The Longblood

The Longblood Series, Book 1

By: Charmin Blazier

Narrated by: Alex Black

Length: 12 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

Love will make him a better man. If it doesn’t kill him first.

Nineteen-year-old Daniel Marco is about to start the life he’s always wanted. But when he blacks out and etches a mysterious code on his arm, it changes his plans in ways he never imagined.

The code leads him to the grounds of an ancient British asylum housing a secret society where he learns the unthinkable - he’s lived before. As his past life begins to resurface in unpredictable and terrifying ways, Daniel seeks answers and learns his life is in danger.

And he’s not alone.

When he meets bold Ainsley Fairfax, who is working in the shadows to solve a mystery tied to both their fates, Daniel is intensely drawn to her in ways he can’t explain. Ainsley believes Daniel is the key to solving the mystery and keeping them alive. But the more time Daniel spends with Ainsley, the deeper he’s drawn into danger. And the more he begins to lose control...

Together, they must solve the mystery before it’s too late. Will he prevail? Or will all he cares for be destroyed?

Be on the lookout for the second audiobook in this paranormal new adult romance - Lost Longblood: The Longblood Series, Book 2 (coming soon).

©2020 Charmin Blazier (P)2021 Charmin Blazier

a new life, a new world, a new threat

Most that fall in love and have love hope to be a better person for love. None go into love think of the possibility that it will kill them. Daniel finds that life has something all together different in store for him as he makes his way to the life he thought he wanted. One incident changes the course of his life and may help someone else along the way or just drag him and her (Ainsley) further in the dark.

Alex Black has led me on many a paranormal journeys over this last year. I have come to anticipate his tones, cadence, and style. He lends his talents to bringing to life characters that take root and make you want more. You connect with the characters though his voice via the words of author (Blazier). The author that has created a world with depth and intrigue.

Fantastic Start to New Paranormal Romance Series!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

The author does a great job of balancing a blooming romance with the mystery and suspense of the novel’s narrative. Perfectly capturing the New Adult genre in this story, the plot is both creative and original, giving readers a new paranormal romance series to dive deeply into.

The narrator does a great job of bringing these characters and their story to life. Readers instantly feel connected to Daniel and Ainsley, as both come at this mystery from two very different points of view but soon find themselves drawn together. The novel jumpstarts immediately with shock and awe with Daniel’s introduction into this dangerous world and the mystery within, giving readers an instant connection to the overall narrative.

As someone with a keen interest in the past life theory and the paranormal, I found myself drawn to the narrative immediately, and the narrator himself does a great job of capturing the amazing cast of characters that fill out this large plot and mystery.

A memorable, entertaining and engaging audiobook, author Charmin Blazier’s “The Longblood” is the perfect start to a brand new paranormal romance New Adult series. The characters are engaging and the story adapts perfectly to the audiobook format, creating a narrative that lends itself to some cinematic style imagery within each chapter. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

EXCELLENT READ!

I loved it! This book was full of drama, suspense and romance! The narration was excellent and kept me entertained! The author did an outstanding job with the character builds and plot! This was the first book by this author and I look forward to reading the next book in this series! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

An Interesting Concept

Daniel Marco is nineteen and ready to start a musical career. Unfortunately just before a performance he blacks out and carves some numbers into his arm. Then he severely beats up a man that was hitting a woman. Although he is worried that he is taking after his abusive father truth is stranger than fiction.

Daniel learns that at a British asylum they are working or past lives and bringing them into the present. Daniel meets Ainsley Fairfax, who he is instantly drawn to. As he is going through the motions to being his past life into the present he learns that Ainsley and he are connected and they have a mystery to solve.

I am torn on how to rate this book. It skims the surface of the whole past lives concept and I’m still not really sure what is going on. I also understand how Daniel is worried that he is going to lose his current life a stranger in the past and is not really a willing participant.

But I have so say that I get it that he doesn’t want to be part of this life. He complains about it all the time. I had a hard time getting into the story because of this. Alex Black does a great job narrating the story but I lost interest and didn’t really care how it ended half way into the story. Now the mystery was great and I think that is what hooked me to finish the book.

Overall this is not what I was expecting for the story and I loved part of it. Unfortunately I just got bored with Daniel and him fighting his past so hard. I do think some people might just love this book but for me it was a meh story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

Lots of Drama and Romance

The Longblood was one of those books that took a bit to get started but once it did it was off to the races. Blazier did a pretty good job introducing each character and gave the reader borderline too much information about certain aspects. I had a hard time getting into the story to start, but after I learned Blazier’s writing style I got into the flow of things.

The biggest thing this story has going for it is it’s chalk full of drama. The Longblood has a lot of genres in it, but I would put it as a suspense or a drama first, with lots of romantic elements sprinkled in for spice. Blazier was able to write a story that jumped off of the pages but was also nail biting. It was one of those stories that I wanted to figure out what was going to happen next after every new thing.

As mentioned, the lower point of the book was just the storytelling early on. It’s really describe the things that are to come in any new book. But it’s especially hard in one that has as many plot points and twists and turns as this one did. I’ll forgive Blazier a bit here for that. I’m glad that I stuck to it, but I feel like if the book was a bit shorter (I feel like I’m the only one who ever says that) it might have been a bit more concise and easier to jump into.

Overall, The Longblood was a great read that I blew through. Even being a longer book I was able to finish it in a few sessions, ones that I couldn’t walk away from once it got going. Blazier is a name that I wasn’t familiar with before, but I’ll be on the lookout for more in the future.

So original! Great book! Loved it

This book was so fresh and original! It took me a while to get into it. But once I did, I was hooked. This is a great book and I would recommend!

Pretty Fantastic

Listen, I'm not big on romance in novels and although this one contained a few eye rolling romantic moments, the story beats everything. Super original, unique plot, dynamic and lovable characters, and the prose was spot-on. Narration was cool in that Black gave each character a special voice and kept to it the whole book. Enjoyable all the way through the end. Will be looking for more from Blazier!

Whoa!

This book is nothing like I've read before. There are hints of familiarity in places but overall, this book brings its own spin on things. Only downside to me was the ending, I dislike endings that leave me in a lurch. But this one was totally worth it.

*I requested this book and am voluntarily leaving this review

Fabulous story

I was given this review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
I loved this story and how it drew me into those trying to retrieve their past lives and I can’t wait for book 2.
Alex Black is a good narrator however I wish he had done some research before narrating this book so he knew how to pronounce Alnwick correctly as it’s pronounced An-ick not Aln-wick .

Great premise!

I have really enjoyed this audio. The premise of past lives is such an interesting one and this has been an intriguing and compelling spin on the concept. Daniel is a lovely character as are Ainsley and Diego. I did feel that Daniel's resistance was well handled. His need to 'be his own man' was understandable. The story unfolded well, though some of the settings did create a sort of HP feel and I occasionally felt it needed to move along faster, but that did not detract overall.
Alex Black has a lovely voice and I enjoyed listening to him. I am going to be picky and say, as a Brit, that a couple of pronunciations were incorrect and his accents are not convincing at the moment, but with time, this can be overcome. Overall, an audio I have enjoyed and look forward to more from this world. 💖💖💖💖
I was given this review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Very Interesting and Quite Unusual

This story is quite different from others about reincarnation. It involves a secret society that somehow manages to survive through the ages and to call back its members through the cycles of their birth and rebirth. Daniel is one such soul, much to his disgust. Of course, his resistance to the society's reason for existence is a huge part of the plot.

I did find the story a little bit long. Perhaps that is because along with the story was an ominous sensation that at any moment something dreadful could happen. The society itself seems shady and shrouded in rituals that may or may not have be hiding something worse. As such, there is definitely a suspense angle to the plot and an unusual twist, as the author suggests.

Overall, the characters are intense and the story is interesting. This was my first book by Charmin Blazier and I am looking forward to reading/listening to more books by her, perhaps even in the same world as there were a few unresolved issues at the end of the book.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Intriguing

Mysteries abound in this interesting story set in a British asylum, which is not the only unique element in this story. The magic system is fascinating, bringing something new to the paranormal romance genre.

The writing is digestible with the prose being almost lyrical. There was no "info dumping" which I greatly appreciate, thereby enabling the story to unravel at a steady suspenseful pace. The MC (Daniel) is likable and secondary characters are fleshed out as well. I especially liked Daniels dynamic with Diego. The book left me wanting more. It's hard to believe that this is the authors debut novel! Can't wait for book two.

I requested this book from the author as the synopsis sounded very intriguing, I'm leaving this review voluntarily, and all the opinions expressed are my own.