Blood Domination

Blood Destiny, Book 4

By: Connie Suttle

Narrated by: Traci Odom

Length: 9 hrs

Publisher's Summary

"To whom are you taking her?" Merrill asked, uncharacteristically curious.

"Dragon," Griffin grinned. I stared at Griffin, my mouth surely open in surprise. Dragon? There was somebody named Dragon? That didn't sound promising. Who named their kid Dragon?

Xenides has witnessed Lissa's talents first-hand, and now he is desperate to find her. After all, under his compulsion, Lissa can topple governments and bring any race to its knees.

Wlodek understands Xenides' motives all too well. As a result, he looks to hide Lissa in perhaps the most unusual place of all....

©2011, 2015 Connie Suttle (P)2015 Connie Suttle

A Favorite

What made the experience of listening to Blood Domination the most enjoyable?

Blood Domination is one of my favorite books in the entire series because this was the book that really started the expansion of Suttle's universe. Before now there had been hints about the larger universe (like every time they mentioned Adam Chessman but always failed to mention where he was, Griffin constantly popping in and out, and Sherly Walkers odd out-of-the blue comment about Unicorns way back in the first book) but now we get a crash course on it through Lissa's eyes. Another reason I like the book is because Lissa finally gets taken off her leash for most of the book, and the rest of the book is her giving a giant middle finger to the vamps on Earth. I mean, seriously, when will they realize she's at her best when they aren't constantly trying to micromanage her? In any case, they'll all soon realize Lissa was never theirs to command to begin with.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lissa will always be my favorite character in this book, but of course close competitors for that title would be Merril, Dragon, and Karzac.

Which character – as performed by Traci Odom – was your favorite?

Lissa, but I also like her performance with Gavin and Tony.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes! My heart always seized up whenever I read about Lissa's return to Earth, and everything she learned about the events that took place while she was gone. Listening to it in audiobook format made me want to cry right along with Lissa after she heard about the Paris hotel bombing.

Any additional comments?

I always read the book before listening to it in audiobook format, and have read all of Connie Suttle's books to date, so most of my comments above are directed to at my experience with the story as a whole instead of just as an audiobook. That being said I did like this as an audiobook, and I've really come to enjoy Traci Odom's rendition of Lissa and her performance as a whole.

Also, as a warning, many people were off put by the fact that what seemed to be your typical vampire/werewolf fantasy series has taken a turn for the SciFi and introduced aliens and other worlds to the mix. As a person who has read ahead, I'm just going to say that this trend will only continue. If you don't like space operas, intergalactic politics, time travel, or aliens messing with a good old fashioned fantasy series, then don't read anything else by Connie Suttle. That being said, Connie Suttle is the only author I've ever seen who managed to mix SciFi and Fantasy in equal measure, and I have enjoyed the plots and stories she has created from this union of genres immensely. Yes there are aliens, time travel, and intergalactic politics, but the aliens don't really feel like aliens most of the time, just people from a different place, and the intergalactic politics feel very similar to the politic already on earth, just between different planets instead of different countries. There will still be vampires and werewolves in the future, there will just also be Saa Thalar, Larentii, Falchani, High Demons, Wizards, Warlocks, and a bevy of other creatures from other planets right along with them.

My least favorite

Lissa has some major issues with the guys in her life. And this one made me so mad in how she reacted to how they were all treating her. She just let's them walk right over her, even when they have completely done her wrong.

And in the last book it was briefly mentioned about the others out there and all of a sudden she in thrown into another world. There was no build up, no background.

I have never liked how this narrator does the guy voices. Some times it is hard to tell who is speaking.

Ok, I didn't see that coming

Minor Spoiler Alert
This series has major problems. There are things that just drive me crazy. For example almost every male character in the entire series has at one time or another referred to Lissa as "little girl". I mean everyone, It just doesn't ring true. Also the author threw a curveball and set most of this book,(I think), on another planet. Ok this is fantasy after all but she did no world building. This planet and it's people were just like earthlings. Lazy writing in my opinion. Strange men appear in her bedroom and she doesn't call for help she just goes to bed, come on it's just not believable. Also No matter how egregiously or often she is betrayed by the men in her life, she takes it and goes back for more. It seems to me the author doesn't know how to build chemistry between Lissa and the many "men" in her life. There is no build up, the men just jump on her and she is placid. This book did frustrate me and yet I'm not ready to give up on the series. I still want to know what happens to Lissa. I hope Lissa will find her feet and grow a backbone and I really hope the next book in the series is not quite so "out there".

fizzled out

I really enjoyed the first couple of books written by Connie Suttle. That being said - this book was simply random killing with virtually no story line. I'm done.

This series just tanked- do not buy

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I can't imagine anyone liking this crap. It was clearly just words barfed on a page for profit.

What could Connie Suttle have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Continued the storyline from the first 3 instead of taking a bizarre turn into what appears to be a set up to the main character becoming a super whore

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

yes

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Yes, I could return it

Any additional comments?

This series started off well and had potential. I've never read a series that an author purposely ruined before

it's like a pinball machine.

I am currently listening to this book and I am beyond frustrated. There are to many characters and she is attempting to tell the story from every point of view which is very confusing. It takes a few minutes to figure out who is talking and what part they have in the story and by then your already irritated which takes away from how engrossed you can be in the story.
It's like an audible pinball machine and it is not pleasant at all. Now this next part may be a bit of a "SPOILER" so beware beyond this point, I am not an alien fan at all in any way, while i love vampires, witches, werewolves and almost anything else supernatural aliens pretty much end it for me. So the fact that she is shipped to another planet and is working with aliens that is a bit much for me. Also, that vampires are from an alien species again is to much for me. Your now trying to explain the origin of vampires I suppose but i'm just not into that religion in the book. So between the ping pong effect and the alien nonsense I am so far dissatisfied with this book and i seriously doubt if i will continue on with this series if there is going to be another book. I returned another book and thought i would be safe with this one but no it's like fingernails on a chalkboard every time she skips to the next character with out warning. You can try it but I doubt if you will like it.

Good enough for Government work

One thing that bugged me in this story is the over use of the word HONEY. Yes it is a term of "endearment" but it makes the (in my opinion) Main character seem somewhat insipid or perhaps uninteresting. In any case it detracts from the story.

A Wild Ride

Where does Blood Domination rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really enjoy this series. I can't wait for the next one. I consider Ms. Suttle among the authors I always search for when looking for my next read/listen.

What did you like best about this story?

Sometimes stories of certain genre's become formulaic. Ms. Suttle has veered away from the usual and stretched out the adventure. I think she has done a fantastic job.

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked to cookie eating scene. It was charming.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If life didn't interupt I would have.

Any additional comments?

Please keep them coming.

Losing sleep

OK so I'm losing sleep because I just can't stop listening to this series. My sister got me hooked on them so I blame her for this. Thanks so much sis.

Forced to continue

Each book in this series that start I tell myself I don't like it due to the romancy tone and at times almost YA dialogue. Then I get sucked in by the story. Must be a compulsion. Interesting series for a change of pace and worth the credit.

Superb!

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant I don't think I have enjoyed a book so much in a long time. Looking forward to the next in the series.

Forced marriage...

The narrator is brilliant but this series just gets more about dominanting men. I wouldn't say the main character empowers women

good plot...

I'm really into this novel at the moment the only downside is that it feels that the books are too short.

brilliant

Very different from the previous books and I wasn't sure about it to start with but it quickly addictive.

Enjoyable Listen

What did you like most about Blood Domination?

I really liked Lissa standing up for herself, in past books she has accepted too much and allowed others to make her decisions

Who was your favorite character and why?

Besides Lissa which goes without saying - I really like Dragon and Kifrin , strong characters who will become very important in the future.

Have you listened to any of Traci Odom’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Yes I have listen to her reading Vampires in America another story I have really enjoyed - she is good but I feel more variety in voices is needed. I have purchased these as Kindle books and the problem for me is that some/most of Traci's voices don't sound as I imagined.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The scene where Lissa confronts people who made life decisions without her input is marvelous. Lissa's outburst and her anger towards the blood king made me cheer.

Any additional comments?

As I have said before some of the writing is clumsy but the story is good and in the future books the quality of the writing improves and the storyline is well worth the reading.