Review: Blood Wolf Dawning by Rhyannon Byrd (Bloodrunners #7)

Blood Wolf Dawning (Bloodrunners #7)
Rhyannon Byrd
Published: Jan. 1, 2015 (Harlequin)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: provided by publisher or author in exchange for and honest review

Reviewed by: Jannelle

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Sayre and Cian are life mates and have been separated for more than five years after their last fallout (and after Cian decided to leave her and the rest of his life behind). After all this time, Sayre has decided to move on with her life, having to segregate herself from the rest of the Bloodrunners—and their mates—in order to survive as her witch powers have grown uncontrollable and dangerous to those in their community. Assuming that Cian will most likely never return to claim Sayre as his—though all the while slightly hoping he will, and still extremely upset that he left—Sayre is shocked to find Cian walking up to her house, announcing danger close by.

Forced to work together to defeat Cian’s long-lost secret (and mortal enemy), Sayre and Cian struggle to work together to help keep each other alive and maintain the safety net surrounding the Bloodrunners home. Meanwhile fighting and delightfully succumbing to their innate desire to sleep with each other.

I loved the inner turmoil brewing within both Sayre and Cian. Think about it: They have been pining for each other for the last five years, denying their instinctual urges to be together. By the time they are reunited it is both sweet and awkward as they have reason to both want and not want to be with the other. When they first discovered they were each other’s life mates, Sayre was young, headstrong and stubborn, while Cian was seemingly ignorant and self-absorbed, fighting the bond. As soon as we jump forward five years later, it is interesting to see how much both characters have changed and yet remain unchanged by time and how they continue to develop—both together and individually—throughout the novel. It is also clearly evident that the strain of denying themselves the opportunity to be with their life mates has caused both of them a great deal of pain.

Blood Wolf Dawning has a steady-paced plot that dips a bit in the middle and then picks right back up again towards to end. While there is no doubt that I enjoyed Cian and Sayre’s story, I did find the Cian’s self-loathing to be distracting at times. It seemed a bit overboard for me and am curious to see how the other Bloodrunners in previous installments of the series reacted to bonding with life mates. Guess I will just have to read to find out!

Overall, 4 out of 5 stars to Blood Wolf Dawning. Although this is book seven of a series, it is not necessary to read the other books, first. Byrd does a phenomenal job at giving you a brief history into the world she has created without making you feel as if you’ve missed out on any vital information covered in the previous installments of the Bloodrunners series; Blood Wolf Dawning reads great as a standalone novel.

All you paranormal romance fans out there will love Blood Wolf Dawning.

Sexual content: graphic sex