Bloodline by Barbara Elsborg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Blurb…
No one can tattoo better than Inigo, a two hundred year old vampire, who works on human and supernatural skins. But he’s never tattooed a faerie and when a bunch of them insist he comes with them to tattoo one of their kind, saying no proves not to be an option. His skin is Oberon, the faerie king, and Inigo fears this will be the last tattoo he’ll ever do.
The moment Micah lands in the faerie king’s bed chamber, he knows the guy is trouble. But if he’s to save his sister and his family, let alone the job he’s paid to do, he has to stay in Faerieland and endure Oberon’s sadism. When he’s thrown into a vampire’s cell, covered in blood, he fears this day will be his last.
This book follows on from Jumping in Puddles – though there is no need to read that one first.
So what did I think?
This was the ultimate fantasy tale combining vampires, faeries and shifters, as Inigo and Micah race to save the faerie kingdom from the threat of the new king.
This was an unexpected journey that starts with Inigo, a vampire and renowned tattoo artist, being forced to accompany some fae to the palace of Oberon the King of the faeries. Oberon needs a tattoo placed on his back as part of the ceremony to become king. However he harbours a secret which prevents Inigo from completing his work.
Oberon is also under threat from Micah, a faerie who knows too much, his family having been banished from the kingdom. When Micah returns to faerieland, he is captured by Oberon and placed under a magic spell.
This is the journey of Inigo and Micah as they band together to defeat the evil Oberon. There is action and adventure. There is abuse by the evil Oberon. There are complicated back stories and a cast of characters that I sometime struggled a little to keep up with. This is fast moving and packs a lot in.
I’m not a huge connoisseur of paranormal and fantasy, however I found this story to be imaginative and engaging. But what I most liked was the writing style – it was such an interesting blend of world building, dark moments and humour. I loved the dialogue, accompanied by the internal thoughts of the characters.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in return for my honest review.
❅❅❅❅❅❅❅
To find out more about Barbara Elsborg and her books visit her website.
Buy Bloodline from Amazon.