Book #Review: Half-Blood Descendant (Half-Bloods: A Paranormal Series, Book 1) by Natasha Brown @writersd3sk

Half-Blood Descendant

Half-Bloods: A Paranormal Series

Book One

Natasha Brown

Genre: Paranormal/Supernatural Suspense

Publisher: Future Impressions

Date of Publication: Sept 23rd 2018

ISBN: 978-1722836917

ASIN: B07DZSZF68

Number of pages: estimated 250

Word Count: 76k

Cover Artist: Natasha Brown

Tagline: Shifters live in secret. They’re not the only ones.

Book Description:

USA TODAY bestselling author Natasha Brown blends urban fantasy, paranormal romance and supernatural suspense in the Half-Bloods, an adventure for lovers of shifters, vampires... and more.

Jax never stays anywhere long enough to put down roots. He’s a shapeshifter—the only one of his kind, or so he thinks. While prowling on his landlady’s property, he is stunned to find a man feeding on her neck. Although he frightens away the blood-sucker, Jax leaves behind a paralyzed woman and a trail of blood in his wake.

Aerilyn teaches high school and doubles as a guardian for the Genus Society, an ancient underground shifter organization. After learning of a cougar attack in her own mountain neighborhood, she suspects a rogue shifter is to blame.

When the Society accuses Jax of the “animal attack,” he is ordered to stick around until he can clear his name. Desperate to regain his freedom, he must put his trust in his beautiful guardian. Their forbidden attraction leads Aerilyn to wonder if the blue-eyed drifter is innocent. And if he is, the Society has an even bigger problem on its hands—one that feeds on blood.

Amazon

My Review:

Half-Blood Descendant is a wonderful book about shifters in a world where a secret society oversees the entire shifter population. The society knows who and where every shifter is, save a few who’ve somehow managed to fall through the cracks. Jax, a cougar shifter, is one of those that fell through the cracks. He is a drifter, not staying in anyone place too long. His current location is near Denver, Colorado and when he returns from a run, he finds his current landlady sprawled out on the ground with a man latched onto her neck. Before Jax can do anything, the man senses him and flees into the night. After shifting back, Jax calls the police, who are calling the incident a cougar attack. Except, Jax knows what he saw and it wasn’t an animal.

After her neighbor is attacked Aerilyn, member of the Genus Society and high school teacher, visits her and discovers there may be a rogue shifter on the property. Aerilyn alerts the Genus Society so that someone can check out the shifter on her neighbor’s property. When the Society accuses him of being his landlady's attacker, he is warned that if he leaves the area, the society will track him and end his life. Aerilyn becomes Jax's guardian to show him the ropes and teach him about their kind. She doesn’t expect to develop feelings for him, especially since he only plans on staying in the area long enough to clear his name and find out who attacked his landlady.

Half-Blood Descendant is a well-written book with enjoyable characters, imagery, and story. The story is fast-paced and I was able to visualize the story in my head as I read along. The characters interesting and easy to like. I also found it interesting and unique that Jax thinks he’s the only shifter. His shock at learning about the society and that he’s not alone is written with realism, as is his reaction to being accused of hurting his landlady. The book also delves into Jax’s past, how he grew up, who he grew up with, why he is alone, and how all of that turned him into the person he is today. Getting close to Aerilyn isn’t on the agenda and Jax makes some poor choices. There are also revelations that are made that shift Jax’s thinking but it may be too late to salvage anything he could have with Aerilyn.

I was given a copy of this book to read.

My Rating: