Blood God. That was the name they had given him, The Angel of Death’s right-hand man. Brutal and ruthless. Legends and myths had been sung about him for centuries. They said he destroyed an entire army by himself, escaping with barely a scratch. He killed men effortlessly and burned entire kingdoms to the ground without much thought. Tommy was no match for the Blood God. The Bound by Blood series will be a trilogy. Book 2 is currently with my publisher, and I am almost halfway through the first draft of Book 3. I am so excited (impatiently so) to be able to share Book 2 with readers because the character arcs that are in store for these two… I adore the trajectory of their relationship, and love watching as they work through all the wonderfully horrible obstacles I am obligated to throw at them as their author. However I am in distraught over the way this book has ended and I need that third book like I need air. I need answers, I need happiness, I need something.

I was really looking forward to this book. Like many others, I found this book through TikTok and was immediately intrigued. I patiently waited for it to release, and when I bought it I was so excited to start it. But ultimately, this book is a catfish. Blood may be a commonality, but shared experiences and laughter create the true richness of family.”

Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are.”

There was also some beautiful prose hidden between lots of action. (I wish there was more time to breathe around some of these lines to really take in the beauty of it) Off topic, but if vampires can only be turned through The Family's blood, then how was William and the rest of his murderous anti-vampire squad turned? Their goal is to rid the planet of the evil of The Family but isn't the call coming from inside the house? It's also very possible in their monologuing toward the end I missed some explanation as I sped-read through it in the middle of Texas Roadhouse while waiting to be seated so I could mark this book as finished. Truthfully, Zach and Luke would've been more interesting if they had done some culty shit like it's hinted at, except the Calem brothers are all uwu boys who survive off their undefying brotherly love for one another so they can't outright do anything bad because it would take away from their golden retriever vibes. This just came to mind that I'm still confused about, but William mentioned that it was never Kimberly he was after, but rather Aaron and his brothers. I can accept this because as far as interesting main characters go, there isn't anything about Kimberly that would make William go feral over ala Bella Swan and James. But if that's true, then why would he bite her after the frat party without taking any blood, then proceed to steal her purse? I feel like that Charlie Day meme from It's Always Sunny as I try to make sense of these plot points that just make no sense. She wasn’t entirely convinced by his cover-up, but she didn’t question him any further. She returned to collecting the various herbs and flowers and powers and roots Tubbo needed. So, Tommy turned his attention to scanning the market.This is a slow burn romance, but once it starts burning… IT BURNS! Some of my favorite scenes in the book are ones that have a lot of close-proximity tension, and the kind that has the readers screaming, “JUST KISS ALREADY!” One scene in particular happens shortly after an argument ensues between them, and they find themselves alone in the woods at night. I won’t give away any spoilers, but let’s just say, it *may* end up with the FMC pushed against a tree with his hands on either side of her head. The tension in that scene about sends me to the chiropractor every time I read it. This book follows two main characters, Kimberly and Aaron. We get a split POV between the two of them, which I love. You can learn so much about a character from how they perceive the world around them, but also from how they are perceived by others. This comment contains spoilers, so please don't read if you don't like spoilers! This is my personal rating for "The Blood That Burns Us"! As characters, Wren and Sin are flawed, but I continued rooting for them through all of the angst. Wren is a strong and sassy woman who you don’t want to cross, while Sin is legit SWOONY and complex as a morally grey character. I kid you not when I tell you that I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for them to get together and when they did... The Blood That Binds Us, @erinmainordauthor’s debut novel is everything! I was consumed by this story as it kept me reading late into the midnight hours.