It was a nice try for Erickson but it just didn't do it for me. I tried really hard to like this book but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe it was the characters, maybe it was the storyline or just a little of both. Either way I couldn't finish this book. ( )

If you are looking for a sweet romantic paranormal book. this is not it! Blood Guard is raw, primal and filled to the brim with tough characters. These guys have practically no filter because the underground city beneath Mission is their domain and this is where they rule. Tendra gets thrown in headfirst when Athan, hell bent on his mission "kidnaps" her. Unknown to her, her family has been in alliance with the vampires specifically the Gregorie clan and she is their prophesied saviour Sanguivita.

Getting her back to his brother Idris in one piece though is another matter altogether especially when their nemesis clan the Valarians who of course have recruited an assassin clan the Quellens (all vampires) are hot on their tails. Betrayals are exposed like nobody's business at every level. and here is where I'm going to stop because one of these betrayals are so HUGE that if I say anything y'all are just going to hate me for revealing spoilers.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from NetGalley for voluntary review consideration. ( )

With Blood Guard, there was a lot of I like this, but... going on in my head--really, that about sums it up. Still here's some specifics:

The worldbuilding is interesting, and I'll definitely keep my eye out for the next book in the series, which will feature Idris, Anthan's brother, and the half-vampire, half-human daughter of a higher-up in a rival vampire clan. Tons of potential there, and we saw just enough of the brother here (not a lot, but what I saw I liked) to stoke my interest. There are still some questions about this world, though, and a big ol' oh really??? still ringing in my head at how quickly Tendra's human BFF accepted the existence of vampires in the world. I just think that most people wouldn't quite be so quick to believe it, at least not without prior clues and/or proof.

A definite plus: shapeshifters exist here, and we didn't see any...yet. Probably. Maybe? There is a question about one of the characters being something more than they seem which isn't answered definitively by the book's end. Fingers crossed that shifters come up later in the series...

I liked Ten and Anthan, and thought they were good together. The reason why they could get to an HEA even though for most of the book they think they can't I thought was pretty obvious. There was a bit of a twist with exactly who was behind everything that was going on, but really, even that wasn't a huge shock...we pretty much knew that that particular individual wasn't going to be winning any awards for their benevolence, well, ever.

Though I chuckled every time Ten made a modern pop reference (especially a Disney one, which most of them were--as they should be) and Anthan gave her a blank look, there really wasn't a whole heck of a lot of evidence of him and the other vampires being 40+ years older than they appeared to be...it felt like opportunities were missed to make more of a case of their otherness like we usually see in books with characters who are supernaturally older than they seem. Instead, they came off as just slightly different guys who drink stuff that frequently tints their teeth red.

One of the best parts of the book is the relationships between characters--Ten and Anthan, Anthan and Idris, Idris and Ten, Brex the cat and pretty much everybody--and I look forward to seeing more of this in future books.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. ( )

I liked this one. I was in the mood for a vampire book when I decided to pick this book up and it ended up being a pretty good fit for me. I read another book written by Megan Erickson earlier this year and was curious about what she would do with a completely different kind of story. I really liked what she did with the start of this new series. This was a fairly short book that I ended up reading cover to cover in a single day and really enjoyed the experience.

I really liked the world at the center of this story. The rules of the vampire society are worked into the story gradually so that it was never too much new information given at the same time. We learn things little by little right along with Tendra but everything makes sense in connection with the plot. There were a few really original ideas built into this world which I really enjoyed.

I really liked both of the main characters. Athan is the perfect combination of honorable, tough, caring, and loyal. He is a great leader who isn't afraid to make tough decisions when needed. He cares about the vampires in the clan and tries to help when he can. Tendra accepts what she is told about her destiny pretty quickly. She wants to do what her ancestors have set up as her calling. I loved these two together and thought that the chemistry between them was really well done.

The overall plot was rather exciting. Athan and Tendra have to travel together so that she can be delivered to the future king of the clan while other groups are trying to stop them. They run into quite a few obstacles and things become desperate several times. There are a few sexy scenes worked into the story that do a great job at balancing out some of the action.

I would recommend this book to fans of paranormal romance. I had a lot of fun reading this fun little vampire story. I am looking forward to reading future books in this series.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Loveswept via NetGalley. ( )

If you are looking for a sweet romantic paranormal book. this is not it! Blood Guard is raw, primal and filled to the brim with tough characters. These guys have practically no filter because the underground city beneath Mission is their domain and this is where they rule. Tendra gets thrown in headfirst when Athan, hell bent on his mission "kidnaps" her. Unknown to her, her family has been in alliance with the vampires specifically the Gregorie clan and she is their prophesied saviour Sanguivita.

Getting her back to his brother Idris in one piece though is another matter altogether especially when their nemesis clan the Valarians who of course have recruited an assassin clan the Quellens (all vampires) are hot on their tails. Betrayals are exposed like nobody's business at every level. and here is where I'm going to stop because one of these betrayals are so HUGE that if I say anything y'all are just going to hate me for revealing spoilers.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from NetGalley for voluntary review consideration. ( )