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Bloodlaced by Courtney Maguire
Publisher: City Owl Press
Length: 314 Pages
Genre: Paranormal
Age Category: Adult
Date Published: 29 September 2020
Blurb:
Kanjin hardly view their servants as human. Even less so when they are different.
Asagi is different. Both a man and a woman.
In the wake of his failure to protect a boy they saw as a son from their abusive master, Asagi is sold into the house of a young nobleman, Mahiro, who is the opposite of everything Asagi has ever known—gentle, kind, and generous.
Mahiro bonds with Asagi and their friendship blooms into a deep and profound love. But when Asagi is poisoned out of jealousy, Mahiro reveals himself to be youkai, a demon who feeds on blood, and he has no choice but to turn Asagi to save their life.
Asagi awakes reborn, strong, and eternally youthful. But the price for Asagi’s new life is high.
The blood of the innocent.
Just as Asagi’s trust in Mahiro falters, the boy they failed to protect, now a man, reappears.
New master, same threat.
With both a literal and proverbial monster at the door, Asagi must decide what it means to be human to protect what they loves most.
Content Warnings: physical abuse, sexual abuse (off-page), self-harm, blood, graphic violence
If you like Bella Forrest, P. C. Cast, AJ Tipton, or Anne Rice, you will love this beautiful dark paranormal fantasy romance.
Amazon (Canada) / Amazon (USA) / Amazon (UK) / Goodreads
Courtney Maguire is a University of Texas graduate from Corpus Christi, Texas. Drawn to Austin by a voracious appetite for music, she spent most of her young adult life in dark, divey venues nursing a love for the sublimely weird. A self-proclaimed fangirl with a press pass, she combined her love of music and writing as the primary contributor for Japanese music and culture blog, Project: Lixx, interviewing Japanese rock and roll icons and providing live event coverage for appearances across the country.
Bloodlaced is a book that I’m sure I’ll be remembering for a long time (I mean the general premise of the book not the details). I don’t think I’ve ever read a book similar to this, which made reading it a unique and captivating experience.
What made the book even more alluring for me was the beautiful writing style. This was seriously beautifully written and connecting to the story is inevitable. We follow Asagi, who is neither man nor female, who was born into slavery. When they’re sold to a wicked master with a young boy named Tsukito, they’re determined to do whatever it takes to make Tsukito‘s life better than their own. Sadly, Asagi is sold to a new master shortly after, leaving Tsukito behind. The new master is unlike any that Asagi has had before. He is gentle and never mistreats his slaves.
The journey Asagi goes through, with all the struggles and the beautiful moments in between, is quite gut-wrenching but heart-warming at the same time. It’s filled with so much emotions, I found myself flying through the book to get to the end as soon as possible.
I would highly recommend this, especially if you want to try on some new paranormal books with some fresh settings and characters–as this has quite a new perspective you probably haven’t haven’t dived in before.
Doesn’t this seem like something you’d like to read?!
librorum in sempiternum 