This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review. Also my tags may have spoilers in them so be forewarned before checking out full review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖
Narration:🎧🎧🎧🎧
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨

First Impressions
Blood Bound is the second book in the "Mercy Thompson" series and I have been reading this whole world in order alongside with the "Alpha and Omega" series with it which has definitely had more positives than negatives. I really found it interesting but it did have less romance in it than even the first book did. I didn't really understand Sam living with her when she hasn't truly decided on what is happening with Adam, but hopefully that will all get figured out in Iron Kissed (crossing fingers) I did enjoy the plot with the vampires and the sorcerer and very curious to see how the events that happen in this book will reflect in Iron Kissed.

First Line
Like most people who own their own businesses, I work long hours that start early in the morning.

Summary
This is the story that continues a bit the connection that Mercy has with Adam who has claimed her as her mate but she has yet to accept that claim, and then her childhood friend who once broke her heart, Sam who is a pack doctor. We have a mystery involving a dangerous sorcerer and some vampire politics happening that Mercy is dragged into and caught into a conflict that brings the packs into the fray. But will Mercy be able to defeat a danger that no one else has been able to?

What I Loved
Honestly....the plot of the story was the best part of this book. It kept me on edge and was packed with danger and mystery. And when the villain attacks her in her home....LITERAL CHILLS! It was so so spooky! I can see this one being the perfect read for Halloween or October reading haha

I did enjoy seeing the growth and action that we get from Mercy. You can definitely feel the build up in the relationships that she has with both characters even though there was little attention to it in this book here. I am curious to see how this conflict between the three of them will be resolved in the end though.

What I Struggled With
LACK OF ROMANCE .....it just felt so much lower than the first book so I am craving more heart and feels with her relationships with these two men. I kinda know who she ends up but I was hoping for more happenings between these three that what was reflected in the story and y'all know how much I need a good romance element in my story.

Narration
BRILLIANT! This narrator really brings out the story and especially Mercy so well. I am loving her character quite a bit. Probably one of my more favorite UF heroines, she just is so real and normal haha

Overall View
Blood Bound is an action packed, leaves you with thrills and chills and delivers a well satisfying ending that only gives you a true gem of a read.

Favorite Quote(s)
“We’d spent years as adversaries, two predators sharing territory and a certain, unwelcome attraction. Somehow, during all those years I spent outwardly acquiescing to his demands while making sure I held my own, I’d won his respect. I’d had werewolves love me and hate me, but I’d never had one respect me before. Not even Samuel. Adam respected me enough to act on my suspicions. It meant a lot.”

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Urban Fantasy
Character Types: Blue Collar Heroine, Alpha Males, Shape Shifter-Werewolves
Themes: Danger/Suspense Elements
Tropes: Love Triangle

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
More plot than relationship being focused on

If you like these authors, I recommend This Book
Nalini Singh
Ilona Andrews
Kira Brady

Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes I would recommend reading these books in order

Steam/Spice Explanations

Simmering cup of tea---soft warm touches and light intimacy

Narrators:
Lorelei King ( )

Blood Bound is a great read. Mercy is pretty awesome and I like the other characters a lot. The world is interesting and I like where the story is going. I'm definitely going to read more of this series.

My only gripe is that she has 3 people who are in love with her and she doesn't seem to know who she likes. I don't particularly like love triangles, much less love squares (?), and this book could really do without it. It's not a huge deal though, because the book doesn't make the romantic stuff central to the story. ( )

This is a reread I truly enjoyed. I like Stefan and I like the way the vampire community is depicted. But as always in this series is the attraction for me Mercy Thompsom herself. She is everything I like in a character and I like the struggles, the solutions and the way she stands up for herself and others.
The first time I read this I gave 3 stars, but I am changing it to 4 stars because this story kept it's attraction. ( )

2/19- So Mercy gets thrown into the middle of everything this time by Stephen. which I have to admit I don't like the vampires and neither does Mercy. Stephen is ok but blerg I don't like how he's infatuated with her... She learns a bit more about what she is through the vampires but also not.
You can also see her love of Adam more in this book. (In the first book you can see she likes him but hasn't realized it) notice in the basement she's touching him, then when Cory comes in she's crouching in front of him. She's drawn to him and is afraid of what that means- will she loose herself? Can she be an independent woman and still love and be in a relationship with this alpha? Is he controlling her emotions?
Samuel is there living in her house and though Mercy "loved" him when she was younger she's not really able to put a name on her feelings for him yet and it's easy to fall back on what's familiar. He's not willing to let her go, but it feels forced. The relationship seems more like super close friends/siblings
What I wouldn't give to have a few short stories about the talks Adam-Sam have ( )

Since this is the second book in a long series and you might be wondering if you want to continue past the first one, and I have read the entire series multiple times - along with a TON of other books, I figured I would just give you the nitty gritty on what to expect on the whole rather than focus on this one book. This would be what I would be looking for when approaching an unknown series that I might be interested in reading past the first book, but was wondering if it will hold up or possibly continue in a vein that I didn't like in the first book. So, here is the down low.

This is a great series that doesn't devolve into smut, it keeps a solid PG to PG-13 rating.

However the lack of sexytimes doesn't go missing if you know they aren't happening, and as the series progresses it seems that they are getting a bit more "there". Instead of a couple of vague paragraphs starting in the future, the last couple of books had a couple of pages. It's as if the author had too many requests for more steam and gave a bit more to appease the masses.

However, there isn't a lack of smolder. In the beginning before the characters finally "get together" there are kissing and heated exhanges with some groping and "if we hadn't been interrupted I would have had you on your back" and "If you hadn't stopped, I would have let you." Our cast isn't prudish, they just have traditional views on sex and romance.

While it has tight storylines and a good amount of plot and scenes in each book. The lack of smut doesn't detract in anyway from the Romantic aspects.

Also, the characters grow naturally and stay true to their "main selves" there are no Mary Sues. The cast expands as the series progresses but for the most part each new character brought in that has any kind of role, tends to flesh out and may show up as a series regular.

Each book has a main story that turns into a mystery of some sort with multiple side trips to other tangental plot points. A lot happens in each book, and they seem to always end with a couple of chapters after the "wrap-up" and not just solving the mystery and closing fluff.

Each book is self contained but there since it has the same cast tht only grows as the series progresses there are a lot of dynamics and recalling of previous plot points that basically need to have been read to fully appreciate. With the exception of one book - "Silence Fallen" the series is written in the first person POV of our heroine, and that book is an alternating Hero/Heroine first POV.

They are not straight who-dun-it murder mysteries, but a mystery "happening" that needs solving to close it out, or solving to overcome an obstacle. This series can fall under Paranormal Fiction/Urban Fantasy - with Romantic Elements. It has Vampires, Werewolves and Fae as the main cast with Witches as second tier cast and a few ghosts thrown in here and there.

After reading a lot of other PNR/Paranormal/Fantasy/Urban Fantasy series and compared them to his I feel that this is a quality series that is free from the same tired tropes, characters and plot points that a lot of second and third tier Urban Fantasy/PNR books have.

This is a First Tier Series only slightly below Illona Andrews, Jeaniene Frost and Nalini Singh, but only by a half star margin. Those are the big three in my opionion. However, I rated it as a favorite and as you can see I have read it to death. If you have a library card then you can easily get it for your Kindle or e-reader online in both the ebook and audio versions - which are well narrated. ( )