Circle of Blood Book Three: Lover's Sacrifice

By: Jaelynn Woolf, R. A. Stefan

Narrated by: Gwendolyn Druyor

Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

No good deed goes unpunished. That’s what they always say, isn’t it?

Haitian relief coordinator Dr. Mason Walker didn’t expect to begin his day staring down the barrel of an AK-47 wielded by a 12-year-old child soldier.

He also didn’t expect to end it with the revelation that the darkly beautiful, otherworldly woman he’s just met is truly otherworldly, in the most literal sense of the word.

She claims to be a vampire. But Mason is a doctor. A man of science. And everyone knows that vampires are just a superstitious response to the medical condition porphyria, combined with ignorance about the behavior of corpses after burial.

Besides, he has bigger things to worry about right now. Haiti’s war orphans are going missing. And when they return, they are...changed. Mason suspects rebel military commanders of brainwashing them with a new cocktail of drugs, turning innocent children into mindless killing machines.

When his delusional but strangely alluring muse and her eccentric friends decide to get to the bottom of the mystery, Mason is tipped headfirst into a world that will make him question the very foundations of his reality.

And if they’re not very, very careful, someone’s going to end up dead before the night is over.

The Circle of Blood Series

In another lifetime, six vampires lost their mates - and their mortality - to an unimaginable evil power. Now, if they can’t reunite with the reincarnated souls of their lost loves soon, it may just mean the end of the world.

From USA Today best-selling author R. A. Steffan and fresh new voice Jaelynn Woolf comes a steamy paranormal romance series perfect for adult fans of vampire fiction. Download Circle of Blood Book Three: Lover’s Sacrifice today and continue a heart-stopping journey that explores the power of love in a world gone mad with hate.

©2018 R. A. Steffan (P)2018 R. A. Steffan

good

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall

Loved it

This great narrator has now added Aussie to her voice repritore!
This book has only three of the original six vampires in it Zander, Duchess and Oksana. They go to Oksana's home country of Haiti.
Dr, Mason Walker is there with Doctors Without Borders helping the children in the war torn country.
Oksana realizes when she and Mason first meet that he is the reincarnation if her former husband. But she tries everything she can to avoid him. She doesn't want to bring him into the vampire life, no matter what the prophecy says.
When they find out that children are being taken and their souls stolen to become zombies, the three vampire and Mason attempt to find a way to rescue them.
This series has simply blown my mind and stolen my interest. I love the way the stories have turned out and can't wait to read more!

Oksana and Mason

This book the third in this unusual and exciting series features only three of the original six vampires, I say original because there are now eight vampires in total. Oksana, Duchess and my personal favorite Zander are in Haiti where Oksana was born. Whilst there they meet Mason Walker, he's a doctor working with Doctors Without Borders helping the children in this war-torn country.

Oksana recognizes Mason as the reincarnation of her former husband almost as soon as they meet, it only took one touch of skin to skin. But as she has never forgiven herself for the death of her husband she tries everything she can to avoid him. She doesn't want to turn him into a vampire even if it is what the prophecy says must happen in order to defeat Bayel, the demon responsible for making them into vampires and for so much evil happening in the world.

Mason tells them that children are being taken from the villages and when they return they seem to be zombie-like, he puts it down to a new drug but our vampires know that this must be the work of Bayel. So the three vampires and Mason attempt to find a way to rescue them. But during the rescue, things go badly wrong, resulting in the near-death of all concerned.

This series has captivated my interest, these vampires are like no others and their stories so far have moved me immensely. In this story, though I did think that Oksana took a little too long to accept the gift she was being given. I love Mason, he is such a good man and I'm sure will go on to do even more for mankind. But the real hero of this book for me was Zander I really can't wait to learn his story.

The narration is excellent, this book once again is narrated by Gwendolyn Druyor an excellent voice actress who uses a variety of accents speaks both slow and fast and gives each and every character a distinct personality bringing the story to life beautifully.

I was given this audiobook as a gift and am voluntarily writing my review

Vampire ensemble adventure: Oksana's story

Confession: I listened to books two and three back to back, and I preferred book three over book two. This is an ensemble series where each of the six vampires will get his or her own time to shine. The ongoing plot involves the group of vampires and their new, quite possibly reincarnated, lovers’ attempts to defeat the evil Ba’al.

Book three brings us to Haiti where we start with a tense scene with Australian doctor Mason Walker as he faces down an AK-47 held by a child soldier. It’s tense and gripping, the kind of thing that draws you in right away. We also get the first hints of what will be the central mission of this story: finding the missing children who may be turned into zombies.

The vampire star of this show is Oksana, the perky prosthetic-wearing vampire who helped Della acclimate in book 1. I admit I didn’t have a firm understanding of who Oksana was before this story because I had mixed up a few of the characters. I also think of the name as Slavic thanks to some fabulous ice skaters. In any case, as Oksana returns to her native country, we learn all the interesting backstory, including how and why she lost part of her leg.

As for the rest of the ensemble, the other vampires in this story are Xander and Duchess. This was much appreciated because it helps me get to know the characters before their own books (4th and 5th, respectively). Snag, Eris, Tre, and new lovers are still in the Mediterranean after the events in Damascus from the last book.

There are some romance books where the hero and heroine jump immediately into each others’ arms, have a lot of unending sex, and figure out their compatibility later, usually with lots of sex. This book takes a different route, and for me, that was a refreshing change. Oksana still bears the guilt of her husband’s death, and she flees Mason because she doesn’t want to hurt him in the same way. That distance allows space for other things to be addressed first, like the differences between Mason’s science and Oksana’s faith in spirits.

At the release of the audiobook, the authors were bragging about Gwendolyn Druyor’s stellar performance. I have to agree because at one point in the book, I was listening to a scene where Druyor is using no less than five different accents. I can’t comment on how well her Haitian accent sounds, but the rest of the characters sound authentic. While this scene was happening, I just took it for granted until I actually thought about the skill in which the narrator was performing.

At the end there is a Xander scene that sets up his next book, and I suspect it’s going to be a good one. I’m still looking forward Snag’s book, but we’re going to have an interesting journey before we get there.

My only qualm at this point is that after three het stories in a row, I’m ready for a little gay now, please. Steffan (and Woolf) writes all kinds of romance (MF, MM, MMF, etc), so she knows how to mix it up. Besides, if one of the upcoming three vampires was part of a poly trio, that would make the math logical for the missing 13th person for the Council of 13. But that is all reader conjecture at this point, and I don’t know what the authors will choose to do.

Recommended to: vampire lovers, ensemble story fans, those who like their love with a lot of adventure and suspense, armchair travelers, previous readers of Steffan and Woolf, accent lovers because Druyor brings her A-game.

Disclaimer: I received the audiobook from the creator in exchange for an honest review. I had, however, already purchased the ebook on my own.