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Blood Destiny #1
Bloodfire
Mackenzie Smith has always known that she was different. Growing up as the only human in a pack of rural shapeshifters will do that to you, but then couple it with some mean fighting skills and a fiery temper and you end up with a woman that few will dare to cross. However, when the only father figure in her life is brutally murdered, and the dangerous Brethren with their predatory Lord Alpha come to investigate, Mack has to not only ensure the physical safety of her adopted family by hiding her apparent humanity, she also has to seek the blood-soaked vengeance that she craves.
317 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 27, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 753 reviews
April 23, 2015
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
I’m not really sure how I stumbled across Helen Harper and her Blood Destiny series. I think I was in one of my Urban Fantasy funks (in which nothing but UF holds any kind of appeal, but I’ve read and re-read any of the mainstream, published UF that I’m interested in, and am desperate for new reading material).
Anyway, whether I found it through one of Goodreads “Readers Also Enjoyed” lists, or Amazon’s “Customers Who Bought This Item . . . ” lists, doesn’t really matter. I’m just glad I did.
Mackenzie Smith is a lone human living in a shifter pack. After her mother dropped her on the Cornwall pack’s proverbial front porch (when Mack was a child), and then placed a geas preventing the pack from revealing Mack’s humanity, she grew up not knowing why her mother abandoned her.
And that’s kind of a big deal—the pack is governed by a set a rules and regulations, one of the more prominent rules being basically, “Don’t allow humans to discover our existence on pain of death for E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E.” But the Cornwall pack is in the country and more stable than other packs, so Mack grows up without being discovered (b/c no trouble equals no interference from the shifters-in-charge: the Brethren).
Or no Brethren interference until the pack leader (Mack’s surrogate father) is murdered.
So of course it’s when Mack is reeling from the loss of the only stable parent-figure she’s ever had that the Brethren shows up to investigate/oversee the appointment of a new Alpha (as per regulations). And this necessitates that Mack remain as inconspicuous as possible to avoid being detected as a human while in the midst of her grieving.
“Inconspicuous” is SO not Mack’s middle name.
And even if it was, it’s difficult to fade into the background when Mack’s blood (literally?) boils when she gets angry or stressed out, which she certainly does when the smokin’ hot Lord Alpha starts taking an interest in her.
*swoons*
I know, I know . . . it sounds exactly like every other UF book you’ve read. “Human” or ordinary girl tries to stay hidden amongst supernaturals, but gets pursued by ridiculously attractive Alpha male, and girl turns out to be not only not human, but a super, special snowflake.
All I can say to that is that it’s popular for reason. AND while the characters/situations may seem stock, the story isn’t. It’s not as obvious in Book 1, but by Book 2 this series becomes something of a Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series/Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews mashup, and that is not a bad thing to be.
But what really sold me on Bloodfire is the relationships. Mack may be the only human in her pack, but she has true friendships with many of its members. There are a few members that loathe, detest, despise, and abominate her, but bigots suck no matter what they’re being judgmental about, so screw ‘em. And while Mack and Corrigan (Lord Alpha of the Brethren) may have insta-attraction, they do not have insta-love.
Mack herself is an MC of the kick-ass persuasion which means she not only has super fighting skills, but also super snark. I L-O-V-E snark. It makes me laugh. So does Mack.
The only problems I really had with this series are that Mack has an irrational dislike of pet/nicknames that gets a little tiresome after a while—let it go, dollface. You’ve got more important things to be worrying about (like figuring out what the bloodfire you’ve had your whole life means about what you really are)—and I had to willfully suspend disbelief slightly more than I usually would to believe that Mack truly thought she was an ordinary human her entire life. B/c really? You really think your mother dropped you off with shifters completely arbitrarily? And the “bloodfire” thing never, not once, tipped you off that strange things were afoot?
But ultimately, with a sexy Alpha male, a hilarious surfer-dude mage of a sidekick, an evil-incarnate demi-goddess, and a strong, clever heroine, Bloodfire has all the components of an excellent Urban Fantasy series. Don’t wait until you’re despairing for new reading material to give these books a shot. Learn from my experience and try them now—this indie series is WAY better than a lot of the traditionally published series I’ve read.
I’m not really sure how I stumbled across Helen Harper and her Blood Destiny series. I think I was in one of my Urban Fantasy funks (in which nothing but UF holds any kind of appeal, but I’ve read and re-read any of the mainstream, published UF that I’m interested in, and am desperate for new reading material).
Anyway, whether I found it through one of Goodreads “Readers Also Enjoyed” lists, or Amazon’s “Customers Who Bought This Item . . . ” lists, doesn’t really matter. I’m just glad I did.
Mackenzie Smith is a lone human living in a shifter pack. After her mother dropped her on the Cornwall pack’s proverbial front porch (when Mack was a child), and then placed a geas preventing the pack from revealing Mack’s humanity, she grew up not knowing why her mother abandoned her.
And that’s kind of a big deal—the pack is governed by a set a rules and regulations, one of the more prominent rules being basically, “Don’t allow humans to discover our existence on pain of death for E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E.” But the Cornwall pack is in the country and more stable than other packs, so Mack grows up without being discovered (b/c no trouble equals no interference from the shifters-in-charge: the Brethren).
Or no Brethren interference until the pack leader (Mack’s surrogate father) is murdered.
So of course it’s when Mack is reeling from the loss of the only stable parent-figure she’s ever had that the Brethren shows up to investigate/oversee the appointment of a new Alpha (as per regulations). And this necessitates that Mack remain as inconspicuous as possible to avoid being detected as a human while in the midst of her grieving.
“Inconspicuous” is SO not Mack’s middle name.
And even if it was, it’s difficult to fade into the background when Mack’s blood (literally?) boils when she gets angry or stressed out, which she certainly does when the smokin’ hot Lord Alpha starts taking an interest in her.
*swoons*
I know, I know . . . it sounds exactly like every other UF book you’ve read. “Human” or ordinary girl tries to stay hidden amongst supernaturals, but gets pursued by ridiculously attractive Alpha male, and girl turns out to be not only not human, but a super, special snowflake.
All I can say to that is that it’s popular for reason. AND while the characters/situations may seem stock, the story isn’t. It’s not as obvious in Book 1, but by Book 2 this series becomes something of a Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series/Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews mashup, and that is not a bad thing to be.
But what really sold me on Bloodfire is the relationships. Mack may be the only human in her pack, but she has true friendships with many of its members. There are a few members that loathe, detest, despise, and abominate her, but bigots suck no matter what they’re being judgmental about, so screw ‘em. And while Mack and Corrigan (Lord Alpha of the Brethren) may have insta-attraction, they do not have insta-love.
Mack herself is an MC of the kick-ass persuasion which means she not only has super fighting skills, but also super snark. I L-O-V-E snark. It makes me laugh. So does Mack.
The only problems I really had with this series are that Mack has an irrational dislike of pet/nicknames that gets a little tiresome after a while—let it go, dollface. You’ve got more important things to be worrying about (like figuring out what the bloodfire you’ve had your whole life means about what you really are)—and I had to willfully suspend disbelief slightly more than I usually would to believe that Mack truly thought she was an ordinary human her entire life. B/c really? You really think your mother dropped you off with shifters completely arbitrarily? And the “bloodfire” thing never, not once, tipped you off that strange things were afoot?
But ultimately, with a sexy Alpha male, a hilarious surfer-dude mage of a sidekick, an evil-incarnate demi-goddess, and a strong, clever heroine, Bloodfire has all the components of an excellent Urban Fantasy series. Don’t wait until you’re despairing for new reading material to give these books a shot. Learn from my experience and try them now—this indie series is WAY better than a lot of the traditionally published series I’ve read.
May 10, 2022
Bloody hell. I fully expected to DNF the shrimp out of this one. I thought it was going to be one of these PoC™ that make me slightly rant and rage and somewhat rage and rant. I mean, this is a Freaking Kindle Freebie of Doom and Destruction (FKFoDaD™), for Shrimp's sake! And everyone knows 99.99% of FKFoDaDs™ are deadly! Everyone knows 99.99% of FKFoDaDs™ are the landmines of the book world!
Besides, the blurb is scary as hell. A human girl living with a pack of shapeshifters in rural Cornwall? Please kill me somebody. Don't get me wrong, I do love the delightful Cornish people and their deliciously quaint part of bucolic Great Britain, but the whole rural thing? *shudders* Seriously, I think I may very well be more allergic to the freaking countryside than I am to romantic crap. I kid you not.
Add to that the crappy cover (no offense to the extremely talented person who designed it. Oh no, absolutely no offense whatsoever) and this is the feelyou I get:
But hey, I ain't afraid of nuthin' and stuff, so I decided to give it a try anyway. If I was entirely honest, I'd tell you that the only reason I read this was because I needed to get rid of some of the crap I've had on my Kindle for ages to win the hell out of the MacHalo TBR Cleaning Challenge. But being deviously deceptive is much more fun than being sincerely straightforward, so I won't.
Long Crappy Non-Review short: I thought this was going to be crap. It wasn't. At all. It might not be Nobel Prize material, but it's entertaining, it's fast-paced, the plot is fairly original, the female MC is young but not an exasperating nitwit, there's action, there are assholes with great potential, there's a funny magician dude who says "dude" all the time which should have been a supremely annoying gimmick but wasn't, there are weird creatures and stuff, there are spoiler spoiler spoiler , AND the coolest thing of them all: THERE IS NO BLOODY SHRIMPING ROMANCE.
Yep, that's right. There really are miraculous miracles sometimes.
➽ And the moral of this Crappiest of Crappy Non-Reviews (CoCNR™) very logically is:
Besides, the blurb is scary as hell. A human girl living with a pack of shapeshifters in rural Cornwall? Please kill me somebody. Don't get me wrong, I do love the delightful Cornish people and their deliciously quaint part of bucolic Great Britain, but the whole rural thing? *shudders* Seriously, I think I may very well be more allergic to the freaking countryside than I am to romantic crap. I kid you not.
Add to that the crappy cover (no offense to the extremely talented person who designed it. Oh no, absolutely no offense whatsoever) and this is the feel
But hey, I ain't afraid of nuthin' and stuff, so I decided to give it a try anyway. If I was entirely honest, I'd tell you that the only reason I read this was because I needed to get rid of some of the crap I've had on my Kindle for ages to win the hell out of the MacHalo TBR Cleaning Challenge. But being deviously deceptive is much more fun than being sincerely straightforward, so I won't.
Long Crappy Non-Review short: I thought this was going to be crap. It wasn't. At all. It might not be Nobel Prize material, but it's entertaining, it's fast-paced, the plot is fairly original, the female MC is young but not an exasperating nitwit, there's action, there are assholes with great potential, there's a funny magician dude who says "dude" all the time which should have been a supremely annoying gimmick but wasn't, there are weird creatures and stuff, there are spoiler spoiler spoiler , AND the coolest thing of them all: THERE IS NO BLOODY SHRIMPING ROMANCE.
Yep, that's right. There really are miraculous miracles sometimes.
➽ And the moral of this Crappiest of Crappy Non-Reviews (CoCNR™) very logically is:
April 15, 2023
This book was so good it had me hooked from the very first chapter.
This was a great first book with alot going on murderer,shifters,magic etc, this series has it all and if your like me and can be a little worried about starting a series with so many books, you won't be disappointed, all five books are all five star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reads and completely worth it.
📔📗📚📒📚📗📕📕📘📓📚📗📙📚📚📖📖📜
I have to say I loved the way the story flowed over all five books, and even though the romance side was pretty low key it was always simmering in the back round never knowing which way the storyline would go. And watching everyone in the pack try keep a human hidden from a bunch of shifters who have a keen sense of smell, was certainly challenging and nerve racking when one of the shifters wants to get to know said human (Mac) on a personal level. Loved everything about this series.
Happy Reading📚📚📗📙📒📘📕📔📖📚📙📚📗📘📒📕📗📖📘📔📖📙📚
Attention Audible🎵 users This series is now on the plus catalogue 7/2/23
🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈
This was a great first book with alot going on murderer,shifters,magic etc, this series has it all and if your like me and can be a little worried about starting a series with so many books, you won't be disappointed, all five books are all five star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reads and completely worth it.
📔📗📚📒📚📗📕📕📘📓📚📗📙📚📚📖📖📜
I have to say I loved the way the story flowed over all five books, and even though the romance side was pretty low key it was always simmering in the back round never knowing which way the storyline would go. And watching everyone in the pack try keep a human hidden from a bunch of shifters who have a keen sense of smell, was certainly challenging and nerve racking when one of the shifters wants to get to know said human (Mac) on a personal level. Loved everything about this series.
Happy Reading📚📚📗📙📒📘📕📔📖📚📙📚📗📘📒📕📗📖📘📔📖📙📚
Attention Audible🎵 users This series is now on the plus catalogue 7/2/23
🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈
September 12, 2024
This book is free on Amazon (Canada) today (06/04/2024). 🙂
✅ Characters
✅ Pace
✅ Plot
✅ Shifters and other paranormal creatures
✅🆗 World-building
✅🆗 Romance to come in future books
❗️❗️Trigger warning: death of a loved one, and mild mention of gore
Mackenzie Smith is a human that grew up in a shifter community after her mother left her in their care. She’s been hidden for most of her life, as humans can’t be allowed to know about shifters and any shifter that allows a human into their secret shall be killed by the Brethren, the shifters’ supreme authority. When Mack’s pack’s alpha gets killed, the Brethren come in to investigate, and Mack finds herself walking a very fine line. She can’t escape the Brethren’s attention, especially after their leader seems to take a special interest in her, but if they find out what she is, her whole pack will get killed.
Mack is still trying to deal with the grief and the aftermath of her alpha, who was the only fatherly figure she’s ever known, and now she also needs to pretend to be a meek and uninteresting shifter. Mack is many things, but she is not subtle or inconspicuous. She is loud, feisty, and fiery, and she has one hell of a temper. While I like her fire, her lack of control when it comes to her anger was getting a little annoying at times. She can also be impulsive and does not think before she throws herself into stupid plans. She spent her life in a shifter pack which means that teamwork and group life are essential parts of her daily life, but she refuses to ask anyone for help, and even worse, she refuses to let anyone help her. She is not a bad character at all, but the anger bursts and refusal to rely on anyone were not my favorite parts of her.
What I did enjoy very much though were her kickass abilities when it comes to physical fights, and her snark. She trained her whole life with her alpha to be as good as the shifter, even better than them, and she earned their respect with her abilities and because she protects them. She is also very snarky (maybe even too much at times), and it created some interesting interactions between Corrigan, the Lord Alpha, and her (and who does not like some snarky banter between future love interests?).
The Cornwall pack is a normal, recluse, and steady pack, so they manage to evade the Brethren's attention until their alpha’s murder. The Brethren have a reputation to be ruthless, and to act first, and ask questions later. When the Cornwall pack learns that the Brethren are coming to investigate John’s death they get really anxious. The new Lord Alpha, Corrigan, is also somewhat of a mystery. He gained power a while ago, but not much is known about him, and the pack has no idea how cunning and clever he is, or how he will react if he ever finds out their secrets. The Brethren is portrayed as this shifter all-powerful police group that has a superiority complex, but of course, we come to realize that Corrigan might not be so bad after all and that he might be more understanding and forgiving than his predecessors.
One thing that annoyed me a little though is how everyone keeps on mentioning that Mack is a human, or calling her “human” when the Brethren leave the room, and nobody seems afraid that they will be overheard. Shifters usually have better hearing than humans, and it just seemed out of character and careless for them to talk about it so casually in the keep while the Brethren were staying with them.
There is no romance at all in this book, but it is hinted that something might and probably will happen between Mack and Corrigan. I have a feeling that this will be a slow burn though, and I am happy for it because even though I do enjoy paranormal romances, I can’t stand insta-love. The fact that Mack has to hide her true identity, and the fact that the Brethren have such a scary reputation among shifters makes it so she can’t let herself come close to Corrigan, and it will force their relationship to progress slowly, even though it is clear that Corrigan is intrigued, and probably even interested into Mack…
While the plot is not the most original, the fast pace and characters made it easy to get into the book and finish it quickly, and I will definitely read the next one because I am curious about what will happen to Mack, and I also want to know how things will evolve between Corrigan and her.
Follow me on Instagram 🙂
✅ Characters
✅ Pace
✅ Plot
✅ Shifters and other paranormal creatures
✅🆗 World-building
✅🆗 Romance to come in future books
❗️❗️Trigger warning: death of a loved one, and mild mention of gore
Mackenzie Smith is a human that grew up in a shifter community after her mother left her in their care. She’s been hidden for most of her life, as humans can’t be allowed to know about shifters and any shifter that allows a human into their secret shall be killed by the Brethren, the shifters’ supreme authority. When Mack’s pack’s alpha gets killed, the Brethren come in to investigate, and Mack finds herself walking a very fine line. She can’t escape the Brethren’s attention, especially after their leader seems to take a special interest in her, but if they find out what she is, her whole pack will get killed.
If only I could rein in my temper like this all the time, then my world would probably be a better place.
Mack is still trying to deal with the grief and the aftermath of her alpha, who was the only fatherly figure she’s ever known, and now she also needs to pretend to be a meek and uninteresting shifter. Mack is many things, but she is not subtle or inconspicuous. She is loud, feisty, and fiery, and she has one hell of a temper. While I like her fire, her lack of control when it comes to her anger was getting a little annoying at times. She can also be impulsive and does not think before she throws herself into stupid plans. She spent her life in a shifter pack which means that teamwork and group life are essential parts of her daily life, but she refuses to ask anyone for help, and even worse, she refuses to let anyone help her. She is not a bad character at all, but the anger bursts and refusal to rely on anyone were not my favorite parts of her.
What I did enjoy very much though were her kickass abilities when it comes to physical fights, and her snark. She trained her whole life with her alpha to be as good as the shifter, even better than them, and she earned their respect with her abilities and because she protects them. She is also very snarky (maybe even too much at times), and it created some interesting interactions between Corrigan, the Lord Alpha, and her (and who does not like some snarky banter between future love interests?).
They were known to be bloody, ruthless, and entirely without mercy for anyone who didn’t meet their exacting standards.
The Cornwall pack is a normal, recluse, and steady pack, so they manage to evade the Brethren's attention until their alpha’s murder. The Brethren have a reputation to be ruthless, and to act first, and ask questions later. When the Cornwall pack learns that the Brethren are coming to investigate John’s death they get really anxious. The new Lord Alpha, Corrigan, is also somewhat of a mystery. He gained power a while ago, but not much is known about him, and the pack has no idea how cunning and clever he is, or how he will react if he ever finds out their secrets. The Brethren is portrayed as this shifter all-powerful police group that has a superiority complex, but of course, we come to realize that Corrigan might not be so bad after all and that he might be more understanding and forgiving than his predecessors.
One thing that annoyed me a little though is how everyone keeps on mentioning that Mack is a human, or calling her “human” when the Brethren leave the room, and nobody seems afraid that they will be overheard. Shifters usually have better hearing than humans, and it just seemed out of character and careless for them to talk about it so casually in the keep while the Brethren were staying with them.
There is no romance at all in this book, but it is hinted that something might and probably will happen between Mack and Corrigan. I have a feeling that this will be a slow burn though, and I am happy for it because even though I do enjoy paranormal romances, I can’t stand insta-love. The fact that Mack has to hide her true identity, and the fact that the Brethren have such a scary reputation among shifters makes it so she can’t let herself come close to Corrigan, and it will force their relationship to progress slowly, even though it is clear that Corrigan is intrigued, and probably even interested into Mack…
While the plot is not the most original, the fast pace and characters made it easy to get into the book and finish it quickly, and I will definitely read the next one because I am curious about what will happen to Mack, and I also want to know how things will evolve between Corrigan and her.
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July 10, 2015
I'm not sure why I went into this thinking that a combination of werewolf PNR + Kindle freebie could possibly amount to anything really praiseworthy, but with free ebooks I'm always thinking there's nothing to lose. Except time. And maybe some self-respect. But I was sucked in by the idea that one GR friend, Jessica, thought this was pretty good, even though another friend, Jacob, gave it one star, and I was all, hey, I could be the Great Tiebreaker!
So here's the setup: MacKenzie is a human girl living with a pack of weres (wolves, bears, and other animal weres). As a human, she's not supposed to be with them or even know they exist, but her mother put some kind of witchy geas on the pack so they would protect her and not blab about her to the Brethren, the ruling pack, who might kill them all for breaking this rule.
When her pack leader dies and a new one needs to be appointed, a delegation of Brethren shows up to stay for three days. Mack can't leave because the Brethren know how many weres are supposed to be in the pack, but there's a lotion she can put on that makes her smell like a were, and ALL SHE HAS TO DO is keep a low profile for three days until the Brethren leave. And remember, everyone in her pack thinks their lives depend on her ability to not attract attention.
So far so good, but here's where things kind of went off the rails for me. Mack is redheaded and, literally, hotblooded.
She dyes her hair to look more nondescript, but apparently there ain't nothing she can do about her fiery temper. Time after time after time she mouths off or does other stupid things that attract the attention of the Brethren, especially their (of course) hunky and incredibly good-looking leader, Corrigan, or that put herself and others in danger. Even up to the very last scenes in the book.
"Gurl, your ego is writing checks that your body can't cash."
I just have a hard time dredging up any respect for a main character who has no self-control. I get that in the context of the story there are Reasons for this, but I'd rather read about someone who's more smart and less rash.
Add to this mix: (a) a romantic interest that was stereotypical but, at the same time, went absolutely nowhere (gotta read the sequels for that); (b) an unresolved, cliffhanger ending; and (c) superficial writing, awkward wording and grammar issues (not too terrible considering this is a self-pub book, but still). Put that all together, top it off with a large dollop of Special Snowflake-ism, and the result is that I'm just not interested in reading any more about Mack and her Issues. Even though it was 1:00 a.m. when I finished this book, I had to immediately go read the first couple of chapters of Burn for Me so I could get the taste of sub-par urban fantasy out of my mouth.
2.5 stars.
So here's the setup: MacKenzie is a human girl living with a pack of weres (wolves, bears, and other animal weres). As a human, she's not supposed to be with them or even know they exist, but her mother put some kind of witchy geas on the pack so they would protect her and not blab about her to the Brethren, the ruling pack, who might kill them all for breaking this rule.
When her pack leader dies and a new one needs to be appointed, a delegation of Brethren shows up to stay for three days. Mack can't leave because the Brethren know how many weres are supposed to be in the pack, but there's a lotion she can put on that makes her smell like a were, and ALL SHE HAS TO DO is keep a low profile for three days until the Brethren leave. And remember, everyone in her pack thinks their lives depend on her ability to not attract attention.
So far so good, but here's where things kind of went off the rails for me. Mack is redheaded and, literally, hotblooded.
She dyes her hair to look more nondescript, but apparently there ain't nothing she can do about her fiery temper. Time after time after time she mouths off or does other stupid things that attract the attention of the Brethren, especially their (of course) hunky and incredibly good-looking leader, Corrigan, or that put herself and others in danger. Even up to the very last scenes in the book.
"Gurl, your ego is writing checks that your body can't cash."
I just have a hard time dredging up any respect for a main character who has no self-control. I get that in the context of the story there are Reasons for this, but I'd rather read about someone who's more smart and less rash.
Add to this mix: (a) a romantic interest that was stereotypical but, at the same time, went absolutely nowhere (gotta read the sequels for that); (b) an unresolved, cliffhanger ending; and (c) superficial writing, awkward wording and grammar issues (not too terrible considering this is a self-pub book, but still). Put that all together, top it off with a large dollop of Special Snowflake-ism, and the result is that I'm just not interested in reading any more about Mack and her Issues. Even though it was 1:00 a.m. when I finished this book, I had to immediately go read the first couple of chapters of Burn for Me so I could get the taste of sub-par urban fantasy out of my mouth.
2.5 stars.
February 18, 2015
If stupid were a spice, Marco Polo would traverse the world to bring Mack home. If you could make weapons out of dumb, Mack would win an arms race with herself. And if you could torture allegories with lack of foresight, I could have used Mack to write this review.
I made it 90% of the way through this before finally throwing in the towel. The thing is, it's not like all of the things that bothered me weren't present right from the start. I mean, Mack tells stupid lies, does stupid things, treats people with arrogance and condescension, and bulls ahead with the dumbest plans right from the get-go.
I stuck it out for two reasons. First, at least she got the fighting right. I hoped that her competence in just one thing would maybe spill over into everything else. Or at least allow there to be a reason she still has friends and people who talk to her. Second, I have a decided weakness for powerful red-heads. Yes, I can be just that shallow. Someday I'll learn my lesson.
Oh, also, Corrigan is one magnificent hottie and scenes with him were at least a little bit fun. I had hopes that he'd inject some sense into the story, but that never panned out. Frankly, he wasn't on-screen nearly enough and after a bit, he kind of devolves into a mess of growls and come-ons. What a waste.
Which is my final call on the book. A potentially fun heroine forced into being stupid in order for the story to plod along. Ugh.
I made it 90% of the way through this before finally throwing in the towel. The thing is, it's not like all of the things that bothered me weren't present right from the start. I mean, Mack tells stupid lies, does stupid things, treats people with arrogance and condescension, and bulls ahead with the dumbest plans right from the get-go.
I stuck it out for two reasons. First, at least she got the fighting right. I hoped that her competence in just one thing would maybe spill over into everything else. Or at least allow there to be a reason she still has friends and people who talk to her. Second, I have a decided weakness for powerful red-heads. Yes, I can be just that shallow. Someday I'll learn my lesson.
Oh, also, Corrigan is one magnificent hottie and scenes with him were at least a little bit fun. I had hopes that he'd inject some sense into the story, but that never panned out. Frankly, he wasn't on-screen nearly enough and after a bit, he kind of devolves into a mess of growls and come-ons. What a waste.
Which is my final call on the book. A potentially fun heroine forced into being stupid in order for the story to plod along. Ugh.
September 3, 2019
I thought it had romance, but no, none. So, it is just one more urban fantasy, but with nothing strong enough to make it worth the wile, just entertaining enough.
Bloodmagic (Blood Destiny #2)
Bloodmagic (Blood Destiny #2)
July 23, 2019
⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱*Not As Good As I Remembered*⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱
Second re-read: 23.07.19
After re-reading both Kate Daniel and Mercy Thompson series, I decided to just go ahead with re-reading this one again. I remember I liked it a lot, so I thought why the heck not. And I'm glad I did, yet I'm not. The book centers around human Mackenzie ‘Mack’ ‘Red’ ‘Kitten’ Smith (24?), who lives with the Cornwall pack . After her alpha is killed, she won't rest until she's caught his killer. Unfortunately, the leaders of the shapeshifter are coming, and it's against shifter law to have humans among them. Mack then has to pretend to be weak and submissive, when she's the opposite.
Overall, the series has potential. It does. I do understand why I liked the book in the first place, but it's been some years since I last read it and I've changed quite a bit. I've become more picky and seem to constantly be in a reading slump, which makes it hard to enjoy a book I probably normally would've enjoyed a lot more. While I like that Mack doesn't take any shit, she also have no control what's so ever. The ‘bloodfire’ in her makes her reckless and temperamental, also a bit too high on herself. Also her hate towards nicknames annoys me. What's so wrong with endearments? So I found myself not liking Mack all that much. Her potential romance however (note; there is no romance in this book), I do like.
Other Characters:
→ Corrigan, Lord Alpha of the Brethren (the leaders of the shapeshifter world). Werepanther.
→ John, had been alpha in Cornwall for thirty-two years, and was universally liked and respected by the pack. A weretiger. Was a father figure to Mack.
→ Tom, Mack's sparring buddy and Cornwall pack member. Werewolf.
→ Julia, Cornwall pack member and makes herbs. She became the alpha after in Cornwall after John was killed.
→ Betsy, a werelynx shifter the same age as Mack and Cornwall pack member.
→ Nick, the local policeman who Mack had a very brief affair with.
→ Johannes ‘J’, Cornwall pack member and cook, but a terrible one(?).
→ Anton, Cornwall pack member and a werebear. Hates Mack.
→ Alexander, Cornwall pack member.
→ Larch, Cornwall pack member.
→ Lynda and Ally, Cornwall pack members.
→ Theresa, a weresquirrel and Cornwall pack member.
→ Xander Brandy, was previously the Lord Alpha until he retired. A vicious bloodthirsty werebear.
→ Staines, the Brethren’s Head of Strategic Deployment.
→ Lucy, one of the Brethren and a honey badger.
→ Alexander Floride, a mage from the city.
Quick basic facts:
Genre: - (Adult) Urban Fantasy (M/F)
Series: - Series, Book One.
Love triangle? -
Cheating? -
HEA? -
Favorite character? - Corrigan.
Would I read more by this author/or of series? - Sure.
Would I recommend this book/series? - Sure.
Will I read this again in the future? - Probably not after this.
New Rating - 2.5/3 stars.
Re-read: 12.03.15
Still as good as the first time ;)!
Rating - 4 stars.
February 10, 2016
3.5, rounded up because it's a holiday.
Once again I got sucked in by conflicting friend reviews.
So, you know when you have a stack of books to read that are all really good books, but for some reason your brain just won't accept those books so you start reading every random thing that catches your eye?
No? So that's just me then, huh. Okay, I'll own that.
You would think that I would have learned my lesson after the Seven Sons / Gypsy Brothers Series fiasco. But I totally didn't because again I got sucked in by conflicting friend reviews.
1) Differing opinions;
2) Rumors of sexy male lead;
3) Free
Tadiana was not terribly impressed and gave it 2.5 but Jessica was pretty pleased and gave it a 4.
Me? I read the first two books back-to-back because I have no self control and this is what I do.
Here's the good news, I actually liked this one. The MC is a little spitfire with some major sass. She has a temper that she can't control and is one heck of a fierce fighter. Her mother left her with a pack of shifters when she was young and even though Mack isn't a shifter they raise her as one of their own. She is a bit of an overachiever always wanting to prove her worth to the pack as a skilled protector and she has some guilt because if the shifter council finds out that her pack has been harboring a human it could mean their death. Humans are not under any circumstances supposed to know about their existence.
Yeah, that's gonna be a problem because things happen that bring the council for a little extended visit to her pack. There is a mystery to be solved and rituals to perform because of before mentioned things that happened. And of course, despite all Mack's efforts to blend in, the Lord Alpha is not fooled. And of course he is a sexy beast of a man because Fantasy.
This wasn't a perfect book. There were a few editing mistakes, and obvious plot twist was pretty obvious early on , but there was never a love triangle, which I fully appreciate. In fact, if you are looking for a traditional PNR don't bother with this one. There are no sexy times in this book.
Imma repeat that for you: THERE ARE NO SEXY TIMES IN THIS BOOK
This may have sexy shifters and TONS of action, but not that kind of action. Mack actually keeps her head on straight when it comes to her romantic feelings. She is under a lot of stress from the events at the beginning of the book and she recognizes that the sexy male spells T.R.O.U.B.L.E. and she does her best to keep her distance. That alone puts this ahead of quite a few other books I've read where the MC just can't help but fall head over heels for the guy that could spell her doom. Don't get me wrong, Mack isn't a perfect character, she gets a bit annoying with her guilt but it's certainly more tolerable than some angsty drama I've put up with before.
As a freebie this was totally worth my time and I did enjoy it enough to pay for the second one. I will repeat Tadiana' s advice for me "Just have fun with it and don't expect too much. :)" <-That's exactly what I did, and it worked for me.
Once again I got sucked in by conflicting friend reviews.
So, you know when you have a stack of books to read that are all really good books, but for some reason your brain just won't accept those books so you start reading every random thing that catches your eye?
No? So that's just me then, huh. Okay, I'll own that.
You would think that I would have learned my lesson after the Seven Sons / Gypsy Brothers Series fiasco. But I totally didn't because again I got sucked in by conflicting friend reviews.
1) Differing opinions;
2) Rumors of sexy male lead;
3) Free
Tadiana was not terribly impressed and gave it 2.5 but Jessica was pretty pleased and gave it a 4.
Me? I read the first two books back-to-back because I have no self control and this is what I do.
Here's the good news, I actually liked this one. The MC is a little spitfire with some major sass. She has a temper that she can't control and is one heck of a fierce fighter. Her mother left her with a pack of shifters when she was young and even though Mack isn't a shifter they raise her as one of their own. She is a bit of an overachiever always wanting to prove her worth to the pack as a skilled protector and she has some guilt because if the shifter council finds out that her pack has been harboring a human it could mean their death. Humans are not under any circumstances supposed to know about their existence.
Yeah, that's gonna be a problem because things happen that bring the council for a little extended visit to her pack. There is a mystery to be solved and rituals to perform because of before mentioned things that happened. And of course, despite all Mack's efforts to blend in, the Lord Alpha is not fooled. And of course he is a sexy beast of a man because Fantasy.
This wasn't a perfect book. There were a few editing mistakes, and obvious plot twist was pretty obvious early on , but there was never a love triangle, which I fully appreciate. In fact, if you are looking for a traditional PNR don't bother with this one. There are no sexy times in this book.
Imma repeat that for you: THERE ARE NO SEXY TIMES IN THIS BOOK
This may have sexy shifters and TONS of action, but not that kind of action. Mack actually keeps her head on straight when it comes to her romantic feelings. She is under a lot of stress from the events at the beginning of the book and she recognizes that the sexy male spells T.R.O.U.B.L.E. and she does her best to keep her distance. That alone puts this ahead of quite a few other books I've read where the MC just can't help but fall head over heels for the guy that could spell her doom. Don't get me wrong, Mack isn't a perfect character, she gets a bit annoying with her guilt but it's certainly more tolerable than some angsty drama I've put up with before.
As a freebie this was totally worth my time and I did enjoy it enough to pay for the second one. I will repeat Tadiana' s advice for me "Just have fun with it and don't expect too much. :)" <-That's exactly what I did, and it worked for me.
November 15, 2022
Originally posted at:
* Beware this review turned more into a rant about the book than an actual review.
This book and I go way back. When I say "way back" I actually mean over 3 years. I started on the audio book over 4 times in those 3 years. I'm sure I read the first 4 hours of this book multiple times before because I kept getting déjà vu. Every time I restarted it I would let it go on a little longer until something much better came along and I forgot about it.
Onto what made this book infuriating: Mack, the heroine. I don't think I've ever hated a character this much in all my years of reading. There were multiple occasions where I was rooting for her to be discovered and killed. She was a hotheaded dumb*ss who didn't have an ounce of self-preservation but everything she ever did went back to keeping her pack safe. And by safe I mean her putting her nose where it didn't belong and bringing more attention to herself in front of the Lord Alpha and consequently putting her and the pack in even more danger. If that's how she protects those she loves I don't want to be a part of her family, ever.
I think the author wanted Corrigan to be this mysterious and hot-tempered guy to "match" Mack. All that ended up doing was making him as unbearable to read about as Mack. He was supposed to be this all-powerful werewolf but he still didn't figure out Mack's very obvious secret and would make exceptions for her whenever he saw fit. The audio book narration also made him sound like an old man with a stuffed nose, the visual that gave me was enough for me to run the other way regardless.
The overall pack dynamic was okay. It wasn't all that interesting to read about and there wasn't much else going on aside from the murder investigation and Mack's poorly kept secret. The characters felt one dimensional and nothing had any depth to it.
I can assure you that I finished this book out of spite. I just couldn't let it win, though I'm not sure if I got anything from finishing it. At least now I can say that I don't like plain urban fantasy. I have to have at least an inkling of romance for me to enjoy a book. There have been exceptions in the past but those books had amazing storylines and likable characters. On a positive note, the book covers for this series are amazing!
The Audio Book:
I disliked this narration SO much. The audio was fuzzy and I can assure you it wasn't my headphones (because these are new and I didn't have a problem with audio in anything else other than this book). The voices weren't very distinguishable for each character. By the last hour, I was barely listening because I was just trying to get this over with. I would not recommend this narrator or this book.
* Beware this review turned more into a rant about the book than an actual review.
This book and I go way back. When I say "way back" I actually mean over 3 years. I started on the audio book over 4 times in those 3 years. I'm sure I read the first 4 hours of this book multiple times before because I kept getting déjà vu. Every time I restarted it I would let it go on a little longer until something much better came along and I forgot about it.
Onto what made this book infuriating: Mack, the heroine. I don't think I've ever hated a character this much in all my years of reading. There were multiple occasions where I was rooting for her to be discovered and killed. She was a hotheaded dumb*ss who didn't have an ounce of self-preservation but everything she ever did went back to keeping her pack safe. And by safe I mean her putting her nose where it didn't belong and bringing more attention to herself in front of the Lord Alpha and consequently putting her and the pack in even more danger. If that's how she protects those she loves I don't want to be a part of her family, ever.
I think the author wanted Corrigan to be this mysterious and hot-tempered guy to "match" Mack. All that ended up doing was making him as unbearable to read about as Mack. He was supposed to be this all-powerful werewolf but he still didn't figure out Mack's very obvious secret and would make exceptions for her whenever he saw fit. The audio book narration also made him sound like an old man with a stuffed nose, the visual that gave me was enough for me to run the other way regardless.
The overall pack dynamic was okay. It wasn't all that interesting to read about and there wasn't much else going on aside from the murder investigation and Mack's poorly kept secret. The characters felt one dimensional and nothing had any depth to it.
I can assure you that I finished this book out of spite. I just couldn't let it win, though I'm not sure if I got anything from finishing it. At least now I can say that I don't like plain urban fantasy. I have to have at least an inkling of romance for me to enjoy a book. There have been exceptions in the past but those books had amazing storylines and likable characters. On a positive note, the book covers for this series are amazing!
The Audio Book:
I disliked this narration SO much. The audio was fuzzy and I can assure you it wasn't my headphones (because these are new and I didn't have a problem with audio in anything else other than this book). The voices weren't very distinguishable for each character. By the last hour, I was barely listening because I was just trying to get this over with. I would not recommend this narrator or this book.
May 31, 2022
*** 3.25 ***
An old school Urban Fantasy. Good premise, a bit lacking in pacing and it shows it is the first book written by the author. Easiest way to read it is in Audiobook format👍😊
An old school Urban Fantasy. Good premise, a bit lacking in pacing and it shows it is the first book written by the author. Easiest way to read it is in Audiobook format👍😊
September 29, 2020
Another win from Helen Harper! I love Mack, yea she can obnoxious and foolhardy but she was so much fun. I would have given this book 3 stars just because I didn't get to see the Alpha's pov but I discovered that he has his own book, with just his POV! How sweet is that. It made for fast reading because the conversations were the same but seeing his thought process and feelings was worth it.
March 21, 2017
Mack is a human living with shifters, forbidden under shifter law. She's also the best fighter in the pack and routinely beats more dominant shifters. When the pack's alpha is murdered the Brethren descend upon them and she finds herself not only having to hunt down the killer but hide her human nature from the enforcers of the shifter world.
Bloodfire is moderately entertaining but it felt kind of flat. It's like the merry-go-round of UF. The horses go up and down and around in a circle but that's about it. I mean it doesn't really go anywhere. That said, the series has a lot of potential and I think it will get better....but book 1 didn't light any fires for me.
Bloodfire is moderately entertaining but it felt kind of flat. It's like the merry-go-round of UF. The horses go up and down and around in a circle but that's about it. I mean it doesn't really go anywhere. That said, the series has a lot of potential and I think it will get better....but book 1 didn't light any fires for me.
July 8, 2013
Mackenzie Smith knows nothing about her parents, she was dropped off at the keep with the Alpha who swore to protect her, despite the rules about humans. Mackenzie knows she is human, she knows it is against pack law to reveal themselves to humans, but there is something deep within Mackenzie that gives her the strength to fight. Her fire rages within her and allows her to do things no human should be allowed to do.
When her Alpha dies, Mackenzie vows to seek revenge against the creature that killed him. However her effort is thwarted when the Brethren arrive, she has to hide her human existence from them and blend into the scenery. Nothing about Mackenzie blends and she quickly catches the eye of Lord Alpha Corrigan who knows something is different about her.
Remarkable story, I am anxious to see what happens next to Mackenzie as I am sure she is just at the crest of learning what she is. Corrigan was pure alpha and I thought the chemistry between the two was swoon worthy, both have alpha tendencies and he is entertained by Mackenzie s temper. Anxious to read next in series.
When her Alpha dies, Mackenzie vows to seek revenge against the creature that killed him. However her effort is thwarted when the Brethren arrive, she has to hide her human existence from them and blend into the scenery. Nothing about Mackenzie blends and she quickly catches the eye of Lord Alpha Corrigan who knows something is different about her.
Remarkable story, I am anxious to see what happens next to Mackenzie as I am sure she is just at the crest of learning what she is. Corrigan was pure alpha and I thought the chemistry between the two was swoon worthy, both have alpha tendencies and he is entertained by Mackenzie s temper. Anxious to read next in series.
January 22, 2021
4.5
After enjoying another series from Helen Harper immensely, and then not being as impressed by the first two books in her Bo Blackman series, I decided to switch it up and try this one. Excellent book, lots of fun, unique situation. The heroine is feisty with literal hot blood to match her red hair and temper. The Brethren alpha is funny and tempting. Her friendships with the pack, from the giggly gals who share her room, to the awkward but sweet Tom, the surfer 'dude' Mage who shares in her secret, some nasty pack enemies, characterization is top notch. The situations she gets in range from ironic to tense, with plenty of scenes to keep me reading. I devoured this one. It left without a cliffhanger, but it left with questions and stuff not resolved. Great story I hope stays strong series-wise. Her alpha John was so sweet, though. Emotion came across cleanly and clearly for sad losses.
After enjoying another series from Helen Harper immensely, and then not being as impressed by the first two books in her Bo Blackman series, I decided to switch it up and try this one. Excellent book, lots of fun, unique situation. The heroine is feisty with literal hot blood to match her red hair and temper. The Brethren alpha is funny and tempting. Her friendships with the pack, from the giggly gals who share her room, to the awkward but sweet Tom, the surfer 'dude' Mage who shares in her secret, some nasty pack enemies, characterization is top notch. The situations she gets in range from ironic to tense, with plenty of scenes to keep me reading. I devoured this one. It left without a cliffhanger, but it left with questions and stuff not resolved. Great story I hope stays strong series-wise. Her alpha John was so sweet, though. Emotion came across cleanly and clearly for sad losses.
June 6, 2013
So the main reason why I bought Bloodfire was because of the really amazing setting; England. England! I haven’t read many Urban Fantasies (can it still be referred as that, considering it was based in a hick village in Cornwall?) that are set here…
Mackenzie, a human residing amongst the Cornwall pack, is in search for the murderer of their Alpha, John. Her mission is thwarted, however, by the appearance of the Brethren, the pack of all packs led by the Alpha of all Alphas, Corrigan, who have arrived to investigate John’s death and allocate a new Alpha in his place. And since Shapeshifter Rule Numero Uno is to keep your were-identity hidden from humans, it throws chaos into the mix because they can’t find out what she is, or rather what she isn’t. Way before the novel began, Mack’s mother placed a curse on the pack to keep her hidden, protected and, most importantly, a secret. The punishment for a person, or pack, concealing such information is death.
It’s interesting, don’t you think?
I thought so, especially when I first started reading it. I was really enjoying it, I thought it was cute, it had me captivated and laughing out loud at times. I loved the familiarity of it being set somewhere I knew.
And then it all fell flat. That’s the best way to describe it, if I’m honest, and there are three main reasons as to why:
Characters. There were lots of them; from Mackenzie to Tom, to Julia to Corrigan, but none of them stood out or had much personality. Why were the Cornwall pack girls so dense and 2d (yes, I do love that description!), did Corrigan have to be your typical sexy alpha male who makes girls weep at his beauty? What was with Tom? Why did Alex keep her secret? – everything just seemed too clichéd. I expected things to be different because the setting was different, but the characters and characterisation was just so basic to your just-below-average Urban Fantasy novel.
Relationships. I certainly didn’t understand the relationships between each of the characters, in fact, I was left with so many questions once I finished the story, I had to take a step back and sift through them all. I mean, seriously, it was obvious from the get go that the budding romance would be with Corrigan, still it bugged me that he started fancying her for no apparent reason. Why did single her out of all the other females? Was she good looking? Was it because she was feisty? Was it because she could fight well? What was the damn reason? And her and Anton? What was all that hostility about? – these are but a few examples of things I didn’t understand.
Spellings: You know it’s not going well when you start watching out for the next error rather than focus on the storyline.
Expectations lead to disappointment. Why don’t I ever learn? I’m afraid I won't be reading the next in the series.
Mackenzie, a human residing amongst the Cornwall pack, is in search for the murderer of their Alpha, John. Her mission is thwarted, however, by the appearance of the Brethren, the pack of all packs led by the Alpha of all Alphas, Corrigan, who have arrived to investigate John’s death and allocate a new Alpha in his place. And since Shapeshifter Rule Numero Uno is to keep your were-identity hidden from humans, it throws chaos into the mix because they can’t find out what she is, or rather what she isn’t. Way before the novel began, Mack’s mother placed a curse on the pack to keep her hidden, protected and, most importantly, a secret. The punishment for a person, or pack, concealing such information is death.
It’s interesting, don’t you think?
I thought so, especially when I first started reading it. I was really enjoying it, I thought it was cute, it had me captivated and laughing out loud at times. I loved the familiarity of it being set somewhere I knew.
And then it all fell flat. That’s the best way to describe it, if I’m honest, and there are three main reasons as to why:
Characters. There were lots of them; from Mackenzie to Tom, to Julia to Corrigan, but none of them stood out or had much personality. Why were the Cornwall pack girls so dense and 2d (yes, I do love that description!), did Corrigan have to be your typical sexy alpha male who makes girls weep at his beauty? What was with Tom? Why did Alex keep her secret? – everything just seemed too clichéd. I expected things to be different because the setting was different, but the characters and characterisation was just so basic to your just-below-average Urban Fantasy novel.
Relationships. I certainly didn’t understand the relationships between each of the characters, in fact, I was left with so many questions once I finished the story, I had to take a step back and sift through them all. I mean, seriously, it was obvious from the get go that the budding romance would be with Corrigan, still it bugged me that he started fancying her for no apparent reason. Why did single her out of all the other females? Was she good looking? Was it because she was feisty? Was it because she could fight well? What was the damn reason? And her and Anton? What was all that hostility about? – these are but a few examples of things I didn’t understand.
Spellings: You know it’s not going well when you start watching out for the next error rather than focus on the storyline.
Expectations lead to disappointment. Why don’t I ever learn? I’m afraid I won't be reading the next in the series.
August 20, 2018
Rating: 3 1/2 stars
Slow beginning, decent middle, and an anti-climatic ending. Still, MacKenzie has grown on me and I care enough to see what happens to her next. Also, Corrigan is swell. Helen Harper creates these honorable, sweet hero hunks that are capable, Alpha to the point of correctness while being adorable, genuinely nice and just what the heroine needs.
After being introduced to Integrity from
and Ivy from
, MacAttack has some big heroine shoes to fill since I really liked these leading ladies from the two series I read before starting this one.
Perhaps this one will build momentum the same way the TOG series did after I read the first book. Only one way to find out. On to the next book
Slow beginning, decent middle, and an anti-climatic ending. Still, MacKenzie has grown on me and I care enough to see what happens to her next. Also, Corrigan is swell. Helen Harper creates these honorable, sweet hero hunks that are capable, Alpha to the point of correctness while being adorable, genuinely nice and just what the heroine needs.
After being introduced to Integrity from
and Ivy from
, MacAttack has some big heroine shoes to fill since I really liked these leading ladies from the two series I read before starting this one.Perhaps this one will build momentum the same way the TOG series did after I read the first book. Only one way to find out. On to the next book
July 3, 2024
A human illegally grows up in a shifter pack. But when the Alpha is murder all hell breaks loose. Not only are things not as they seem, but the powerful authorities come to investigate and if they find out she is human, the entire pack could be executed.
This was definitely a great first book and I can't wait to start book two.
This was definitely a great first book and I can't wait to start book two.
January 25, 2015
had potential but lacked execution
I'd rate this a 2.5 star read. While the storyline did have potential the follow through didn't work for me. It was a slow moving plot and I didn't ever feel connected to any of the characters. Throw in no ending and this was just a disappointment. Not a series I'll continue or recommend.
I'd rate this a 2.5 star read. While the storyline did have potential the follow through didn't work for me. It was a slow moving plot and I didn't ever feel connected to any of the characters. Throw in no ending and this was just a disappointment. Not a series I'll continue or recommend.
January 18, 2016
01/15/16-01/18/16 > 5 stars
2nd read *audible version
_________________________________
1st read 06/15/13-06/10/13> 5 stars
2nd read *audible version
_________________________________
1st read 06/15/13-06/10/13> 5 stars
August 22, 2019
3.5 stars
November 12, 2013
I'm torn as to how to rate this book. The story kept me interested despite some flaws. Aside from some inconsistencies in the plot and frustrating blindness of the protagonist, the too frequent errors in word choice irritated me and at times threw me out of the story.
There were many instances in which the author used a word that was not quite right for the context. But there also were words which were similar to the correct one but very different in meaning ("Another wave of shifters attacked in concertina.") or which actually meant the opposite of what the author obviously intended ("The rest of the Brethren at least didn't seem so circumspect in their attentions.").
Nails. On. A chalkboard.
Nevertheless, I found myself engrossed in the story, reluctant to put it down. I wanted to find out what happened with Mack and where the revelations about her origins would lead her. In spite of its annoying drawbacks, I enjoyed the book and yes, definitely will read the next in the series.
So...rounding up to 4 stars for keeping me interested and enticing me to read the next book.
There were many instances in which the author used a word that was not quite right for the context. But there also were words which were similar to the correct one but very different in meaning ("Another wave of shifters attacked in concertina.") or which actually meant the opposite of what the author obviously intended ("The rest of the Brethren at least didn't seem so circumspect in their attentions.").
Nails. On. A chalkboard.
Nevertheless, I found myself engrossed in the story, reluctant to put it down. I wanted to find out what happened with Mack and where the revelations about her origins would lead her. In spite of its annoying drawbacks, I enjoyed the book and yes, definitely will read the next in the series.
So...rounding up to 4 stars for keeping me interested and enticing me to read the next book.
July 30, 2022
Having read Ms. Harper’s more recent books (and LOVED them) it is readily apparent this story is one of her earlier works. The story, itself, has all the making of a great series. It’s in the little things, the tightness of the writing, etc. that it lacks a bit. Mack makes really dumb decisions and there isn’t any reasoning behind many of her actions. That is really frustrating for the reader.
Still, I may try the next just to see if things tighten up and improve, cause there really is a lot of promise. We’ll see….
Still, I may try the next just to see if things tighten up and improve, cause there really is a lot of promise. We’ll see….
May 10, 2021
I knocked back some stars because the heroine has an annoying personality; it was hard to connect with her. Also she makes too many TSTL decisions.
Harper’s Firebrand series is better than this one.
Harper’s Firebrand series is better than this one.
February 23, 2017
Bloodfire provides exactly what I want to get from a fantasy book into which I can escape. I purchased the book/audio combo, and listened to it. A well told tale in an imaginary world that is tangible with characters that pull me (and my heart) in.
Attention beginning authors: Bloodfire is an excellent example of how a book in a series SHOULD be written. Bloodfire, first book in a series, begins the development of the imaginary world.. The main protagonists are introduced; in this case MacKenzie (a human?) and Corrigan (Lord of Shifters), with side helpings of Jane (mother-type figure to MacKenzie), Anton (jealous shifter) and a couple of erstwhile boyfriends / friends. Author Harper then spins her plot, adds secondary crises that need resolution (with or without harm to protagonists or others), AND THEN RESOLVES THE MAIN PLOT.
An worth-reading series book does not end with a cliffhanger. Instead, the cliff is surmounted (happy for now or "HFN"), but the protagonists have trails (and, I expect, trials) on the other side of the mountain that still need to be explored. If the author has done her job, we care enough about one or more protagonists to want to know what happens to them next on those trails, and in those trials.
Ms. Harper did an excellent job with this tale. I (guy that I am) care most about the female protagonist MacKenzie and the potential perils (plural, because I assume there will be many) to her. I've already purchase the next in the series.
Attention beginning authors: Bloodfire is an excellent example of how a book in a series SHOULD be written. Bloodfire, first book in a series, begins the development of the imaginary world.. The main protagonists are introduced; in this case MacKenzie (a human?) and Corrigan (Lord of Shifters), with side helpings of Jane (mother-type figure to MacKenzie), Anton (jealous shifter) and a couple of erstwhile boyfriends / friends. Author Harper then spins her plot, adds secondary crises that need resolution (with or without harm to protagonists or others), AND THEN RESOLVES THE MAIN PLOT.
An worth-reading series book does not end with a cliffhanger. Instead, the cliff is surmounted (happy for now or "HFN"), but the protagonists have trails (and, I expect, trials) on the other side of the mountain that still need to be explored. If the author has done her job, we care enough about one or more protagonists to want to know what happens to them next on those trails, and in those trials.
Ms. Harper did an excellent job with this tale. I (guy that I am) care most about the female protagonist MacKenzie and the potential perils (plural, because I assume there will be many) to her. I've already purchase the next in the series.
November 3, 2014
I enjoyed this one enough that I'm currently about half way through the second one already. This shows a lot of promise, though it falls short of 4 stars for me because there are a few annoying grammatical errors (mostly missing or repeated words) that shows it could have done with one final edit and I find the main character is a little reckless for no particularly good reason .
The world building could have been a tad more comprehensive I think, but on the whole it's a lot better than many UF I've attempted to read in the past and though there are signs of a possible romance subplot in the future it's very minor and doesn't get in the way of the mystery/ action based plot. Of course the whole thing was so obvious it felt like it was under a neon arrow next to a guy yelling "over here!" in to a megaphone. When things are that obvious the slow build is really tedious and should probably be cut in favour of something more useful/ relevant/ interesting to the plot.
The world building could have been a tad more comprehensive I think, but on the whole it's a lot better than many UF I've attempted to read in the past and though there are signs of a possible romance subplot in the future it's very minor and doesn't get in the way of the mystery/ action based plot. Of course the whole thing was so obvious it felt like it was under a neon arrow next to a guy yelling "over here!" in to a megaphone. When things are that obvious the slow build is really tedious and should probably be cut in favour of something more useful/ relevant/ interesting to the plot.
March 22, 2017
It was an interesting world and book.
I enjoyed this book and after dropping many books faster than a hot pot this one was so good. The only time I felt slightly bored was when ...
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I loved that the romance in this book was next to nothing. I'm so tired of the insta-love in shifter stories. It's awesome to read a book where the build-up for romance takes a while and I'm really interested in the next book.
Plus I just learned that there is a book from Corrigan's pov about everything that happened. I hope that one would be good as well.
I enjoyed this book and after dropping many books faster than a hot pot this one was so good. The only time I felt slightly bored was when ...
This is a FREEBIE. Try it for real #Freebies can be AWESOME
I loved that the romance in this book was next to nothing. I'm so tired of the insta-love in shifter stories. It's awesome to read a book where the build-up for romance takes a while and I'm really interested in the next book.
Plus I just learned that there is a book from Corrigan's pov about everything that happened. I hope that one would be good as well.
October 20, 2015
If this is urban fantasy, count me out. The author uses a murder mystery approach to draw the reader along which is an over-used by typical plot in fantasy and sci-fi. There are very obvious hints about the true nature of the main character (ie is she human or not). Like - smack you over the head kinda hints. The surfer/stoner sounding mage made me roll my eyes. The alpha male's constant wish to control the main character made me roll my eyes. I have yet to find one urban fantasy that I consider worth reading. This book isn't horrible but it's way uninteresting for my taste.
July 1, 2016
I was so happy to have found a new UF series but it seems I wont be reading the rest. I don't mind aggressive heroines but Mack was just TOO MUCH at times. Plus I don't get why Corrigan is so obsessed with her. It also seems like the next books don't get any better, so I won't be wasting my time. The world had potential but the execution falls short. What a shame!
October 10, 2017
I am extremely pleased with this book
it was bloody fucking brilliant 😚
i am corrigan trash already
it was bloody fucking brilliant 😚
i am corrigan trash already
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