"He had everything under control until she crashed into his afterlife."
Black Bullet
(The Order of The Senary, Book 2)
(The Order of The Senary, Book 2)
L.D. Rose
Dark Paranormal Romance
November 9, 2016
Fledgling vampire Jonathan Kerr has met his match.
Not even his past life as a former marine and
FBI agent could prepare him for the battle against the monster inside him,
struggling to take hold. After an old nemesis of the Senary surfaces in
Brooklyn, unleashing chaos and terror in the battered borough, Jon sets out to
take him down. Instead, he ends up with far more than he bargained for when he
clashes with the beautiful half-vampire hybrid, Lawan Knight.
After escaping near death and suffering
unspeakable horror at the hands of vampires, Lawan trusts no one, regardless of
species. In between bouts of drunken stupor, her only goal is to exterminate
all those who've wronged her, including every member of Jon's vampire
bloodline. But Jon’s soulful eyes and quick smile crawls under her skin,
transforming her black and white world into a hazy shade of gray.
As the days rapidly grow darker, Jon and Lawan turn to one another, but their inner demons threaten to tear them apart. The only way either of them will survive is if they overcome their greatest fear -- love.
Add to Goodreads
My Review:
5 stars
This book tells Jon's story and while it was amazing and I know I should focus on him, I just have to say 1) ROME!! Oh-em-gee!! Woman, give him to me NOW!!! and 2) Am I the only one who's thrilled by the fact that both books in the series has started out with someone being horrifically tortured? I know, I know, my inner psycho is showing . . . I'll stuff her back in.
Ok, back to Jon. After Valerie's initial response to him in Releasing the Demons, I didn't expect him to have his own book (especially over Rome...), but I enjoyed it immensely. I am totally smitten by the idea of a vampire with a soul that shines brightly, even through his pitch black eyes. And who better to pair him with than the one person who is hell bent on annihilating his entire line, Lawn. EPIC!
Being able to flawlessly bring together two broken souls, each believing they shouldn't be alive, that are perfect for each other requires a skill that many don't possess. That skill is inherent in LD Rose. I liked the way the main characters lifted each other up. I liked that they wanted to be better people, if only to please each other. I loved that regardless of the flaws they saw within each other, they still felt the undeniable pull to make each other happy.
I did NOT like that this book somewhat portrayed Rome as the bad guy from Lawan's perspective (he's my new book husband, I will defend him with my last breath), but I liked that he was able to offer help when they needed it and without forcing it on them as I suspect he wanted to. I didn't like that Jon kept such a amor secret from Lawan - that had disaster written all over it. I also didn't like Taylon's presence, but I liked that he seemed to be a driving force for Jon when he needed it most - a catch 22, if you will.
I liked that the ending had no cliffhangers - but that epilogue, PLOT TWIST! I honestly cannot wait for more. From this book forward, I will forever more be a fan and stalk the crap out of LD Rose until she gives me Rome (of course then I'll be mad because I'm sure she's going to give him a killer love interest).
My Review:
5 stars
This book tells Jon's story and while it was amazing and I know I should focus on him, I just have to say 1) ROME!! Oh-em-gee!! Woman, give him to me NOW!!! and 2) Am I the only one who's thrilled by the fact that both books in the series has started out with someone being horrifically tortured? I know, I know, my inner psycho is showing . . . I'll stuff her back in.
Ok, back to Jon. After Valerie's initial response to him in Releasing the Demons, I didn't expect him to have his own book (especially over Rome...), but I enjoyed it immensely. I am totally smitten by the idea of a vampire with a soul that shines brightly, even through his pitch black eyes. And who better to pair him with than the one person who is hell bent on annihilating his entire line, Lawn. EPIC!
Being able to flawlessly bring together two broken souls, each believing they shouldn't be alive, that are perfect for each other requires a skill that many don't possess. That skill is inherent in LD Rose. I liked the way the main characters lifted each other up. I liked that they wanted to be better people, if only to please each other. I loved that regardless of the flaws they saw within each other, they still felt the undeniable pull to make each other happy.
I did NOT like that this book somewhat portrayed Rome as the bad guy from Lawan's perspective (he's my new book husband, I will defend him with my last breath), but I liked that he was able to offer help when they needed it and without forcing it on them as I suspect he wanted to. I didn't like that Jon kept such a amor secret from Lawan - that had disaster written all over it. I also didn't like Taylon's presence, but I liked that he seemed to be a driving force for Jon when he needed it most - a catch 22, if you will.
I liked that the ending had no cliffhangers - but that epilogue, PLOT TWIST! I honestly cannot wait for more. From this book forward, I will forever more be a fan and stalk the crap out of LD Rose until she gives me Rome (of course then I'll be mad because I'm sure she's going to give him a killer love interest).
Connect with LD Rose:
Excerpt:
Jon only had time to take a
single breath before a dark boot materialized in front of his face, the heel
aiming straight for his throat. He snatched it before it made contact and
twisted hard, thrusting it away from him. The limb yielded beneath his grip as his
attacker collapsed beside him, metal clattering nearby. He levered to his feet,
pulling a KA-BAR from his boot as pain lit up his nerves, setting his teeth on
edge. His attacker was already standing, the blade of a gorgeous double-edged
Kris sword pointed at his throat.
Holy shit.
His opponent was female,
wearing a slim-fitting black battle uniform and carrying enough artillery to
outfit a small army. Her jet-black hair was tied in a long braid and a black
mask covered the lower half of her face. Her dark, almond-shaped eyes revealed
her Asian heritage, her skin the color of caramel. A scabbard stretched across
her back, strapped to her chest, along with the M16 she’d used to tear up the
warehouse.
Jon took a step back, but
she didn’t hesitate, launching at him with the blade. Metal clashed and sparks
flew as he parried the long sword’s quicksilver arcs with his dagger. Although
she limped from her injured leg, her strikes were hard, fast, and precise, each
blow intended to kill. He nearly tripped over the pirate’s body as she backed
him against the wall of the refinery, and he ducked as the blade screeched
along the brick.
Before Jon straightened, he
jabbed the butt of his KA-BAR into her knee and she yelped, stumbling backward.
He slashed at her and caught nothing but air as she lurched away from him. She
swung the Kris at his head and he raised the KA-BAR to engage and bind the
sword. Both of their weapons trembled as their eyes locked on one another
across the tangle of deadly metal.
And as her smoldering gaze
drilled into him, he smelled it.
Dama de Noche.
The Lady of the Night, a
nocturnal blooming flower he’d first smelled years ago in Nepal, when he was a
human soldier. The scent was unmistakable, underlying the incense of vampire.
The stench of leech didn’t belong to her, but the floral aroma was all her own.
She’s not a vampire.
Stunned by the revelation,
Jon wavered, and she quickly took advantage of him. She sidestepped and lunged
at him, sinking the blade in his shoulder. He shouted, dropping his KA-BAR as
pain erupted from his dominant limb. Moving lightning fast, she yanked the
blade out and sliced an arc across his chest. Luckily, she only scored his
Kevlar, and as the sword swooped around again, Jon caught it with his gloved
hands, silver biting into leather.
“You’re a hybrid,” he ground
out. “I’m on your side!”
She pushed hard against him,
drawing blood. “Bullshit.” Her voice was a rich contralto, edged with a growl.
“You reek of Temhota.”
The Dama drew back and chopped at his belly, but Jon blocked her with
his forearms, metal jarring against his bones. Finally, he managed to kick the
blade out of her grip and it spun away, clattering to the ground. She
somersaulted backward to retrieve it, but Jon caught hold of her braid in mid-air
and wrenched on it. She cried out and landed face-first on the pavement, her
breath audibly whooshing from her throat.
Jon wound her braid around
his hand like a rope and straddled her, pinning her down. He tore the M16 off
and tossed it as she writhed beneath him, fighting hard. Yanking her head up,
he leaned close to her ear. “I’m not your enemy,” he hissed.
Her already shallow breath
quickened and her struggles intensified, her sweet scent pumping from her pores
in cloying waves. Panic. Fear. Restraining her like this completely terrified
her.
Jon let up, knowing it was a
mistake, but the shred of humanity still left in him couldn’t resist. The Dama slammed the crown of her head into
his face and his retinas exploded in a staggering palette of reds, whites, and
grays. His nose caved in, but not so far as to bury the bony shards into his
brain. Blood poured out of him like a leaky faucet as he fell back, propping
himself up on the wall of the refinery.
She was on him in an
instant, chopping the edge of a flat hand into his trachea before smashing a
fist in his ear. She wobbled to her feet as he struggled desperately to
breathe—remember Jon, you don’t have to—and
she gave him a vicious kick to his solar plexus, doubling him over. The pain
was terrific, a cacophony of agony echoing from every corner of his body.
Jesus Christ, she was
beating the shit out of him.
The Dama stood there, shaking, the fabric of her fallen mask fluttering
to the ground. Jon blinked, trying to clear his blurred vision as she picked up
her sword. He stole a glimpse of her face as she flung the mask up with the
blade and caught it. A tattoo marked her cheek, the black symbol unmistakable
but jagged, as if she’d thrashed during the process.
The same mark he’d painted
on his chest lay branded on her face—the emblem of the Temhota.
Jon yanked down the neckline
of his shirt, much like he had with the pirate, but this time he wiped at the
mark, smearing it. The Dama paused in
front of him, eyes narrowed, a gash marring her forehead. Even with the mark of
his enemy on her face, she was breathtaking, and he didn’t have much breath
left to spare.
“Not real,” he said past
swollen lips, lifting trembling fingers stained with both paint and blood. “No
mark.”
“But you are a leech.” She pointed the serpentine
blade at the hollow of his throat.
He nodded, swallowing iron.
“I work with the Senary. I used to . . . I used to be human. I’m not what you
think I am.”
“You stink of them.” Her lip
curled in a snarl.
He nodded again, every
muscle in his body screaming. “Because I’m one of them. Yet I’m not.”
Brilliant. Maybe a few of
those bony shards made their way into his brain after all.
She flipped the sword deftly
and held it in a two-handed grip, the sin
qua non of impending decapitation. Her dark eyes didn’t have the cat-like
gleam signature to vampires, but hate and anger bled through them anyway.
“Makes no difference to me.”
Meet L.D. Rose:
L.D. Rose is a
neurotic physician by day, crazed writer by night, and all around wannabe
superhero. She writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy, but she's been
known to delve into horror, sci-fi, and medical suspense on occasion. L.D. Rose
is a PAN member of the RWA, FF&P, NEC-RWA and CoLoNY. She currently lives
in Rhode Island with her studly hubby, her hyperactive boxer, and her two
devious cats.
Sign up for her Newsletter for the latest on the Senary, sneak peeks,
giveaways, and other fun stuff. You'll receive a free horror short story with sign-up!
