Genres: Paranormal Romance
Published by Gallery Books
Released on August 13, 2019
Pages: 433
Format: eBook
Source: Library
The Delight
The Black Dagger Legacy has become like a scrumptious dessert to come after each Black Dagger Brotherhood release each year. I’ve enjoyed getting to know this scrappy second generation of fighters paired with one of the original brothers in a new adventure on the streets of Caldwell.
Review
Blood Truth is the fourth of the Black Dagger Legacy series standalone stories in the BDB world. While they are loosely connected to each other, they are best read after the reader has at least hit the double digits in the BDB series this spins off of so the backstory, setting, and surrounding characters mean something.
Blood Truth begins right on the heels of an event that happened in The Savior, BDB #17. Boone was directly responsible for tipping off the Brotherhood to a secret meeting happening among the movers and shakers in the Glymera. He knew by coming forward that he was probably sealing his father’s death warrant as a traitor to the King. While guilt and a weird sort of grief are present, he knows that the members of his training program, the Brothers and their household are the family he can cling to for support and comfort. Tohr takes Boone off his duty rotation to process and grieve, but Boone needs the action to keep his mind busy so Butch accepts him as assistant in working on a murder case with a serial killer who may be one of their own race.
While assisting Butch, Boone encounters a lovely woman who called in the Brotherhood to investigate the latest in three gruesome murders at a downtown underground club. Helaine is set on revenge for her sister’s murder and protect other women while she hunts the killer at the club. She feels guilty for being the one to survive when her vivacious sister was killed and now she is still awkward and hiding away from life. That is until Boone crosses her path and she finds herself pulled to this male who accepts her as she is and with whom she feels comfortable and even confident.
I enjoyed this latest a great deal. It was fab getting Butch back in his detective role, snippets with the Brothers and sweet Fritz though weird that there wasn’t much interaction with the other trainees save a few quick scenes. A few scenes were memorable and I let out some barks of laughter. There was some sizzle with Boone and Helaine and interesting family dynamics and secrets for Boone to deal with. The inclusion of a Band of Brothers side thread with Syn had me curious and I saw the twist there. It was all around easy and quick reading.
But…
There was something missing. Nothing huge or awful just little things. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I felt like I was skating across the surface with this one at times. Not that it didn’t have depth, but it was like I could see it yet not feel it. I can’t say that I minded that Boone isn’t an angsty type. Helaine tried to ramp up the angst at one point, but it was dampened when Boone controlled his anger and hurt. He calmly told her that she was his equal and he would support her independence and would she please not run ahead with the attitude and snubs like he is words and actions were a foregone conclusion when she had him all wrong.
Then, in the end, I felt like some of the things that were brought out in the story were either left under-developed or straight out hanging. With this series, its hard to tell if this is intentional and will get explored further in a later book or if it was just left. That mental thing that both Syn and Boone were experiencing, Boone’s heritage question, and a few other little things left me unsatisfied with a swift ending when I needed a bit more to the final explanations.
That said, I finished this feeling like I got another solid, entertaining read that in general left me more than satisfied. Those who are wanting sassy, sizzling action-packed paranormal romance should not hesitate to pick up the original series or this spin off.
Challenges Met
Library Love #2
Literary Pickers #14 bed sheets
Romanceopoly #6 The Bar (author shares one initial with you)
Books N Tunes #3 Guns N Roses’ November Rain
Romance BINGO #7 borrowed book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SbUC-UaAxE&list=PL3485902CC4FB6C67
About J.R. Ward
J.R. Ward is the author of over thirty novels, including those in her #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood. There are more than 15 million copies of Ward’s novels in print worldwide and they have been published in 25 different countries around the world.
After graduating from law school, Ward began working in healthcare in Boston and spent many years as Chief of Staff of one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation. She lives in the south with her incredibly supportive husband and her beloved golden retriever. Writing has always been her passion and her idea of heaven is a whole day of nothing but her computer, her dog and her coffee pot.
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i’m behind on this authors books right now but I do like her books a lot.
I’m trying to catch up too. I waited two months on the library list for this one and now I have the Christmas one to read before the spring release comes out. 🙂
I have the frst 4 books of her other series but I still need to read them
It is tough to keep up. I eventually want to get caught up on the BDB series and her Fallen Angels series.
Oh no…I hate when you can’t find what is missing.
Yeah, that feeling is no fun. 🙁
I am so behind in BDB world, and now there is a spinoff, which I need to catch up on.
It is so hard to keep up. This spin off started just after The King released and goes every other with the BDB releases after that. I noticed this time that the numbers on this one said it was also the first book in an even newer series which is another reason I wanted to make sure I got it read. 🙂
I think that the last book that I read in this series was before I started blogging. So it has been a while. I really do want to get back to it and check out this series as well. Glad you enjoyed it overall.
LOL, a while ago then. 🙂 No worries, they will always be waiting for you. This spin off starts just after The King in the BDB series.
Good for you for still going strong on these books. I just couldn’t after a while. And that sense of something missing or whatever is exactly how I started feeling about it. I am glad you still enjoyed the book overall. It’s fun to read reviews and find out who is doing what.
Yeah, I’m hanging in there. Some are better than others, but for the most part, I love the world and characters so I’ll keep hanging. Looks like this one wraps up this spin-off series and introduces another spinoff series that has me curious. 🙂
I hope that feeling of something missing doesn’t persist for me. Thanks, Jen!
This sounds like a wonderful series Sophia and you know I’m all about sizzle and swoon in my romance! Wonderful Review 🙂
These are great. Oh yes, bring on the sexy romance. 🙂
I’m so behind in the main BDB series, and I’ve skipped around a bit, but I still enjoyed this one too. I think I like the spinoff a little better, because you don’t need to be completely caught up with the main series to enjoy them. This isn’t my favorite in the spinoff, but I still liked it a lot. Fab review, Sophia Rose! 🙂
It’s a tough series to stay caught up with. I’ve got one more and then I’m caught up.
Glad it wasn’t just me on this one.
I’ve actually read it and it’s just been long enough that I don’t remember everything about it. I do remember that weird man that worked for his father and the stuff he tried to pull. I think that stuck out the most for me with this book. Actually, I think I listened, this is a series that I started listening in the beginning and have just kept listening as each comes out. Just the spin off books though.
Yeah, the butler was creepy emphasis on the creep. 🙂