Tempted by Blood by Laurie London (Sweetblood #3)
Paranormal Romance
February 21, 2012
Harelquin

Reviewed by Mandi

Arianna Wells works for a software company by day, but at night she devotes her time to her blog,Paranormalish. When her mother was kidnapped when Arianna was 5, she quickly learned that no one believed her when she said shadows, not a real person, took her mother away. Since then, she has devoted her life to researching the paranormal or odd situations that people can’t explain. One night when Arianna is out picking up her cousin, two men come out of the shadows and attempt to kidnap her cousin. But lucky for Arianna, she has her own Guardian vampire lurking nearby.

Jackson Foss is a vampire and a Guardian. In this world, there are vampires called Darkbloods, who prey on humans who have an addictive, rare type of blood called Sweetbloods. However, the Guardians have sworn to protect these Sweetbloods and have been waging a war with the Darkbloods for a long time. Humans are not to find out that vampires exist, so after Jackson fends off the Darkbloods who try to kidnap Arianna’s cousin, he erases the events from their memories. But unfortunately for Jackson, Arianna’s mind-erase doesn’t keep. Lately, Jackson has needed to feed (both on blood and energy) more and more. He is afraid this is the beginning stages of reverting to the dark side. The failed mind-erase worries him even more.

I’ve been excited to get Jackson’s story — he has always been the more laidback, sarcastic guy of the group in Laurie London‘s Sweetblood series. Known for his playboy ways, he easily can get any woman he wants. But we come to learn more recently that he is not necessarily sleeping with all of these women — he just needs their energy. He fears his dark side might be taking over. The very people he fights, those who drain Sweetbloods dry, might one day be him. So we get a Jackson that on the inside is kind of scared and unsure where his life is headed. He wants to fight the good fight, but his body is screaming for something else.

I enjoyed our heroine, Arianna, as well. A very curious woman who knows deep down that she was not crazy when she saw two shadows kidnap her mother all those years ago. So when Jackson comes to her rescue in his shadow form, and she also sees fangs, it is not a big leap for her to understand that vampires exist. When she documents the rescue with her phone, it complicates things for Jackson. Unfortunately for her, the Darkbloods learn where she and her cousin live, making it impossible to go home. So she ends up spending a lot of time with Jackson, who refuses to let them be hurt.

I enjoyed how Arianna and Jackson go from strangers to friends. It was well paced and believable. I wasn’t as convinced with them going from friends to lovers. That scenario felt a little more rushed. While it takes a long while for the physical intimacy to start, I still don’t know if I was 100% convinced Arianna would have sex with a vampire. All of a sudden, Arianna, who is still unsure about vampires, is falling into bed with one? That made me take pause. To me, they felt more like best friends, rather than intimate lovers. Not to say I didn’t enjoy their friendship. I just wasn’t convinced of their intimacy at first. By the end though they made me smile.

Tempted by Blood is a fun, easy read and can be read as a stand-alone.

Rating: B-

Recent Reviews:
Wicked Little Pixie – 4.5/5
Under the Covers – 4/5
All Things Urban Fantasy – 3/5
Vampire Book Club – 4.5/5
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