Blood Lust by Alexandra Ivy is the perfect mix of action, romance and drama!

Bas and Myst have two of the coolest names I've ever seen in a book, let me say that outright. And now, onto the review!

I've been hoarding Alexandra Ivy books on my shelves for years now, so I was thrilled to finally pick up one of the books hanging around on my shelves. This book was a lovely book to start off with, even if it was third in the series. I had no problem jumping into this story and I fell in love with these mysteriously epic characters! In this book, Myst and Bas have a young girl named Molly (she has such a normal name for her parents having cool ones, just saying...) and she brings them back together. Bas, the assassin, and Myst, the woman who's seen a very important vision, are such a strangely well paired couple. They are hot and bothered and ready to fight.

I loved that this book wasn't purely romance - I've gotten tired of the "this is a fantasy book" but it really is all romance trope that I've been seeing lately. Having this book full of intense drama and action with the romance coming in closer to the end felt REALLY nice. These two characters are definitely made for the romance sphere, but they also have such incredible back stories that it would have been a waste to not explore them. So, kudos to Alexandra Ivy for making this book so different.

My notes on the book are as followed:
1. You can see the ending coming from a mile away, but that's probably just me reading too much and watching too many movies.
2. This book is easy to jump into as a stand alone, but I might have understood a little bit more of the world building if I had read the first two books in the series.
3. The fantasy in this book is REALLY COOL. You can tell a world is being built around this series, so I really hope there's more books to come.
4. I love the relationship between Bas and Myst. They are sassy, sarcastic and yet romantic at all the right times.
5. The story felt "real" - you can believe that Bas and Myst would go save their daughter. All of the plot points didn't feel forced and worked really well within the story as a whole.
6. If I had to pick one negative for me, it would be that the book felt just a little too long. Some scenes could have been cut out and the story would have made just as much sense.

Overall, I really liked this book! It was a great mix of fantasy, action and romance and I'd highly recommend it to someone looking to fill the void in those genres. I wouldn't recommend purely binging it. I liked it much more when I was able to set it down and jump back into the world.

Four out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. ( )

Myst suddenly appears in the home of Bas shortly after their young daughter is returned from being kidnapped. Myst has been in hiding trying to find out what one of her visions means so she can prevent the horrors she fears she may spring at some point in the future on an unsuspecting world. As Bas and Myst discuss the situation and come up with a plan they get to know one another better and come up with a plan to find the answers Myst so desperately is seeking.

This is the first book in this series that I have read but it is able to stand alone without reading previous books and does not end with a cliffhanger. I really liked Myst and Bas together and their daughter Molly added to their story and the overall story as well. I want to know more about Wolfe and Lana and wonder if Kaede will get a story of his own, too.

This was a fun and easy supernatural fantasy romance filled with suspense, good and evil, hot scenes, alpha males, magic and a whole lot more. I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. ( )

Once again we meet Bas the Sentinel assassin, the elusive Myst and that adorable little pixie of a child Molly. Bas a hardened mercenary whose only soft spot was Molly now realizes that Myst is not what he thought she was, a heartless woman who had abandoned her only child. In fact, Myst had made the ultimate sacrifice, she was protecting her child from her fate, a future much more horrible than anyone could imagine. This book is all about their quest to prevent that disaster from happening. But unfortunately the odds are stacked against them and every step they take to prevent it, takes them deeper into making come true.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review. ( )

wbi