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Santa Cruz Vampires #2
Broken by Blood
A vampire who's lost everything he cared about searches for solace in all the wrong places.
Zacharias, a former flight trainer in Gabriel's Legion, was accused and convicted of an abominable crime, then banished to Earth. Now a vampire in the Santa Cruz nest, he struggles to find the confidence he lost, hiding his pain in all the worst ways.
But a wolf is in town. A wolf unlike any Zach has met before. His smiles are unsettling, his scent soothing, his voice an achingly sweet song that touches Zach's spirit. The alpha male speaks with few words, but always with truth. Ryder makes Zach want to believe again, but hope is a soul strangler and can't be trusted.
A wolf betrayed by his alpha and his own cowardice can sometimes find redemption.
Ryder believes he failed his original pack. He followed the orders of a sadistic alpha, going against his nature and turning his back on weaker pack members even though they desperately needed his help. He could have stepped up, challenged the prime alpha and taken charge. Saved lives.
But the fates have given him another chance. Ryder is now the second-in-command under an alpha he greatly respects. He'll work to heal the harm he's responsible for and will remain loyal to his Prime until the end of his days. Only someone may need him even more.
Ryder knows the beautiful male with the face of an angel, the grace of a Fresian stallion, and the feisty nature of an alley cat is hurting. He thinks he can hide his pain from Ryder and his wolf, but they know better. In a fit of anger, Zach has issued a challenge and expects a response, but a wolf is patient and knows how to bide his time. Zach may be a vampire, but Ryder wants the first bite.
Zacharias, a former flight trainer in Gabriel's Legion, was accused and convicted of an abominable crime, then banished to Earth. Now a vampire in the Santa Cruz nest, he struggles to find the confidence he lost, hiding his pain in all the worst ways.
But a wolf is in town. A wolf unlike any Zach has met before. His smiles are unsettling, his scent soothing, his voice an achingly sweet song that touches Zach's spirit. The alpha male speaks with few words, but always with truth. Ryder makes Zach want to believe again, but hope is a soul strangler and can't be trusted.
A wolf betrayed by his alpha and his own cowardice can sometimes find redemption.
Ryder believes he failed his original pack. He followed the orders of a sadistic alpha, going against his nature and turning his back on weaker pack members even though they desperately needed his help. He could have stepped up, challenged the prime alpha and taken charge. Saved lives.
But the fates have given him another chance. Ryder is now the second-in-command under an alpha he greatly respects. He'll work to heal the harm he's responsible for and will remain loyal to his Prime until the end of his days. Only someone may need him even more.
Ryder knows the beautiful male with the face of an angel, the grace of a Fresian stallion, and the feisty nature of an alley cat is hurting. He thinks he can hide his pain from Ryder and his wolf, but they know better. In a fit of anger, Zach has issued a challenge and expects a response, but a wolf is patient and knows how to bide his time. Zach may be a vampire, but Ryder wants the first bite.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 27, 2021
About the author
Marie Booth
22 books105 followersA California girl who loves writing, reading, music and theatre
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 15, 2023
Marie Booth's interesting storytelling about Vamps/ArchAngels/Shifters/Humans drama continues, although sometimes the characters themselves take a while to get used to. Audiobook narration is always a plus in a book where the characters do not sound too interesting. Tim Paige and Liam Dicasmo have tried to make Zak sound as appealing as possible, but Zak for most parts, especially when he doesn't get his way sounded like a petulant child. While both narrators have done a consistent job in giving varied and good voices to every character in this book, Liam's interpretation of Zak sounded to me as "a guy always in a foul mood/ready to pick a fight." While the interpretation wasn't wrong, I would have liked a better voice style for Zak. Ryder for most parts sounded good and was given a good interpretation by both narrators.
In book 1 Ezra (present leader of team V/ex Michael legion warrior) and Asher (current healer/doc of team V, ex Rapaheal legion healer) got together as a couple and gave quite a brilliant lesson to their nemesis Archangel Michael. We also got to know the plot that the arch angels are up to and how they are breaking the laws they have sworn to withhold as the highest ranking angels. But, in all the chaos team V lost their temporary leader Kaz/Kazieal, whom archangel Uriel captures and takes with him to work on his pet project. We also see the loss of a budding relationship, as Daniel is angry and heartbroken by Kaz's betrayal and swears that he will never trust him. In book 2, the whole team V cast makes an appearance but in snippets, we are also introduced to more members of the Prodius pack, but the main focus is Zac/Zachariah and Prodius pack Alpha captain Ryder.
MC1 Zac portrays himself to be flamboyant, flirty, and fickle to anyone who approaches him, including his own team members. Only Asher, being team V's healer has been bull headed enough to try and read Zac's aura and real emotions. Zac does not want anyone to know what happened to him when he was kicked out of Gabriel's legion and him being so close-mouthed and temperamental makes everyone around him keep him at a distance. Zac just wants to be left alone with his fashion design work and get the satisfaction of feeding from his donors when he's hungry. He just does not want anyone to read him as too needy, till a quiet, observant Alpha captain of a wolf pack comes in and bandages his injured hand. Ryder does not ask a lot of questions, even if he's curious he does not want to interfere in Zac's affair, which irritates Zac because he wants the wolf to meddle or at least be curious enough to talk.
MC2 Ryder is intrigued by Zac and his wolf feels the pull of a mate in him, but Ryder wants to deny it, the reason being Zac is a Vampire and Ryder has a lot of responsibilities being the captain of Prodius pack. He does not want to abandon his Alpha like he had to in the past. He is also not ready to carry whatever emotional baggage Zac is carrying with him, but still, his wolf is drawn to him. When one mishap with angel Gabriel shows Ryder what kind of life and trauma Zac has gone through in Troll, he just wants to claim and protect his mate. But, it's not that easy.
While our two MCs try to figure out their attraction to each other, the most annoying factor of characters behaving too volatile comes in. Zak has this habit of feeling cornered and running away, from any situation where people try to understand his emotions. At first, I felt that Ryder's presence would bring balance to Zak's life and it does, till Zak behaves irrationally and runs away, again. And this happens a few times in the book. Ryder has been in two minds as well; he wants to protect Zak, yet he's not ready to leave his pack. I kind of felt like I had read this scenario before. To me, more than the romance of the MC, it was the overarching background of the archangel plot plan that was more interesting, especially when the ever-intriguing Kaz comes back. His story is going to be a very interesting one, if the hints given in this book are any indicators. The arch angels are annoying, yet less than Zak sometimes. While the Ezra-Asher romance sounded highly romantic and soothing, this one sounded amorous but fizzed out in certain areas. I just hope Zak-Ryder's character development improves as we move forward to book 3. And yes, I love the tension between Rueben & Carter ;)
In book 1 Ezra (present leader of team V/ex Michael legion warrior) and Asher (current healer/doc of team V, ex Rapaheal legion healer) got together as a couple and gave quite a brilliant lesson to their nemesis Archangel Michael. We also got to know the plot that the arch angels are up to and how they are breaking the laws they have sworn to withhold as the highest ranking angels. But, in all the chaos team V lost their temporary leader Kaz/Kazieal, whom archangel Uriel captures and takes with him to work on his pet project. We also see the loss of a budding relationship, as Daniel is angry and heartbroken by Kaz's betrayal and swears that he will never trust him. In book 2, the whole team V cast makes an appearance but in snippets, we are also introduced to more members of the Prodius pack, but the main focus is Zac/Zachariah and Prodius pack Alpha captain Ryder.
MC1 Zac portrays himself to be flamboyant, flirty, and fickle to anyone who approaches him, including his own team members. Only Asher, being team V's healer has been bull headed enough to try and read Zac's aura and real emotions. Zac does not want anyone to know what happened to him when he was kicked out of Gabriel's legion and him being so close-mouthed and temperamental makes everyone around him keep him at a distance. Zac just wants to be left alone with his fashion design work and get the satisfaction of feeding from his donors when he's hungry. He just does not want anyone to read him as too needy, till a quiet, observant Alpha captain of a wolf pack comes in and bandages his injured hand. Ryder does not ask a lot of questions, even if he's curious he does not want to interfere in Zac's affair, which irritates Zac because he wants the wolf to meddle or at least be curious enough to talk.
MC2 Ryder is intrigued by Zac and his wolf feels the pull of a mate in him, but Ryder wants to deny it, the reason being Zac is a Vampire and Ryder has a lot of responsibilities being the captain of Prodius pack. He does not want to abandon his Alpha like he had to in the past. He is also not ready to carry whatever emotional baggage Zac is carrying with him, but still, his wolf is drawn to him. When one mishap with angel Gabriel shows Ryder what kind of life and trauma Zac has gone through in Troll, he just wants to claim and protect his mate. But, it's not that easy.
While our two MCs try to figure out their attraction to each other, the most annoying factor of characters behaving too volatile comes in. Zak has this habit of feeling cornered and running away, from any situation where people try to understand his emotions. At first, I felt that Ryder's presence would bring balance to Zak's life and it does, till Zak behaves irrationally and runs away, again. And this happens a few times in the book. Ryder has been in two minds as well; he wants to protect Zak, yet he's not ready to leave his pack. I kind of felt like I had read this scenario before. To me, more than the romance of the MC, it was the overarching background of the archangel plot plan that was more interesting, especially when the ever-intriguing Kaz comes back. His story is going to be a very interesting one, if the hints given in this book are any indicators. The arch angels are annoying, yet less than Zak sometimes. While the Ezra-Asher romance sounded highly romantic and soothing, this one sounded amorous but fizzed out in certain areas. I just hope Zak-Ryder's character development improves as we move forward to book 3. And yes, I love the tension between Rueben & Carter ;)
October 10, 2021
Great story
I really enjoyed this story. Zach and Ryder's story wasn't always an easy ready with all they have been through, especially Zach, but I loved the way they were together, gluing back the pieces and taking care of each other.
The love that shines through as their story builds was beautiful to read.
The plot thickens as the overarching story continues and I can't wait to see where it goes next
I really enjoyed this story. Zach and Ryder's story wasn't always an easy ready with all they have been through, especially Zach, but I loved the way they were together, gluing back the pieces and taking care of each other.
The love that shines through as their story builds was beautiful to read.
The plot thickens as the overarching story continues and I can't wait to see where it goes next
January 11, 2023
Plot thickens, story gets some interesting twists and turns. Overall, I liked it better than the first book.
Now I need Kaz's story.
Now I need Kaz's story.
March 18, 2026
loving this series hopefully it gets more books
October 24, 2023
Audiobook
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews