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A review by whatsarahread
Blood Passage by Heather Demetrios
4.0
Blood Passage picks up right where Exquisite Captive left off, and I was so thrilled to discover that I loved the second book just as much as I loved the first. I went into Blood Passage with a healthy dose of reality. I’ll admit it, there have been many times where I have been seriously underwhelmed by a second book in series, and I always get a little nervous when I start in on a sequel to a book I love so much. Imagine my excitement when I ended up absolutely loving Blood Passage.
In book two we find that Nalia is still trying to uncover her destiny. She knows she is meant for so much more, but the how and why of getting there is still a mystery at the beginning of Blood Passage. I can’t tell you how thought-provoking and engrossing it was to watch as Nalia’s understanding of the world around her grew, and how she could use her own “power” to affect change that she desperately wants to see brought to her world. I was cheering for Nalia throughout this whole book and was in awe of how Demetrios managed to not only grow her as a character, but also take the entire story to the next level. Nalia spends so much of book one being driven by her pain and anguish. I felt like book two gave me a Nalia that was starting to discover how she could channel her pain and form it into a fierce and determined cause. It was such a great feeling as a reader to see so much growth from an already complex character. Basically, what I’m trying to say is…TEAM NALIA!
But, that doesn’t mean I’m not Team Raif as well. I fell for him HARD in Exquisite Captive, and Blood Passage only further deepened that obsession. His devotion and dedication for Nalia, and their shared cause, is so evident and he literally BROKE.MY.HEART at one (or two, or more) points in this book, when their relationship is put to the ultimate test. Raif’s bravery, determination and focus brought so much to the story and provided a constant for me to come back to when things started getting intense and overwhelming.
We also learn more about Malek in Blood Passage, what drives him, what made him and ultimately, what haunts him. It was an intense reading experience to go through some of his past and I will say that even though he is a perfect example of every person having a story, I still had a hard time with so many of the things he did. Interestingly enough, his type of character is the kind I find most fascinating in so many books I love, and Blood Passage was no exception. Learning about him was difficult and so much of it isn’t pretty, but give me the opportunity to understand WHY a bad guy is the way he is, and I’m a happy reader.
As usual, with Demetrios, the writing is gorgeous and cinematic, and I was swept away into the vast beauty of the Moroccan desert that acts as the stunning backdrop to this book. Heather actually travelled to Morocco to research for Blood Passage, and it was so clearly evident how much research and passion went in to Demetrios’ writing and I applaud her for dedicating herself so much to getting that aspect of the story right, along with everything else she wanted to accomplish with this book.
The precise detail, inspiring character growth and absolutely gorgeous writing perfectly combine in ‘BLOOD PASSAGE’ to continue the epic journey of Nalia and her quest to shatter the bonds that enslaved her.
In book two we find that Nalia is still trying to uncover her destiny. She knows she is meant for so much more, but the how and why of getting there is still a mystery at the beginning of Blood Passage. I can’t tell you how thought-provoking and engrossing it was to watch as Nalia’s understanding of the world around her grew, and how she could use her own “power” to affect change that she desperately wants to see brought to her world. I was cheering for Nalia throughout this whole book and was in awe of how Demetrios managed to not only grow her as a character, but also take the entire story to the next level. Nalia spends so much of book one being driven by her pain and anguish. I felt like book two gave me a Nalia that was starting to discover how she could channel her pain and form it into a fierce and determined cause. It was such a great feeling as a reader to see so much growth from an already complex character. Basically, what I’m trying to say is…TEAM NALIA!
But, that doesn’t mean I’m not Team Raif as well. I fell for him HARD in Exquisite Captive, and Blood Passage only further deepened that obsession. His devotion and dedication for Nalia, and their shared cause, is so evident and he literally BROKE.MY.HEART at one (or two, or more) points in this book, when their relationship is put to the ultimate test. Raif’s bravery, determination and focus brought so much to the story and provided a constant for me to come back to when things started getting intense and overwhelming.
We also learn more about Malek in Blood Passage, what drives him, what made him and ultimately, what haunts him. It was an intense reading experience to go through some of his past and I will say that even though he is a perfect example of every person having a story, I still had a hard time with so many of the things he did. Interestingly enough, his type of character is the kind I find most fascinating in so many books I love, and Blood Passage was no exception. Learning about him was difficult and so much of it isn’t pretty, but give me the opportunity to understand WHY a bad guy is the way he is, and I’m a happy reader.
As usual, with Demetrios, the writing is gorgeous and cinematic, and I was swept away into the vast beauty of the Moroccan desert that acts as the stunning backdrop to this book. Heather actually travelled to Morocco to research for Blood Passage, and it was so clearly evident how much research and passion went in to Demetrios’ writing and I applaud her for dedicating herself so much to getting that aspect of the story right, along with everything else she wanted to accomplish with this book.
The precise detail, inspiring character growth and absolutely gorgeous writing perfectly combine in ‘BLOOD PASSAGE’ to continue the epic journey of Nalia and her quest to shatter the bonds that enslaved her.