Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Enemy Within by Angeline Kace ~ Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

Click here to see the complete tour

Enemy Within (Born Vampire #2) by Angeline Kace

Book Description:

Two guys who’ve stolen her heart.
Three races and only one of them worthy.
Countless enemies with insatiable bloodlust for power.
Will one girl's curse ultimately save her?


Half-vampire Brooke Keller barely survived the slaying of her worst enemy, only to learn that Zladislov—the world's most powerful vampire, leader of the vampire world, and her father—wants her dead. However, this time, she's not only fighting vampires but a raging monster within her that endangers what's left of her humanity. And when a deadly disease threatens to take her best friend's life, Brooke tries to convince Kaitlynn to accept a monster of her own: becoming a Zao Duh.

As a former slave to the Pijawikas, Mirko is driven to protect the innocent at all costs, but he has never faced a foe more formidable than Zladislov. And when the Commission bears down on Brooke, Mirko finds the stream of enemies runs deeper than he ever imagined.




 Excerpt:


Mirko

I raise an eyebrow at Brooke. “You want me to bite you?” This is insane, but I can’t stop myself from asking.

Surprise, and then something deeper and warmer flashes across her face, replacing all signs of fear. “Yes,” she whispers.

I’m being selfish. This is more for me than it is to show her the bite doesn’t have to hurt. I want it, though.

I study her body, trying to find the ideal place to not only bite her but that will be concealed by her dress and whatever she might wear tomorrow. “There are rules against what we’re about to do. Are you sure you want to do it?”

“I know it’s forbidden to let you bite me, but I want my first time . . . to be with you.” Her neck muscles flex as if she’s anxious.

“What you’re about to feel . . . you won’t feel that when Mrs. Tomic bites you. The only thing similar will be the pinch and burn as my teeth sink in, but once that fades, nothing will be the same.” I lock eyes with her. “Do you understand?”

I’m offering her a way out, but also an experience the two of us might never share again. I hope she gives it to me.

It’s unheard of for an active Društvo to allow a Zao Duh to bite them. And it’s against everything the Pijawikas believe in to ever allow themselves to be bitten by a Zao Duh.

“Bite me,” she says.

“You said we leave in fifteen minutes?”

“Yeah.”

“That leaves us eleven. Turn around.”

She does but tilts her head back to look at me.

I grab the zipper on the back of her dress and slowly unzip it, surveying the delicate skin underneath. The cut of the dress is somewhat low, so I go beyond her bra line.

Dear God, she isn’t wearing one. My heart leaps and my mouth waters.

This is actually perfect.

I release her zipper and place my hand under the material. I glide it across her silky skin to the side of her rib and stop at the base of her shoulder blade. “Right here,” I say as I lightly pinch the skin.

“Okay,” she says on a heavy breath.

I ease the dress slightly down her shoulder to offer enough give for me to reach the spot.

I wet my lips. Anticipation skips down my stomach to my groin.

I drop my head to a lick away from her skin, and she shivers when my breath strokes her on my exhale.

I can’t wait any longer.

I latch my mouth over her flesh, gently grabbing her skin between my teeth before I extend my fangs.

She quietly whimpers when the skin breaks, but then her blood meets my tongue and a dance of ecstasy transfers between us.

Her breathing increases and her blood pumps faster into my mouth.

I jerk away before I get to the fourth swallow.

Holy shit, that’s intense.

Possession unlike anything I’ve ever felt takes hold. I can’t bear her sharing this with someone else. I told her it will be different with Mrs. Tomic, and it will, but I still resent it.

Yet, her life depends on this arrangement, so I put on my commander’s face and lick the wound until it stops bleeding. I zip up her dress and turn her around by her shoulders.

She faces me, her mouth gaping open. Her eyes reflect how I feel inside.

“The bite, the moment when my fangs broke your skin, that’s the only part that will be the same.”

Her tangy fluid lingers on my tongue and in my throat, and I regret ever pulling away from her.

Confirmation: definitely addicted.





About the author:

Angeline Kace, author of Descended By Blood series.




My Thoughts:



4 stars- Still very much TEAM MIRKO!

I loved the strong, confident Mirko in book one and that hasn't changed.  Jaren made me mad in book one and I never got over it.  Brooke certainly was more patient with him than I was.

I haven't read a lot of vampire books over the years.  Some I like but most I don't.  It's nice, though, to find a series that has more depth to the vampire lore than most.  The Descended by Blood series is full of complex lore that gives meaningful issues for these vampires to overcome.  Different kinds of vampires with different social standing depending on whether they were made or born are the basis of racism and conflict in this series.  Humans mixed in just heightens the issues.  Brooke and Mirko are at the very center of all those problems.  Centuries of tradition seem to overwhelming to battle.  The depth in this series makes it clear this books doesn't suffer from any middle series let down.  No, this one is compelling from start to finish.

As I said, I am team Mirko.  Love the guy.  He does get mad in this book and I totally get why but I so wanted to see him get over it.  It hurt watching him in so much pain.  That's a sign of great character development as I ached for the characters living on these pages.  This boy is badass and can hold his own as long as no one throws powers at him.  As a made vampire, he doesn't have those gifts.  Give him a fair fight and he will win every time.  He isn't above doing what it takes to protect Brooke, even if it means his life.  Love that about him.  Oh and how I loved their sexy in this book.  Lots of stolen moments of yumminess! They really are perfect together.

So that means I shall NOT speak of Jaren.

I will, however, talk about Brooke.  She's still fighting to deal with being a vampire, learning her power and dealing with drinking blood.  She's savage at times as she learns to deal with the emotions of being a vampire.  I'm gonna have to give her some slack there because the girl got on my last nerve in this book.  I love her, don't get me wrong.  She's outspoken and willing to stand up to anyone against the ridiculous racism that is part of the world she has discovered she belongs to.  She's great in a fight.  She's learning to use her power.  But she makes the worlds worst decisions sometimes.  There was one or two moments when I was feeling like that part of the horror movie when you know the bad guy is about to take out the clueless blonde and no amount of yelling at the TV can fix it. Yeah, it was like that.  I get it but I still wanted to smack her.

The story moves quickly and once I worked through an issue I had with my copy of the book, I read it in about a day.  There is  non-stop action and excitement for sure.  Lots and lots of sexy moments.  A decision that made me of so happy.  A killer cliffhanger that had me pretty upset and I'm seriously hoping we don't have to wait as long for book 3 as we did for book 2.  All in all, I loved it.  Can't wait for book 3.

This is great YA paranormal at it's best.  If you haven't started this series and you love paranormal, then give it look.  Think you might enjoy.


****Giveaway****

Angeline is giving away 6 prizes during the tour! The grand prize is a $50 Gift Card. 3 winners will receive a signed copy of Descended by Blood and nail polish, and 2 winners will get their choice of a Kindle or Nook cover featuring Descended by Blood.




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5 comments:

  1. i can't understand why i still haven't read book 1 since i have a copy... i really want to but i wanted to wait for book 2 and then...book 2 isn't in print ( i hope it will be!!)

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  2. Haven't read the 1st one but this excerpt I really liked. I love to read vampire books. Thanks.
    MCantu1019 at aol dot com

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  3. I really liked Descended by Blood. I'm glad that you liked this one too. And YES to Mirko! Great review, Pal!

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  4. I loved Mirko in the first book. I still need to read this one!

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