A little too much posturing in this one, reading about men glaring and huffing and growling and stuff gets old really really fast. Most of the story going on behind all the silly macho crap was a decent story, should've been given more room to breathe. ( )

A nice light take on necromancers. ( )

The hero can never be accused of diplomacy. Brash, reckless and with the habit of sticking his foot in his mouth every opportunity he gets, he's the bane of his fellows. But no one can deny just how great a cop he is. His job and his dedication is it what caused the end of his first marriage but he can honestly say that the ex wife never came close to making him feel the things the heroine does. As a necromancer, someone who speaks to the dead, the heroine is quite used to being an outcast. He people are looked upon with fear, distrust and more than a little open disgust. Considered to be freaks-mutants. But regardless of how unwelcome she in the human world, the fact of the matter is she possesses a very valuable tool. As she has the ability to
touch a dead body and see how the victim died, is obviously a handy trick to a homicide detective. But that's not the only reason the hero wants her. He's never been a patient man and when he wants something he won't stop until he gets it. And he's wanted her for a long time. So when she's brought into a case where a necromancer has actually succeeded in raising the dead, he's quick to make his feelings Know. Giving credit to the heroine, she's just as open to her desire for the arrogant cop. Though she is a bit more tentative to bring the burden of her 'freak' status into the relationship. And though the hero isn't judgment of her or her abilities, he is careless with his words. But he's held a secret inside for so long that he's terrified to let it be known. That he's a witch as well. Together they are drown into the chase to stop the evil from raising an army of sentinel warriors to destroy her safe haven of Valhalla. I was super excited to read this book because I felt it was long overdue for this author to put out a new series as the vampire series previously was growing stale. And boy did this deliver. I thought this was imaginative and exciting and heartwarming all put into a fantastic package. The hero, though honest in his ability to be a giant asshole, was right when he states his gruffness is charming. He charmed the pants off of me because there wasn't a dishonest bone in his body. 100% you'll get the truth from him and he never bullshits you. I loved the heroine because she was just as honest. She didn't play games and when she wanted him, she went for it. But I loved her more for her innocence. She worries about him and how his world will be drastically changed if he accepts a freak into his life. But they're relationship was real and open and showed that little differences really don't matter in the larger scheme of things. So happy with this book and cant wait for the next! ( )

Born in Blood is the first book in The Sentinels series by Alexandra Ivy, and it is a good solid start to this new series. It follows Duncan, a tough homicide detective working a new case, and Callie, a talented necromancer who's been brought in to find out the victim's last thoughts. Duncan and Callie have worked together before, so there is already an abundance of sexual tension from the beginning but this case just ends up speeding things along for the two of them.

Duncan and Callie have a lot to work through in this book because although normal humans know how different high-bloods are, high-bloods all have different supernatural powers, and they're willing to use them for their powers they are still a long way from accepting them as equals in society. Most people call the high-bloods freaks, so the main characters have a lot of prejudice against them from the get go. Combine that with a mad man killing people and trying to raise the dead and they are definitely up against some major adversity.

Born in Blood had an awesome plot and some hot chemistry between the two main characters. The world building was unique and I am excited to read more because there could be so many different kinds of supernaturals in further books, so it has some awesome potential. Overall it was a very entertaining read that was very well written, one that didn't slow down from beginning to end, and I will be waiting for the next Sentinels book to come out.

Review originally posted on Book Liaison

***Review Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*** ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Duncan and Callie are in a fight for their lives and the fate of all mankind whether it be high-blood or human. They must work together to stop a horrible necromancer from raising the dead and ruining the newly awakened feelings they share for each other.

Opening Sentence: Valhalla had always been shrouded in mystery.

The Review:

I loved this book. At first I wasn’t sure if I would or not but it was really good. It was nice seeing the story through both Callie, a high-bloods’, point of view and also from Duncan’s point of view, who is “human”. Through their shared narrative we got to see the prejudices on both sides of the Dome known as Valhalla where the high-bloods live. For those who have never read any of Alexandra Ivy’s Sentinel series, high-bloods are those people who posses super abilities, such as being a witch or a psychic. The part I liked about this book was that there were no werewolves or vampires. Instead the author kept it to just abilities that a regular human could possibly have if we used more of our brains. This was different from most supernatural stories.

Callie and Duncan’s story was wonderful but it did not take away from the murder case they were trying to solve. Callie, a high-blood, is called in whenever someone is killed in a manner that is thought to be done supernaturally. She is called in because she is a necromancer or diviner depending on which side of the dome you asked. As such this means that after a person dies she can go into their last moments and see how they died and any other info that may be important. despite prejudice against high-bloods she is still willing to help solve crimes among the humans. Callie is so tough, sweet, and innocent in many ways. Then we have Duncan O’Connor. He is a sergeant in the Kansas City police department and has had feelings for Callie for a long time, but she never seemed to like him back. He is the bad boy type even though he is a cop. When we are first introduced to him he is headed to the scene of the crime completely drunk. Also when it comes to Callie he is like a barbarian who wants his woman and will hurt anyone who hurts her. I loved to watch as their romance grows. Unfortunately the necromancer who has killed our murder victim wants Callie as part of his evil plan.

I was so interested in this story and did not want to put it down. I couldn’t wait until the end to see if Duncan and Callie stayed together even though they were from different worlds. I also wanted to see whether the bad guy succeeded or if they could stop him in time. This was a wonderful book and I recommend it to those who like supernatural but would like to try something different than vampires and werewolves.

Notable Scene:

“Who found the Body?”

“A silent alarm was tripped.”

“Cause of death?”

“She’s missing her heart.”

FTC Advisory: Zebra/Kensington provided me with a copy of Born in Blood. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )