Juliette Cross

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶🌶/4

**Summary & Thoughts**

Jules is the head of her family, a powerful Enforcer witch, and the head of the New Orleans Coven. Ruben is the vampire overlord of New Orleans and reports directly to Jules.

Over a decade ago they met and had an instant connection. But back then, Jules was young and untested. She didn't yet have the respect of New Orleans or the greater witch coven councils. She was so worried about losing herself to Ruben that she had to show more break it off in order to save herself.

Fast forward and Jules has grown into who she wanted to be. She's powerful, respected, and finally feels like she knows herself. Ruben sees it too. He wasn't willing to let her go back then, but could see that she needed the time to grow. But oh boy is he finally done waiting. It's time to make his move.

The time for that move is also perfect, because they are forced to travel together for a few months to spread the message of werewolf acceptance to the international coven guilds. I've loved all of the NOLA content so far, but who doesn't love a trip to the UK!

**Spoilers start here**

It's always fun to see characters that you've seen throughout the other books and come to respect independently finally come together. The hints about them and their chemistry throughout the rest of the series have finally paid off!

As a second-chance romance, we know going in that these two have chemistry. It's all of the rest of it, the baggage, the history, the things that they've learned and the people they've become that they have to get over to finally be together again. We get a dual timeline of these two which was fun to explore, along with the dual POV. I loved seeing the evolution of Jules from a young and un-tested leader who needed the time to find her own place in the complicated and even dangerous world of paranormal leadership.

Ruben is a centuries old vampire, so he's learned the importance of patience. But even an old dog can learn new tricks. It's not just Jules that needed time to grow up and into herself, Ruben also needed time to see his own mistakes and really acknowledge the fact that he needs to communicate with her and support her choices instead of always taking the lead. It takes a strong man in a modern world to respect the rightfully earned authority of a woman. Seeing them come back together on a strong foundation of trust and support was the best part of their relationship, not to mention hello to the best power couple in NOLA!

Now take all of that personal and relationship growth... and add in a LOT of adventure. We have trips all over the US, UK, and even a stop over in Paris, not to mention vampire masquerade balls, new werewolf alliances, and dangerous rituals that threaten everything they're trying to build.

If you love second chances, or just great relationships based on communication, trust, and a guy who owns a rare bookstore for fun when he's not dealing with all of his vampire underlings ... this one is definitely for you!

**Author quirk: See full note on book 1 of this series... WE FINALLY HAVE STOPPED NAME DROPPING BRANDS. I don't know if it was the setting change to take place mostly in the UK or what, but thank god. The Author's continued use of brand names that didn't make sense finally stopped in this one and just really made everything better. Hoping it continues in book 6. show less

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶/4

**Summary & Thoughts**

Violet is a firecracker, and she's also a seer. But she should have listened to Aunt Beryl as a kid when she told her that a seer should never try to see for themselves, it always brings trouble.

Nico is the musically talented cousin of Mateo (book 1). He and Violet met years ago and after one unforgettable night, he knew she was the one for him. He didn't realize just how much of a long game he would have to play to get her though. show more

So I had a lot about this book that I loved... and a lot that bothered me. So let's break down both:

**Spoilers start here**

*Stuff I loved*

- The sexual tension. Yes, it took a while for these two to get together (again) but you could cut that tension building with a dull butter knife it was so good. I loved seeing how these two really became friends before crossing the bridge into more. I also love seeing how much they come to support each other, especially when it comes to their business. It was a great reminder that relationships should be built on more than just sex, and these two have all the right ingredients.

- The main thing I loved (besides the couple) was Violet's heart and the beginning of the supernatural equality revolution that she starts by discovering her tattoos can help werewolves (and other supernaturals) to control their inner beasts. By giving the werewolves back control, it gives them a pathway into supernatural society and out of the stigma that they've been carrying around for centuries.

*Stuff I didn't love*

- How long Violet's own miscommunication WITH HER OWN POWERS caused these two to be apart. Ma'am, you are a powerful seer... but you also have an entire family of witches to talk to, not to mention an actual seer mentor that shows up in this book as well. Instead of talking to them about what she saw / what her fears were... she just held onto an incorrect interpretation and let it delay her relationship with Nico for so long. I get that there's a whole lesson about understanding her powers and accepting things here... but jeeze it took forever to have that figured out.

- Nico also didn't admit his feelings forever which didn't help this. So both of them... miscommunicating themselves. Painful.

- And the big non-relationship one... the whole kidnapping situation. Does Violet have a big heart? Yes. Does she want to help werewolves? Yes. Do werewolves usually get ostracized from society and have a bad reception when they ask for things from witches... also yes. BUT THAT STILL DOESN'T EXCUSE KIDNAPPING. Or the fact that the wolf pack bugged her business and violated her privacy. The whole thing was just so bad... and it just gets glossed over / forgiven super quickly because they needed her help. Didn't love that whole dynamic. Not. A. Fan.

*Conclusion*

Obviously the stuff I loved outweighed the stuff I didn't, but that's why this sits at a 4 for me. Too many red flags / annoying delays to push it into full 5 status (no matter how good the sexual tension & eventual spice were).

**Fav Quotes**

"I could taste his dominance from here, and yet he was also giving off cinnamon-roll vibes. What a paradox this werewolf was."

"You might think that a woman carrying a bowtie-wearing rooster down the street might seem odd, but this was New Orleans. Much stranger sights have been seen"

"What a lovely way to burn. I’d light the match myself and ignite myself on fire if it meant I could finally have her."

**Tropes & Themes** - Dual POV, Witch x Werewolf, Friends to Lovers, Fated Mates, He Falls First, Opening a business together

**Author quirk** See full note on book 1 of this series... but the brand name callouts continued to be jarring in this book as well. Less so than in books 1 & 2 but still there. show less

This book said trauma, power, and dragons.... say less!

Okay but Bloodsinger?????? This was DARK fantasy done RIGHT.

We’re following Lela ...... and when I say she’s been through it… I mean her entire life gets ripped apart, she’s sold into slavery, and then discovers she has this terrifying blood magic where she can literally control people through their blood.

Yeah. It’s giving power, it’s giving trauma, it’s giving don’t touch her unless you want to die.

But what I loved most show more is her arc from being used and displayed like an object… to slowly reclaiming her body, her power, and who she is. It’s not pretty, it’s not easy, but it feels REAL.

And then we have Trajan… our dragon-shifting Roman man who actually has morals? Disgusted with his own empire? We love a self-aware king.

Their dynamic is slow burn, tension-filled, and built on trust ... not just vibes.......and it hits SO much harder because of it.

Bloodsinger is messy, emotional, violent, and deeply character-driven… and I am already feral waiting for the next one.

Thanks to MAcmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Confession: I would absolutely let this man ruin my life and call it character development. show less

The first book in a series (duology?), is set in Ancient Rome, where dragons are the ruling class and humans are considered slaves. I had heard a lot about this book, both negative and positive, and I tried to weigh both perspectives together. I want to read a book that might offer something amazing about ancient places like Rome and its influence across Europe. While we get this, it appears more in the form of dragons taking control of the Senate, the throne, and the world.

Before I begin show more this review, let me perference this DRAGONS, GODS, and the ANCIENT ROMAN EMPIRE, SIGN ME UP! By now, I am pretty sure you know I love anything and everything historic, including this novel. This gives us an inside look into the oppressive, patrician world belonging to the ancient Romans. Our two main characters meet briefly, where Julian gives Malina an aureus, saying that Lady Fortuna smiles upon her. While Malina doesn't believe in the Roman Gods, she takes the coin anyway and keeps it close to her. When they meet again on the battlefield, Julian learns that Malina is a witch with the ability to manipulate emotions.

Julian and his dragon are smitten with Malina, and his dragon refers to her as "my treasure." I love that we get bits of the dragon talking here and there, but I wish we had more of it. I would love his point of view more than Julian's. LOL

In all seriousness, I loved this book so much that I was able to read it entirely in one day. The story was engaging and kept you invested firmly in the lives that are spread across the pages, and this is not only with the main characters but also with the secondary characters.

But don't listen to both the good and bad, let yourself make the judgment. For me, this book was well worth the pre-order and spending an entire day in bed reading. show less