Dirty Blood by Heather Hildenbrand

Blurb:  I killed a girl last night. I did it with my bare hands and an old piece of pipe I found lying next to the dumpster. But that’s not the part that got me. The part that scared me, the part I can’t seem to wrap my head around and still has me reeling, was that when she charged me, her body shifted – and then she was a wolf. All snapping teeth and extended claws. But by the time I stood over her lifeless body, she was a girl again. That’s about the time I went into shock… And that was the moment he showed up.

Now, all I can do is accept the truths that are staring me in the face. One, Werewolves do exist. And Two, I was born to kill them.

 

4 Stars

THIS BOOK IS FREE!

This is a re-read, something I do from time to time.  I loved this series my first time around. The second time around, I still love it. I have an affinity for shifter books. Especially shifter romances, which this one happens to be, albeit a bit on the slow side.

I found the female MC a bit whiny and she totally got steam rolled, allowing others to make decisions for her. It didn’t make sense as to why they wouldn’t let her participate in their activities.  The whole, “I just want to keep you safe.” just didn’t ring true for me.  It seemed the best way to keep her safe was to give her the tools needed to protect herself, not hide her away in hopes that everyone will just forget about her.

Beyond that I genuinely enjoyed this story.  The chemistry between Wes and Tara ran a bit hot and cold for me.  Her attraction was clear, but his seemed a bit muddled to me.  In the end his true colors showed through and I ended up really liking him.

This story had a neat spin on shifter’s that gave it an originality others lacked.  And I have read so many shifter books I can peg a story-line in the first 50 pages.  Not so with this one.  I loved how there was good and evil within both factions.  It wasn’t all shifters are bad or good.  They could be both.  It gave the story a human aspect and didn’t make it so absolute, I hate dealing in absolutes.

Ok, one last thing, I couldn’t stand Tara’s mother!  She was demanding and overbearing and I just wanted to slap her when she started doing the, ‘I forbids’.   She did end up redeeming herself but I am still holding a grudge on Tara’s behalf.