by Delilah S. Dawson
Publisher: Pocket
Release Date: March 27, 2012Source: sent by publisher
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary from goodreads.com:
My Review:
Have you ever heard of a Bludman? They’re rather like you and me—only more fabulous, immortal, and mostly indestructible. (They’re also very good kissers.)
Delilah S. Dawson’s darkly tempting debut drops her unsuspecting heroine into a strange faraway land for a romantic adventure that’s part paranormal, part steampunk . . . and completely irresistible.
When Tish Everett forces open the ruby locket she finds at an estate sale, she has no idea that a deliciously rakish Bludman has cast a spell just for her. She wakes up in a surreal world, where Criminy Stain, the dashing proprietor of a magical traveling circus, curiously awaits. At Criminy’s electric touch, Tish glimpses a tantalizing future, but she also foresees her ultimate doom. Before she can decide whether to risk her fate with the charming daredevil, the locket disappears, and with it, her only chance to return home. Tish and Criminy battle roaring sea monsters and thundering bludmares, vengeful ghosts and crooked Coppers in a treacherous race to recover the necklace from the evil Blud-hating Magistrate. But if they succeed, will Tish forsake her fanged suitor and return to her normal life, or will she take a chance on an unpredictable but dangerous destiny with the Bludman she’s coming to love?
I'm not a true fan of the adult paranormal romance genre, but I wanted to read this one because it looked so different from the norm. The circus aspect, combined with a steampunk vibe had me intrigued. I'm glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this one, and it didn't have any of the aspects that I dislike about the adult paranormal genre-it wasn't over the top violent (the heroine wasn't shooting everyone in sight), there weren't multiple curse words on each page (in fact, I'm pretty sure there was none), and the steamy scenes weren't creepy and weird. Overall, I'd say this was more of a fantasy book than a run of the mill action packed vampire book.
The only part of the book that I didn't really like was the time travel (or parallel universe travel). This theme almost never works for me, so I'm not really surprised. The present day worries really took me out of the spectacular fantasy world that was built. I have enough cell phones and alarm clocks buzzing at me in my real life, I'd much rather read about magical 'Bludmen' and a steampunk circus. I suppose time travel works for some because it injects some familiarity into a completely unfamiliar setting, but I'd rather be totally immersed in the fictional world.
The characters were great, Tish/Leticia wasn't too stereotypical. She was a bit down and out due to her ex, but she wasn't completely free of self esteem like some stereotypical heroines are. I'm not sure that Criminy was my type, but he was sweet for the most part. Maybe he had a little too much alpha male traits for me personally. The Casper storyline was pretty entertaining to me, so I'm glad to see the next book in the series focuses on him as the main character. I'm also glad that the series will be about different couples, instead of every book being about Criminy and Leticia.
Main Characters: 4/5
Supporting Characters: 4/5
Setting: 5/5 (the parallel universe, not the present day)
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Bottom Line: Overall, a new and different type of paranormal romance that breaks the stereotypes. I'd recommend this to fans of the genre as well as those who want to read a little something different for a change.
This sounds soo different and original I've had my eye on it too. I do like adult paranormal and the whole circus aspect really has me dying to read it! So happy you enjoyed it!
ReplyDelete*jumps up and down a bit* It sounds so cool, and you liked it, and yes I want to read it
ReplyDeleteThe premise is certainly different. Never heard of bludmen before. The cover is cool. It really captured my attention. I never read adult paranormals either. Not really sure why. Your description of the female character shooting up the place...lol...reminds me of those Urban Fantasies and it's that aspect that never attracts me. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteEveryone is saying this one doesn't read like PNR so I can't wait to give it a shot since I bought a copy yesterday after several bloggers told me I had to try it. Sounds like this one was more UF but without some of the violence that you see in UF.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great review, so glad you enjoyed this one.
I actually really like adult PNR when it's done well (the things you mentioned as peeves bother me too) so I'm glad to hear of another good one to look out for! The combo of good kissing + circus sounds fun. ;)
ReplyDeleteWendy @ The Midnight Garden
Oh I'm excited about your review! I just bought this yesterday because it seems so different than everything else out there.
ReplyDeleteI knew this was a series but I didn't realize it would feature a different couple each book. That makes me happy.
I'm not a fan of time travel either so we'll see if it works for me here.
Hmm, you avoid the adult PNR for the same reasons I do. But seems like you might have found an interesting series. Criminy makes him sound like a criminal. And Bludman is kind of gross to me, reminds me too much of blood. I'm guessing that's on purpose. Anyway, it sounds good to me. I might try this series. Thanks for the review and pointing out that it's different from other PNR.
ReplyDeleteHeather
This sounds interesting. I think I'll put this on my list to pick up.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
I'm with you in regards to the time travel thing. It has never really worked for me either and for the same reasons.
ReplyDelete