Reviewed by Heather C
Title: The Bastard
Author: Inez Kelley
Series: The Baddest Boys in History #1
Hero & Heroine: Vike & Lacy
Genre: M/F Paranormal Romance
Length: 533 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: May 16, 2014
Available at: Amazon, All Romance eBooks and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: In the battle between good and evil, humans have never been more than collateral damage. Now they are prey. Mankind doesn’t need a hero. It needs a sinner.
Corrupt. Wicked. Nefarious. Contemptible….
The Baddest Boys in History are back!
You read about them in school. Now learn the truth. Real men. No vampires, no werewolves, no magic. Just down and dirty raw power —sin to sin, evil to evil, bad to bad. They fight for humanity. It was that or eternal damnation.
They agreed to risk their souls. No one told them they would lose their hearts.
THE BASTARD
Vike died in blood, in battle, in betrayal. His ruthlessness was second only to his brutality. Now one woman makes his blood sing and he’ll stop at nothing to save her. He only has to face half of Hell to do it.
Lacy is unknowingly descended from an ancient Holy line. Someone is slowly destroying her life and wants her dead. A fierce Viking comes to her rescue, and in his arms, she finds more than safety.
If Vike can’t protect Lacy, he’ll have to kill her. And for a bastard, what’s one woman worth when the entire world is in jeopardy?
Review:
Finally!! A new M/F paranormal romance series that I can get excited about!! Its new and fresh, but still reminiscent of several of my favorite series that I used to love.
A month or so ago, I was scrolling through NetGalley and came across The Bastard. I will admit that I only skimmed the blurb, as I often do, and requested a copy for review thinking that is was a historical paranormal romance. Ha! I quickly forgot all about my expectations because I was immediately hooked into the story, and it wasn’t until after I finished it that I thought “Hey, wasn’t that supposed to be a historical? Hmm.” So no, this was not a historical; its set in present day West Virginia!!
The World: I have no idea how to explain it because…well, its a bit complicated. The Forsaken, the real villains from history, have been Awakened to protect Earth from the Third, the REAL bad guys. Vike is one of the few Forsaken still alive and has been watching one of the cooks at a small town diner, Lacy. When Vike saves Lacy from an attack, he discovers that she is a descendant of something powerful, but will have to make the choice to either kill her or protect her to keep her out of the hands of the Third. Its really not all that confusing…I’m just not capable of explaining it well.
The Romance: Vike, AKA Erik, and Lacy had great chemistry together. It wasn’t exactly insta-love, but there was an instant attraction that the two couldn’t fight for very long. Their love for each other was believable even though they fought it. I will say that I was a little annoyed by the “big misunderstanding”, but thankfully that didn’t take too long to get resolved.
The Forsaken: I think what I loved most about the book were the other Forsaken: Zale, Rex, Myth, Dray, and Nomad. I loved their skewed code of honor…total bad boys who are trying to make the world right. Loved the humor and the banter between them and I can’t wait to find out more about the darkness inside each of them. I don’t know if they will all get their own story but I do hope I get to see each of them get their HEA, especially Zale. I have a soft spot of the biggest asshole.
There was a lot going on in this story: many characters with endless possibilities. Secrets that have yet to be revealed. Questions I want answered. I am sooooo excited to see what will be coming up next!!!
Overall Impression: I Loved It
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for a fair and honest review.*
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