Review & Contest: BLOOD CURSED by Erica Hayes

Ready for a dark, gritty urban fantasy / romance full of drugs and danger, pumping music and steamy clubs? Where rival vampire gangs trade in blood and violence? Welcome to Blood Cursed and the world of the Shadowfae Chronicles’ version of Melbourne, Australia. You’ve never seen it quite like this, in a rich urban fantasy environment built by Australian author Erica Hayes.

THE OFFICIAL BLURB:
Enter the fierce, fantastical world of the Shadowfae, where blood is a drug, magic is a crime, and love is the most dangerous weapon of all…To a vampire, nothing is sweeter than bloodfairy essence—and Ember is the most sought-after fairy on the underworld circuit. Selling her blood to the highest bidder—and robbing her clients in the process—Ember has unwittingly become a target of dark and dangerous forces. Her enemies are everywhere. And if she hopes to survive, she needs protection…Diamond is a glassfairy who, for better or worse, knows his way around the vampire underworld. Smooth as silk and tougher than trolls, Diamond is Ember’s only chance to keep her magical blood inside her body, where it belongs. But he also poses a threat to Ember, a strange kind of danger she’s never experienced before: She’s falling in love with him.

MY THOUGHTS:

The world of the Shadowfae Chronicles is one of the most riveting and unusual among today’s urban fantasy series. Ember’s in a bad relationship with Jasper, who pimps her out to vampires so she can rip them off while he’s cheating on her with other women. Diamond, Jasper’s boss, is a glassfairy who’s seductive and dangerous—and still reeling from losing his love to a powerful and old vampire gang leader. When his ex comes to him begging for help—because her new man is abusing her—he agrees out of guilt for the way he treated her when she told him she was leaving .

       Only he needs help to do it—someone with sweet fairy blood who can tempt the vampire: Ember. He hates using Ember because he feels sorry for her already—Jasper treats her like crap. Plus, he finds her attractive. Still, a fairy’s gotta do what a fairy’s gotta do, right?

       These are amazing characters, especially Diamond. He’s brutal and a hard realist, yet has a conscience--which annoys him to no end. His speech patterns are quirky and take a little getting used to but I ended up loving the experience of being inside his head and hearing him speechifying.

       This is not a funny, light paranormal romance—but it’s a really good one. And if you want more, Blood Cursed is the fourth in the Shadowfae Chronicles series. Each book stands alone, with a separate hero/heroine (just set in the same world), so don’t let that scare you away...Just means you can read more without waiting if you like it!

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