BLOOD BOND (Sentinel Wars #10) by Shannon K Butcher-dual review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 23, 2018

Justice has never known freedom. She woke up ten years ago, naked and alone with no memory of who or what she was. Since then, she’s been a prisoner, compelled by powers she doesn’t understand. She’s roamed the country, doing whatever the fates demanded of her, good or bad. Completely alone.

Until now.

Ronan is starving to death. Like all the Sanguinar, his survival depends on finding the dwindling traces of blood left behind by an ancient, magical race. Weeks ago, Justice saved his life and since then, it’s been her blood he craves, her face he dreams about.

As evil closes in on all sides, threatening the only stronghold the Sentinels have to protect them, Ronan must find a way to gain Justice’s trust and free her from the dark powers that control her. Because if he can’t, the next person she is compelled to kill may be him.

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Sandy’s REVIEW:

BLOOD BOND is the tenth instalment in Shannon K Butcher’s SENTINEL WARS paranormal, fantasy romance series. This is Sanguinar Ronan, and Justice’s story line. BLOOD BOND can be read as a stand alone but for cohesion and history, I would suggest reading the series in order as many of the storylines overlap and continue in each successive instalment. Shannon is an author who builds up future storylines in many of the previous novels.

SOME BACKGROUND: The Sentinels are three races descended from an ancient race of guardians known as the Athanasians, who defend and protect mankind from the demons at the door. The Theronai are the protectors whose Theronai lifemark-The Tree of Life-begins to lose its’ leaves if a Theronai warrior does not find his mate. The lifemark is a visual gage of a soul’s health, and all of the warriors suffering with the pain are running out of time. The Synestryn have killed most of the female Theronai and the warriors are in need of women whose DNA and heritage will match with their own: the Sanguinar are the healers (as well as blood feeders) and the Synestryn are the demons whose humanity has been lost for centuries.

Told from several third person perspectives including Justice and Ronan BLOOD BOND follows several paths as Justice is ‘compelled’ to retrieve a number of items from various locations. Weeks (or months) earlier Ronan was dying and our heroine was the only source of sustenance for the ailing Sanguinar, a source that now connects our leading couple. As Justice is coerced by an unidentified psychic entity, Ronan must ensure that the woman that calls to his blood survives her journey into the unknown. Several attempts on both of their lives forces Justice to walk away before doing further damage, damage she fears to destroy the man with whom she is falling in love. What ensues is the building romance between Justice and Ronan, and the fall-out as the Theronai compound in Dabyr is targeted by the Synestryn demons.

Meanwhile Madoc and Nika are awaiting the arrival of their first born child, the first born Theronai in close to two hundred years. The attack on the compound is imminent but from who or what remains a mystery. Preparations were made in advance of the attack but they never expected the overwhelming hoard or the identity of their ultimate prize.

BLOOD BOND is a fast paced, action packed story line of good vs evil; betrayal and revenge; power and control. The premise is engaging; the romance is fated; the characters are colourful, energetic and powerful. Shannon K. Butcher’s world of the paranormal is exciting and dangerous.

It has been close to three years since the last Sentinel Wars book was released, and I struggled to remember all of the connections, and various paths on which the Theronai travel. The war between the Theronai and Sanguinar, and the Synestryn has come full circle-a war in which not all will survive.

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BARB’s Review: 

Blood Bond by Shannon Butcher is the 10th book in her Sentinel Wars series.  It has been a long time (3 years) since the last book, and I had to go back to my reviews to refresh my memory. What I did know was that I loved this series, and Shannon’s wonderful writing.  Needless to say I am thrilled to be in this world again.  Refresher:  The Sentinel Wars series revolves around immortal warriors that protect the humans from the evil demons, Synestryn.  The Sanquinars are healers, who need blood to survive, and they are dwindling; and the Theronai, who are elite protectors, who need to find their life mates to survive.

We meet Justice, our heroine, from the start, as she is compelled to save a young girl, who is being kidnapped.  Justice has been besieged with voices (fates) telling her what to do, and has no memory of the past 10 years.  When she is attacked, and left to die, Ronan, our hero, will come to her rescue, saving her and the young girl.  But he needs to move her quickly, as the blood scent will draw the Synestryn demons.  Ronan needs to convince Justice to allow him to help her, as she remembers when she tried to help him previously; when he took a lot of her blood.  Her worry about the little girl and her weakness forces her to accept his help.

Ronan will bring both of them to safety to the Dabyr compound, where the Sanquinar and Theronai live.   In a short time, Justice will learn all about the people in Dabyr, and they are good people.  Though Ronan needs her blood to survive, she begins to trust him, and have feelings for him.  It is those feelings that will force Justice to follow her voices, and in so doing that, runs from Ronan, in fear of him getting himself killed helping her. 

What follows is an exciting, fast paced, action packed adventure, where Ronan and some of his warrior friends fight to save Justice, and then race back to help fight off a major  demon attack on Dabyr.  The Synestryns are determined to kill all the Theronai woman and children, in order to destroy the Theronai warriors.  As we raced to the finish, this was a wild crazy battle with so many of our old and new favorites in a fight to death; keeping us on the edge of our seats.  I loved the romance that was slow build between Ronan and Justice, and cannot wait to see what Shannon has in store for us.  As I said before, I loved seeing some of our old favorites, and there was a nice side story about the arrival of a Theronai baby girl, the first in 200 years.

I am happy to be reading the Sentinel Wars again, and Shannon Butcher has once again gives us a great exciting story, a great couple, and wonderful secondary characters.  If you enjoy paranormal fantasy, with lots of action and romance, then you should start reading this series.

Copy supplied for review