Bonded by Blood (Mills & Boon Nocturne) [Kindle Edition]

Vampire Dominic Serrano has been shot while on his latest mission to retrieve information from the evil Darkbloods. While hiding in a cemetery until nightfall, he is found by a beautiful woman who's blood type is very rare and addicting. Dominic is able to take some of her blood without killing her but a bond is formed that goes beyond anything he has ever felt.

Artist and movie location scout Mackenzie Foster-Shaw has lost many family members. All of which have gone missing at a young age and no one knows why. She has convinced herself she doesn't have a future because she believes this will happen to her as well. That's until she meets Dominic and learns that vampires exist and there are those who kill to get her sweet and addictive blood. When the leader of the Darkbloods sets his sights on Mackenzie, Dominic will have to choose between getting revenge on the man who murdered his family or save the woman he loves.

I liked Dominic and Mackenzie but I didn't love them. Dom is your typical alpha male out for revenge and doesn't have room in his life for love. Even though I've read characters like him plenty of times before, I still couldn't help but like him. Mackenzie gave up going to college in order to work to pay for her younger brother to go and has a mother with Alzheimer's. I admired how dedicated she was to her family but I just couldn't connect with her character. There were some hot moments between Dom and Mackenzie but outside of the bedroom their relationship really didn't wow me.

The vampires in Bonded by Blood have their own uniqueness to them that I enjoyed. They can eat food and and don't need to take blood every day. They also absorb people's energy and this is all without killing their human host. But there are those who see humans as cattle and take energy and blood not caring they died. These vampires are the Darkbloods and the Agency, organization that Dominic is a part of, is trying to stop them. What the Darkbloods want most is sangre dulce or sweetblood. Humans with this special blood type are rare and once a Darkblood finds them, they are never seen again. This part of the story really pulled me in and I think they the Darkbloods make great villains.

Bonded by Blood started out exciting with Mackenzie in a cemetery and Dom holding back the urge to drink every last drop of her blood but then things slow down. They didn't really pick back up till almost the end when Dom has a confrontation with the leader of the Darkbloods and his own brother Alfonso who betrayed him and his family. The next book in the series will feature Alfonso and the mouthy Agency agent Lily. I want to learn more about Alfonso and why he did what he did so I look forward to reading Embraced by Blood.

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

If TWILIGHT was written for girls, BONDED BY BLOOD is written for women. Both share a similar story concept: a specific human with blood that sings with its sweetness to vampires. Mackenzie is a Sweetblood. A rare human whose blood is like heroin to a desperate junkie. In fact, Sweetblood is sold in dark alleys and trafficked like drugs in vampire society. I liked Mackenzie's live for the moment, cherish everyday because it could be your last mentality, but I found her unwarranted initial shrewness towards Dom to be grating and a little Romance genre cliché. Her complete mood swing the other way was also a bit abrupt and a tad Stepford-ish.

While I had a few minor issues with Mackenzie, Dominic was the man. He's a Guardian (basically a vampire cop) who protects humans by tracking Darkbloods, vampires who act outside the law. I loved that Dom wasn't over the top alpha initially. He is all man, but he has doubts and fears and doesn't always make the right call. He's plagued by guilt and truly terrified that he'll lose control and kill Mackenzie. I think that dichotomy is what makes a vampire love interest so compelling for me, the constant struggle between control and desire.

The chase between these two was as hot as you'd want it to be. Mackenzie is attracted to Dom, drawn to his chivalry, but leery of the mood swings she can't help but notice. He's trying to conceal his obsession after one impulsive taste but determined to keep his distance, struggling with control every second he's with her, all the while protecting her from a threat he's responsible for exposing her to. See what I mean about the TWILIGHT parallels?

BONDED BY BLOOD has deadly hot vampires, a centuries old battle between good and evil, and the constant battle between control and desire. Paranormal romance fans will love this new series, and like me, eagerly await the next Sweetblood installment, EMBRACED BY BLOOD, in July 2011. I'm already trying to imagine a cover that can top this one.

Sexual Content: Several moderately graphic sex scenes

There are two kind of vampires in the world: those who accept the new ways and those who wish to bring back the ways of old. The Darkbloods are vampires who believe human lives and blood are theirs for the taking. Especially those known as "sweetbloods." Humans with that special quality in their blood are especially sought after, so much so that Darkbloods sell vials of the stuff on the street like it's a drug.

Dominic is one of the vampires who embraces a life lived side by side with humanity. He rarely partakes in human blood and when he does --it's never to kill. He works for a group known as the Agency. They are vampires who police the rest of their kind and fight the Darkbloods.

It's just after he is gravely injured, that Mac stumbles across Dom's path. She is a sweetblood --and though he tries to resist her, the pull is too strong and he takes her blood. He takes so much, in fact, that he must give her some of his own to save her life. The exchange activates a blood bond between the two, a rare and binding tie, which allows them to sense each others emotions and even share thoughts.

The story was easy to get into. The world-building easy to follow. And perhaps most importantly, the building sexual tension between the two main characters was played to perfection. However, there was a bit of predictability as the story arc played out. I think some of the foreshadowing was a little heavy handed and I would have liked to be surprised a little more. Also, I found some of the scenes cut off a bit more abruptly than I'd like --and we'd see days or weeks gone as we went into another scene without seeing immediate repurcussions of what happened immediately before.

All that being said, I did enjoy it. It was an easy read, not too complex, with some hot sex. Almost 4 stars.