Today, I’m hosting author S.J. Coles’ latest series release Blood and Bonds, a m/m paranormal romance. Be sure to read my review of book two Touch in the Night. And don’t forget to check out my previous review of book one Bleed in the Night which you can find here.
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Title: Bleed In The Night
Series: Blood and Bonds, book #2
Author: S. J. Coles
Genre: Paranormal/Vampire/Contemporary M/M Romance
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers/BDSM
Themes: Overcoming demons/identity
Release Date: February 27, 2024
Length: 55 711 words/223 pages
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Publisher: Pride Publishing
It’s not just fear keeping Tyler up at night…and that’s what frightens him.
Blurb: Tyler Lomax met Lucien, supposedly the oldest haemophile in existence, on a dark night in the depths of winter. Tyler was protesting against Baron Emory Von Magnusson taking possession of a human child. He thought he’d been doing the right thing—fighting against evil, against fear.
Lucien had almost killed him for it. Now it’s months later, and Tyler hasn’t slept since. Tyler wants Lucien found. When the authorities fail him, he feels forced to take matters into his own hands.
Tyler’s contact ‘Damon’ doesn’t call himself a ‘vampire hunter’, but that is exactly what Tyler intends to pay him to be. What Tyler doesn’t bank on is having Lucien at his mercy, forcing him to confront what’s really consuming him.
Tyler will not only have to face what he is feeling but finally open his mind to a perspective other than his own. He just has to pray that opening up to Lucien won’t bleed him dry before he realizes the truth.
Note: This book ends on a series cliffhanger, but with a HFN for the couple in the story.
Watch for book three coming your way in 2024.
Goodreads | Universal Book Buy Link
Summer was at its height. York hadn’t felt a breath of wind or a drop of rain in weeks. Even at night, the air was still and heavy, like it was choked by a storm waiting to break.
But the weather wasn’t the reason Tyler couldn’t sleep.
It had been the same every night for weeks. As soon as he switched the light off, he was back on Askham Moor. Hands stronger than iron crushed his body. Adrenaline coursed through his veins like venom. The smell of his own urine was sharp in his nostrils.
He could hear his own voice bleeding out of him, freezing and dying in the cold night air: “Let me fucking go,” he cried. “Let me go now, or I swear I’ll…”
The grip on him tightened. Fingernails sharp as glass shards pricked his flesh.
“Be still.” The voice was as smooth as an oil spill. It poured into his ear and down his nerves, stretching them to the point of snapping. The hot, fragrant breath against his skin made his traitorous body shake.
“This is assault. I’ll have you arrested, I swear.”
“This is what happens when weak men pretend they are strong.” The creature tightened his grip in Tyler’s hair and pulled his head back, exposing his neck. “Do you still think you are strong?”
Tyler fought air into his lungs, staring at the stars that had started to wheel overhead. “Who…who are you?”
“I am Lucien,” murmured the voice. “Whether you live another fifty seconds or another fifty years, you will never forget that name.”
Tyler threw his pillow across the room. It knocked a hi-fi speaker flying. It crashed to the floor with the sickening sound of splintering wood. He sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands, breathing hard, until the red mist swirling before his eyes faded.
He checked his phone. Three-o-one a.m. He threw it at the wall, shoved back the sheets and paced the flat until, finally, the sun began to rise, and he dared open the curtains.
By the time he was nearing Fulford Road Police Station an hour later, he was finishing his fourth coffee, and his body felt like it was strung through with hot wire. There was a bitter, metallic taste in his mouth. His heart skittered in his chest.
He swore and swerved to avoid an ambulance bombing the other way down the narrow street…then another. He pulled over and climbed out of the car, shaking as the sirens faded away. Silence descended. He took a steadying breath and made for the police station on foot.
It wasn’t yet six a.m., but when he arrived, the entrance was swarming with activity. Another ambulance was pulled up onto the curb. Paramedics were hoisting up a stretcher on which sprawled an unconscious form. There was blood everywhere—on the man’s face, clothes, matting his hair. The ambulance screamed off after the others.
Tyler stood staring for a moment before shaking himself and striding into the police station.
“DI Walker,” he barked at the harried-looking desk officer. She held up a finger and continued her conversation on the phone. “Oi, lady. I said I want to see Walker. Now.”
“One sec,” she said into the phone then gave Tyler a hard look. “Please, sir. Take a seat.”
“I won’t take a bloody seat. Get Walker out here. Now.”
The woman’s face tightened. “DI Walker is engaged. If you want to leave your number, I will be sure he contacts you. Yes, I’m still here,” she spoke again into the phone. “We need extra techs to go over the CCTV as soon as possible. Yes. Scene photographers, too—”
Tyler reached over and cut the woman’s call. “I said I want Walker…now.”
She held his glare without blinking. “And I said he’s busy, sir.”
“Mr. Lomax.” Tyler turned. A tall man stood in the doorway. His brown hair was disheveled, like he’d been running his hands through it, but the hard amber of his eyes was as unyielding as stone. “You’re up early.”
“Finally,” Tyler said, folding his arms. “I came for an update on my case.”
The detective studied him for a moment. “This way, Mr. Lomax,” he said, stepping back and holding open the door.
Tyler strode through, muttering under his breath. Walker took them to an interview room and shutting them in.
“You’re avoiding me,” Tyler said.
“Why would I avoid such pleasant company as yours?” Walker replied, standing with his hands in his pockets. There were shadows under his eyes and spots of blood on his collar.
“I’m serious,” Tyler said, lifting his gaze from the stain. “You don’t think I’m serious? Because I can show you just how serious I am, if that’s what you want.”
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Since I enjoyed the first book in the series, I was looking forward to reading and reviewing the second book. We are introduced to two characters from the previous novel: Tyler and Lucien. The author does a great job with their backstories and previous meetings you don’t have to read the first book to immerse yourself in this one, but I do recommend you give the first one a read. You won’t be disappointed.
Tyler wants blood. Literally. After surviving what he assumes is a vampire attack from the centuries-old Lucien, he involves himself with a vampire hunter (the mysterious Damon) to track down Lucien and do…what? I will say Tyler is suffering a bad case of PTSD. His emotions are wild and he can’t stop his obsession with finding Lucien. I found his character spot on for what happened to him. The poor guy almost became food for the undead. Even worse, people are showing up in bad condition and being left at the police station, and Tyler knows Lucien is responsible. Yeah, I’d be paranoid and want justice, too, since the vampires in the author’s world aren’t supposed to be feeding on humans. He also has an out-of-control libido. I’m not sure if it’s from his PTSD or if he’s always this way. Anyway, I liked him. Is he high-strung and impulsive? Yes. I think it’s part of his character, and it leads him into a lot of trouble, even when people warn him to use caution.
I found the first part of the novel an edge-of-your-seat “what’s going to happen” next plot that kept me reading. There were mysteries to unearth, and I enjoyed it when Damon made his appearance. I know I’m not supposed to like the secondary character better than the main character, but there was something about Damon that intrigued me, and I do hope he gets a novel of his own.
As for Lucien, I enjoyed how he was shrouded in mystery for the first half of the book, and this kept me reading, wondering what lurked behind his blood-red eyes. The author did a great job with him. He is old, very old, and how she portrayed him is what I’d expect from someone who has lived that long.
The romance is there, but it’s first built on bringing these two together to trust each other enough, and the author did a great job with this in the second half of the novel. Tyler has a big decision to make now that the ball is in his court, and will he make the best for everyone involved?
The author does a great job of world-building, along with bringing in other vampires from the previous novel who don’t overshadow the two main leads. The focus is Tyler and Lucien.
It’s a great addition to the series, and I find I really enjoyed the second one more than the first. Do yourself a favour and get a copy. The novel ends on a HEA for the couple, but there is more to come. Guaranteed, since not everything is tied with a pretty bow at the end.
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Title: Touch in the Night
Series: Blood and Bonds, book #1
Author: S. J. Coles
Genre: Paranormal M/M Romance
Tropes: Vampire, BDSM, Single Dad, Billionaire
Themes: Self-worth, self-acceptance, overcoming prejudice
Release Date: November 7, 2023
Length: 85 673 words/344 pages
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Jesse Truelove never felt a part of his own family. But can a vampire really give him a new one?
Blurb: With a criminal record, no steady job and a penchant for kink, Jesse Truelove has spent most of his life feeling like an outsider. He tells himself it doesn’t bother him, that he never needed human connections anyway.
Now the Undying Baron, Emory Von Magnusson, a vampire—or, to use the modern term, ‘haemophile’—has reclaimed his ancestral home north of Jesse’s hometown, and the human population isn’t sure how to react. Jesse knows a thing or two about what it’s like to be misjudged, so he keeps an open mind. But when a bungled break-in at Emory’s home brings them face-to-face, Jesse finds it’s much more than his mind that’s stimulated.
However, building a relationship with an undead blood-drinker was never going to be straightforward, especially when that undead blood-drinker reveals he wants a family.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
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S.J. Coles is a Romance writer originally from Shropshire, UK. She has been writing stories for as long as she has been able to read them. Her biggest passion is exploring narratives through character relationships.
She finds writing LGBT/paranormal romance provides many unique and fulfilling opportunities to explore many (often neglected or under-represented) aspects of human experience, expectation, emotion and sexuality.
Among her biggest influences are LGBT Romance authors K J Charles and Josh Lanyon and Vampire Chronicles author Anne Rice.
Follow S.J.: Blog/Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pride Publishing
Maggie Blackbird 