Review – ‘Midnight Conquest’ by Arial Burnz

Blurb 

Masked in a Gypsy guise, Broderick MacDougal hides his vampiric identity while seeking to destroy the man who slaughtered his family. When an old Clan rival ensnares Broderick in a trap using an enticing widow, he is compelled to discover if she is bait or an accomplice, and the cinnamon-haired beauty is his next conquest.

Widow of an abusive husband, Davina Stewart-Russell clings to the only image that gave her strength during those dark times--the Gypsy rogue who stole her heart as a youth. After nine years, she is finally face-to-face with him again, but reality clashes with fantasy as she is confronted with Broderick's passionate pursuit.

When Davina's past returns to haunt her, Broderick is forced to reveal a dark secret worse than anything Davina thought possible. The challenge before them has fatal risks and neither of them is prepared for the sacrifices expected for the sake of eternal love.

Review

As book 1 in the Bonded by Blood series, the book starts with a punch and I love the world building.

Broderick MacDougal became a vampire, a vamsyrian as they’re called in the book, thirty years ago to avenge the death of his brothers and their families from a rival clansman, Angus Campbell.

Davina Stewart-Russell is married to Ian, a horribly abusive man. She’s strong-willed, determined to survive, and she seeks her family for help. When her father refuses to end the marriage, she attempts to take her own life but decides against it at the last moment. Then she's attacked and ‘saved’ by Angus.

A year later, Ian is believed long-dead in battle and Davina is free from his torment, other than in her nightmares. She meets Broderick, whom she met years before as a child and has fantasized about ever since, but their relationship is rocky. 
This is when I started to lose interest in the story. Broderick only cared about bedding Davina and learning about her connection to Angus. Davina refused to tell him about her dead husband, the abuse, her child from the marriage, or anything about herself because she’s terrified of men. I understand her timidity but she took it too far. Then again, all Broderick did was to try to seduce her so I understand why she didn't trust him. He and Davina argued for a good chunk of the book and I don’t see how they fell in love with their lack of communication. Once they finally started to talk and trust one another, around 70% or so percent of the book, the storyline started to pick up and I enjoyed it more.

I loved the side characters. Rosselyn, Nicabar and Amice were great. I felt sorry for Veronique and I hated Ian and Angus.

There were a few loose ends in the story and unanswered questions, but hopefully they’ll be answered in future installments. The book ends with a HFN, a happy for now, since he’s a vampire and she’s still a human and they have a prophecy to fulfill. 

I’ve heard a lot of good things about this series and I’m anxious to read the other books, but the poor communication between the H/h in book 1 frustrated me. I just hope Broderick and Davina, and Davina in her new incarnations, will be more open and respectful of each other in the future books.

3 Stars

Disclaimer – I downloaded a copy of this book free from Amazon. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape or form for this review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.