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Saturday, February 9, 2019

Blood Apprentice Review


Title:  Blood Apprentice
Series:  Elemental Legacy #2
Author:  Elizabeth Hunter
Publisher:  Recurve Press LLC
Release Date:  Feb. 12, 2019
Buy Link:  Amazon

My Rating:  4 Tension-Filled Hearts

*With many thanks to the author for an arc of this book.

Synopsis:
If you’re a human in a vampire’s world, nothing goes according to plan.

When a map to the mysterious fortune of notorious privateer Miguel Enríquez falls in the lap of Ben and Tenzin, only one of them is jumping at the opportunity. Tenzin can’t wait to search for a secret cache of gold. Ben, on the other hand, couldn’t be less excited.

All Ben knows about Puerto Rico is what he hears on the news and a few lingering memories of his human grandmother. Going back to his roots holds zero appeal for the carefully constructed man he’s become.

In the end, the lure of hidden gold can’t be denied.

Ben and Tenzin head to Puerto Rico where the immortal world is ruled by Los Tres, a trio of powerful vampires commanding the wind, the waves, and the mountains that make up this small island in the Caribbean.

To find Enríquez’s treasure, they’ll have to walk a fine line between flattery and secrecy. To leave the island might mean a bigger fight than either one of them foresaw.

Blood Apprentice is the second novel in the Elemental Legacy, a paranormal mystery series by Elizabeth Hunter, author of the Irin Chronicles.

Review:
A pirate's treasure map leads Ben and Tenzin to Puerto Rico - a land controlled by a trio of powerful vampires - Los Tres.  They'll need their permission to seek the treasure.  While Tenzin is thrilled to be on the trail of a fortune in gold, Ben is hesitant to revisit the country and people of his past.  The longer they stay, the more long buried memories surface, stirring a storm that continues brewing within Ben.  Again and again, he questions what he's doing with his life. Through a few alternating past/present scenes, readers see Ben as the boy he was before Gio stepped in and changed his life.  I enjoyed learning more about Ben and events in his past that helped form the man he has now become - one walking a fine, dangerous line between mortal and immortal worlds.   Tenzin is . . . Tenzin - a force of nature to be reckoned with, powerful, scary, and complex as she blows through lives while struggling with a bit of inner turmoil of her own.  Both characters seem to sense a showdown and time of decision coming, and neither are ready to face it.  As a result, it's an understatement to say tension is turned all the way up to HIGH in this book, fueling some scenes and potentially deadly situations that fans of the series will not want to miss!

As always, Elizabeth Hunter excels are setting a scene with her descriptive writing style and use of location playing into the plot line.  I enjoyed sensing the strength of each main character in their own right, even as each also displayed a sense of vulnerability and unsureness in their dance around one another heavily laden with emotions they continue to refuse to acknowledge.  The snarky banter between Ben and Tenzin adds needed relief from the frustration and tension sparking between them as they each battle internal turmoil while fighting external forces together.  Past characters as well as new ones round out a strong support cast even as hints of things to come tease readers.  I have to say that the cliffhanger ending frustrated this reader a little as I was left with feelings that the story stopped just short of completion, but that's just me.  I'm sure it served its purpose to leave readers begging for the next one.  Another Must Read in the series!


My Rating:  4 Tension-Filled, Frustrated Hearts . . . And that's the truth!


Cross My Heart . . . xxx
Sandra


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