Vampires, werewolves, demons, witches. What is there to NOT love? I enjoyed this so so much. The narrator was amazing. I loved Charley’s character! The narrators southern accent really sold it for me as well. Dog was such a great character, loved him!! Candy was AMAZING also. We love a stripper witch! I hope there’s more books to come!

Charley Underwood runs the White Stag bar in Crimson, Georgia. The town is small, but it's home to witches, a werewolf pack and vampires. Vampire blood is a hot commodity due to its ability to heal humans, so Charley has a profitable side venture selling it below street value to neighbors in a not-so-secret co-op. Various people are behaving in an odd manner and a New Yorker is opening a restaurant across the street from her bar. And if that wasn't bad enough, her usual vampire donor is out, leaving her to look elsewhere. It lands her right in the middle of a group of vampires hoping to take a substantial cut of her side business or kill her.

Billed as perfect for fans of Charlaine Harris, it certainly reminds me of the Sookie Stackhouse series. We have all the paranormal flavors of beings in this urban fantasy, as well as the illicit sales of vampire blood and the different species trying to live in something approaching harmony. There are signs of unrest, in that threatening letters are being left in mailboxes, vampires are harrassed by church going folk, and there's an entire underground that the local police aren't privy to. Charley has a network of friends of all kinds of folk, animals that show up and tend to hang around, and a tendency to speak before she thinks. On top of this, periods of adrenaline lead to telekinetic bursts of energy, so she might not be entirely human after all.

I enjoy Charley's voice, both in the word choices that the author uses as well as the Southern drawl that the narrator gives the audiobook. She deepens her voice for all the male characters, so they take on a generic sameness, but that doesn't detract from my enjoyment in the story. I started listening and the next thing I knew, hours went by. It's an engaging story, with Charley going from one disaster to the next, digging herself deeper into the underbelly of the supernatural world even when her shifter friends tell her to back off. She can't help it, as she takes it personally when friends are threatened or the townsfolk she cares for might be left without any affordable treatment for their woes. It's an understandable stance to take, even if it means she makes questionable decisions. The people that love her call her out on it, but she continues to try doing everything on her own.

As book one of a series, there are tantalizing hints of more secrets and possible answers that will no doubt come in future volumes. It's a fun start to an urban fantasy series, and will be a joy to follow if you like the supernatural creatures featured showing up in the everyday world.

Vampires, witches, wolves and strange demons...what more could a girl want. I always love a good vampire war and this promises to be the start of a good paranormal action series. Charley is a strong female lead, not prone to the typical immature drama and thoughts prevalent in most female characters. She runs her own business, doesn't take shit from anyone and doesn't back down from a fight. Samuel, the strange new vampire in town is still a mystery and I can't wait to get to know more about him. Sadly not much happened between them in this one but the chemistry sounds promising.

Special thanks to Bookouture Audio, Second Sky Books and Netgalley for providing me an advance copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Second Sky Books, and the author for allowing me access to this audible ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Let me start with.. I had high hopes. The cover was very enticing and on that alone I decided to request early access. Unfortunately, at 40% I stopped the audio and DNF. I never do this because when I commit to a book, I like to finish no matter what; however, I found myself saying “huh” more than I was intrigued.

There were a lot of moving pieces and then not enough background for my brain to be able to process and keep track of what was going on.

Honestly, I love the book idea of a young, powerful witch owning a bar passed down from generations in an urban town. I love a good human/supernatural mix in books and it’s even better if there’s a mystery involved, but this didn’t hit the mark for me.

The characters were.. not very likable and instead of a badass witch, the main character, Charley came off very uneducated. Again, I really wanted to love this book but and I’m so grateful for the ARC but this one is not for me.

I really enjoyed this audio. Interesting start to a series. Charlie is a great character along with Candy, Dog, Patrick and the rest. I’m really curious about Tucker. And Samuel seems to be…well I need more. I’m definitely invested!

This book reminded me of true blood I absolutely loved it! I definitely cannot wait until the second book comes out. I was hooked from the very first moment that I started reading. I finished with a day. I love that she had her own power that she was coming into, and that she was pro-equality with her peers. I loved the banter. I loved the type of forces that she was coming up against. I just loved everything!.I am looking forward to seeing how her love life grow in the second book.

3.5 Stars!

I loved Charley's voice, and the narrator has made this audiobook very enjoyable! I was hooked in after the first couple of chapters.

I was reading both the eBook and the audiobook and enjoyed the experience a lot. I just felt that all the conversations of the male characters had been spoken by the same person. So would have preferred a more distinct change between the different character's voices considering there were a lot of male characters in the book.

Otherwise, if you can look past that, the audiobook was amazing! Charley was badass and I loved the overall worldbuilding, plot and the characters. I have a feeling the series is only going to get better from here.

Will definitely read the next book when its released!

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was perfect! This was the first in a new series and I really hope there are many more to come. It reminded me of the Sookie Stackhouse books in writing style and characters. I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to read more!

This was such a fun audibook! The narrator was great voicing the different characters. The story was captivating and funny as well as the characters. Hope to listen to book 2 when it comes out!

If you’re looking for a Paranormal urban fantasy, you can’t go much wrong here. We have vampires, witches, werewolves and an undercurrent of demonic possessions.

Charlie our MC is also great character to get behind and she’s easily lovable. The owner of the Grey Stag, she rapidly finds herself embroiled in a mystery. People are going missing, usually ordinary citizens are lashing out and they have no memory of what they’ve done.. there’s something strange going on with the town and Charlie is invested to get into the bottom of it.

The town of Crimson is a great setting and I loved the overall vibe. The audiobook was great, easy narration and easy listening. I’m also a sucker for an American accent so it was velvet to the ears!

I really enjoyed the story and it was a great slip into after my long hiatus away from fantasy.

Urban Fantasy and supernatural book fans will enjoy Bloodlust Blues, the first book in a new series by Luanne Bennett! Bloodlust Blues is a fun, entertaining and over the top (in all the right ways) book full of interesting paranormal/supernatural characters. There is a lot of fun and menacing banter between them. I had a good time reading/listening to this book. I had both the kindle and audiobook versions of this book which made for an enjoyable reading experience. This book felt like a mash up of True Blood and Cheers! Humans, wolf, and vampire live together in the town of Crimson, Georgia. Make no mistake, Crimson is not Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, it's darker and more dangerous. This is the world they live in, and I was happy to visit Crimson as a silent observer watching as the you-know-what hit the fan.

The Stag is a bar owned by Charley who happens to be a witch. Charley's bar is welcome to everyone including humans, vampires, wolves. It's popular, welcoming and has a back room where sales are made. Things take a turn when a new restaurant in town and a new vampire group/empire and their intentions are far from good.

As I mentioned, this book was fun, entertaining, and a nice change of pace from what I typically read. It also had just enough danger, tension, twists, and turns to keep me invested and wanting to know how things would end. I was rooting for Charley and her friends and booing and hissing the diabolical characters in this book.

This was my first book by Luanne Bennett, and I look forward to reading more of her books.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Second Sky Books, Bookouture Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Totally gripping! Engaging plot, captivating characters & great narration.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ALC.

Bloodlust Blues - written by Luanne Bennett and narrated by Stephanie Cannon is a fantasic urban fantasy about a small town called Crimson in Georgia. More specifically, about a bar called "The Stag" owned and run by a half witch/ half human called Charley who inherited the bar when her mother passed away in mysterious circumstances.

The bar is a hub for the town and runs an illicit trade in vampire blood at a discount price, enabling people of the town to purchase it by pre-booking. The blood undercuts big pharma by being effective against a multitude of illnesses and the heat is rising on the supply chain

" A place where you could have your burgr cooked by a werewolf and your drink poured by a witch"

The characters are diverse and vividly defined, the storyline is strong and fast-paced. The unlikely residential choices of humans and paranormals living together has a tenuous grip on tolerance that can slip at any time, and oh my crikey, when it blows up, it blows up, over and beyond!

I could listen to Stephanie Cannon narrate audiobooks all day. Cannon is incredibly talented and clearly enjoyed the book itself and this is shown by her stellar performance

Luanne Bennett is a fantastic author and I look forward to reading more

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture Audio, Second Sky Books and the author Luanne Bennett and narrator Stephanie Cannon for this great ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

This is the start of a new urban fantasy series from author Luanne Bennett. The series is set in Crimson, Georgia, where witches, vampires, and shifters live among the human population. There is quite a bit of animosity toward the supernatural population in this town, as well as the country. It doesn't help that citizens of the town are acting oddly and disappearing. It is up to our heroine, Charlotte "Charley" Underwood to help solve the mystery.

The characters in this story are well-developed and likeable. Even the wolf shifters in this book aren't the alpha-holes that appear in other series, which is a breath of fresh air. I also think the world building was handled very well and blended nicely within the plot development. I'm really looking forward to the next books in this series.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.