Blood Kiss

Black Dagger Legacy

By: J. R. Ward

Narrated by: Jim Frangione

Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

The legacy of the Black Dagger Brotherhood continues in a spin-off series from the number-one New York Times best-selling author....

Paradise, blooded daughter of the king's first advisor, is ready to break free from the restrictive life of an aristocratic female. Her strategy? Join the Black Dagger Brotherhood's training center program and learn to fight for herself, think for herself...be herself. It's a good plan until everything goes wrong. The schooling is unfathomably difficult, the other recruits feel more like enemies than allies, and it's very clear that the brother in charge, Butch O'Neal, aka the Dhestroyer, is having serious problems in his own life.

And that's before she falls in love with a fellow classmate. Craeg, a common civilian, is nothing her father would ever want for her but everything she could ask for in a male. As an act of violence threatens to tear apart the entire program and the erotic pull between them grows irresistible, Paradise is tested in ways she never anticipated - and left wondering whether she's strong enough to claim her own power...on the field and off.

©2015 J. R. Ward (P)2015 Penguin Audio

BDB Spin Off Does Not Disappoint!

I was skeptical about JR Ward doing a spin off of the BDB series, and was afraid it would be more of a young adult novel due to the main storyline being about a training class. However,
I should've had more faith, this was classic JR Ward all the way, and I loved the spin off!

Blood Kiss does introduce us to some younger characters which is refreshing, but I was happy to see there was a strong presence of some of the original BDB characters including two of my favorite Vishous, and Butch. While the main plot is about Craeg and Paradise, the subplot with Butch and Marissa tied in nicely.

JR Ward is my favorite author! She knows how to write an awesome story that's full of romance, action and surprises.

This story was well worth the credit, and time well spent! I can't wait for the next book in the series. :-)

Predictable plot, but nonetheless a great story!

If you are an avid J.R. Ward reader, you probably saw where the story was going to go from a mile away. There was also nothing too interesting about the new characters that were introduced in the book.

Nevertheless, one does not pick up a Ward book for for political intrigue or some deep realization about the human condition. J.R. Ward writes lip-bitingly good sex scenes and she has delivered it. Worth the read (and future re-read on lonely nights I'm sure).

Fantastic beginning to this spin-off!

What an amazing story. I love that we got a chance to learn more about Paradise. She is an interesting character. She is a female of the Glymera (aristocracy), but she the conventional limitations that are placed on her because of her social status and sex. She wants more than to simply knit and keep house, to make herself look presentable and act appropriate at all times. She finds that opportunity within the Brotherhood's training program. For the first time, the brothers are allowing females to join. She is so stoked but she not naive enough to think it will be easy. Her first day of training, the man of her dreams shows up causing her heart to beat wildly. She wants him and becomes determined to have him, to give herself to him. Craeg, her dream guy, is a commoner. He isn't a member of the aristocracy, so a relationship between them is almost impossible, but Paradise is determined. Paradise and Craeg's relationship/story is reminiscent of Butch and Marissa's story who, coincidentally, play a pretty big role in this book. They are experiencing some troubles in their relationship, and this is all about them finding their way through those troubles. The two couples are very similar, just at different stages. I really enjoyed getting to see how one relationship developed while the other found ways to strengthen.

As always, the brothers made appearances along with Lassiter. I just love Las. He always finds a way to make things comical, no matter the situation. He is like the eternal icebreaker. He brings levity and humor to everything, sometimes at inappropriate moments, but he tries none-the-less. I especially like his entrance into the pool and his talk about the calendars. He is such a character.

I also enjoyed the tender moments that V, Butch and Mar shared in the Pit. The three are the ultimate trio, only made better with Jane.

We didn't see too much of Wrath or the other ladies of the house, and even the brother that did appear were seen only a little. The most prevalent characters in this story were the 7 new recruits (Paradise, Craeg, Peyton, Novo, Anslam, Axe and Boone), Lassiter, Butch, Marissa and V. Tohr also made a few appearances, but not that many. Mostly it was about Paradise & Craeg, Butch & Marissa.

I really enjoyed this. It's a fantastic start the BDB spin-off series Black Dagger Legacy. I will say though that if you want to read this it would be best to read the first few books of the BDB series, all the way through The Shadows, before reading this one. You'll have a better experience if you do that.

Well done to the author and the narrator, who did a fantastic job performing the story. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Nice tie in to the main series

The characters are well developed
The dialogue is engaging
The Narrator is good
Nice book

Awesome

Love love love this book I couldn’t stop listening to it wanted to know what would happen next

HOT

As always, another brilliant piece by the Warden!!! Hot and steamy as always with mysterious as well!

Favorite Book Series

The Ward is the best- in my opinion no one comes close in this genre. Narration is perfection. I love that the legacy series opens up to years more of this series!

Excellent

This is am excellent way to continue the storyline to the next generation . I can not wait until the next book.

J.R WARD hits a HOME RUN

I could listen to JIM FRANGIONE narrate a cookie recipe and enjoy it..But when he NARRATES J.R. WARD's books I am in heaven.. I really like the update on Marisa and Butch and I am looking forward to hearing more updates on Qhinn and Laila's daughter and Zadist and Bella's little girl.. I think there is more to this story for the trainee center but I am glad the Brotherhood is back on course. THNAK YOU J.R. WARD for another outstanding read.

Outstanding

JR Ward, you did it again. I love this book. I especially like how you brought Butch and Marissa in the story. can't wait the the next book.