Fortress of Blood

Mina Murray #2

by L.D. Goffigan

Mina and her allies have found the Transylvanian countryside dotted with empty villages and rumors of monsters who wear human skin. As Mina prepares for the final showdown with her fiance's abductors, the last descendants of the supernatural Draculesti family, she discovers her own shocking connection to the hidden world of vampires...

A suspenseful retelling of a classic tale, FORTRESS OF BLOOD is the second book of the Mina Murray series. If you love action-adventure, romance, and mystery, then pick up your copy today.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, Victorian, Horror, Vampires, Mystery

258 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 21, 2017

About the author

L.D. Goffigan writes fast-paced thrillers and action-adventure with historical intrigue.

She is passionate about history, adventure, thrillers, and hidden mysteries waiting to be uncovered…

She studied film and dramatic writing at New York University.When not writing, you can find her traveling to places she’s never been, reading the latest thriller which has her on the edge of her seat, watching a documentary about ancient mysteries, or seeking her next adventure.

Stay in touch and join the adventure—

subscribepage.com/ldgoffiganbooks

Reviews

[Carole (Carole's Random Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! After enjoying the first book in the series, I was eager to see what would happen next to Mina Murray. This story picks up right after the events of the first book and I do recommend that you read the series in order. I thought that this book was at least as good as the prior book and maybe even slightly better. I am so glad that I happened upon this series.

As I said this book picks up right after the events of the first book so there may be some spoilers for the first book in this review. Mina, Abe, and the rest of the group are working to get Mina's fiance, Jonathan, back from the vampires. This is not going to be an easy task and it is going to be very risky.

I really enjoyed learning more about Mina. I was rather surprised to learn how she was connected to the vampires and how connected everything really is. I loved the fact that Mina is fiercely loyal. She literally is risking everything for the sake of her fiance and does so without any hesitation. She cares deeply about others and tries to keep everyone as safe as possible.

I thought that this was a very exciting story. I was never quite sure how things would turn out and there were more than a few surprises during the story. I liked that the action was balanced with some more thoughtful and emotional scenes that focused more on the characters. It was a really nicely paced story that I found hard to set aside.

I thought that Danielle Cohen did a fantastic job with the narration of this book. I loved the quality of her voice and I thought that the voices she used for the various characters were performed very well. I really liked some of the accents that she used and I thought that her delivery helped to set the scene for the story. I thought that she added a lot of excitement and emotion to her reading. I found this book easy to listen to for hours at a time.

I would recommend this series to others. I thoroughly enjoyed myself with this story. I felt like this book really helped to complete the story that began in the first book and opened up the series to future adventures. I can't wait to see what Mina does next!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Initial Thoughts
So this book picks up after the events of the previous installment in the series. I do think that this is a series that would be best when read in order. Mina and her group are getting close to catching up with Jonathan and are serious about their goal of destroying Vlad. There was a lot of excitement in this story and some great development in the characters' relationships. I felt like this book was the conclusion to the story arc started in the first book. The way the book ended has me pretty excited to see Mina's further adventures. I listened to the audiobook and thought that Danielle Cohen did an amazing job with this story.

[Erica Robyn Metcalf · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few weeks ago, I read The Beast of London, which was sent to me from the author in exchange for an honest review. I thought it was such a fun and action packed read! Click here to check out my review for The Beast of London.

Immediately after finishing the book, I found myself navigating to Amazon to see what the price of the next book was. $2.99 on Kindle?! Needless to say, I snagged it right away!

My thoughts:
Just like the last book, I enjoyed the writing style. L.D. Goffigan's writing style when she does action scenes is definitely my favorite! I saw a few typos and weird formatting here and there, but nothing too major. However, the repetition was a problem in this book (more on that later).

I enjoyed the storyline overall. The first chapter does a wonderful job summarizing all of the important things from book one in order to catch the reader up. I also enjoyed that things happened very quickly! In many books similar to this, I find myself annoyed by how slow the pacing is, while the characters keep repeating about how quickly they must move.

In my review of book one, I said that I was a bit nervous about the chemistry between Mina and Van Helsing. I am really happy with how they handled that relationship in this book and I look forward to seeing where things go from here.

Also in my first review, I said that I cannot wait to learn more why Mina can feel when a vampire is nearby. In this book it seemed like more people could feel the same sensation when a vampire was near. But it confused me a bit. Can everyone feel it, or just certain characters?

Beware, the negatives:
The repetition in this book happened so often that it started to drive me a little crazy. That being said, a lot of the repetition did make sense because it was mainly what Mina was thinking. She was so stressed out, and needed to pump herself up, so of course she repeated herself! Per usual, it's just my personal irk.

However, there were also passages like this where the same word is used multiple times:
"I felt a cold presence approach, and looked up to see a dark figure approach..."


Favorite passages:
...that same question had been fluttering about in my mind like a restless bird.

"Haven't either of you learned?" Seward asked, rising to his feet. "It's best not to argue with Mina when she's made up her mind."


My final thoughts:
Overall, I really enjoyed this read, just not as much as the first book. I cannot wait to jump into the third book!

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this action packed thrill ride as the follow up to 'The Beast of London'. Mina Murray is more than tough, she inspires me in nearly every chapter. Anyone that enjoys reading books involving vampires-without the typical cliche, this is THE book....no, it's THE series to read. I would've finished this much sooner but I have had 2 surgeries to go through & recover from. This story, with its captivating characters & fantastic pace & plot (including my killer heroine Mina) kept me reading. There is much more to be said as far as a review goes-just at the moment, I'm a bit overwhelmed...like that super happy feeling of warmth & the sudden realization that your time in that world is over. Not to fear though! There's more! :) I honestly enjoy this particular series in a different way than any other of its kind. LD Goffigan has given another splendid performance here & I'm already looking forward to the next installment.

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The first book was quick and easy to read for me and I decided to continue reading this series and finishing it at once. I usually keep a lot of time between books, and I don't know why. I might change that from now on!

Full review can be found at BiteIntoBooks

I feel like this is a fun, fast paced and easy/quick to read vampire trilogy. It was enjoyable and the fact that the books are under 300 pages also makes that I'll keep reading. I'm currently reading the third book and I easily read 20% in a sitting. I'll be reviewing that book soon!

[PollyAnna Joy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do you believe it's possible to dislike--(hate?) a book just as much as you're drawn to it like a moth to a flame? Goffigan's FORTRESS OF BLOOD (book #2 of the Mina Murray series) is ridiculous. I do believe that she took dialogue coaching from the George Lucas of ATTACK OF THE CLONES ilk. Most of the dialogue made me either cringe or roll my eyes and then "huff" in frustration. Mina is as likable as much as unlikable--but not in a way that we all love House from the tv show of the same name or even Dexter from the show of that same name. She is annoying and trying too hard to be the hero of her own story with her words rather than demonstrating her herorism through heroic acts/deeds--like Wonder Woman or so many other female heroic characters of today. I want to reach through the words of the book and shake some sense into Mina to get her to just stop. To STOP. Yes, it's as bad as or even worse than the TWILIGHT series.

And yes, I was drawn to the TWILIGHT series like a moth to a flame, I'm embarrassed to say. I won't tell you that I own the hardback copies of TWILIGHT as well as the original paperbacks and the mass market paperback editions, too.

Don't judge me.

At least I read real literature, too.........

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

Full review: http://heathersreadinghideaway.blogsp...

Quick review: I had a lot of issues with the change of tone from the first book to this one. The first one was really action packed and strong where this one was a big melodramatic and whiny. I am interested in picking up the third book when it comes out later this month because I absolutely love the author's ability to write really great action scenes and I want to know how the story will progress. But I can't deny that I'm less excited as I was after reading The Beast of London.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this after really enjoying The Beast of London, but for me, this just didn’t hit the same mark. Starting immediately where The Beast of London finished off, this sequel reunited us with the characters we had come to know and introduced us to more along the way.

I had read The Beast of London in January 2021 and had given 4*, so The Fortress of Blood had a lot to live up to and I had lots of questions flying around my head that I wanted answering. Thankfully, the both the main characters and others they encountered along the way wanted the same questions answered, so I was hopeful of getting some answers at some point. Which turned out to be partly true, but there are still a number of questions which I am hoping are resolved in the third and final instalment.

The best way I can describe this, is the author took their foot off the accelerator. There wasn’t any of suspense and build up of the first novel, it just plodded along until a big action scene, which just happened and then returned to plodding along. I just felt as though all the oomph and build up from the first novel had vanished. The main thing keeping me reading was the backstories of Mina and Gabriel and wanting to know more about who they are and where they came from.

The ending of Fortress of Blood did fit though, and the ending was one of my main negatives with The Beast of London, which had just stopped. The ending of The Fortress of Blood did seem way more natural and a much more fitting place for the pause.

[L Liddell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.

I have not read the first Mina Murray book, but I thoroughly enjoyed the second in the series. It's a good mix of fantasy/historical fiction/a bit of romance, and it's done well. L.D. Goffigan does a great job of drawing the reader into Mina's world and grabbing your interest.

Coming into the series on the second book is normally *not* something I'm willing to do because I feel like I'm missing too much, but I didn't get that with this book in particular. I felt like I was filled in on enough of the big details from the first story to not be missing anything super important, but I also wasn't constantly reminded over and over again that this was the second book by the author repeatedly bringing up overly detailed accounts from the first. I appreciated that very much, especially because on the flip side, if I *have* read the first I don't really need that many reminders and if it's not done well they can become intrusive to the story and a bit annoying.

There is a dark feel to the story, as you should get with tales of Vampires in my opinion, and the author's use of similie/metaphor is done quite well.

If you are keen on books with Vampires and strong-willed heroines then the Mina Murray series is definitely a good one to pick up.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways this was the second half of The Beast of London. That book set the stage and opened the mysteries. This book followed events as Mina and company worked to save Jonathan. The huge reveal at the end of book one was explored as Mina learned first hand more about the vampire threat they are facing and bonds with allies were forged.

There was quite a bit of action, but many of the battles in this book were internal and interpersonal and as a result the book became more introspective and moody at times. The ending was well written and satisfying. I really liked the way it wrapped back to some of the opening scenes from book 1 and provided closure to not only to Jonathan's situation but other events left hanging in London. Book 3 promises to open a new chapter in Mina's life and I am excited to see what happens.

[meghann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the first book in this series so much, so I was really excited for this one. It did not disappoint. Mina remains one of my favorite characters. She's fierce and will go to the ends of the earth to protect those she loves. Some questions about Mina's past are answered in this one, and I cannot wait to see where those revelations take us in the next book. I thought what happened at the end (no spoilers) was handled really well. I do really like that character, so hopefully they'll pop up again. There were so many omg/what?!?/I can't believe that just happened moments in this book. It was so much fun.

Thanks to the author for sending me an ARC of this book. My opinions are my own.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review: I really enjoyed reading this book, but not as much as the first book Beasts of London, it still had an interesting concept and characters and I didn't dislike it, in fact I still found this book great.

[Gemma · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is a very generous 2 stars. poor writing, nonsensical plot, illogical progression of events. and to top it all off, it's not even fun or interesting to read. if it's bad, it at least better not be boring, too, but this book can't even manage that.

[Tamra Rains · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much and I am looking forward to the next one.

[Dena Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

I read both of her journey to save humans from the undrsf vampires and to save her fiance and the humans. Most vampires just want peace . Can't wait to continue on

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second part of The Beast Of London

[Lori Kern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fortress of blood

Another excellent book in this series. Never a dull moment in the book. Action packed throughout the story. Quite an interesting subject.

[diane wight · Rating 5 out of 5]

continued where book1 left off really enjoyed

[H S. A · Rating 3 out of 5]

26/2022📚
The continuation of Mina and Abe’s journey to try and restore the order and end the ongoing war of the undead. Breezed through this one.
Personal rating : 3.5⭐️/5⭐️