My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Title: Born of Blood and Flames (Gravestone Book, #1)
Author: Amber Darwin
Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)
Pages: 268
Publication Date: 8/9/21
Publisher:
Categories: Paranormal, Dark Fantasy, Romance
“The Darkness found me, and when I awoke, I became the most gifted Blood Witch my generation has ever known.
I am a weapon.
I am hunted.
I am everything they fear.
My name is Vivi Graves, and my story was never a fairytale.”
Life hasn’t been simple for the city of Thornfall’s best Blood Witch turned bartender. Shunned by most other witches, abused by The Academy of Elders, her love life is a dumpster fire, and even her sassy familiar doesn’t listen to a word she says. But at least she’s escaped the clutches of her corrupted mentors. Or has she?
When a terrifyingly sexy man shows up at her workplace, all shadows and temptation, her current reality starts to unravel. There’s no denying that he’s dangerous for her health, her heart isn’t safe either. But as their fates intertwine, buried secrets expose themselves and the past comes back to punish them both.
Is blood thicker than water?
Does love conquer all?
And in the depths of hell, can Vivi survive the flames?
There’s only one way to find out…
** Born of Blood and Flames is a medium burn, enemies to lovers, dark fantasy, adult paranormal romance.
Where do I start? I picked this up because the synopsis mentioned witches and a sexy man plus it’s Fall and fall reading is a time for witchy and sexy books!
I love Vivi Graves – she’s a Blood Witch, she swears, she’s snarky and sassy, and she can fight. Vivi is also a bit broken inside. Her childhood was messed up and seems like her school years were pure torture. The Academy of Elders need her for something but she doesn’t want to give them the time of day. But then someone tall, dark and handsome strolls into town and everything between them is lust at first sight and she doesn’t know why – who is he and what does he want? In this book we find out Vivi is more than just a badass Blood Witch and Seer.
First off, the world building is great and detailed. I didn’t know what to expect but we get a detailed account of Thornfall and some info about Underhill Academy where Vivi went to school to learn about her powers. She had a miserable time at the Academy and harbors bad feelings about the place and people. Also we get to travel to the Netherworld where Killian (tall, dark and handsome) is from. The Netherworld is the underworld where Kilian rules but he has his own problems to deal with and we find out more about what those issues are when Vivi is there. I liked learning about Thornfall and the Netherworld and all the types of beings living in both worlds.
The characters really make this book amazing because Vivi is snarky, sassy and broken but she has a best friend, Marlow who is fantastic. She’s funny, level-headed and says the most inappropriate things! Linc rounds out the three of them, he’s a shapeshifter who is in love with Vivi, so it complicates things between them but I really hope they can be friends again. I can’t forget about Calypso, Vivi’s cat and familiar, when no one is around it’s just Vivi and Lippy. And in Killian’s world we have his badass half-siblings, a wild siren named Anise, a dragon shifter named Jagger (love him!), and the gorgon twins, Bane and Dante! They also have a volcano dog named Grim! It’s a fun cast and crew.
Now the romance between Vivi and Killian is full of angst. The attraction happens instantly and it’s hot. There is a push and pull between them, she doesn’t like when he’s being an alpha-hole but she can’t stay away from him either. At least Vivi knows herself and knows she’s always falling for the bad boys – poor girl, I feel her pain. Haha! I do like that when we are in The Netherworld, we get to know more about Killian and his motivations. He is the alpha, he is the heir but Killian loves his mama, his siblings and his people so I look forward to learning more about him in book two!
The ending is awesome – what a way for Vivi to access her powers!
Content Warnings: parental abuse, violence, death
We are in Vivi’s thoughts a lot and for me it got a bit too much in the beginning because it felt like info dumping and emotional dumping. I love that she is someone who expresses herself fully, whether it be happiness with her friend Marlow, confusion with Linc, lust with Killian and rage at Lilia. it’s what makes her amazing, but I think in the beginning as we get to know her background it was just us with Vivi trying to sort her feelings about a lot of things. Once the action starts happening this is a quick read.
The ending was an emotional roller coaster, I was raging and heartbroken with Vivi – I loved it and makes me eager for book two.
The author even puts a note before the story begins of content warnings. Read it! I love that she puts a warning.
Why you should read it:
- the romance – it’s hot, sexy and angsty and about to get worse before they can be together
- Vivi, Killian and all the other characters make this a fun story
- good story about Vivi’s secret past and family
- the Netherworld is dark, dangerous and magical
Why you might not want to read it:
- Vivi curses, so if you don’t like dirty language, this is not for you
- Killian is referred to Vivi as an alpha-hole, but honestly…I’ve read worst, I thought he was a pretty nice guy! lol
- death of an animal
My Thoughts:
I’m so glad I downloaded this book. I’m a fan! It’s a quick read full of heat, magic, danger, friendship, secrets, love, rage, destruction, grief, and angst. It’s got a little bit of everything. The ending was unexpected, heartbreaking and so many things need to be resolved. I need book two asap.
📚~ Yolanda
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