Blood and
Fire: Book Two of the Talbot Trilogy by Tori L. Ridgewood
Book Synopsis:
What chance
does one witch have against five vampires? Alone, not much. But Rayvin’s allies
are gathering…
The battle
between good and evil supernatural forces heats up in the long, cold November
nights of the former mining town. But how will Rayvin’s motley crew of
spellcasters and shapeshifters cope when they discover the threat they face is
even greater than they imagined?
The Talbot
Trilogy:
0. Mist and
Midnight (prequel)
1. Wind and
Shadow
2. Blood
and Fire
3. Crystal
and Wand
About the Author:
After her
first heartbreak, Tori found solace in two things: reading romance novels and
listening to an after-dark radio program called Lovers and Other Strangers.
Throughout the summer and fall of 1990, the new kid in town found reading
fiction and writing her own short stories gave her a much needed creative
outlet. Determined to become a published author, Tori amassed stacks of
notebooks and boxes of filed-away stories, most only half-finished before
another idea would overtake her and demand to be written down. Then, while on
parental leave with her second baby, one story formed and refused to be packed
away. Between teaching full-time, parenting, and life in general, it would take
almost seven years before the first novel in her first trilogy would be
completed. In the process, Tori finally found her stride as a writer.
At present,
on her off-time, Tori not only enjoys reading, but also listening to an
eclectic mix of music as she walks the family dog (Skittles), attempts to turn
her thumb green, or makes needlework gifts for her friends and family members.
She loves to travel, collect and make miniature furniture, and a good cup of
tea during a thunderstorm or a blizzard. Under it all, she is always intrigued
by history, the supernatural, vampire and shapeshifter mythology, romance, and other
dangers.
Tori is
currently working on Crystal and Wand: Book Three of The Talbot Trilogy.
She lives in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada with her husband and two children.
She is a full-time teacher at a local high school.
Review:
Oh, Tori, no! You left book two with as much of a cliffhanger as you did book one! I can't believe you did it twice! Blood and Fire is the sequel to Wind and Shadow. When we last saw our beloved Rayvin, she has lost Grant, been bound to the vampire de Sade, and had no idea where help would come from next.
In the follow-up book, Rayvin finds herself practically addicted to de Sade between the sheets. I'm not really sure how one can despise a man with such burning and still be addicted to sex with him, but Rayvin sure is. She also finds herself just a wee bit pregnant. Part of her still pines for Grant, whom she thinks is dead after giving himself up to the sun.
Grant did get infected by de Sade at the end of Wind and Shadow. He just didn't turn. Instead, in her last ditch effort to save him, Ratvin used sex magic with de Sade to turn Grant into a werewolf. Poor Grant has been through a lot, but finding another wolf in the woods, Solomon, helps him find his way back to the right path.
I loved this book as much as I did the first. It's a little sexy, a little dangerous, and a whole lot of exciting. The external and internal conflicts are tense and the consequences have the potential to be dire. All the characters show some personal flaws, but really, who's perfect? This is a great adventure story for older teens on up to adults who love a good vampire tale. I can't wait for the third and final installment of the Talbot Trilogy! I'm giving Blood and Fire 4.5 stars!
Excerpt:
“What
kind of maniac tortures his lover?” she whispered. Her throat was still hoarse
from screaming.
“Some
people find they enjoy what you call ‘torture’,” he countered. Supporting her
body with his, so her chin was secured against his shoulder, de Sade slid his
hands under her sweater to unfasten her bra.
The
confident movement of his hands against the taught, sensitive skin of her back
was making her temperature rise. He lowered her brassiere away from her chest,
gently reaching up the sleeves of her sweater to thread the straps through so
he could pull the black lace garment from under her clothing. De Sade was
moving with deliberate care, taking his time, and he could probably tell from
the rise in her pheromones that it was turning her on in spite of herself.
How could this be happening to me?
She
couldn't stand it.
Her
systems may have been weakened by electric shock, and her magick worn down by
pregnancy, but Rayvin refused to give in.
As
the vampire continued lazily undressing her, she gritted her teeth and focused
on a drawer next to the stove.
The
handle shook for a moment, before the drawer slid open and released a large
carving knife that hovered in the air. Rayvin lifted her chin from de Sade’s
shoulder, leaving room for the knife to ease itself next to the vampire’s neck.
The tip positioned itself under his earlobe.
De
Sade paused for a moment. “You can threaten me all you like, but the truth is
that I am stronger than you. You cannot help but be affected by me.” He ripped
the front of her hoodie in one smooth gesture, tearing the fabric away from her
body.
Rayvin
sat straighter in the remains of her hoodie. The t-shirt she was wearing
underneath did little to conceal the way her breasts had swollen with her
pregnancy. De Sade stepped away from the hovering knife to remove his own
shirt, and she directed her eyes at another drawer.
The
vampire smiled at the peeler she sent toward his ribs. It pressed against his
skin but did not penetrate.
“You
don’t have the heart for it, love. You’re not a killer.”
The
cupboards flung themselves open, and all of her mugs and glasses hurled
themselves to the ceiling. The vampire didn't even flinch at the noise of their
shattering. Hundreds of shards and jagged fragments aimed in his
direction.
Rayvin’s
voice was low, but clear.
“Leave
now, before I cut you into a thousand pieces.”
De
Sade unbuckled his trousers, let them fall, and stepped out of them. He hadn’t
bothered wearing any underwear. “You don’t really mean that, now do you? I have
something you want.”
His
body never failed to shock her with its magnificence. Perfectly sculpted
muscles. Pale, but hairy where a man should be. His arousal was clear. Rayvin
felt herself growing wet, her whole being fighting to draw closer to him. Her
hands clenched around the edge of the table in a last-ditch effort to hold on
to herself.
“I
don’t want you.”
She
sent her fury toward a shard of porcelain. It obeyed her command, darting past
the vampire to slice a thin line on his cheek. A single drop of dark blood
trickled down his cheek.
He
held her gaze. “Now you and I both know that that is a lie.”
Rayvin
took a deep breath and lowered her feet to the floor. She wasn’t quite strong
enough to hold herself upright, but the table held firm against her weight. “I
don't need you or want you in my life, asshole. I’m done with you. Get the fuck
out of my house.”
De
Sade clucked his tongue. “Haven't we always been honest with each other?” He kicked
his pants aside, and then his shoes. “Before me, you were boring. Unimportant.
I made you special when I chose you. I’ve given you a new purpose. And when I
fuck you, I make your world explode.”
His
words killed a little more of her confidence. How did he know exactly what to
say to mess with her mind?
Rayvin
glowered as she stepped toward him. Her weapons moved with her, closing in on
his body so he was surrounded by a glittering cage of blades. De Sade looked
down at her as she approached, but he didn’t move. Her throat ached and her
body burned. “You’ve turned me into a fucking addict! I don’t want to be like
this anymore!” Her voice cracked. “Get out! I’m taking back my invitation!”
De
Sade laughed in her face. “It’s too late for that. Our bond is stronger than a
broken invitation, and it is stronger than any of the magick you have
attempted. You gave yourself to me of your own free will. There is nothing to
be done.”
She
roared at him, battering his chest with her fists as her tiny spears of glass
and porcelain razed his skin. The vampire continued to laugh. He grabbed her
wrists and held them away from them both as if she were a small child.
“Bastard!”
Rayvin spat at him, her nails digging into her palms. Her voice attempted to
produce a scream, but instead it could only rasp. “I hate you! I’ll kill myself
if you touch me again!”
In
a move so fast she couldn’t see it, de Sade had pinned her arms to her sides,
shoved the table to one side, and forced her against the wall. His knee had
spread her legs and he’d pressed the length of his body to hers even before the
table he had pushed away had a chance to hit
the floor, the elderly legs cracking and splintering on impact.
“You
won’t do that, dearest Rayvin,” he whispered, nuzzling her nose with his. She
fought the melting sensation in her loins, but her will was ebbing with every
thrust of his hips against hers. “You love life too much. You are not destined
for death by suicide. And as I told you before, you are allowed to hate me.
This isn’t love. It’s fucking, and you want it with every inch of your sweet
little body.”
His
lips descended on hers, and the last of Rayvin’s self control fell away, along
with the remains of her glassware. Her will drowned in a sea of passion,
overwhelmed once again by the touch of his mouth and tongue. Somewhere in the
back of her mind, reality screamed at her to fight it, but it was as though a
screen had lowered between knowledge and sensation.
Sensation
was all that mattered in the moment.
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