Reviewed by Sarina

TITLE:  Thorns: A Bloodrose Collection

AUTHOR:  Julia Talbot

PUBLISHER: Turtlehat Creatives

LENGTH:   318 pages

RELEASE DATE:  February 20, 2016

BLURB:

Things go bump in the night at this exclusive paranormal club…

Club Bloodrose is an exclusive club for all manner of creatures of the night, from vampires to werewolves to demons. The four stories in Thorns revolve around the inhabitants of the Bloodrose and their lives and loves.

In An Itch to Scratch, werewolf Deke has this itch. He loves to be bitten by vampires, and he wants a safe place to get his scratching. Kasey is a vamp who doesn’t play with his food, at least until he meets Deke. Then he knows he has to take a chance on getting involved. Will they be able to find the balance in power a vampire and a werewolf need to be together? Deke and Kasey return in The Werewolf Code, working their day jobs as private investigators. When a genetic mutation threatens werewolf kind, Deke and Kasey have to solve the case fast, or risk losing everything.

In Belling the Cat, vampire Jonny has everything he wants in life. Club Bloodrose is his baby, and he should be totally fulfilled running it. He knows something is missing in his life, but isn’t sure what until he meets cat shifter Luc, who’s intent on stealing information Jonny is hiding. Luc has a past and needs Jonny’s files, but that’s all he wants from the handsome vamp. Right? Finally, in Emerald Eyes, Luc’s brother Yves is a rockhound who needs a set of priceless emeralds to right an old wrong. When things start to go badly for Yves, his brother sends him a bodyguard, a werewolf named Reuben. The last thing Yves needs is a watchdog, especially one as sexy, and annoying as Reuben. Right?

All of the novellas in Thorns have been previously published and have been re-edited for new publication.

ANTHOLOGY REVIEW:

While I’ve read a couple of the stories featured in this anthology before, I’ve loved them every time and the new to me stories featured here were just as good!  I love a good paranormal story and I love shifters even more so this book was just completely made of win.  The stories in this collection are a great introduction to the main characters in the Bloodrose series and while connected, are still great standalone stories that can be read whenever you may have the time.  I highly recommend this to anyone who loves shifters or vampires as this book really does them justice.

An Itch to Scratch: 4.5*

I don’t think I will ever get tired of this story!  Here you’re first introduced to three of the series main characters though the focus is on Deke and Kasey.  I loved how they found much more than just a contracted arrangement with each other and watching them connect outside of the bedroom was nice.  The sex was great too, don’t get me wrong!  This is a great introduction to the series with a nice pace and characters I enjoy reading about repeatedly.

The Werewolf Code: 4*

Deke and Kasey are back and this time you get to see more of their professional life instead of just the private one.  There isn’t a great deal of mystery to the case they’re working but it was still interesting enough to make me want to keep reading.  I think what I enjoyed most was just getting to see the main characters outside of the bedroom as it showed a different side to them both which was nice.  Good continuation though I do wish it had been either a little longer or a little more in depth with the case.

Belling the Cat: 4.5*

Here we finally get to see Jonny find someone for himself after watching him play matchmaker for others.  Jonny was always such a serious character in the previous stories so it was great to see him unwind and have some fun here.  Luc was much more in touch with his shifter side which I found interesting as most shifter stories I’ve read usually focus on the human aspect more.  There is some action and an overall plot in this one but it was mostly in the latter half of the story; the first part introduces you to Luc and then focused more on character and relationship building.  I liked this one and will happily read it again though it wasn’t my favorite of the anthology.

Emerald Eyes: 4*

The last story of the anthology, Emerald Eyes concludes the story arc that began with the previous story while bringing in a couple of new characters.  I loved Yves and Reuben!  Yves, despite being Luc’s twin, was so different than the kitty I came to know in love in the Belling the Cat and it was interesting to see them interact with one another.  Reuben, on the other hand, was kind of what I’ve come to expect of a werewolf in this universe but it was nice to see that he fully embraced and wasn’t bothered by having a cat for a mate.  I really enjoyed getting to see a resolution to Luc’s problems and the fact that things didn’t go as I had been expecting was even better.  This was a great way to end the book though I find myself still wishing for more!

RATING:

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