Reviews

Between Bloode and Stone by Marie Harte

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mistysreads's review against another edition

4.0

This was unlike any Marie Harte book I have ever read, she opens up a whole new world of vampire mythology connected to gods and goddesses and how we look at the world. As we go through the book it takes a bit to figure out where the characters stand, how they are connected, and who they are. When we bounce between scenes it takes a while to figure out who the other characters are and how they fit into the story, but once we find out who they are the rest finally makes sense. Varu and Fara fit together and they need each other to defeat their common enemy, who also happens to be Varu's father.

Through the beginning of the book I was wondering if I was going to like the book, I wasn't sure where the story was taking me but I kept with it and I am glad I did. We get to see this hard wired vampire who was taught he can't love, fall in love and fall hard. We see the rest of the characters stand behind him even though its a vampire clan and they feel as though all they have is loyalty when in fact these characters are a family. This story has many twists and turns and I cannot wait to get to know the rest of these mysterious characters better.

Received ARC in exchange for voluntary honest review

sassytw's review against another edition

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4.0

Vary is with kin he can't stand in payment of a blood debt. But when a stone and a fae enter his world can he grow to love?
Between Blood and Stone is the first in a new series by Marie Harte. I must admit the premise of this series is interesting. And Ms. Harte needs to give us quite a bit of background while building this world. I while I enjoyed meeting this group I will admit that it was a bit slow. But once it picked up it really picked up.
I enjoyed seeing Varu learn that vampires can feel emotions. And Fara was not nearly as sneaky as she thought she was. But together Varu and Fara were something special. Their journey was full of unexpected twists as they fought themselves and each other. Learning to trust was difficult for them both but would it happen too late to save them? Finding out was half the battle and the fun. I can't wait to see where Ms. Harte will take us next in this new world she is creating.

jje121579's review

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5.0

Love this new series startup…

As a new mythology, this vampire tale ignited my imagination. It takes a while to get to know Varujan but then again he’s not admitting even to himself his true nature. Faraine is a Dusk Elf, which is totally new to me but once it is explained she and her brother Onvyr are intriguing characters. Along with a goddess, magician, a battle cat, and too many other beings to mention all passing through the New Bloode mansion I felt immersed in this world. There is an overarching storyline that keeps going but I like that at least our intrepid couple resolves their portion of the tale with an HEA that is sigh worthy.

romancejunkie1025's review

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4.0

A new series begins with a new world of Vampires, Fae and battles of the gods. I’m always a little skeptical to begin a new paranormal series where the mythos is all new and I will have to stretch my mind to allow another origin story in. I have been a fan of Marie Harte for a long time now so I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and picked up this series to give it a go. The mythos of this world was one that took me a bit to get the hang of, but once I did I could say that I really enjoyed the story and look forward to more, however this first story was not as focused on the romance as I would love. The story begins with a band of unlikely brothers coming together under the rule of Hecate, Goddess of death and witchcraft, and her servant who will lead the group, Mormo. The strongest of the vampires in this group is Varujan aka “Varu” and he is a grumpy SOB and when he is faced with a mystery he can’t solve it only gets worse. Out on a mission Varu encounters a sexy but deadly female who carries a weapon that could change the entire course of his life and turn the tide in a battle that he wasn’t even aware was on the horizon. Fara has been on the run for what seems like centuries, but now she is on the ultimate mission to save her life, as well as her brother’s, and she believes the only way to accomplish her goal is to get a dangerous weapon into Varu’s hands. As these two enemies turned allies have to find a way to work together to wield the weapon against the most psychotic and sadistic vampire around, the emotional draw and sensual connection becomes more and more undeniable. But will giving into it lead them to a lifetime of love or will it open the door for their enemy to defeat them both and bring about disaster? This story was one that took me a bit to really get into to be honest, mostly because the world-building was a little bit confusing and difficult to wrap my brain around at first—though I will say had I read the glossary first it might have been better. That being said I am really looking forward to the next story in the series and finding out more about the other warriors in the Night Bloode clan and seeing them kick ass as they each find their own mates.

The lovers in this story are not the typical sunshine and roses lovers that some romances get to portray; Both Fara and Varu have traveled very dark paths to get where they are today and their personalities reflect the dangers and traumas they have experienced. Varu lived through the torture and sadistic fun of living under his father’s rule for millennia and that darkness has left a stain on him for sure. But under all of that he truly is a good male and one that finds love even when he doesn’t believe he is capable of it. He has moments of laughter, solidarity, sweetness, and caring along with the animalistic passion you’d expect from such a primal male. Fara has been on her own for a long time, left to care for her brother and protect him, but he is so unstable that sometimes the job is just too much for her. The darkness she has gone through has left her cynical about life, doubtful about men, but she knows that Varu is her only hope and that putting her faith in him is her only option. Watching these two fall in love was like watching two angry lions circling one another, trying to decide if they were going to tear one another limb from limb, or become mates that would last for their entire lifetimes. I loved seeing Varu open his heart as Fara showed him that not everyone will let him down or betray his trust and Fara had her own lessons to learn before she truly understood that the only hope they had was to open her heart to Varu. While the world-building and overall battle was certainly the focus of the plot for this first book, I am happy to say that this series is off to a great beginning and I am hoping the next one exceeds my expectations and is even more enlightening. Marie Harte is on her way to another stroke of genius with her Between the Shadows series and I am happy to be along for the ride.

colorfulleo92's review

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2.0

Had some interesting aspects of it but in the end wasn't my cup of tea. Didn't get invested in either the couple or the world building. Might read something else by Marie Harte though. Don't think I've READ any of her other books.

rutlanky's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

annsbibliotherapy's review against another edition

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5.0

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Marie Harte seamlessly intertwined the worlds of vampires, elves, werewolves, and even gods. The idea of Elves and Vampires working together, to keep the world.... all of the worlds from from being destroyed is an interesting one.

From the first chapter I thought that Mormu would be my favorite character and I did love him, his snarky comments, the zingy one liners, even his annoying habits, I loved all of it, and this may be a very unpopular opinion but the Goddess Hecate, she was the real star of the book for me. I realize she had a smaller part in this amazing story but the thought of Hecate falling in love with an Elf while his sister fell in love with a Vampire, it was just something I didn't see coming.

Now don't get me wrong, Varujan and Fara were amazing characters, their story was well.... kind of epic all things considered, what they had to go through to be together, right up to the last few pages was an emotional roller coaster, one I loved way more than I thought I would, and even with the last chapter changing everything (presumably a set up for book two) I found myself happy with how Harte ended it.

The descriptive storytelling is really nice in this one, the transition from a mansion in Washington to a swamp surrounded castle somehow seemed natural and organic, which I think is the ultimate compliment to the author, each scene change worked, nothing felt out of place, even Bella's commentary on the color of her nails, every little detail had a purpose in the story.

This book works really well as a stand alone in my opinion or as the opening to the series, I for one will be reading the next one and probably all of them.