Blood Rush
Book Two of the Demimonde
The second book in this supernatural series is an exciting tale of romance, mystery, and danger that will intrigue readers who love the subtle tinge of blood.
Sophie Galen, advice columnist to the lovelorn and confused, has problems of her own. She’s lost her vampiric lover, and worse yet, he may be losing his very soul. She’s being followed by werewolves. It turns out that her empathetic abilities mark her as an unwitting manifestation of The Sophia, a mystical oracle to the “demimonde” of supernatural beings that lurk in the shadows of the world. And she doesn’t have a clue what she’s supposed to do about it.
“I don’t believe in happily ever after. These days I’d settle for alive until sunrise,” she says, while evading a mysterious stalker on her way home from work in the opening lines of Blood Rush, the second book in this fast-moving supernatural romantic thriller series.
Krafton, a Pushcart Prize nominee whose short stories and poems have appeared in a variety of small literary and genre magazines, is a talented writer whose first-person narrative effectively puts the reader into the mind of her heroine. Sophie is an appealing heroine, both sensitive to the emotional needs of others and capable of responding with energy and spirit when threatened.
The first-person narrative also highlights her constantly questioning self-awareness and her sardonic sense of humor. She refers to the events of Bleeding Hearts, the first book in the series, as The Crap That Almost Killed Me, at the same time acknowledging that such flippancy is a defense mechanism against the feelings of loss and fear that they still provoke.
Sexuality is constantly present in the world of demi-vampires, the preternaturally attractive and compelling predators in whose company Sophie now spends much of her time. But after the terrifying end of her relationship with Marek, the demi-vampire she encountered in Bleeding Hearts, Sophie is all too aware of the costs and dangers of such liaisons, no matter how attractive and compelling a new love may appear, or how good his intentions may seem.
While Sophie is no demurely blushing maiden, and sexual attraction is a strong component of the story, readers will find the relationships here more restrained and less explicit than in some popular supernatural romance series such as Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake and Merry Gentry books.
The nature of the demi-vampires and other supernatural denizens of Sophie’s world may be confusing to readers who missed the first book of the series, but most of the essential knowledge is eventually conveyed in context.
Blood Rush is an exciting tale of romance, mystery, and danger which will intrigue readers who find that the roses of romance are made sweeter and more compelling by the subtle tinge of blood.
Reviewed by
Bradley A. Scott
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
