Dragon Blood

Dragon's Gift: The Sorceress #2

by Linsey Hall

A Race Against Time

There’s no rest for the wicked. Or for demon slayers. I’m both, so things have been busy. The sort of busy where I spend all my time trying not to get killed or discovered for what I really am—a Dragon Blood with the deadly power to create new magic.

When a mysterious bomb goes off in my town and my closest friends are turned to stone, it becomes a race against the clock to stop the demon who is still at large. Every six hours, another bomb takes out more people.

My only chance at catching the demon and reversing the spell is to team up with the too-sexy bounty hunter, Declan O’Shea. It’s nearly impossible to resist him, but I must. We’re natural born enemies, and if he discovers what I am, life as I know it would be over.

Dragon Blood is a fast-paced urban fantasy adventure starring a kick butt heroine, a powerful hero, and magic that will blow your socks off.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Angels, Paranormal Romance

244 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 9, 2019

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Before becoming a writer, Linsey was an archaeologist who studied shipwrecks in all kinds of water, from the tropics to muddy rivers (and she has a distinct preference for one over the other). After a decade of tromping around in search of old bits of stuff, she settled down to start penning her own adventure novels and is freaking delighted that people seem to like them. Since life is better with a little (or a lot of) magic, she writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance.

Reviews

[Marta Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here we go with another exciting ride that features my favourite Blood Sorceress. As with the previous books this is a fast-paced, exciting read, with characters I cannot help but cheering for and of course a well developed storyline . Aerdeca is desperate to find the Demon who is casting spells turning innocents and some of her friends to stone. However she's not the only one on the hunt and yes her favourite Fallen Angel just happens to be on the same mission.
As usual I'm taken away from humdrum reality and end up riveted to this world of magic the author has created. I'm so loving the connection forging between Aerdeca and Declan and those they meet along the way just add to the fun of it all. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have no problem recommending it because the world building is engaging and there's never a dull moment.
This voluntary take is of an advance copy and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I said it with the last book, and now I’m convinced after reading this latest: this is my favorite series by this author. I don’t know if it’s because this series is a little more adult than her others, or just because I love Aeri and Mari, but this book hits all my buttons: great writing, plot, characters, and action. Before this series, I found Mordeca and Aredeca to be a little distant but fascinating. I love how we are getting to know and love the real people behind their facades. I would read the one before this one before reading this one, but do try this if you love urban fantasy with great action! I highly recommend this book! I was provided the e-book which I voluntarily reviewed.

[The Mysterious Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linsey Hall is one of my favorite authors, so it’s no surprise I love her new Dragon's Gift: The Sorceress series. Aeri (Aerdeca) and her sisters Mari (Mordaca) are fabulous characters, their Dragon Blood, with its power and the consequences of such (being hunted) are totally cool, and I love watching Aeri’s relationship with Declan develop just as much as I am enjoying the fantastic adventures she’s gone through. Now they’re back, in Dragon Blood (Book 2), and the only way to describe this book is: wow. Read the publisher’s blurb on this one. If it’s even slightly of interest to you then I’m sure you’ll love the book. One caveat: while this book can totally stand on its own I do recommend reading book 1 first as it’s also fantastic and it’s better to read book 1 before book 2 (and trust me, you’ll enjoy book 2 so much you’ll end up wanting to read book 1 just to get more of these characters and their story). But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.

[Richard Goodrum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific tale. Aerdeca/Aeri is an absolutely delightful, gorgeous, badass, warrior woman. And Declan is not half bad either. Plenty of unexpected twists and turns. A few steamy moments. I hope that things work out for Aeri and Declan as a couple. I believe that you will enjoy it: I certainly did.

I received a copy of this book as a gift. This is my honest review.

[Dallass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trouble in paradise.

Loved this! Action packed from the first chapter, with a great premise. There is more at stake, emotionally, in this book. Secrets revealed, visions come to pass, and one act of self-sacrifice to save others really comes back to bite Aeri in the butt.

4 stars ⭐️

[BlueFalkon95 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Demon mania

Wow, demon mania at large book tells about more dangerous demons and now know on who is after her. A small cliff hanger but worth it..

[Heather Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome

The sisters are running forward, trying to find the answers to their pasts along with solutions to the present. Aeri, our sister in white, is pairing with Declan to bring down a dangerous demon and events are barreling forward - just like every Hall novel. Sweet.

[Jeanny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf 45.%

[jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh man!!

This one almost made me cry. The end just broken my heart! But she is definitely more hero. I just never knew how much. You have to join her in this journey! Fast paced, exciting, but gut wrenching. Really played in my big sister heart too. Onto the next book!

[Kell Natalia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was boring, repetitive, and the author always took the 'easy' way to solve the problems.

Recap:
Mordaca and Aerdeca was performing a spell for Aethelred when the red alarm blazed. They immediately told Aethelred to go and rushed to meet Agatha. The ghost said that there was an attack in factory row by an unknown demon power. When they arrived, everyone, their friends included (except Claire), were already turned to stone and they found a mysterious crystal. The order came so Mari distracted them while Aeri inspected the stone when suddenly, Dechlan came. He used a stone to took some of the magic and he teleported to Nottingham to investigate it, while Aeri in ghost suit followed him.

He went to a pyro-seer, who told him to that the spell was made by Mauritius the Dark, the previous Arch Magus before Lachlan, who lived in Toronto. When Dechlan already left, the seer captured her and interrogated her. She said that Aeri was meant to be with Dechlan but they would fall apart, then she let Aeri go. Aeri went to Toronto and called the current Arch Magus, Lachlan. He said he lived in a dark tower with black crown on top of the building and he was not actually powerful. Mauritius only stole the power and store it in an object near him.

Aeri managed to sneak in and found Dechlan already interrogated Mauritius. They could sense her and Dechlan tried to interrogated Mauritius until Aeri found the object where he stored his power (it was in a cup). Threatened, Mauritius finally told him that he sold six of those crystal to an Oraxia demon and the only way to undo the spell was if the demon said so. They destroyed the cup and escaped back to Aeri's place to eat, when again, the red alarm blazed. She told him to wait while he went downstairs and Agatha told her that the next attack was in Government Lane. She returned when she saw Dechlan trapped between the vines because he tried to follow her down.

She released him and together they went to Government Land (she didn't tell him that she knew about the attack, only that they should tell the mayor they needed to evacuate the city). Of course the mayor was a stone and they theorized that the demon would attack all 6 districts in magic's bend and it would take it 6 hours to recharge. So they met with Mari on the beach, who just returned with Claire. Aeri and Dechlan would ask for the Protectorate's help while Mari and Claire would try to evacuate the city. They arrived to the protectorate who offered to help evacuated the city while Aeri went to the library to find out more about Oraxia demon.

Nothing much about it but a book said it was made by Devyver who lived in a Shade City in Dark World. so Hedy gave them a potion that made them look like a demon and enhanced their dark magic while Wally took them there. When they arrived to the Shade City, they went to a pub to ask about Devyver but the bartender got suspicious and attacked them. They killed all the demon and immediately ran away, found the Devyver's tower and managed to sneak in and found the Devyver himself, who turned out to be an old human men who sold his soul for crazy and disgusting experiment on body parts.

After some threatening involving Wally eating his soul (Dechlan would look for it), he gave them a potion that could make the demon loyal to them and but it need two more ingredients: a sea sapphire that could be found somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle and the demon's body part, which was impossible because the demon was invincible. Aeri killed him then they escaped and met with Mari, who promised to help finding a nullifier that could penetrate the demon's protection charm. They met with the captain from the previous book named Syra (she was also half siren), went to Florida, stole a drug lord's boat (in this world, it appeared that there would be no consequences. Aeri attacked lots of well-known bad guys but they didn't seek for a revenge at her for what she did.)

They managed to catch a bit of rest, talked a bit about who they worked for (Dechlan worked for a council of high angel, who interrogated the demons he caught, while Aeri told him about the Council of Demon Slayer). When they woke up, of course they got attacked by some angry wind gods and weeds, and had to face some whirlpool then they arrived to an island and met with a Siren who was willing to help them reach the pirate's cave. They passed a cave of spider then arrived to the pirate's cave full of pirates ghost that could kill with a touch (she kept on inventing ghosts lol). Aeri managed to get the gem but of course the ghosts touched her. They got away and Dechlan immediately healed her.

They drank the power up potion and immediately hunted for the demon. A combined attack of heavenly fire and lightnings from Bree and others didn't kill him, they needed a nullifier so Aerdeca decided she would created the power but before she finished, Mordaca somehow interfered and it prevented the power from engulfing her thoroughly, but only her touch could nullify. So she attacked the demon using her suit, cut off his ear, made the potion, then made the demon drank it. The demon broke several of her bones (but she looked just fine), then it finally obeyed her and reverse the magic.

Aeri found a medal similar to the necromancy demon but the demon said he didn't know who hired him, only that it was from Grimrealm and there was six of them. She couldn't bear their connection so she killed it and all of her friends were fine and the city unfroze. The next day, Aeri and Mari was going to celebrate with the firesouls when Dechlan came, saying that he knew she was a Dragon Blood. They kissed but he turned green and sickly. Turned out her touch nullify his power and the pyro-seer's word were true, they would get together but would also torn apart.

[Nate Brightman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As this collection of mini-series under the Dragon’s Gift heading goes this, the second book in The Sorceress series was a pretty good read. We get to understand Arie a little better. She’s not evil but she is more vicious and less reluctant to act as judge, jury and executioner to those she deems evil and deserving of death than the Firesouls or Dragongods are. She also has no qualms about having sex with someone based solely on physical attraction where the previous heroines in this series needed to be in love before they entered a sexual relationship with their men. I suspect this is because she and her sister have learned not to trust anyone but each other so having more than a physical relationship was never a possibility. Even though Arie doesn’t totally trust Declan, she trusts him enough and appreciates his abilities and resources enough to suggest they work together when a spell begins turning the citizens of Magic Bend into stone statues. In spite of her attempts to keep herself emotionally detached from everyone but her sister Mari, when the Firesouls and Connor are among those affected she feels a gut wrenching emotional pain and knows she must do whatever is necessary to save them. In the process she and Declan share many a fantastical adventure growing ever closer as they depend upon one another to get them out of dangerous situations. They begin to share some of the secrets of their past with each other. They race against the clock to find what they need to force the demon to reverse the spell before it becomes permanent. With the Firesouls sidelined Arie enlists the aid of the Undercover Protectorate bringing two of the Dragongods and the rest of the Protectorate into the battle to save Magic Bend. In the end Arie must decide whether to risk creating a magic that could reveal what she is and change her magic forever in order to save the town.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a nice time-based tension here, because if the heroes don’t find the Oraxia demon and force it to reverse the spell before it’s done deploying, the petrification will become permanent! Now, this being written by Linsey Hall we know she won’t kill off some of her major characters, but she still manages to make the possibility seem tense and fraught with danger.

The characters are enjoyable. Aerdeca and Mordaca have more depth to them than they’ve shown in previous books. Their icy (Aerdeca) and glowering (Mordaca) act is a part of them–not a total smokescreen–but they’ve been hiding their traumatized, hiding-from-the-bad-guys, keeping-secrets selves. Declan is rightfully angry that Aerdeca tried to use her magic to make him forget her, but when push comes to shove he can be relied upon. I was slightly annoyed by the fact that Aerdeca fixated on the size of the breasts of every woman who talked to Declan.

There is a brief mention of “Dani … the third sister we’d never had”, so I have to wonder, given that until now she’s done these sub-series in sets of three, whether that’s going to happen again.

I am enjoying being in Aerdeca’s head. Her morality is a little more gray than that of previous main characters, and every once in a while she actually swears! She comes across as slightly more grown-up than the other main characters.


Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/04/r...

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the world Linsey Hall has created in”Dragon Blood.” This time Aeri discovers her friends frozen into statues. She is desperate to help them so she follows Declan O’Shea to discover what he knows about the problem. Although she gets some information she also gets a dire prediction from a seer about her budding relationship with Declan.

Aeri goes to Declan and proposes that they work together to fix the problem. Just as they set out to discover the mystery behind the statues another area of Magic Bend is frozen into statues. It seems that every six hours they magical attack will continue to freeze an area of the city. If they do not stop the attacks Aeri’s friends will remain frozen forever.

As Declan and Aeri seek out answers we are introduced to many new colorful characters and there is a reoccurrence of characters we previously met in book one. Additionally both Aeri and Declan learn a little more about each other’s backgrounds and secrets. The question is will it affect their budding relationship?

Once again I loved the action and dire situations these characters seem to find themselves in. I just wished the author would build in some down time for the relationships between the characters could be enhanced. Hopefully that will be coming in future installments.

[Cyrene Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in this series is even faster paced than the first. Since the author got us through the world building and the characters, it is full steam ahead in book two. And it’s quite a ride, feeling like you hitting the top of the roller coaster before you are plunged downward. This time they need to stop a powerful demon that is almost impossible to take down, and Aeri will take almost fatal chances to save her town and her friends. Her trust in Declan is improving and so is their relationship - that is until the end where the author slams the brakes and brings everything to a grinding halt, conveniently creating tension with the love interest that will only take this series over the top.

Other than that, the ride was a good one, and the author does a great job of pulling a reader in, although if you have read Hall’s work before, she follows a similar formula in most of her books. But I love the originality of this world she’s built, and the characters, especially the strong women, and will finish off this series of four books with my hands in the air and screaming as I ride this coaster to the end. Reviewed by Cyrene

[DMCechak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aeri and Declan, the Adventure Continues!

Dragon Blood, Linsey Hall’s most recent story in her Dragon’s Gift: The Sorceress Book 2 series, is a fast paced, knock down, drag out adventure that has us following Aerdeca and her, can I say it...love interest, Declan, as they attempt to save their magical community from an unstoppable demon.

Linsey can take the simple art form of writing suspense, humor, romance, and action, and blend it together to create stories that make your heart beat faster, make your mouth turn dry, and bring tears to your eyes!

She is a talented young author who continues to add characters to her series, and we are ever so thankful, because we know they may be popping up in books of their own.

Start at the beginning of her author journey and read each book she has written, because you will NOT want to miss a single word!

And Linsey, I think your mom is a badass, too! Just like her amazing daughter!!!

[mellymoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book x

How far we've travelled since the book Hidden Magic, and get its been like you've gradually been adopted into the unseen magical realm of the and Dragon gods and Dragon bloods, fallen angels and many many magical beings

As always the book has plenty of battles and fights, sexual tension that does develop into relations but it's not tacky or overly graphic (which I prefer personally), Aeri is a fabulous character and you start to see she's very lovable, somebody you'd love to have as a bestie

It was so great to have everyone in this book, you forget how many people there are in this created world, Linsey has brought each to live and to the fight

Lots of excitement and a very hard book to put down, in fairness it was only sleep that interrupted my reading, I was surprised and a bit sad at the ending but that drives me to read the next book, hope for love is a strong lure

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series, but I need to read Declan's POV, and he doesn't have one, 😤.

The characters and the world are fantastic. The slow burn is killing me though. My one complaint is that we don't get Declan's POV which is driving me crazy. Two books and we haven't heard his POV! How does he feel about Aeri, about the whole situation? Where does he go when he's not with Aeri? Another thing I'm confused about is that the book cover shows Aeri having white hair, but in the book, she has blond hair or pale blonde hair, which does not match up with the cover. I would like a better description of Aeri. Throughout book 1 and book 2, Aeri says she and her sister changed everything about them, does that mean they have changed their actual appearance (are they wearing a different face and body) or just small things like hair, clothes, etc?

[Nancy Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Mari and Declan have to head to hel to find out how to defeat the demonl

Mari and Declan have to poses demons to travel through hell to get to The Mastermind that created the demon. Just getting to the man is hazardous to their health. Questioning the man is even worse. They finally get a potion that is partially ready to defeat the demon and leaving hell they are Chased by countless demons who all want to kill them. They next have to go down into the Bermuda triangle to find an island and capture a stone that needs to go into the potion. Unfortunately the stone is guarded by ghost who can kill with one touch. If they acquire the stone then they have to get a piece of the demon to put in the potion as well. Daunting tests to say the least.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome fantasy suspense as good fights evil in the ongoing story of the Blood Sorceress, Aerdeca. She and her sister have dual purposes for living on Darklane. Declan is a bounty hunter trying to catch wayward demons. This is book 2 in her story and there’s some romance. They are united trying to destroy an evil that seems out to hurt others with magic. I received a complementary copy of this book and chose to write a review. I enjoy books by Ms. Hall and look forward to reading future books by this author.

[Marianne Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! It's as good as the other Dragon's Gift books and then some!

From the first page it was impossible to put down! I can't recommend Aeri's story and the rest of The Dragon's Gift Series enough.
I started with Ana's story not realising that it was a series until I'd finished it. I then went back to the the start of The Dragon's Gift Series and I was hooked from the first page. I always thought there was more to Aerdeca and Mordaca than met the eye and I wasn't dissapointed! So do yourself a favor and read this series, I guarantee you won't be disappointed either!

[Poor Professor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this world and characters!

I have read all of the books in this entire collection of 5 book series and this book is an excellent and worthy addition. I love all the characters we have come to know and love. The world build around them is wonderful and compelling.
I had no idea I would be so excited about learning more of the story behind the mysterious blood mage sisters from Darklane, but I can't get enough, and I can't wait for the next installment.
Highly Recommended!!

[Tracy Kaufman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not your usual cut out urban fantasy. Female leads that take charge of their lives without the whine of their terrible history. The world building is awesome. Totally enjoyed the different worlds they visit. The action is amazing. Love this series because I do not enjoy hot sex scenes or tons of cussin'. There is attraction and a romance that may or may not take place. The action never stops which keep my attention and makes me want to go back for more. Each book keeps building on the other; and you get to know all these amazing characters with their own back story.

[Greta Eber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed, contains SPOILERS!

I have read all of her other series & planned to avoid this one. But other reviews said this series was different. It's not. Book one, chapter one-she meets stranger & hates him. Spends rest of book one trying to keep her secret from him, share one kiss. Book 2 he finds out her secret & doesn't care. They come close to sleeping together but something stops them. This is the same recipe for every. Single. Series! I'm not spending any more money. You build great worlds but change it up a bit!

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Boring. It’s basically repeating all the same sequences from the first book. Some demon appears and she needs to kill it. She don’t know where the demon is, so she needs to track it. Now she needs to travel to find ppl, that’ll send her to other ppl, so she can get some crumbs about the demon she’s looking for. Then she needs to travel to some dangerous place, just to go find ppl, that’ll send her to more ppl so she can get just another bit of info. Yeahh, not crazy about all this round about way of trying to solve this demon problem. Needs to pick up the pace and add some spice.

[Sharri Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great second book to the blood sorceress story.

What I love about all the books written by this author is how she brings back all the characters from her previous books. It's like a big family and you just can't help but smile when they come along in the story. The main character is fascinating and she makes some hard choices to save her friend's. I can't wait for the next book!

[Dora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adventure, adventure and more adventure! Aerdeca was not afraid to show her strength and ruthless ways while hunting demons. Trust? Only her sister! Good her intensity and how she was facing the new threat upon all of them. Good pace, interesting descriptions and narrations, lot of action, suspense, strange demons and almost a romance that seems in jeopardize. Like these interesting and surprising series that keep me entertained enjoying the witty and well done plot developments.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it, I love it, I love it!
We're starting to get into Aeri's story now and learning more about her and Mordica's past, and it's so intriguing. Things are starting to heat up as enemies stat getting more dangerous and intense, and we still have little clue as to the masterminds these great acts of evil. Aeri and Declan have an intense connection as ever, and the connection only grows as they race against the clock to save their friends and community.

[Jill Gauger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trust each other

Aerdaca and Declan now are trying to stop a Oraxia Demon. This demon is turning Magic’s Bend residents to stone section by section. The first section hit is where Nix, Cass and Dell live.
They travel to some of the worst places imaginable to learn how to stop him.
Aerdaca has to use more of her new magic and trying to keep it hidden from Declan is getting harder.
I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait for the next.

[E.A. Turley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A demon has come to Magic's Bend with orbs that turn people into statues. There's only one way to counter the curse. So Aerdeca and Declan sail off to the Bermuda Triangle to find it. But will they be able to return in time to stop the demon before he deploys the last orb? If he does, then all the victims will be permanently lost to it, doomed to remain as statues for the end of time, including the three firesouls and Connor at Potions and Pastilles cafe.
Brilliant as always!

[Levia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things are getting serious now

From almost the very beginning this book was nonstop running towards a solution. I love books like this. It had my blood pumping. We traveled to new places which is always fascinating. I love the blend of archaeology and fantasy fiction. The last scene with Declan and Aeri! Wow! I also loved the personal story that Linsey Hall shared about her mother in the afterword.