Blood of the Gods – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Blood of the Gods (Cloak of the Vampire, #2)

Author: Sapir A. Englard

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 315

Publication Date: 11/19/24

Categories: New Adult, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal

From the creator of the Millennium Wolves series comes the heart-stopping sequel to Cloak of the Vampire, the epic romantasy set in a brutal world of bloodthirsty and power-hungry vampires.

Aileen Henderson didn’t choose to die. That choice was stolen from her, brutally, at the hands—and lips—of a monster. With a singular kiss, Lord Ragnor Rayne condemned the twenty-one-year-old to an eternity she never wanted. And a future she refuses to accept.

Despite the fury now coursing through her veins, Aileen fights the pull of attraction to Ragnor, a need with a will of its own. But now, she’s determined to make her way without the vampire lord’s help.

Carving out her new existence, Aileen finds allies, even family, among the ruthless and competitive vampire leagues. But untold dangers abound, and soon, Aileen encounters new and more evil monsters.

When ancient, all-powerful gods dredge up nightmares from her past, Aileen discovers she has an important role to play in this world. And if she can learn to control her powers and her desires, she may find a way to survive both her enemies and Ragnor Rayne.

Content Warning: violence, death, mentions of rape and child abuse

This story takes on a turn from vampire lore to the Morrow Gods and Children of Kahil which is something mentioned in book one in connection to Aileen’s background. But that’s not the only part of the world-building opening up. We learn more about the Jinn and I believe the seraphim (angels) are mentioned as well but I think that will be explored more in book three.

As far as the story goes – Aileen goes to a new league and at first she seems like it’s an okay place to be, except she finds her new lord, Atalon, is not as benevolent as he seems. We do get more information of Aileen’s upbringing and it is dark. Makes me sad and angry for her child-self that she was exposed to such depravity by her father.

The romance between Aileen and Ragnor hits a rough spot because he’s let her go to Atalon but wants her back. She wants to make Ragnor pay but she can’t resist him so it’s predictable and I wasn’t really invested in their romance during this story. I was much more interested in the new characters being introduced and the world-building opening up. The spice is there again but I don’t know, I just don’t connect to their relationship. But Ragnor being a vampire and Aileen being who she is seems like it’s going to be complicated for them to be together.

Final Thoughts:

I did like how the world opened up but I didn’t feel invested anymore in Aileen and Ragnor’s romance. I think I can figure out what will happen from here at least with their romance. I am curious to see what happens with the world-building in book three but I’m not sure I’m eager to read it. It might be one of those books I’ll wait to read and pick up if I don’t have anything else to read.