BETWEEN BLOODE AND STONE (Between the Shadows 1) by Marie Harte

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 19, 2021

Cursed long ago to check their growing power, vampires can only coexist in small groups. Yet despite their many conflicts, those Of the Bloode possess similar traits. All vampires, no matter where they came from, are male. They can go unnoticed by humans unless they wish otherwise, and they can’t survive sunlight.

Mormo, servant of the goddess Hecate, has created a small, new bloode clan at her behest. The six vampires he commands are rough, ill-disciplined, and mean, and they fail to follow orders on a daily basis. But they’re needed. Something big and bad is coming. Hecate, goddess of death, magic, and gateways, has a duty to guard the borders of the mortal world. She knows that without a strong force to contain the threat, chaos will come, destroying everything in its wake.

Hecate’s secret weapons are those Of the Bloode—vampires. Though they refuse to worship anything but themselves, she loves their wild ways. In order to battle gods and monsters and survive, they’ll need ferocity, inner strength, and something to fight for. Because there is nothing so dangerous as a predator who loves, and those Of the Bloode protect what’s theirs at all costs, in undeath and beyond.

And Varujan of the Night Bloode has just found the one female he can’t do without

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REVIEW:  BETWEEN BLOODE AND STONE is the first instalment in Marie Harte’s contemporary, adult BETWEEN THE SHADOWS paranormal/fantasy romance series. This is vampire Varujan (Varu) of the Crimson Veil, and dusk elf/fae Faraine ‘Fara’ de Cloche Jherag’s story line.

Told from several third person perspectives including Fara and Varu, BETWEEN BLOODE AND STONE follows Faraine ‘Fara’ de Cloche Jherag as she is tasked with retrieving the remaining Bloode Stone, a stone thought to bring the ‘owner’ immense power but her brother Onvyr’s recent activity has stirred the ire of a local vampire clan, and placed a target on the sibling duo. Enter vampire Varujan of the Crimson Veil, and the vampire with whom Fara will fall in love. What ensues is the fated relationship between Fara and Varu, and the potential fall-out as a powerful vampire sire demands the return of Fara and Onvyr, and the Bloode Stone known to be in their possession.

Varujan is a direct descendant of the Primus, the original vampire, and as such is more powerful than most. The Bloode Stones, thought to be the tears of the Primus, call to the direct descendants, and the remaining Stone is calling to our story line hero but Fara needs to protect her brother from the wrath of a vampire master, and in this, our heroine finds herself battling between head and heart, between brother and mate, when the final battle ensues. Fara is the current holder of the final Bloode Stone, but its’ rightful owner is but a heartbeat away.

The relationship between Fara and Varu is an enemies to lovers in which Fara is determined to protect her brother but in doing so is pulled towards the aura of our story line hero. Varu believes vampires do not fall in love, and in this, believes his desire to mate is based on need and lust. The $ex scenes are intimate and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting character including Varu’s housemates and fellow vampires: Khent, Rolf, Kraft, Orion, and Duncan, as well as magician Mormo, housekeeper Bella, and Fara’s brother and dark elf Onvyr. The requisite evil has a familiar face.

BETWEEN BLOODE AND STONE is a complicated, complex and detailed story line that introduces the players, the history, and the background of the history of vampires, and their fight for power and control. Marie Harte pulls together several supernatural entities including vampires, fae, elves, lycan, gods, goddesses, magir and elementals, and the reveal of ten tribes of vampires all descended from the vampire Primus. Some of the story line bears a striking familiarity and resemblance to other popular vampire / shifter series, and in this, I kept waiting for the appearance of certain characters 😉 . The fast paced premise is entertaining and captivating; the romance is fated and seductive; the characters are fun, powerful, energetic and charismatic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy