Today is my stop on the BBNYA tour for the book that came in 9th place, Bloodlaced by Courtney Maguire, the first book in the Youkai Bloodlines series.

About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website http://www.bbnya.com or Twitter @bbnya_official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

I’ve taken part in BBNYA every year since it started and it’s something that I look forward to every time it comes around as I love discovering new books.

Kanjin hardly view their servants as human. Even less so when they are different. Asagi is different. Both a man and a woman. In the wake of his failure to protect a boy they saw as a son from their abusive master, Asagi is sold into the house of a young nobleman, Mahiro, who is the opposite of everything Asagi has ever known—gentle, kind, and generous. Mahiro bonds with Asagi and their friendship blooms into a deep and profound love. But when Asagi is poisoned out of jealousy, Mahiro reveals himself to be youkai, a demon who feeds on blood, and he has no choice but to turn Asagi to save their life. Asagi awakes reborn, strong, and eternally youthful. But the price for Asagi’s new life is high. The blood of the innocent. Just as Asagi’s trust in Mahiro falters, the boy they failed to protect, now a man, reappears. New master, same threat. With both a literal and proverbial monster at the door, Asagi must decide what it means to be human to protect what they loves most. Content Warnings: physical abuse, sexual abuse (off-page), self-harm, blood, graphic violence. If you like Bella Forrest, P. C. Cast, AJ Tipton, or Anne Rice, you will love this beautiful dark paranormal fantasy romance.

-Goodreads-

Bloodlaced was my favourite book that I read for the BBNYA last year. I do wish that it would have placed higher than 9th as I think this is definitely underrated.

Paranormal books are not a genre that I usually read so it took me by surprise. This is equal parts heartbreaking and addictive, you don’t want to keep reading because what’s happening is terrible but you have to.

The character development by Maguire is phenomenal, Asagi is a truly wonderful protagonist whose story I was fully invested in. Seeing Asagi create such a strong bond and want to protect another young slave no matter the consequence was heart wrenching in the circumstances. The setting truly intrigued me and I do wish we would have had a little more description however that is just mere nit picking.

Bloodlaced is beautifully written and perfectly paced, I will definitely be carrying on with the Youkai Bloodlines series as I need to dive back into this world.

– Grab Your Copy Here –

So who is Courtney Maguire?

Courtney Maguire is a University of Texas graduate from Corpus Christi, Texas. Drawn to Austin by a voracious appetite for music, she spent most of her young adult life in dark, divey venues nursing a love for the sublimely weird. A self-proclaimed fangirl with a press pass, she combined her love of music and writing as the primary contributor for Japanese music and culture blog, Project: Lixx, interviewing Japanese rock and roll icons and providing live event coverage for appearances across the country.