Reviewed by Nikyta
Title: Blood Vow
Author: J.R. Ward
Series: Black Dagger Legacy #2
Hero/Heroine: Elise & Axe
Genre: MF Paranormal
Length: 459 Pages
Publisher: Random House Books/Ballantine Books
Release Date: December 6, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: The Black Dagger Brotherhood continues to train the best of the best to join them in the deadly battle against the Lessening Society. Among the new recruits, Axe proves to be a cunning and vicious fighter—and also a loner isolated because of personal tragedy. When an aristocratic female needs a bodyguard, Axe takes the job, though he’s unprepared for the animal attraction that flares between him and the one he is sworn to protect.
For Elise, who lost her first cousin to a grisly murder, Axe’s dangerous appeal is enticing—and possibly a distraction from her grief. But as they delve deeper into her cousin’s death, and their physical connection grows into so much more, Axe fears that the secrets he keeps and his tortured conscience will tear them apart.
Rhage, the Brother with the biggest heart, knows all about self-punishing, and he wants to help Axe reach his full potential. But when an unexpected arrival threatens Rhage and Mary’s new family, he finds himself back in the trenches again, fighting against a destiny that will destroy all he holds most dear.
As Axe’s past becomes known, and fate seems to be turning against Rhage, both males must reach deep—and pray that love, rather than anger, will be their lantern in the darkness.
Review:
I don’t read many M/F books lately but I can’t seem to stay away from the Black Dagger Brotherhood series and now the Black Dagger Legacy series. And I must say, the Black Dagger Legacy series has the feel of the first books in the BDB series and I’m loving it. The fell in love with the characters in the first book so it’s no shock to me that I adored this one too.
Now, Susan65 reviewed Blood Vow last year and I mostly agree with what she said. For me, I was okay with having Mary, Rhage and Bitty continue their story in Axe and Elise’s book because I could never get bored of Rhage (I still re-read Lover Eternal at least once a year) so I love that he’s showing up so much in this series. Plus, I like that we get to see how Bitty’s developed and I’m glad the ‘uncle’ situation wasn’t just swept under the rug. In fact, I’m really looking forward to seeing where that goes because there were serious vibes between Ruhn and Saxton and Ruhn reminds me just a bit of Z so I definitely will need mind more of him! But I enjoyed seeing things escalate in these situations. I was terrified something bad would happen that would break up this little trio but I actually loved the little heartache attached to their situations and still crave more.
Now, onto the big couple, IMO – Axe and Elise. They come from two very different backgrounds. Elise is an aristocrat and Axe is a commoner so I was kind of thinking this might be stretched out into a huge situation but thankfully it wasn’t. In fact, I really loved the way Ms. Ward handled their story. I loved that Axe is getting into the field as a fighter and I liked that Elise wasn’t just a brainless aristocratic female (flashbacks to early Marissa anyone?), she’s actually a very intelligent female determined to finish her schooling and I loved how stubborn and strong she was.
To be honest, I loved the flow of this story. I loved that Axe and Elise had such passion and even when things got a bit hairy between them, I still enjoyed the way it was all handled. I also loved that Elise was not at all the kind of woman Axe was into considering she’s an aristocrat AND Peyton’s cousin but that just made their chemistry that much more intense, IMO.
In the end, this was a phenomenal story. I loved the pacing of the story and how it focused on mostly just two main couples – Rhage/Mary and Elise/Axe. It had a better flow than the BDB series of now because there weren’t so many different story lines to follow. I loved getting back to Rhage and Mary and seeing how things with Bitty were playing out but I just adored Axe and Elise. Their chemistry was just HOT and I loved how they overcame their differences. Seeing Axe deal with his jealousy and Elise work through Axe’s past when she found out about it was fascinating to read. Overall, I can’t express how much I loved this book and I cannot wait for the next one. It’ll be interesting to see Peyton and Novo’s story and also get more into Ruhn and Saxton in Blood Fury!
Overall Impression: It was amazing!
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*
The Blogger Girls 