Reviewed by Vicki
Series Review of the Partnership in Blood Series
AUTHOR: Ariel Tachna
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
TITLE: Perilous Partnership (Partnership in Blood Spin-off #1) 
LENGTH: 288 pages
BLURB:
A year after the end of the war that brought them together, Raymond Payet and Jean Bellaiche have found a balance in their relationship: Jean drinks only Raymond’s blood; Raymond sleeps only in Jean’s bed. The demands of their public roles as president of l’Association Nationale de Sorcellerie and chef de la Cour of the Parisian vampires keep them busy dealing with fallout from the war and the alliance, particularly the not-always-successful partnerships between vampires and wizards.
The foundation of an institute to research and educate wizards and vampires about the implications of the partnership bonds only adds to those responsibilities. When political factions, both vampire and mortal, oppose their leaders’ decisions, the stress begins to affect Raymond and Jean’s deepening relationship. And when political opposition turns to vandalism and then to violence, they’ll have to find a way to reconcile their personal and professional lives before external and internal forces pull them apart.
REVIEW:
Sigh…. Raymond and Jean! Love them!
This series is interesting, it was originally a four book series, ending with the end of the war, especially with the epilogue at the end of the last book. It was pretty clear it was over. But there was more story to tell in this world, and apparently Jean and Raymond needed to have their own story! This first book is really a spin-off from the last four. It takes place a year later, and focuses on two things: The development of a research facility for the further study of the bond between wizards and vampires, and the growing bond between Raymond and Jean. It is not the most exciting of the books, but it is so good.
Raymond and Jean find and purchase an old monastery not too far outside Paris, and with the help of the other characters renovate it and set up l’Institut, the research facility. The goal of this place is to research the bond the already exists between the partners, and determine a better way to form new bonds. As we saw during the war over the course of the last four books, not all partnerships were successful, so Raymond and Jean want to come up with a way for a potential pair to determine if they want to bond before they do, so no more mistakes like Jude and Adele happen. So they create a series of workshops for vampires and wizards to learn the history of the bonds, and potentially meet a partner without the exchange of blood that will form the bond immediately. This seems like a brilliant plan to me, and seems to work well at least on the first round. A lot of the story is involved in setting up the space, and we see most of the first workshop. On one had it was not a very dramatic storyline, there is a bit of drama with someone trying to sabotage them, but it wasn’t overly exciting like the books focusing on the war were. But on the other hand it was a great idea and I loved seeing the development of l’Institut from the start.
Then there is the story line that focuses on Raymond and Jean. That was amazing. They are a secondary pair in the first four books, taking a backseat to Orlando and Alain, but in this book they are the stars. I had mixed feelings about the time spend on other couples in the other books, I liked seeing the different pairings, but it detracted fro the main pairs. In this book it is just Raymond and Jean and I loved that. They are a very strong pair and deserved their own story. So we see them happy, we see them angry, we see them naughty (Mile high club!), we see them hurting, and we see them strong.
Oh…. Then there is the sex. Holy crap! Hot and beautiful, sometimes naughty, and sometimes sweet, but always good. Sooooo good. Damn.
I didn’t remember much about these books, I remembered the first four from my reading of them years ago, but these middle ones didn’t stand out. I don’t know why now, this one was fantastic. I love these men and this world dearly, Ariel has created an amazing place, and I want to go there! But I can’t speak French. I’ve had to ask by daughter to use her high school French to pronounce some words for me. I’d still get on a plane in a minute to go!
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TITLE: Reluctant Partnerships (Partnership in Blood Spin-off #2) 
LENGTH: 280 pages
BLURB:
Thanks to the efforts of Raymond Payet and l’ANS, vampires now have the same legal rights as mortals, and research at l’Institut Marcel Chavinier is focusing on the mysterious partnership bonds between wizards and vampires. But the battle for public opinion rages on. When Detective Adele Rougier encounters Pascale Auboussu, a shy young woman turned into a vampire against her will, Raymond and Denis Langlois, chef de la Cour nearest the crime, fear a public relations nightmare.
The vampire responsible for Pascale’s turning must be brought to justice, but Denis is distracted by an unlikely potential partner-Canadian researcher Martin Delacroix, who is spending a year’s sabbatical at l’Institut-and Denis’s lingering feelings for his deceased lover prompt him to reject the bond. There’s no denying the attraction between them, though, and the allure of companionship is nearly as strong as Denis’s grief.
Growing familiarity and yearning for a true mate may induce Adele and Denis to soften their stances against new partnerships, but Adele will have to accept a deeper intimacy with Pascale when she has never considered a relationship with a woman, and it will take a near-deadly attack to make Denis admit his most hidden desires. Now he has to hope Martin will be willing to stay.
REVIEW:
This title is perfect for this story, it follows two reluctant pairs as they determine whether they want to form partnerships or not.
Pascale is attacked one night by a mysterious vampire and left on her own. She has no idea what has happened and is ready to jump off a bridge, when Adele comes across her. She takes her to l’Institut for help. Pascale is taken on to Angelique at Sang Froid in Paris for some vampire training, and she and Angelique have a wonderful conversation about choosing a donor for her meal…. Eventually they all get Pascale calmed down and accepting of her new existence, but there is still the issue of her being Adele’s potential partner. Adele has some serious trust issues after her experience with Jude, and has no plans to take a new partner, especially a female one, when she has no sexual interest in women.
Then we have Denis and Martin. Denis was the main character in the little story at the very beginning of this series, he was turned by Luc during WWI, and found his lover, Noel, his first night. Turns out he and Noel stayed together for a very long time, until his death thirty years ago. Martin is a wizard visiting from Canada, spending some time at l’Institut doing some research. He’s taken the seminar, but doesn’t want a partner, he’s just there for a year. He and Denis accidentally determine they could potentially be partners. Reluctantly!
There is also the story line of finding the vampire that turned Pascale and another man against their will. This also leads to some political plans, how do you prosecute a vampire? Incarcerate one? So we get some planning around that.
It’s a very good plot all around, again, not the most exciting of the bunch after the four surrounding the war, but still a very good book. I liked seeing Denis again, and Martin and Pascale are good additional characters. Plus we see the usual characters, Raymond, Jean, Orlando, Alain, Sebastien, and Thierry. Oh, David and Angelique as well, apparently they like to play some fun games in the bedroom! Adele is just not my favorite girl… she is just abrasive and annoying. Better in this book, but still, I’m not fond of her. I know, she has issues, I get it!
Overall this is a good addition to the series!
RATING: 
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I loved these books and all the rest. Great review!