Blood Kiss by J.R. Ward

The legacy of the Black Dagger Brotherhood continues in a spin-off series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author…

Paradise, blooded daughter of the king’s First Advisor, is ready to break free from the restrictive life of an aristocratic female. Her strategy? Join the Black Dagger Brotherhood’s training center program and learn to fight for herself, think for herself...be herself. It’s a good plan, until everything goes wrong. The schooling is unfathomably difficult, the other recruits feel more like enemies than allies, and it’s very clear that the Brother in charge, Butch O’Neal, a.k.a. the Dhestroyer, is having serious problems in his own life.

And that’s before she falls in love with a fellow classmate. Craeg, a common civilian, is nothing her father would ever want for her, but everything she could ask for in a male. As an act of violence threatens to tear apart the entire program, and the erotic pull between them grows irresistible, Paradise is tested in ways she never anticipated--and left wondering whether she’s strong enough to claim her own power...on the field, and off.

Book 1
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆☆
Loved it!!

~WHEW~ Hotness abounds in this book. This book reminds me of the first few books of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, where romance and friendship are the stuff of legends.

I LOVE the BDB and most of the books therein, but at times the storylines with the lessors, the Omega, Scribe Virgin and the BOB seem to overwhelm the romance and legacy of the vampires as a whole. This book brings it all back in a blaze of glory!

Here we get a glimpse into the lives of Butch and Marissa. We see that the couple is struggling with how to live in the present while hiding from the past. It all comes to a head when Marissa is faced with a tragedy at Safe Place and has to face her past in the form of Havers.

Butch is also having trouble, and he struggles to keep it from Marissa because the last thing he wants is to visit his troubles upon her. He has placed her on a pedestal and until one or both of them realize that her place is beside him, they will continue to do so.

As all of this comes to a head, the training program ramps up. To separate the wheat from the chaff, the initial gathering brings the brotherhood out in force. When all is said and done, Paradise and Craeg are part of the seven who remain.

Paradise has been intrigued by Craeg since they first met at the King's audience house. Craeg is focused on his training and doesn't want to like Paradise, he wants to avenge his family who were killed in the raids. When Paradise feeds him, he knows that he will never be the same, even if he doesn't want to admit.

I love the way Ms. Ward writes and she has outdone herself with Blood Kiss.


Shelby – ☆☆☆☆☆
Oh, the Warden. How do I love you? Let me count the books. Blood Kiss is a Black Dagger Brotherhood spin off series called Black Dagger Legacy. This is awesome! It's still all the brothers we know & love and some new blood added to the mix when the Brothers open up the training center for new BDB recruits.

We start with Paradise, she's an aristocratic female from the now defunct glymera. Her dad is the first advisor to Wrath the King. When he asks her to help out with the King’s scheduling, she decides to take the job. In walks Craeg, a vampire of no aristocratic bloodline. He's applying for the training program. Turns out Paradise was also registered. Against what most females of her bloodline would ever consider a life choice, Paradise wants to learn to fight. Paradise is a bad ass female and I really dug her from the get go. Craeg is perfect BDB material and the two together certainly fit well with fantastic chemistry!

In the meantime, we have Marissa and Butch having a few issues of their own while Marissa is hoping to find the person responsible for killing a young female that came to Safe Place. We have enough of a mystery there to keep things interesting, great chemistry with Creag and Paradise, along with nice additions from all the other Brothers. I completely & totally enjoyed the read. Classic Wardisms abound and awesome world building like no other! Really excited for this new spin off series’ next installment.

J.R. Ward is a #1 New York Times and USA Today Best Selling author of erotic paranormal romance. She lives in the south with her incredibly supportive husband and her beloved golden retriever. After graduating from law school, she began working in healthcare in Boston and spent many years as Chief of Staff of one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation. Writing has always been her passion and her idea of heaven is a whole day of nothing but her computer, her dog and her coffee pot.

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Mary Jo & Kris reviewed their personal copies of Blood Kiss (Black Dagger Legacy #1) by J.R. Ward for this post.