Download PDF Blood Deep Blackthorn Volume 4 Lindsay J Pryor 9781909490703 Books

Product details Series Blackthorn Paperback 430 pages Publisher Bookouture; 1 edition (October 24, 2014) Language English ISBN-10 1909490709

Blood Deep Blackthorn Volume 4 Lindsay J Pryor 9781909490703 Books Reviews

• it is impossible that a series can get so much better with each new book without taking away from the previous books but this one does! If that sounds confusing to anyone reading this review then please read on as I would love to have you understand.
  
  Sometimes in a series, or even in stand alone books by the same author we compare. It is only natural. However with this series and this author the lines blur in our thinking and in what is happening in the series, and it is hard to make that distinction as each book is so powerful but different. It is not that each book is better but rather each book escalates in reader connection as the whole story begins to come together, and our couples stand out even more as their part of the puzzle suddenly makes sense. Eden and Jessie bring this to a head.
  
  Eden is a drug you can become easily addicted to. Of all our heroes he is the most normal and yet his strength, his ability to do what has to be done, his love for family and the way he succumbs to Jessie because he sees who she is has us drooling. In turn Jessie is just as captivating a character and more likeable than the previous women have been, and that is not an easy feat at all. Despite her third species origin and power it is her 'humanity' that wins us and Eden over, and it is their growing love for each other that strikes deep into our hearts. They want a better world for each other and for the world itself just like the previous couples do although at the time they may not be aware of it. It is in allowing themselves to be vulnerable to someone else that brings this into existence.
  
  if all of this was enough to keep us glued to the page the unfolding events are so dramatic, so horrifying as they expose greed and extraordinary selfishness and brutality, and so precarious that we can only hope the next book is close. The ability to write is what has us believing in creatures that we shouldn't believe in, the ability to world-build has us enthralled hook, line and sinker, and the steaminess of lust mingled with love has us squirming much like our heroines in reaction to the incredible men they have attracted.
  
  I could say I can't wait for the next book but the truth is I can. If it is as good as the previous books then it will be worth the wait. If you think you may doubt this then read the little teaser at the end of this novel and you will retract those thoughts immediately.
• The Blackthorn novels are my favorite Paranormal Romance series.
  
  Period.
  
  I think it's because they straddle the line between genres so well. They're predominately romance with lots and lots of sex but don't sacrifice plot, drama, or world-building. The world is well-developed, divided on cultural as well as species lines with a heavy-emphasis on social ills. The character arcs are nicely done too, each lead showing genuine growth by the end of the novel.
  
  The books have a signature style too. A pair of lovers meet, initially antagonistic, only to grow closer as they struggle against one another. This is always in the decaying urban hellhole of Blackthorn, a ghetto where the supernatural is segregated away from quote-unquote "polite" (read human) society. Each couple is somehow tied to the Vampire Prophecy, which predicts the rise of a leader who will overthrow the human-run establishment to set up a more egalitarian society.
  
  Blood Deep is the fourth novel in the series, introducing our fourth and final pair of star-crossed lovers. Jessie and Eden are a human male and supernatural woman caught up in covert operation gone horribly wrong. Eden, the man, has been sent to infiltrate crime boss Pummel's twisted "Circus" in order to extract Jessie for his employers.
  
  Eden has been promised medical treatment for his niece if he can extract Jessie in three days. Jessie is a member of an unknown Third Species (non-humans like vampires or werewolves) with the power to heal. She is mystically enslaved by Pummel and if she tries to turn against him, she'll die.
  
  Eden, of course, falls in love with Jessie but can he deliver her from one slave master to another?
  
  Read and find out!
  
  Interestingly, I find Eden and Jessie to be the healthiest relationship of the four series couples despite the fact she's a slave and he's an undercover cop pretending to be a convicted murderer. Previous romances in the series have involved a lot of emotional blackmail and even attempts to kill one another.
  
  Here, Eden wants to help Jessie but he's caught in a situation where he can't blow his cover. Jessie would dearly love to trust Eden but she's a woman who has been seeing nothing but the worst of humanity in Blackthorn since its creation. Trusting a man who appears to be a hardened felon (and who isn't that far from one in reality) is a risk she isn't willing to take.
  
  At least, initially.
  
  What I really liked was the Noir elements and how they were taken to new heights this volume. We get a real sense of the injustice of Blackthorn's world and the segregation of species. The Circus isn't that far from John Carpenter's Escape from New York, a place where criminals are dumped to live out lawless lives where the strong feed on the weak. The immense poverty in Lowtown and surrounding districts also highlight the troubles of Blackthorn aren't as isolated as initial books implied.
  
  We also get some development of the Vampire Prophecy plot and how the major powers are dealing with it. I admit, I wasn't too keen on the metaphysical results of our heroes "defying destiny" implied by this book and hope there's an explanation as to who (exactly) is so offended by it. I am, however, glad to see fictional power brokers dealing with prophecies in a proactive way. Which side is more evil is up in the air and I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that Jessie is premature in her belief humans are worse.
  
  I like the characters of Jessie and Eden, both of them appealing to me for various reasons. Jessie's Third species race turned out to be a genuine surprise and yet made perfect sense with all of the clues dropped earlier. While, "I did it all for a sick relative" may sound somewhat contrived, you can tell Eden is a ruthless man at heart. Jessie is hard in her own way, cleverly manipulating Pummel to avoid the worst of his abuses while plotting to figure out her next move. Jessie could easily kill Pummel, in all likelihood, but where would she go instead? As events reveal, there's nowhere safe in Blackthorn's world.
  
  I liked the supporting cast, too, which is surprising given the majority of them are unrepentant psychopaths. Everyone from Mya to Chemist to Tatum is one sort of scumbag or another but they're all likeable scumbags. I wouldn't mind seeing the survivors come back in future books as allies of convenience. It takes skill to make likable protagonists but it takes an artist to make bad guys you enjoy reading about.
  
  I really liked this book, arguably as much as any other in the series if not more so. This is one of those rare series I think which may get better the further you get into it like the Dresden Files. The fact the main plot finally getting off the ground is good too. I'm eager to see how the Vampire Prophecy ends and hope we'll see a conclusion in the next couple of books. Despite this, I'd still be happy to read more in the world.
• When I picked up the first Blackthorn book I was interested. I hadn't read a good paranormal in a while. I'd been read contemporary feel in I'd run out of what I considered excellent paranormal novels or series. I demand a certain level in all the books I read, including paranormal. A good storyline - check. A world creation I can understand and follow but which is different - check. Bold characters; even flawed - check. Suspense or an ending I can't guess; hard on an author since I also write and even my ex-husband used to complain because I would guess the ending of shows and movies. He began to tell me, "Just keep it to yourself" Anyway double check. And possibly the hardest of all since there are a lot of good books out there, and I still read them, but they lack the depth the feeling aspect. Those books that make you feel them deep in your heart and gut. Those books you will re-read just to feel that again - 1,000th check.
  Excellent job Lindsay!!!! Wonderful book to an already awe inspiring series.
  These four books have taken me on a journey that's been fraught with danger, intrigue, flawed and glorious heroes, and a depth--a deep well of feeling that never runs dry.
  The characters in the book made you want to cry and in the next breath cheer for them. They were so real.
  I waited what was only about a month or so for "Blood Deep" to come out by the time I discovered the Blackthorn series and world and it was still too long.
  I have a couple of questions for Lindsay before I have to run so I can read the four I have of the series again. When is the next in the series out?? Can I preorder it so I get it as soon as released? This is burning in my mind... Seriously read these books. If you are a paranormal junkie or you just love books that make you feel this series is for you!