Blood Price – Blood Lines

Blood Price – Blood Lines is book 4 of the Blood Lines series by Kit Tunstall.

It’s the story of Nikia, half sister to the Protector of Corsova, Anca, whom you met in Book 1. She’s spent the last two years deep in a coma, trapped in a high security hospital outside of Corsova itself. She’s been all but forgotten by the Protector, left to languish in her darkened world, especially considering her last conscious act was to try and kill her half-sister.

Until she mysteriously awakens…

But Nikia is not what she appeared to be all those years ago. She is finally free of the controlling essence of her dead mother…an evilness she’s suffered with since she was born. Since the day of her conception she’s been controlled by the spirit, kept locked away in a corner of her mind while her mother used her body to commit all manner of evilness. When Nikia awakens and realizes the hold has been broken, she knows she has very few choices.

She can return to Corsova and face death for her mother’s crimes...

She can live a life on the run…dodging her half-sister for the rest of her days…

Or, she can try and rid herself of her dead mother once and for all…then face the consequences.

She’s torn between these options until she meets Atar…the Makheet tracker sent to retrieve her from the human world and return her to face justice. Atar is very good at what he does and once he’s bonded with Nikia’s ‘aura’, he has no trouble keeping up with her…despite her repeated escapes from his grasp.

There’s a complication though…Atar knows he must return Nikia to face justice, it’s the moral thing to do considering all the evilness she has committed over the years…but his heart says Nikia is not the woman he’s been lead to believe she is. He sees the real woman, the woman she should have been all those years and slowly begins to believe she has been under the influence of an outside evil. As his heart becomes more involved he finds himself willing to give up his solitary, long lived existence to spend his days with her…loving her…holding her…and fulfilling the all consuming sexual attraction he feels deep in his ancient soul.

But can the two of them overcome all the obstacles they face? Can Nikia really convince him she’s been held captive by her dead mother? Or will Atar betray her…return her to the Protector to face sure death for her crimes?

This story captured me from the beginning. Kit Tunstall does a masterful job of drawing you into a world of danger, mystery, vampires, werewolves and an ancient race that prefers a solitary existence to the world of humans. The erotically, sexual attraction between the two characters of Nikia and Atar had me both laughing and crying as the pages turned.

The passion these two share…not only for life, but for each other also, had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book. This tale is wonderfully woven and more than a hot read. The tenderness and love Kit brings to both characters will have you cheering in the end…along with shedding a tear or two.

I’m happy to give it four angels and the only suggestion I could make to Mrs. Kit Tunstall would be to add in a bit more of the background story from books 1 – 3. She does a wonderful job with all of them, but even as part of a series, each book should be able to stand on its own feet. For the most part, Blood Lines – Blood Price is capable of that, but there were times when it was just a bit confusing because I had not read the other three.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a sexually charged, wonderfully written romance, but if you really want to get the most from it, read the rest of the series first.

Reviewed by: Mary