Early Review: Bound by Blood by Amanda Ashley (Bound #2)

Bound by Blood (Bound #2)
Amanda Ashley
Published: Sept. 27, 2011 (Zebra)
Purchase at: Book Depository, B&N or Amazon

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

I jumped ahead in my to-read pile the other night, in need of the kind of distraction one can only get from a good paranormal romance. I plucked out Amanda Ashley’s Bound by Blood (because with that cover wouldn’t you?). It wasn’t what I expected, but totally did the job. Bound by Blood‘s hero Zack will sweep you away. Between his falling for Kaitlyn and a murderous subplot, I ended up staying up late to finish this one. (Two single-sitting reads in one week!)

Kaitlyn is the half-human, half-vampire daughter of the leader of the Carpathian coven. (They’re the big powerhouse in the Bound series.) She’s been raised on the belief that the other kind of vampires — those who are made, not born — are vicious things to be killed on site. Getting a little space from the parents, she moves into a home in the California mountains. Just up the road from Zack’s casino.

Vampire Zack has found a way to make a living and keep a fairly quiet life. He runs a casino and has his choice of the ladies — and, oh, does he like the ladies. But he hasn’t connected with a woman in ages. Instead he sips a bit of blood, gets his kicks and moves on. Until he meets Kaitlyn. He takes things slow with her, happy just to take her dancing.

Unfortunately, Zack was turned vampire, and when Kaitlyn finds out, things get complicated. Add in some political machinations, assassination plots, a bit of kidnapping and one very over-protective dad and Bound by Blood becomes a whirlwind of romance and mystery.

The big surprise for me here was the lack of sex. It’s not a problem. It works beautifully in the story, and the interactions between Zach and Kaitlyn will still leave you breathless. If you’re expecting the detailed love scenes you might find from Gena Showalter or J.R. Ward, look elsewhere. This is romance at its very core, and I relished in it.

Sexual content: Kissing, non-graphic sex scene