Twin Opinions: LEANN'S REVIEW: Blood Gate (Amy Lee Burgess) The Circle 2

SYNOPSIS:

Vampire Claire finds herself caught in the

middle between her Master, Parker, and her Trigger, Andre. Little love is lost

between the former friends, but somehow Claire must build a bridge between them

when they are sent to Edgewood to settle their differences. The cost of her

failure will be deadly.

Deep in the cellars of Edgewood, a game of

sexual bondage unleashes unexpected dangers, twisting open, loving Andre into a

secretive virtuoso of manipulation. Is this just another part of the game, or

is he losing his mind? Parker will take desperate steps to protect his

apprentice, but he won’t be dragged into the game with them.

Can Parker set aside forty years of bitter rivalry,

or will he sacrifice Andre to save Claire?

PURCHASE LINKS:

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EXCERPT:

Andre

stooped to the floor and came up with a pointed piece of one of the nightstand

legs, which he held in his fist like a stake.

Terror

slammed into me, turning my muscles to jelly. Paralyzed, I lay sprawled on the

mattress, my right wrist still cuffed to the bedpost. When he headed for the

door, I screamed his name. His head jerked, and the look on his face was so

full of malice and hate, I recoiled.

But a second

later, he stared at the stake as if he had no idea how it had come to be in his

hand. He dropped it to the floor, and it rolled into a corner. Andre crossed

the room at a run and climbed onto the mattress with me.

“I didn’t

mean to scare you, darlin’,” he crooned, taking me into his arms. My cuffed

wrist made it awkward, and he unlatched it so I was free. Scooping me into his

embrace, he held me against his shuddering body. His heart galloped faster than

mine.

I closed my

eyes and buried my face in his neck. Even with my lids tightly shut, I couldn’t

get the image of his face twisted with hate out of my head. I knew it hadn’t

been directed at me—it had been meant for Parker—but I still couldn’t stop

shaking. Had Andre really been furious enough to try to stake Parker? What if

the woman in my nightmare hadn’t been telling me to go ahead with the game, but

instead to stop playing it? Maybe my subconscious realized Andre was in peril

of losing control of himself the more he indulged his kink?

“This game

is dangerous,” I said with a shudder. “I don’t want to play anymore. Not if it

makes you like this. I don’t like you like this. I don’t even know who you are

sometimes, Dre. You scare me. You scare the shit out of me.”

Andre stiffened

against me, but his voice was gentle. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean

to scare you. I swear.”

Review:

I was a little hesitant to read this book since I hadn't read the first one. While I still wish I had read the first book in the series first, I am very glad I went ahead and read this one. I loved the world Burgess has created. It is always fascinating to see the different spins authors put on the immortal worlds. This one was well constructed and had me hooked from the first page.

I loved the characters. The plot thickens with every turn of the page and you discover more and more about the characters as you go along. I had a hard time deciding which character I liked better. Andre or Parker... I won't give away anything, but it is an interesting read. The relationship between the three is truly captivating. I really liked Claire. She had her faults, but they made her that much more relate-able. I loved the ending, but I definitely won't spoil that for you. A great read. One I think you should definitely check out!

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