When I read the blurb about this book I knew it was something I would love. It had everything I wanted… Strong female lead, magic, mystery, and overcoming hardship. The overall storyline was intriguing and something new so I was immediately interested. Unfortunately, this story fell flat for me.

The first issue I had was the mannerisms and responses to certain events or tragedies. There was a distinct lack of emotion from Charley, the FMC, when someone she knew died. Then there was an attempted SA and one of the character winks because he allowed someone back in the bar who had been kicked out previously for being crude. This theme continues throughout the book where the responses are just not…..giving emotions at all.

Another problem was the complete and utter denial that the FMC possessed magic. It literally was constantly in her face and still she was denying it right up until the bitter end. Where all of a sudden she accepted it and managed to master a complicated piece of magic in a few hours. it was mind blowing, and not in a good way.

The absolute inability to connect the dots of the easily solved mystery had me questioning the intelligence of everyone who was working on it. The mystery was no mystery yet it was constantly brought up like it was a complete mystery to everyone trying to solve said mystery. I wont go into what it was since you will easily know for yourself very quickly into the book. It needed more twists, more subtlety, more MYSTERY!

I am a fan of the Urban Fantasy genre so I am not a stickler for romance being the main plot point. However, if you introduce it then it must make sense. Enter mysterious vampire (vigilante?) that came from nowhere and all of a sudden they like each other. They have barely held any conversation and those were VERY short and solely focused on very outside force and nothing about themselves. We know zero about him other than he has a pet and is a vampire but our FMC is drawn to him and admits to liking him within a matter of days of knowing of his existence and only a handful of exchanges that totaled mere minutes. Points are given that they don’t immediately confess their love and desire to mate for life though. Either way it was incredibly shallow and while I am sure it is a set up for the rest of the series, it wasn’t a strong enough set up for me to care.

I did enjoy Dog, her friend and protector, who was constantly attempting to dole out wise advice. He was the only one that I felt appropriate emotions at almost every instance. I also really enjoyed her mom’s old friend Candy. She is an ex-dancer who says what she wants and has mile high confidence. She was funny and entertaining which really livened the story up a bit even though she doesn't appear much until the last half.

Basically this book wasn’t my cup of tea but if you want a quick and light read then maybe it is for you. This review is in no way to disparage the author or other works that might be done by them. Thank you to the author and to Netgalley for this copy of the book and all opinions are solely mine.

Urban fantasy
Paranormal
Vampires, shifters & witches
Small town
Mystery
Found family

“Welcome to Crimson, Georgia. I’m Charley — reluctant witch, and owner of the best bar in town.

Everyone’s welcome at the Stag — vampire, wolf or human. As long as they don’t make trouble. Or ask too many questions about what we’re selling out of the back room.”

Bloodlust Blues is the first book in the Charley Underwood series. The book follows Charlotte aka Charlie who owns a bar called the White Stag.

Charlie is a strong character with a interesting personality. She was introduced well right at the first pages. I liked her as a character from the beginning to the end.

At the beginning of the book the supporting characters were well introduced, but towards the end there were in my opinion a bit too many new characters.

The world building was done well and I was interested to read more about the world.

Like the characters the plot was good at the beginning but ended up being a bit confusing towards the end. At first I was invested and intrigued but eventually got a bit bored. Maybe some of it was because of the huge
amount of characters and how I didn’t really care about a lot of them.

Also it was really easy to guess who the bad guy was.

Overall interest idea and really liked the idea and the beginning (first about 100 pages), but after that it was a bit of a struggle to finish the book

Charley owns a bar in a town with witches, vampires, and shifters. When trouble rolls in, she works to stop it. ARC from NetGalley.

Okay. Okay. Okay. this as definitely a good first in the series. The MFC was likable, tough and with a past. Just how I like them. The side characters were a hoot and the storyline was easy to follow, if a little predictable. The back and forth and whiplash of quick event got a little tiring, how many times can there be trouble in a 24 hour period? I was exhausted just reading it. Overall, a strong start and i see potential for it.

What an intriguing read. An evil has come to town. It shows in the people and how they change. As Charley's bestie ends up possessed the stakes are upped. I enjoyed how she works her way through threat after threat. Great ending too.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Bloodlust Blues, Luanne Bennett. Urban fantasy at its finest.

Phenomenal characters; a witch with crazy untrained powers, overly protective shifters, Vampires both good and bad, an ex-stripper Witch with super creepy friends, and heinous villains. Luanne Bennett creates some of the most colorful characters I have ever seen. As normally flawed as the rest of us, loveable and outlandish. And a small town that's as unique as them.
Humans and paranormals living together and only a match strike away from a powderkeg explosion when people turn up brutally murdered. A bar owner personally tasks herself to save the day, her bar and the people she loves from an unknown evil stalking her town.
I loved this book. It is lively and fast-paced. Filled with all the brilliant creativity you can expect from this author.
I'd like to thank Luanne Bennett for the book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
#BloodlustBlues #SecondSkyBooks #LuanneBennettBooks #UrbanFantasy #SciFi&Fantasy #WitchBooks #VampireBooks #ShifterBooks #UrbanFantasyBooks #bookstagram

It's been a while since I last read an urban fantasy work, so I enjoyed getting back into the vibe of those tales with Bloodlust Blues. Charley was a compelling heroine and I liked the story premise. The action kept me entertained throughout and we got a good sense of the world of Crimson. However, I was sad there wasn't a little bit more of a romance element. It did appear nearer the end, though, so might be further developed in future installments in the series. I also found the ending a little rushed after all the build up. The only other 'negative' was that I struggled to take seriously a bad-guy vampire with the name of Ian, but this may simply be because it's my father's name, so it felt weird. Overall, though, it was enjoyable and I wouldn't mind reading future volumes in the series to find out what will happen to Charley next. I am giving this one four stars.

There were definitely things to like about Bloodlust Blues by Luanne Bennett: The town felt real to me in particular. I had a real sense of place in the various settings around town. But there was also a lot to not like: the first ~25% of the book feels slow and like we are just wandering around meeting characters without anything happening. The characters were inconsistent - a character being fiercely independent and competent one moment then making a plot-convenient phone call indecisively asking for help the next; another character being concerned about someone who is missing then seemingly deciding they flaked and being mad the next and back again. Plot wise, I knew who the antagonist was as soon as they came into the story and mysteriously the MC doesn't know so it just feels like she is running around doing irrelevant stuff while people in her life are being attacked and going missing. We are told she cares a lot about the co-op and I guess she is acting in accordance with that but we weren't shown why she would value it over her best friend's life and her missing coworker's life. The book really needed a strong developmental edit focused on the characters and why they make the choices they do - it could be good but isn't IMO at least this early copy format. I shouldn't be asking "but why?" in confusion every few pages.

This is the ideal representation of an urban fantasy book. This is the type of writing that made me fall in love with this genre and this book reinvigorated that love again! Luanne Bennett is a masterful storyteller who captures you with a solid world, an engaging plot, lovable characters, and the right rhythm to keep you turning the pages.

I've not read another book by her so I'm not sure if the world has been pre-established in other series but it did not feel that way. This felt like a new experience and as the first book, in a new series, the beginning took a moment to set the groundwork for what was to follow. And while I found it a little confusing for a moment, it soon all made sense and I could not and would not put the book down. Charley is a kick-ass female main character who is still coming into her own. On the human side of things she is doing great, has some close friends, owns a town favorite bar, and has a side gig helping the less fortunate. On the supernatural side she is still in the dark and trying to find her footing. I am absolutely here for the fact that she is still stumbling through and isn't immediately the greatest to ever be or will be, I like that she is still learning and not quite sure of herself.

I think one of my favorite things about the book is the potential love interest isn't truly a main character in this book. Charley and her friends are the more important focus of the book and while a potential love interest does show up it doesn't overshadow the other relationships in the book. It only adds to the story as a whole and I am absolutely here for it. Charley is a good balance of badass and needing help without any whiney side effects.

My biggest complaint is that this is the first book and I will now have to wait to see what happens next. I need more Sebastian in my life, please! This book pairs well with a good blanket, a snuggly kitty, and a cup of tea with a nip of something stronger in it to really put you in the world. Enjoy and Happy Reading!

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this title. This is a fast-paced engaging read. The characters are well written and the twists kept me on my toes. It's a great read with lots of action. This one was a real page-turner! I couldn't put it down.

Action packed with thriller vibes. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Charley was a badass, the villains were villainous, the story was an unrelenting, fast paced gem. Read in one sitting, couldn't put it down.

It’s been a little while since I’ve read a book by this author, but when I began this series starter, I remembered just how much I enjoyed her. Charlie is a great character, strong yet not perfect. She’s a great friend to the side characters who are great themselves. I love that she, for the most part, asks them for help. It’s when she doesn’t that things go south. I figured out the villain pretty quickly, but there was still a twist I didn’t see coming. I am in love with this universe, and I want to go back to it soon. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

An urban fantasy with vampire, werewolves and magic. Lot of twists, exciting plot. It's fast moving and lots of actions. Love the subtle romance. Terrific characters. A fun read.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc

Magical fun- witches, vampires, werewolves, just hangimg out while some seriously evil energies come to town. Shades of Needful Things as the mysterious, rich restaurant owner shows up and everything spirals. Secrets abound as strange things happen and strangers appear. The mystery just keeps going, as does the definite paranormal fun.

Big thank you to Second Sky publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of Bloodlust Blues by Luanne Bennett. When I saw "urban fantasy" and "perfect for fans of Patricia Briggs" I was all in for this one! I thought I had found most of the urban fantasy series out there, but I had not yet heard of Bennett and I'm really glad that now I know who she is. I really enjoyed Bennett's writing style and I'm excited to go back to some of her earlier series while the sequel to Bloodlust Blues is being written.

This is a really fun, fast-paced story. Charley is a bar owner in a small town filled with humans, witches, shifters and vampires. Her lifelong relationship with her town has helped her compassionately set-up a blood co-op to provide vampire blood to those suffering from illness and addiction. When a group of ill intentioned vampires arrive and demand a cut of her business, Charley's world tips on its head. But this is not the only threat to Charley or her town - a young girl is brutally attacked, people begin to go missing, an odd man opens a new restaurant across the street that seems to be a place where time moves differently, and a cat and its new vampire owner seem to appear whenever Charley needs help but never say long enough to have a conversation. Add that to weird adrenaline surges that seem to indicate Charley is a strong witch just like her mother, and you have an explosive introductory novel for a new series.

I have two reasons for knocking off one star on my review:
- A lot happens to Charley in this book, and the narrative is distinctly plot driven and fast paced. While this makes the story very entertaining, there were so many dangerous plot lines going and Charley was like "Well, better get back to work at the bar even though..." Like, if my best friend were barricaded in my house and filled with zombie blood I would have had trouble getting to work the next day, not to mention the 30 other things affecting her. I just would have liked more introspection from her part - especially around her mother, or the multitude of deaths she is involved in that seem to be a new experience for her.

- More minor, but at times there were a bit too many callbacks that seemed influenced by True Blood. The main one for me is that Charley owns the bar and is not a waitress, but she is asked "What are you?" on multiple occasions - I feel like I needed a bit of distance from those even though I like Charlaine Harris. Conversely, what I did like about this influence is that True Blood's first season/first book told a fantastic tale that paralleled the emergence of vampires to LGBT+ issues. Bennett has her hand on a different pulse of the emergency of vampires and the strength of their blood being used to fight the opioid crisis and the lacking US healthcare system.

This is my first book by this Author and based on this offering won't be my last .
If you love Paranormal Urban Fantasy then this book is a must read - I was engrossed from the first page to the last .

Charley Underwood runs the White Stag bar in Crimson , with an illegal side operation in back room of supplying vials of vampire blood to people who cannot afford medical care .
But her pool of vampire donors is dwindling , something is scaring them off and she has now come to the attention of a gang of rouge vampires who want a cut of the action ............ or else !!
You would think that was enough trouble for Charley but a new restaurant is opening across the street ..........
there is something about the owner that she just can't put her finger on . Is he legitimate ? why is he giving free fancy meals to most of the locals ? why are locals going missing ?
And just to cap it all her witch powers seem to be surfacing .............. help ! she's had no training !
Can Charley and her friends survive are will everything go to 'hell'

This was a fast paced , entertaining read , with characters that you can become invested in - I look forward to the next in the series
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own