Review/Excerpt/Giveaway - THE BLOODLINE WAR, Book One in The Community Series by Tracy Tappan

                                                          Published December 18th 2013 by B. Reed Publishing

Beneath the streets of San Diego, California, a unique race of human beings called Vârcolac lives on the brink of extinction. Desperate to save their dying people, a brotherhood of warriors deploys to the surface to steal genetically superior women for a repopulation program.

A car accident changes everything…

A computer hacked hospital blood test confirms that Dr. Toni Parthen carries a gene that’s the key to salvation for a unique race of human beings. Abducted to a secret, underground community, Toni is asked to do the unthinkable: procreate with a man from a race called Vârcolac—a species that must consume the blood of other humans to survive. Then bizarre turns dangerous, because a new, mysterious enemy also wants her special DNA, and Toni finds herself in the middle of an all-out war to possess her.

Destined to be alone…

It’s the job of Jaċken Brun, leader of the Warrior Class, to keep the captured women safe from a demonic race of humans who rule a neighboring part of their underground world. His challenges multiply when Toni inflames the women into mutiny, and then there’s his biggest problem…his growing desire for the infuriating woman herself. Afflicted with a dark genetic makeup, Jaċken can
never be with a woman. Until Toni uses her scientific ingenuity to find a way for her and Jaċken to be together. But then the new enemy faction unearths Toni and drags her to their hidden lair, where they’ll inflict an unspeakable cruelty on her to gain access to her valuable genes.

It will take every warrior skill Jaċken owns to save the woman he loves, but only if he can find her in time….

Big, Dark and Murderous was standing over by a black entertainment center, his hands planted on his hips and a scowl knitting his eyebrows into a fierce vee. The proverbial tower of manhood and menace. He was dressed in that super sexy all-black workout gear the warriors wore for training, and although he was still his usual scary self, he also looked surprisingly…well…super sexy.

Toni’s stomach gave a start and then a funny flutter at the sight of him. Powerful muscles stood out in rigid relief against the tight fabric of his gear, his body so clearly articulated with grooves and crevices he could’ve been held up in anatomy class as an example of the perfect male specimen. These are the quadriceps, class, this, the tibialis anterior, and this part right here between his legs is the…oh, my. Let’s just all make a ‘yum’ noise, shall we.

Toni briefly closed her eyes. She really needed to get some help.

“Well?” he pressed in a peeved tone. “I asked you a question.”

“Yes, I’m…uh…” I’m here to steal a key card so that I can instigate an escape plan. She covertly scanned the room for inspiration on another excuse, figuring the truth wouldn’t go over well with a man of Jaċken’s temperament. It was then she noticed just how black his bedroom was: black wooden dresser and entertainment center, sleek black lacquered wet bar, black bedspread with a dark gray geometric design on it. Sheesh. If her bedroom was Louis XVI, Dev’s like a cozy room out of a château, then this bedroom—in keeping with the whole French theme—was Marquis de Sade all the way. Well, at least the bedroom fit the man this time.

“I just came to see if, um…” Her gaze zeroed in on a stack of DVD’s in his entertainment center. “If you wouldn’t mind if I borrowed a movie.”

“You ever hear of knocking first? I was about to get into the shower. I could’ve been standing here naked, lady.”

That gave her pause. Despite all logic, the thought of Jaċken naked wasn’t a wholly unpleasant prospect. Not at all, in fact. Clearing her throat, she started forward. “I’m a doctor, Mr. Brun,” she said in the kind of overly patient tone she knew would annoy him. “You surely don’t have anything I haven’t seen before.” Mmm, that was about as big a joke as it had been with Dev.

She drew up right in front of him, and startled as a tingle of sensual awareness lit off a short burst of heat in her belly. She was close enough to smell him now, clean male sweat and a hint of Old Spice deodorant and Irish Springs soap; everything that was completely masculine and just about curled all the fine hairs on her body. An immense power radiated off of him, like the force of a tornado barely held in check, along with determination and confidence and ruthless intelligence, and something…strangely raw. Her lips parted on a small breath, all that was feminine in her helplessly reacting to him. What was it about this man? How was it that she was even more aware of all the glorious differences between men and women while standing here with Jaċken than she had been with Dev, when he’d been naked as a jaybird?

“Would you mind backing the fuck up?” Jaċken ground out, his nostrils flaring white at the rims. “Being this close to your smell is about as much fun as a fork in the eye.”

Cured, instantly, of all wayward thoughts. Bristling, she plunked her hands on her hips. “Up yours, Jaċken. You’re such a misogynist, I swear to God.”

Since the first of the year, I have read well over 100 books. They ranged from short stories to over 800 pages. They covered the entire spectrum of the romance genre. They were written by debut indie authors and best selling authors like J. R. Ward and Nora Roberts. Some were exceptional and will grace my library for decades. Some I have already forgotten. I can say with no hesitation and no qualms whatsoever that The Bloodline War is the BEST book I have read this year to date. It was soooo hard to keep this review under wraps until the post date because I wanted to grab people, and tweet people and say READ this book!! Read it now, now, NOW!! I was literally doing a happy dance through most of the story.

Yes, it is about a secret race of vampires. No you have read NOTHING like this. It was smart. It made sense and it made me laugh. I mean it made me cackle like a hyena in heat. It was uber sexy, but I wouldn't classify it as an erotic romance. It was more the sexual tension and the chemistry between Jacken and Toni. There were some graphic scenes, but they meshed with the gritty tone of the book. Anything milder would have seemed fake and not fit at all.

This story does have main characters, Jacken and Toni, but it has so much more. It has an entire cast of humans and Varcolac that play just as an important part as the H/h. The world building is exceptional, and there are bad guys coming from every direction. There are so many surprises in this book, it's like Christmas morning. There are discoveries being made right and left, and best of all..... There is a female revolt!! I don't do spoilers, but these mates don't settle for a pat on the head and a "Honey, I'm home from battle" schtupp. These human women have there vamps but the short curlies and there not afraid to give a painful yank. I loved it!


I couldn't give this book a simple rating. I had to give it infinite gold stars. It was just that wonderful. Tracy Tappan, I thank you for the honor of reading your book.

Amazon

After earning a master’s degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling, Tracy Tappan enjoyed several years of doing clinical work before devoting herself full time to writing. She was born with a fertile imagination that has compelled her to write gritty romance novels, spanning paranormal, historical, and military suspense genres. During nearly a quarter of a century spent as a military wife, she lived all over the United States and in Europe, enjoying seven years overseas in the diplomatic community, first in Rome then in Madrid. She is also the founder and creator of a fan-based website called The Character Couch, where romance’s favorite couples are brought into a session with therapist, Regan Malloy.

She’s now settled back in sunny San Diego with her husband, a menagerie of pets, and two children who seem to think they can come and go as they please.


Website/Facebook/Twitter/Goodreads/The Character Couch

Prizes (4 total): (1) $50 gift card to Chili’s Restaurant, (1) One pound box See’s Candy assorted chocolates, (1) $15 Amazon gift card, (1) swag pack, including Character Couch T-shirt, scented sachet, bookmark.

Enter the giveaway here.