The Edge of Hope
(Bad Blood #1)
by Alina Popescu
Genre: Paranormal Romance
When tall, dark, and
gorgeous shows up on your self-prescribed emotional recovery vacation, some
would call it fate smiling down on you. If he also happens to be interested in
your work and ready to make all the room you need in his life, it starts to
sound too good to be true. Alexa skips the doubts and jumps right in, only to
be thrown into the mysterious world of vampires.
The secrets of their
origin and their very existence are far more important than her life to some of
her new acquaintances. They are ancient, they are powerful, they have unlimited
resources, and they are keen on controlling what the world knows of their kind.
As Alexa discovers their complicated, blood feud bound world, she tries to
better understand herself, heal old wounds and give love chance after chance.
Will she survive the journey?
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Quick Gif Review:
You know whenever you read a book and it just hits the spot? That was the type of read The Edge of Hope was for me. It reminded me why I love paranormal romance (especially the fanged variety) so much. And it didn't hurt that Alina Popescu sprinkled enough references to World of Warcraft throughout to make my little MMO gaming heart flutter.
Alina has a very interesting approach in how she blends her story. It has elements of fantasy tucked between the romance and vampires. At first, I was afraid the attempt was going to fall flat. But no, I was proved so very wrong. It creates an interesting story. There are also several mentions to pop culture in the book that had the fangirl in me squeeing.
The main character, Alexa, has a strained history with men. Her ex tossed her away for her best friend. My main gripe with this story stems from that. I wasn't able to fathom Alexa willingly putting herself in a relationship so soon after her heartbreak. She didn't come off as the type that jumped from relationship to relationship, loving the idea of love instead of the person she was with. So why did she even put herself in a position to jump so quickly to a new relationship? Who knows. Either way, Alexa is still a good character. She's a fighter, almost to a fault.
The other characters in this book are a varying degree of "Oh, I wanna put him in my pocket to keep forever!" and "Can I just kill this person now?!". They're all thought out well and fit into their roles. The dialogue in this one is amazing and showcases each character's voice as truly their own.
Anne Rice fans, you'll love this book. I promise you'll have plenty of fangirl moments as you enjoy this story. If you haven't read Anne Rice, you'll still be quickly swept up in this brilliant paranormal romance.
Alina has a very interesting approach in how she blends her story. It has elements of fantasy tucked between the romance and vampires. At first, I was afraid the attempt was going to fall flat. But no, I was proved so very wrong. It creates an interesting story. There are also several mentions to pop culture in the book that had the fangirl in me squeeing.
The main character, Alexa, has a strained history with men. Her ex tossed her away for her best friend. My main gripe with this story stems from that. I wasn't able to fathom Alexa willingly putting herself in a relationship so soon after her heartbreak. She didn't come off as the type that jumped from relationship to relationship, loving the idea of love instead of the person she was with. So why did she even put herself in a position to jump so quickly to a new relationship? Who knows. Either way, Alexa is still a good character. She's a fighter, almost to a fault.
The other characters in this book are a varying degree of "Oh, I wanna put him in my pocket to keep forever!" and "Can I just kill this person now?!". They're all thought out well and fit into their roles. The dialogue in this one is amazing and showcases each character's voice as truly their own.
Anne Rice fans, you'll love this book. I promise you'll have plenty of fangirl moments as you enjoy this story. If you haven't read Anne Rice, you'll still be quickly swept up in this brilliant paranormal romance.
**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Alina Popescu.
Excerpt:
I walked to the heavy wooden door, stopped, and took a few deep
breaths. Then I pushed and pushed. When the huge obstacle didn’t move, I looked
and saw a discrete PULL sign on it that I had completely missed. I swore and
walked into a large club with a long pub-like bar, tall stools, large
red-and-black couches, and low tables spread around the rest of the room. It
was huge and the dim lights barely chased the shadows away, but I could see it
was mostly empty. Except for a few men at the bar and three groups at some of
the farthest tables, the place was empty. There wasn’t really any room for
dancing, but the Buddha Bar, chill-out music was quite pleasant.
I finally spotted Anthony in one of the groups in the back. He was
sitting with a group, mostly women, most half-naked, extremely beautiful. They
all turned to look at me. Anthony kept staring at me, a cold smile on his lips.
It took him a while to change it to the warm one he had gotten me used to. I
knew I should walk up to him, but my legs weren’t moving. I saw him taking one
more sip from his glass before finally getting up so I took the time to look
around.
At another table, there were three girls fighting for attention from a
guy. I could understand why because he was striking, but it all seemed a bit
pathetic. I noticed he was also looking at me, shaking his head and smiling. He
seemed to know who I was. He probably did, as he had a brief silent exchange
with Anthony as he made his way towards me.
“Gorgeous as ever,” Anthony said when he walked up to me. He wore a
white button-down shirt and dark jeans, so no superspy. Well, reality is
reality, but he was still gorgeous.
“Thank you. Interesting….bar.”
“It’s a private club, actually. Bar, lounge, restaurant, concert
venue, and even dancing club when needed.”
“Seems remote enough for a private hangout,” I said, nodding.
“Come,” he said, taking my hand. He stopped for a moment to wave to
one of the bartenders, then directed me to a table in one corner of the large
room. The couch was extremely comfortable, but I felt very uneasy. Both the guy
that the girls were fighting over and all the people at Anthony’s table were
staring at me.
“Relax,” Anthony said, noticing my discomfort. “They are friends and
extremely curious. I told them tonight you’re all mine so they have to wait to
meet you.”
“I see.” I really didn’t understand, but I couldn’t find anything else
to say. It was not curiosity I was sensing from them. Plus, he could have
spared five minutes to introduce me to them. If he wanted me all to himself,
maybe he should not have chosen the place where all his friends liked to hang
out.
The bartender came and brought us a bottle of chilled champagne, the
music changed, and people eventually stopped inspecting me. After a few sips of
the dry and cool drink, I started to relax. Anthony was acting as if he
couldn’t keep his hands off of me and after a few drinks, I had forgotten
everything about the awkwardness of being treated like a circus monkey by his
“friends”, and the numbingly cruel smile I had seen on Anthony.
Interview with the Author:
1) Which TV show would you most want to go on to promote your book?
Ellen's show would probably be my top choice. I like her and her style and I'd also really like to meet her.
2) Which author would you want to be best friends with?
Oh, I can't possibly pick one! If you spend a bit of time with me on Facebook, you'd see how many authors I stalk. I mean hang out with. I wouldn't mind spending a little time with George R.R. Martin if he's willing to give me a crash course on killing your characters! I find that extremely hard to achieve.
3) What was your biggest source of inspiration for The Edge of Hope?
This book and the entire series is inspired by a lot of things that happened in my life. It was my way of processing certain events and situations and turning it into a story that I hope will help others, not just entertain them.
4) Do you have a writing ritual?
No, not exactly. I do need my music and tons of coffee, that could be considered a ritual. I don't usually write at a certain time or in a certain place. I need to first visualize the story in my head, but that's more of a process than a ritual.
5) Which character from The Edge of Hope would you most want to have dinner with?
Anthony, even if he's the baddie. He's always entertaining, not a moment of boredom with him! He might not want to have dinner with me however, I think he's holding a grudge because I messed some of his plans.
6) Chocolate or vanilla?
Both! Can't mix them and be forever happy? Okay... Chocolate... no, vanilla! No... I'll stick with chocolate. I think.
7) I noticed that there are several mentions of World of Warcraft in The Edge of Hope. As a former WoW addict myself I have to ask, Alliance or Horde?
Horde, always. I tried having an Alliance character but ran back to the Horde. I have characters of all races, even if I don't really play anymore.
8) Any new books or projects in the works?
Horde, always. I tried having an Alliance character but ran back to the Horde. I have characters of all races, even if I don't really play anymore.
8) Any new books or projects in the works?
There are quite a few. I still have book 3 of the Bad Blood trilogy to finish and I am also working on a few others. There are a sci-fi novel, a werewolf story, and a couple of romances that are keeping me writing.
About the Author:
Writer, traveler, and coffee addict, Alina Popescu has been
in love with books all her life. She started writing when she was ten and even
won awards in local competitions. She has always been drawn to sci-fi, fantasy,
and the supernatural realm, which explains her deep love for vampires and is
also to blame for this trilogy.
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