Excerpt:
Hamza walks into the room with his guard looking at Nikole’s still body lying on the table. “Is she dead?” he questions.
“No sir, she passed out while we were in the middle of the procedure. We were doing like you instructed and burning her body with the needles when she went unconscious. We thought it best to come get you right away.”
Hamza looks over her body, placing his fingers to her neck and feeling only a small hint of life. His lips curve up in excitement as he anticipates what is yet to come. “Good, leave us alone.” He starts to walk around the table staring at her naked and bloodied body.
The room emptied out while Hamza continued to circle the table. He tried to decide what to do with this dead weight prisoner. Leaning over her body, he backhanded her jaw, the cracking of her bones deafening in the silence of the room. He heard her moan in agony while she slowly came to consciousness.
“Nikole, I think it would be best if you just gave me what I asked of you. As soon as you tell me what we want to know this pain will all stop.” Taking his knife from the sheath on his belt, he placed the cold blade to her cheek. “I will cut your pretty little face apart. Don’t think I won’t.” Taking the tip of the blade he breaks the skin at the top of her left cheek and slowly cut lines into her face. Droplets of blood ran down her cheek staining her flesh as he slashed her face. Nikole’s voice is gone from all the screaming she has done and all she can do is heave a cry. Her eyes are still forced open, not even tears can form since she can’t blink. “Come on little Princess, just tell me where Zayn is so I can kill him. I promise this will all stop.”
Review:
Can you tell that Harlie is still on a paranormal kick? And again, these vampires don’t sparkle. Woo Hoo! What these vampires do is fight for each other, with each other and love each other.
Blood Purple is the first book in a completely different spin on the whole vampire craze. I’ll try to describe it but if I say too much, I will spoil it. So to say, the review might be shorter than you are used to.
The world building in the beginning is crucial. Pay attention or you could get lost in the story. Ms. Nemer has done her research and brings a richness to the characters and to the story itself with the world that she created. Its lush, in some ways violent but you can sense the love that the characters have for each other. There is a lot of familial to keep up with in such a short time but Ms. Nemer explains it such a way that when you get to the present day, the goals, motivations of the characters are completely understood. What you are left with is a powerful story about two sides of a family that are at war with each other.
Nikole and Zayn are the Princess and King of the Agula. They are brother and sister and Zayn is overly protective of his sister. Nasir is their surrogate father and the leader of the King’s guards. Following an agreement, Nikole goes out on her own to fight and instead gets captured and tortured. The torture scenes are NOT for the faint of heart. They are brutal, realistic and violent. They are also necessary to explain who her enemy is and who she can trust in the end.
Zayn tries and tries to find her and ends up with Nikole’s best friend. Don’t worry, it will make sense. When Nikole gets back to the house that she and Zayn share, she is devastated that her brother and best friend have hooked up. The scenes between the siblings is powerful and emotional. I have a little brother so I’m very familiar with this scenario. It still broke my heart.
Just a couple of warnings before I sign off: there is a HFN for one couple and a break up between another one. There is sex in the book but its sensual, not erotic. The last page of the book was excellent. I like that Ms. Nemer left so much open for her next book in the series. This is not a nice, neat story. Its messy, complicated and emotional. At the crux of the story is about Nikole and Zayn and how they handle their responsibilities to each other, their subjects and their legacy.
I look forward to the continuation of this series in Blood Yellow.
About the Author:
Ashley is married and lives in Houston with her husband Tony. They have two dogs named Toto and Doogie. They have been together for almost 8 years and he brings her more joy than she could ever imagine as a child. She loves to read and has been hooked on the romance genre ever since her lifelong best friend Laura gave her “Ashes to Ashes’ by Tami Hoag to read when they were younger.
Ashley finds her strength through her family, especially her parents. They always support her in life and they push her to strive for greatness. There once was a motto that Ashley heard in her youth through her Taekwondo life ‘Reach for the Stars’ and that is what Ashley has always done. It was through her upbringing that the values Ashley has and display’s came from. With her Parents always cheering her on in life she was able to grow up having faith in herself and her ability to conquer the world.
Good review – this sounds really different and I’m adding it to my list
Glad that you loved the book….Blood Yellow is so much more meaty. The sex is hotter, the violence is more intense and the relationships grow deeper. You will love it!!!