – actually slips into omnipresence a few times, and it was obvious enough that I not only noted it, but I had to re-read a few previous sentences to check it hadn't switched POV without me noticing. There were about four or five instances of this throughout the book.

There were a few things that I found a little bit...awkward? The sex scenes were, surprisingly to me, quite basic and more romancey than I'd been expecting from the author and this type of book. While there was an undercurrent of dominance and submission it wasn't enough to claim BDSM elements to the story. But I was honestly surprised by how almost flowery they were, brief and basic scenes that could probably have been cut without affecting the story. They were so full of promises of eternity and forever that it was far more saccharine than I'd anticipated, bordering on cliché and cringey.

I also found the convenience of some things a bit cliché, maybe because they're so over-used in the vampire genre. For example, the fact that Zaine is the youngest of the Brotherhood and conveniently is the only one who can withstand the most sunlight, isn't yet as cold as ice, and is the one willing to bend or break the rules for Eric. Also that someone as ancient as the bad guy is would be obsessed with Eric to the point that he was never really in danger of dying because the bad guy loved him and obsessed over him too much. Then there's the fact that Eric isn't just “a regular guy” but is somehow totally special and no one knew it, despite the fact that someone has potentially been spying on him for a while. It was all a little convenient that all the stars aligned without anyone being aware beforehand. Maybe if Eric wasn't miraculously immune to the bad guy or special, or maybe if the bad guy didn't keep claiming he'd once let Eric go but now couldn't bear to be separated from him, it might make more sense or feel less contrived as a deliberate plot point.

In the end, I felt the author tried to put far too many mysteries into the book. Zaine and Eric both had a dark past, and both were necessary to their story. However, there was also the mystery of Room 3B, Mikalis' origins, the connection between Mikalis and the bad guy, and the fact that every other member of the Brotherhood seemed to have something to hide or some dark story in their past. It was all a little too much to pack into one book, likely put there to make us eager to read that character's book later, but it just took up space where I would have liked a bit more attention on the plot of this book.

It frustrates me that I can't put my finger on what exactly what missing, but I have this sense that something important was missing or not done well enough, and that's why I can't LOVE it the way I could or feel I should.

~

OVERALL

In the end, it was a good story with a strong plot and interesting characters. I ended the book feeling like I'd give it 4*, but once I began writing out the problems, the issues were strong and clear enough that I had to lower that to a 3. Not only because of the severity of some issues, but also the frequency of them. There were too many to discount.
Despite my niggles with how it was pulled off and that annoying feeling of it not quite being good enough, I will read the next book and give the author a chance with future series. Their writing is solid, their characters intriguing and well written, and the threads of a continuous plot throughout this series are nicely laid out.

Overall, Violent Desire was a solid start to a new series that will undoubtedly draw in a lot of readers who love vampires, morally ambiguous characters, and a strong plot.

~

Favourite Quotes

“Sebastien's violent desire controlled him. And Eric controlled that desire.”

Violent Desire kicks off Ariana Nash's paranormal MM romance series with the story of Eric, a NYPD detective, and Zaine, a member of a secret vampire brotherhood whose mission is to hunt other vampires. Eric's traumatic past returns to him in the form of the monster who murdered his family and kidnapped him as a teenager 15 years ago, a vampire intent on reclaiming Eric now. While Eric figures out how to deal with his trauma and the return of man who he thought he had killed, he crosses paths with another vampire, Zaine. Zaine is is part of an ancient group, the Blackrose Brotherhood - vampires who hunt down "bad" vampires. He's immediately drawn to Eric in the midst of his own hunt for the vampire, and wants to do what's right for him, even though the Brotherhood has strict rules that forbid him from doing so. Zaine has already made the mistake of betraying the Brotherhood 50 years ago. Will he do it again?

There were some great moments here, and just about all of them had nothing to do with the romance between the leads and had entirely to do with the suspense plot mostly involving Eric. Which was fine, because I was totally into the world-building and mystery and had a feeling this was going to be plot-heavy, but I was also expecting more romance. It was very plot-forward and what felt to me like light romance. The intimate scenes were pretty light on description too.

For example about halfway into the book, around 50%-60%, Eric and Zaine have known each other for literally 5 days. They were a little head-over-heels obsessed with each other a little too quickly for my preferences. And because there was so much action (that I loved) in such a short in-story time, there wasn't a lot of time for intimacy building, even though it was kind of pounded in to the reader how devoted they were to each other.

So I guess my main criticism would be the pacing? Certain things felt they went by too quickly and other things were dragged out. (That whole mid-section that felt like 3rd act conflict but in the middle...)

But I'm being really nitpicky, because the rest of it was actually really good. Despite my comments, I really enjoyed the story and couldn't stop turning the pages! I couldn't wait to learn more about the vampires and their history, and how Eric would get to the bottom of it all for his HEA. And honestly, the emotional journey that Eric and Zaine went through together and separately was great. It was just a lot less romantic than I was expecting.

But if you want a romance novel with a strong plot? This is IT. I'll happily be picking up the sequel to continue the story with Kazi!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sounded like a fun story and wow it jumped straight into the action and didn't calm down.

If you like MM paranormal romance with hints of danger and crooked(?) cop. Then this is definitely the book for you.

I really liked this, found it really hard to put down at times.

I thought the author did a great job with the back stories and I found the romance enjoyable.

I did think there were maybe too many characters, and sometimes I struggled to know who was who.

Overall a good read.

This was very hot, spicy and such a wild ride, couldn't get enough 🙌
Will have to check otther works by the author for sire 🙌

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review
It was a nice book but not extraordinary. Oftentimes I would stop reading and don't come back to it for a while. I feel like it needs to have more engaging characters to keep it interesting. Other than that it was quite action-packed. Overall a nice read.

Bite me. Fuck me. Bleed me.

I may have rated this book higher if there was a bit more of the above going on here. A bit more romance and relationship growth between Eric and Zaine. It almost felt as if there was more discussion and interaction between Eric and Sebastien.

This book was entertaining, but there was so much going on. Lots of characters being introduced, lots of world building, etc. I would have appreciated seeing more regarding the MCs relationship coming to be. It was all very sudden and felt a bit rushed.

The world building was interesting, I think there is probably a lot of interesting things to explore there. I was also quite intrigued by a few of the other side characters that were introduced.

Eye-fuck me some more, Detective.” “Then go down on me again, Viking.” “As you wish.”

Well, this was certainly something new! This was my first book by Ariana Nash but I really enjoyed the writing style - it's easy to get into and flows really well. There are also some very sexy, very steamy scenes I enjoyed but I would have wished for a bit more development of the romance overall - I think that suffered in favor of all the world-building which is probably to set up for future books. Still, if you need a good palate cleanser with loads of steam, then Eric and Zaine's story should be perfect for you!

Very sexy, but unfortunately suffers from a rushed romance sharing space with world-building for future novels. While Eric and Zaine as characters were rather interesting, as a pair they don’t really give much to sell besides physical/sexual attraction.

Also, as stated, it is setting up the rules of this vampire/human world and character for future books in the series. I didn’t regret reading it, but it was a bit too fast for me.

This book made me enter my Twilight era. The truth is that I am a big fan of supernatural romance, for many years I dedicated myself to reading all the m/m novels about vampires and wolves that I found, so this was like going back to my beginnings.
The book is a paranormal romance about a detective and a vampire who fall in love and have to deal with another, much older vampire who is causing trouble in town.
The story is full of action scenes and eroticism, it also has a list of trigger warnings related to grooming and child abuse. If you are sensitive to these issues it is better that you stay away from this story.
As for the relationship of the two protagonists, I really liked the way it started, with a bit of mistrust, but with an obvious attraction between the two, however, the start of the relationship was very fast, it was practically instalove and that I did not like detail, I would have liked a little more space to develop the feelings of both.
The action scenes are very well narrated, I enjoyed the vampire world and the points of view of both characters. Despite its flaws, I will definitely continue reading the series.

DNF @ 64%

it was good at first. loved the mystery, and the budding romance. also loved that fact that the Brotherhood was tied to Greek mythology (which i really LOVE). however, as i progressed, the connection i had with the characters and the story vanished. i guess, it was because the story felt like it was going on for too long when it should have ended chapters ago.

Eric is a police detective and a survivor - he's also recently become a vigilante. That experience has awoken memories he wanted to leave in the past and brought a very sexy vampire into his world. Zaine has been alive for 400 years and has been working with the Brotherhood for most of that time - focusing on eliminating Nykletlios who prey on humans. Unlike the others in the brotherhood, he hasn't been as successful in keeping his emotions out of things.

This was a great start to a very interesting vampire series. There is clearly a lot going on here and the villains and heroes are definitely not clear cut. I'm looking forward to seeing where things go from here. That being said - there were quite a few holes or things that didn't really work for me in this book. For example - the Brotherhood reportedly don't take blood directly from humans as part of their creed - since blood banks didn't really exist before the 80s - how exactly did that happen? and how often do they really need blood to live? This is also totally an instalove scenario - and while it worked pretty well (as that goes) - it still felt a little off. Eric is definitely a survivor - but it seems like his trust with Zaine really was pretty significant considering history? Maybe more will be explained later...

Overall - I liked it - but there is definitely some room for growth!

I received this via NetGalley as an ARC, but these opinions are all my own.

Well. That sure was a book! Everything happened SO fast and it was just nonstop action and not much romance. I’m not even sure where the relationship developed from? Instalove again, I guess. I did enjoy the world building. It’s a fun little world. The history that Nash created here with vampires. But … this couple did nothing for me. I never cared about them. And the dubcon was very high in regards to Eric and the vampire that once held him captive for years. The first entry in this series doesn’t really inspire me to keep going sadly.

The writing was good! I’ll definitely check out some of the authors other books. But maybe just not this series.

I thought a dark vampire romance would be a slam dunk but this was absolutely not a book for me.

First off, if your book involves the rape and kidnapping of a 15 year old child, that needs to be EXPLICITLY stated in the content warnings. Leaving out that your book involves years of repeated child sexual assault is a massive oversight.

Second, the book begins with the main character (Eric, a law enforcement officer) murdering a group of people, he’s a Punisher-style cop who doesn’t respect due process. As such, I immediately and strongly disliked him and found it extremely tone deaf that Nash wrote him as a sympathetic character. The only satisfying ending to the book for me would be Eric going to jail for the murders he committed.

Third, the instalust/love between Eric and Zaine was wholly unbelievable and nonsensical. If Eric has a history of extreme sexual assault by a vampire, I highly doubt he’d want anything to do with another vampire in any way. Both characters were horny in situations that didn’t call for it and they lacked any chemistry at all. Their whole relationship was off-putting.

Fourth, the character of Sebastian was a one-dimensional, shallow bad guy. No substance or depth, just a cartoon villain which felt very low effort.

I enjoy dark themes in books, the ways that they can reveal and explore ugly truths about power structures or human nature. This book felt like empty shock value that fetishized sexual assault.

’m a huge fan of Ariana Nash! Usually, her books are quite dark and filled with medium to high angst. So when I started this book, I was expecting more of that. Which didn’t happen. At all.

The story starts right away, but it feels… kind of easy? There are no real surprises and I could predict where the story would go almost from the beginning. Which was a huge disappointment for me and not at all what I was hoping for.
For me, this book felt like an instant lust story, where the main characters are just drawn together and they don’t really talk about what they would like or how this relationship is going to work. Without giving spoilers, let me tell you that it all felt a bit forced. I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters and the main characters stayed flat for me. No chemistry, no explosive passion or something. Just a bland get together.
The story itself was also kind of predictable, no real tension, no surprises and nothing really that had me rooted to my spot, wanting to finish this story. It is well written and easy to read.
The ending is not really a cliff hanger, there are a lot of questions left unanswered, but that’s to be expected with more books in this series coming. However, the next book will focus on another couple and I think it’s sad we have to see goodbye to Eric and Zaine without even really having to get to know them.

Overall, this was a nice enough read, but nothing to write home about. If you like straightforward, instant lust stories with vampires, this is probably a good book for you! If you want more angst, darker stories and more feelings, try one of Ariana Nash’s other stories, like ‘King of the Dark’ (The Prince’s Assassin #1).

AHHHHH Ariana Nash does it again. HOT MEN, BAD BOYS, BAD DEEDS, AND A HELL OF A GOOD TIME. VIOLENT DESIRE was suuuuuch a fun ride and I need MORE MORE MORE!