Book Review: Bloodstorm by Amber Kallyn

Title: Bloodstorm (Amazon)
Series: Heart of a Vampire, #1
Author: Amber Kallyn
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Sensuality Rating: Steamy
Source: review copy from author
Published: April 2012

When duty forces a shaman to stop a vampire from her revenge, love doesn’t just burn... it bites.

For two hundred years, Niki DeVeraux has been tracking the monster who murdered her family and made her a vampire. She finally catches up to him in a small Arizona town, only to face more than she bargained for. Amid an imperious vampire King, a shaky truce between the local clan and shifter pack, and a too-sexy sheriff who makes her remember she’s still a woman, Niki’s single-minded purpose is threatened for the first time since her turning.

Between his duties as Keeper of the peace for the Magic Council and heir to his tribe’s shamanistic magic, Sheriff Shane Spencer’s job is to protect humanity and stop the friction between the local Arcaine races before it turns into an all out blood war. To make matters worse, there’s an irresistible rouge vampire in town enflaming his senses.

When wolves start turning up dead, the tension between the paranormal races grows and suspicion falls on Niki. Shane knows she’s not to blame, and it has nothing to do with the primal urges she stirs within him. Working together, they must find a way to stop the hostilities from going over the edge. Trouble is, the desires raging between Niki and Shane might prove more dangerous than the surrounding threats.

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: This is an action-packed paranormal romance with two strong leads and good world building.

The Set Up: Nikki has been hunting her sire, Thomas, for two hundred years to avenge her family’s murder. She follows Thomas to a small Arizona town where the local sexy sheriff Shane is a shaman and Keeper of Peace between the vampires and werewolves. But Thomas is starting a local war and Nikki and Shane are in the middle and may not survive long enough to build a relationship.

Why I Read this Book: I am a total sucker for paranormal romance and love giving new-to-me authors a shot. Since I’ve never read any Amber Kallyn novellas I was game to try and glad I did.

What I Liked: The heroine Nikki is a perfect blend of strong but vulnerable. She’s confident in herself but doesn’t think she’s invincible. For instance, she’s a rogue vampire, meaning she doesn’t belong to a pack, so when she enters this Arizona town she knows the Master Vampire whose territory it is could kick her butt and make it hurt. You’ll often hear me complain that paranormal heroines put themselves in peril just to show how strong they are—only to need rescuing! This is one of my pet peeves and I was very pleased Nikki didn’t do this but instead was driven but smart. Plus, she develops a lovely relationship with a teenage vampire that was heartwarming to read; maternal vampire instincts are funny!

What I Also Liked: The world building was strong. The vampire and werewolf lore isn’t anything unique but them needing a magical Keeper of Peace is and added the interesting element to the novella. Additionally, the Master Vampire whose territory Nikki violates stole the novella. He will be a great hero for a subsequent story and I hope that happens soon!

What I Didn’t Like: Honestly, the romance wasn’t outstanding. It wasn’t bad by any stretch but it just didn’t wow me. Perhaps it’s because Shane spent most of the novella saying he couldn’t get busy with a vampire—only to get busy with Nikki. His reluctance went on too long in my opinion and caused him to really hurt Nikki. Of course, he does grovel in the end so he redeemed himself but it still marred the romance for me.

IMO: I think the biggest compliment I can give a story is to be willing to read a subsequent book in the series, which I’m willing to do here. This is book one and sets up the world well so I will positively read the next novella. In fact, I liked the writing so well (minus one GLARING editing error that made me giggle) that I may check out this author’s other series too.

J9’s Rating: