Title: Redemption in Blood, A Novel of the Penitent
Series: No
Author: Tara S Wood
Published: March 2012, Belle Ombre Publishing
Tour: No
Format: Ebook provided by author for review
Murder is serious business among vampires. If you kill, so do they. They are the Penitent – a military order among vampire society charged with one task only. Execute the condemned.
Vesper Hyde is a model Penitent. Solitary. Skilled. Deadly. Only once has she ever lost a target, even though it almost cost her life. Now the one that got away is back with a vengeance, and this time he's determined to finish the job. She needs to overcome the whispers of doubt and let her instinct and training take over to redeem her failure. But on this second time around, she doesn't expect a sidekick. A very sexy, stubborn, human sidekick.
Homicide Detective Decker Price has seen it all, including the murder of his wife at the hands of a twisted serial killer. When another murder pitches him headfirst into a world of vampires, witches, and sorcery, he is given a chance to mend shattered parts of his soul. But Vesper's world is as dark and alluring as the Penitent herself and he will come face to face with echoes of his past in order to help her keep a vicious enemy at bay.
If they are to succeed, they will need to push aside both their failings and work together to ensure the balance of their worlds remains unchanged. Redemption comes at a cost – is their love worth the price?
This book turned out to be much more than I was expecting. I feel like the cover is a bit mismatched to what’s inside. Vesper (very cool on the name, btw) is this fantastic kickass executioner. She hunts down the sentenced vampire and kills them. It is really quite awesome.
Then a human detective gets a case, and it crosses over with Vesper’s case. They meet. Life will never be the same from that moment on. That detective is Decker Price (also another awesome name!) Decker has had his own share of tragedy, but the pain of that seems to ease when he is around Vesper. You know what that means? They have some super-hot-get-down-to-business nookie!
“This attraction between them was leading her down a lust-laden path of destruction. And she was skipping all the way.”
You know that feeling when you’ve made a decision, and you know it isn’t exactly what you should do, but it makes you happy anyway? That’s what Vesper and Decker have going on. I mean, here they are tracking down the bad guy and they are falling for each other hardcore at the same time. Everyone knows that when you are dedicated to your work like they both are, nothing good can come from an actual relationship.
And let’s talk about the bad guy, who shall remain nameless at this point. His name isn’t a big secret at all, but let’s leave some stuff for you to find out. He is SO bad. But you know what’s worse? His accomplice…er, partner….er, lover? That one is definitely a bad seed. If you look up sick and twisted in the dictionary, you’d probably find their picture. But that really helped make this story awesome. The bad guys are actually bad, and in a horrible scum of the universe way.
The supporting cast is also really great. Cain, a half witch half vampire platinum blond punk smart ass, is my favorite. The guy has some lines, that’s for sure. I loved him. He was some great comic relief at times, but also showed himself to be a true blue loyal friend. I would definitely love to see more of him in the future.
If you want to read a vampire story that is really a hidden gem, I’d suggest Redemption in Blood. It has a raw and dirty factor that will keep you turning the pages. At least, that’s how my experience went. Happy Reading!
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