Bloodlust (Nightshade) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

After reading book 1 in this series, Nightshade, I was hooked and I had to see what happened next. Bloodlust picks up just a few weeks after Nightshade. Jill is on the run, charged with protecting the former Vampire King's (Matthias') daughter, who was in danger from a society that would kill for her blood. Declan, a Dhampir again under the influence of a serum that curbs his emotions, is with Jill, trying to protect her. Jill's poisonous blood is slowly killing her, and a terrible enemy is about to be freed. There is so much going on in Bloodlust that I became fully absorbed in the story. I read this book very quick, and I fully enjoyed every minute.

Part of the appeal of this series and this book is the characters. Jill is an ordinary woman, but because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, she is now enemy number 1 to vampires. Her blood is alluring and poisonous to vampires. She could be the ultimate weapon, if she only had that killer instinct... Jill does toughen up a bit in Bloodlust, she is more accepting and understanding of the dark side of the world, and I really enjoyed her character even more. Declan, he was his frustrating yet endearing self. His Dhampir nature starts to cause problems, and Declan has two faces. On one side, he wants to protect and love, and on the other, he is dangerous and just wants to leave. I was frustrated with him for trying to leave Jill all the time, but I felt for his situation. Declan and Jill are such an odd couple, but it when their relationship is on track, it is hot and alluring.

As I stated earlier, there was a lot going on in Bloodlust. The plot turns were well done and unexpected. The governmental aspect was gone in this book, and the plot focused more on the vampire problems, which gave Bloodlust a fresh feel. I was very pleased with the ending of Bloodlust. It seems that many loose ends have been tied up and answered. However, there is room for new possibilities and stories in the future, if Michelle Rowen chooses to continue the series, which I hope she does.

*A note on the series* Michelle Rowen has written several other series, including the Immortality Bites series. Immortality Bites is a fun, quirky, funny vampire series. Bloodlust is not, it is darker urban fantasy and romance. Don't pick up this series thinking it is going to be like Immortality Bites, it is quite different, and very good.

I do recommend this series to fans of vampire stories, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance. With a skillful blend of conspiracy, vampires, danger, and a touch of romance the Nightshade series is a satisfying urban fantasy romance read.

I read the first book in this series, Nightshade earlier this year and really enjoyed it. Michelle Rowen set up a very engaging, action-packed vampire world. Bloodlust starts right where Nightshade leaves off. Declan has been injected with a serum to control his dhampyr abilities. This leaves him unable to love, or feel any emotion. This is a problem since Jill thinks she is in love with Declan, but he can't return this sentiment. Jill is still struggling with the poisonous Nightshade running through her veins. Although it is useful to kill vampires (one drink from Jill's vein and the vampire poofs into ashes) it is also slowly killing her. Jill is desperate to find a cure.

To make things even more complicated, Matthias, the Vampire King has fathered an infant dhampyr who is in grave danger now. Centuries ago, Matthias and his twin brother Kristoff killed a dhampyr infant in a ritual, giving them true immortality. Kristoff is super evil, and to save the lives of many, Matthias has had Kristoff imprisoned for over 30 years, but as is the game of vampires, someone betrays Matthias and steals the key to free Kristoff, putting Matthias's infant in danger.

But wait! I'm not done with the complications! Matthias, once thought to be really evil by Jill, has proven himself..not so evil. There is definitely a grey area, and Jill starts to put some of her trust in Matthias, especially when Declan starts to go into sporadic dhampyr rages - Matthias may be the only one that can help him.

I know the set-up makes it sound like there are a hundred different things going on in this book. And well - there are. But it will make much more sense if you read the first book (which I highly recommend!!). The name of the game in this book is betrayal. There are so many twists and turns that it was hard to put this book down. Did I like all of them? I'm not sure. I was very excited to get to the end to see how it all turned out, but looking back, I don't know if I am 100% satisfied.

I love that Matthias starts as the evil, bad ass vampire king in book one, but in this book, you see another side of him. I started to root for him. I felt, dare I say - a little pity maybe bit of compassion. While I loved Declan in book one, Matthias steals the show in this one. He becomes a much more interesting character than Declan. A love triangle is kind of set up. I'm not sure if all of the corners actually meet at a point but the three sides are there. I very much felt Matthias's fondness for Jill. But this is also where Jill started to annoy me. She loves Declan - she states it and you know it as the reader. She knows Declan is struggling with his dhampyr side (dhampyrs get more violent the older they get) which makes him very violent. And after one argument, after Declan leaves, she kind of throws herself at Matthias. It just felt very rash. One minutes she loves Declan, the next she is lusting after Matthias, the next, she is back with Declan. I didn't love that aspect of the triangle. Especially when she has thoughts like these:

"I grimaced at what Declan had said to me just before he left. He'd seen that I had feelings for Matthias, even when I was trying to ignore them. And I would have ignored them forever if only he'd stayed with me."

Meanwhile, Declan had left so he wouldn't attack her in his violent rage. This selfish behavior doesn't sit well with me.

There is another time later in the book where she doesn't trust Declan again. She has to be a smart girl to survive this far into the book - yet sometimes she acts really dense and her actions don't make sense. She is too quick to doubt.

Not to keep dumping on Jill. Although there are a few times where I wanted to bop her over the head, I still like her. She is tough, and funny, and I like that she makes hard choices, to stay alive - and to keep those alive that she cares for. As I said earlier, Matthias really steals this book. Declan is still sexy in his eye patch with his stoic attitude, but Matthias is the one that stands out.

So do I recommend this book? Yes - although be prepared for crazy twists and never knowing what is coming next. But that is fun. And definitely read Nightshade first.

This was the second book in Rowen's Nightshade series. This series definitely has more of a urban fantasy bent to it than Rowen's other series. While this was an okay addition to the series I found the chemistry between the characters and the plot to be a little bland.

This book picks up a few weeks after Nightshade (Berkley Sensation). Jillian and Declan are on the run; the poison in her blood continues to slowly kill Jillian as well as tempt Declan, while Declan is gradually loosing the control that the serum gave him over his emotions. They have been tasked with protecting Matthias's daughter. Matthias enters the picture vastly weakened but worried that his brother Kristoff will rise and take the kingship from him. Now Jillian and Declan must, not only struggle with their own problems, but also stop Kristoff from creating hordes of vampires that could end humanity as we know it.

For me everything about this book was okay. Jillian is the best character of the bunch; she is tough and straight-forward but maintains a girl-next-door innocence that makes her easy to relate to and fun to read about. Declan still comes off as a jerk for vast portions of this book as does Matthias. Although I enjoyed the complexity of these two male characters and their interesting personalities; I didn't feel much chemistry between them and Jillian.

This plot focuses mostly on vampire politics (where as the other one dealt with a lot of lab research). This book is definitely more of a dark urban fantasy with a little paranormal romance sprinkled in. There are a lot of twists and turns that keep things interesting; although I found that most of these twists and turns were fairly predictable.

There is some action, a lot of intrigue, and lots of politics. While I found all of this interesting I didn't find the world, the theory behind the paranormal species, or the characters to be groundbreaking or outstanding.

The book ends well and resolves most issues, but is left open for future adventures between Jillian and Declan. I haven't heard anything yet about a third book in this series.

Overall it was an okay read. It is decently written and engaging. While I love Jillian as a character I am not sold on either Declan or Matthias and don't think they have the best chemistry with Jillian. The world, plot, characters, and paranormal races are fine but nothing really new or special. This book is more focused on vampire politics than anything else and as such is much more of a dark urban fantasy. I read it and thought, "well I guess that was okay". When I was finished I didn't dislike the book, but I wasn't eager to read another book in this series either. This would be a good filler read for urban fantasy vampire fans. I personally probably won't be reading any more books in this series because there are too many other excellent urban fantasies out there.