Title: Bloodmark
Series: Bloodmark Saga #1
Author: Aurora Whittet
RATING: 5 STARS
Received for Review
Sixteen-year-old werewolf princess Ashling Boru is different from other wolves—she was able to shift to wolf form at birth. Rather than bringing pride to her family, it brings fear, and as a result, she is forced to live in seclusion in Ireland’s countryside. Ashling’s reputation is further blackened when she refuses her betrothed and defies the ancient laws. When her pack’s oldest rivals begin hunting her, she finds herself in the small town of York Harbor, Maine—far from everything she’s ever known.
In Maine, she crosses paths with the dark and rebellious Grey Donavan, and something ignites within her soul. There’s just one problem: Grey is human. Their instant connection turns into a passionate romance, and Ashling begins to believe she can create her own life outside of wolf laws. When she begins to uncover long-buried pack secrets—secrets that threaten to destroy all she holds dear—Ashling’s courage and tenacity are tested. Will she choose her deep and enduring love for Grey, or will she follow Old Mother’s path to her destiny?
In Maine, she crosses paths with the dark and rebellious Grey Donavan, and something ignites within her soul. There’s just one problem: Grey is human. Their instant connection turns into a passionate romance, and Ashling begins to believe she can create her own life outside of wolf laws. When she begins to uncover long-buried pack secrets—secrets that threaten to destroy all she holds dear—Ashling’s courage and tenacity are tested. Will she choose her deep and enduring love for Grey, or will she follow Old Mother’s path to her destiny?
~MY THOUGHTS~
I will start this review off by saying I completely enjoyed
this book. Hands down, one of the best paranormal books I’ve read in a while. I
used to be all about paranormal books: witches, vampires, shifters, all of
them. And that’s all I read. But then it got to be the same story, over and
over. So, I tried to stay away from that type of story. But for some reason, I
signed up for this review tour on a whim. I think subconsciously I knew I would
love it. And love it I did.
Ashling was a breath of fresh air as a main character for
me. Especially in these type of books. Usually the main character seems to have
it all together and knows what they are doing right away in terms of the
supernatural aspect of the world. But Ashling was real. She struggled to fit in
with her family, and had conflicting emotions about so much in the book. She
didn’t know what to do next, and that was nice. I hate reading books where the
main character just inherently KNOWS what to do. It gets old, because it is a
huge plot hole. The author really took the time with this book, and with the
characters of this story. Giving them weaknesses, as well as strengths. Letting
each character play differently on another in the book. I loved it.
I haven’t read a werewolf book like this before. It was such
a surprising twist that I was sucked into the story from the first few
chapters. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Ashling. And wanted to
know more about her father, and family as a whole.
The mystery/plot points of this book made it a fast paced
read. I was constantly in a state of need to know when reading this book.
Ashling has an enemy after her, and throughout the book I wanted to know why.
And how she was going to escape. And would he turn out to be good? Would they
fall in love instead of the character that is presented as the obvious love choice?
I love when authors are able to elicit these questions even while finding out
the answers. Each page answered something, but then caused me to ask three more
questions.
I would highly recommend this read to anyone who loves
paranormal who thinks they might be over the genre. I think this offers
something new to the genre, and is a wonderful read. I am looking forward to
getting to the next book soon.
Author's Bio:
Aurora Whittet started out as a wild red-haired girl in Minnesota dreaming up stories for her friends to read. Mama’s Knight: A Cancer Story of Love is just the latest in a string of acclaimed works. Her first official writing endeavor became The Bloodmark Saga, featuring a werewolf princess-turned-ruler who falls in love with a human boy. Her first novel in the Bloodmark Saga, Bloodmark, came out in 2013, followed by Bloodrealms in 2014 and the final book Bloodmoon in 2016.
