Blood Sin-Marie Treanor

Saloman and Elizabeth Remain 'Silky-Smooth' In Treanor's Second Awakened By Blood Novel.........

Elizabeth has returned to her home in Scotland, teaching at university and awaiting the decision on her doctoral thesis.  Although some semblance of normalcy has found its way into her life, the responsibilities of being 'The Awakener' and a vampire hunter continue to weigh heavily on the same heart that feels an intense pull toward the ancient vampire, Saloman. 

Attempting to protect a fellow descendant of Tsigana's bloodline, Elizabeth finds herself in the presence once again of the mesmerizing Saloman at a gathering of collectors interested in ancient, mystical relics, and she must determine whether it is blood or blade that brings him after learning that a priceless sword rumored to be the 'Sword of Saloman', coveted by vampires and humans for its power and protection, is on site.  Struggling against her own passion, Saloman's enchanting ways, and the growing doubt that Saloman is, in fact, her enemy, Elizabeth Silk must choose sides in a new world where the lines between good and evil become blurred before pointing in a startling direction.

Treanor's vampire overlord has been praised by this Broad before, and he is just as fantastic in Blood Sin.  Cool and collected, appropriately arrogant, and always one move ahead of his adversaries, Saloman gathers his power throughout the novel all while oozing alpha male sex appeal.  The dialogue between Treanor's characters is well written, with Saloman standing out as superbly smooth. 

Blood Sin also delights with sensual tension between Elizabeth and Saloman.  Treanor capably walks that fine line, teetering on the edge of surrender with her heroine.  It works, in part due to a well written story supporting her strong yet ever-growing characters, and in addition because the author keeps a hint of danger alive in Elizabeth's relationship with Saloman by introducing an interesting prophecy into the storyline that suggests she may be the key to bringing the vampire down, but may also be the tool he needs to usher in a new vampire age.

This Broad's only disappointment is that I must wait until October for the next book in the series, Blood Eternal.  Once again, Marie Treanor earns four stars.

~Moira

Just As Great The Second Time
As Moira has taken care of the summarizing, I can simply gush about how much I love Marie Treanor's writing. So often, I'm forced into being a contrarian on this blog. But novels like Blood Sin make me happy that I'm relatively stingy with my praise because I want people to know the great ones are just that:  great.

Just like in Blood On Silk, the chemistry between Saloman and Elizabeth is almost palpable. I was sitting in my car reading the book (time is at a premium for me, so car reading it is!) and as I read, I felt a rush as I read the scenes between the two lovers.  I looked around to see if anyone was noticing my reaction.  Thankfully, at my job, no one hangs out in the parking lot.  But if you saw me reading Blood Sin, you would have seen the effect Marie Treanor's writing has on readers. 

I think what I appreciate most about her books is how much of them are actually story and not just dialogue.  So many times these days, books are filled with dialogue in the mistaken idea that this is where the story should be told.  Story is told through narrative, and dialogue can certainly move the story along.  But I don't need soliloquies from my romance characters.  Leave that to the Bard's characters.  Or worse yet, I don't need pages and pages of one line dialogue.  That's pablum. What readers want and what they get from the Awakened By Blood series is good storytelling. 

I continue to be impressed by Marie Treanor's ability to keep me dying to want more of that divine vampire, Saloman.  I freely admit I read romance for the men, and Saloman doesn't disappoint.  While the love scenes are well written, what are particularly enjoyable for me are the scenes where he exhibits his considerable power.  No wonder Elizabeth can't deny him much.  I wouldn't be able to either. 

I'm eagerly awaiting Blood Eternal, due out in October.  Thanks again to Marie Treanor for delivering another fantastic read.  In a sea of vampire stories, her creation stands out as one of the best. 

-Alexandria

Please come back on Wednesday, April 20 when Marie Treanor stops by to guest post and talk about her new book!