Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Review: Vein Of Love (Blackest Gold #1) by R. Scarlett

Book Blurb:

"Darkness isn't all one shade, sweetheart."

Three centuries ago, Molly Darling’s ancestors signed a contract in blood—daemon blood—to protect themselves from harm. On the eve she turns nineteen, Molly leaves for her birthday party against her parent’s wishes, sick of their warnings about her “betrothal to a demon.”

Except that she’s very much betrothed, and he’s very much a demon—one who’s only agreed to the nuptials to steal Molly’s ancient daemon powers. Brash, arrogant, and built like a Greek god, Tensley Knight keeps showing up to save Molly from otherworldly attacks, only to insult her a moment later.

As Molly learns more about the demon world, she realizes two things: that her family’s safety depends on a successful marriage, while any chance of freedom she’ll ever have calls for Tensley’s demise.

Yet sometimes Molly spots a tortured soul beyond those liquid grey eyes, and there’s no denying the way her skin tingles when Tensley touches it. In Vein of Love, safety requires sacrifice, foe becomes lover, and one must decide whether to kiss...or to kill.

My Review:

3.5 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Another-World, Royal-Court, Romance, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy--

When Molly was little, she was told that on her birthday she would meet her destiny. Every year on her birthday she has waited with dread for something to happen, just another reason why she can’t fit in with normal people. Well, this year Tensley showed up and told her that she is not human and neither is he, and she is his fiancé, regardless of what they both may want.

I really liked the concept for this book and the world building was in really in depth and original. The author was able to create a new kind of hierarchy made out of demons who secretly rule the world that we know. Throw in mages for hire and a group of well trained and very knowledgeable vengeance driven humans, and you got yourself a new dark urban fantasy series start. I really enjoyed the premise of the story as well as each of the main characters (and both their besties!) but I was not a huge fan of the romance dynamic between Molly and Tensley.

Let me tell you a little bit about the world here. Demons are born without hearts and should not ever get a heart. A heart can be grown (developed, given…?) if a demon mates with a human and procreates, which then means the demon leader Fallen has the right to kill the now-hearted demon. It is also a crime to have children out of wedlock, see the previously mentioned Fallen punishment. So, ideally, demons marry demons who have the same status as them and procreate, no feelings needed. Nice and simple.

Molly was a scholar who excelled at languages and wanted to stand on her own two feet without her parent’s backing. Tensley on the other hand was set up to be the heir of his family’s business and he pushed himself hard to be exactly what his father wanted him to be. Did I mention that Tensley is a fairly high ranking demon, a succubus, and needs physical contact to maintain his health? I hated that he had a serious (as serious as a demon could be) girlfriend and I am sure that will be a problem in the future. Both had personal demons (whoops!) that they needed to overcome but could not see the truth. I really liked the two of them together, the brief times they were and their guards were down. I really feel like there is potential for a great romance, but that may never happen. When one felt like they wanted the other, the other wanted nothing to do with them. And reverse, for the entire length of the book! EEEk it was so frustrating (for them and ME).

I think there is a lot of potential for a great series, this was just the slow build to introduce everything, and I look forward to the next one. I just need Molly and Tensley to figure out what they really want and go for it, demon laws be damned (Ha!). I am really interested to see how the (new) mess they got themselves into at the end of the story will play out in the next book. I hope to see more of the side characters (September, hint hint) as the series progresses. Definitely worth the read for someone looking for some dark potential romance set in a paranormal world.

I received this title in return for my honest review.

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