After Life

Blood and Darkness #5

by Aria Storm

Death holds no rest for the weary Demigoddess. At least I think this was death I passed through? My mother Lady Clare formerly of the Irish Vampyr Tribe came to me. My powers emerging might hold the only possible restitution to several lives hanging in the balance.

Even after all I have endured, all that has been sacrificed, still I fight on. I must fight my way beyond the limits of my original self. The ultimate battle and the ultimate prize hang heavily in the scales of fate.

By the end of this struggle, two youthful immortal lives could be restored. I will fight like the devils themselves to see my daughter returned to flesh and blood, as well the young apex Lycanthrope brother of one of my dearest mates.

This first chapter in the Blood and Darkness Series come to a culmination. Either Mavis will handle the seemingly impossible task ahead of her or she will die, and all of the mortals realms will follow soon after!

Genres: Vampires

283 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2021

About the author

Aria Storm is influenced by a lot of major authors from a wide range of genres and time periods. The earliest influences come in the form of Lord Dunsany, William Shakesphere, H.P. Lovecraft, Thomas Hardy, and Edgar Allen Poe, . Modern influences include, Gary S. Kadet, Chloe Neill, McKensy Hunter, Laurell K Hamilton, Timothy Zahn, and K. F. Brenee

Aria Storm avidly believes in representing LGBTQIA+ people with valid heroes/ heroines, and plot which can be sizzling at times, but also has other aspects outside the queer sex. This author's entire adult life has been devoted to becoming a better storyteller, and to bring LGBTQIA+ characters to everyone. Most of the Aria Storm works have been Lesfic, but the author also publishes various other genres, and is about to expand even further in the near future.

Reviews

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spook Good

Another great book!! I could hardly out it down. So much action and adventure. What a great and fascinating read.

[Crystal McKinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifth book in a row

Errors in spelling and grammar continue into book 5, but it seemed like there were fewer mistakes than in book 4.
I was for sure I was going to take a break from the series, until the cliffhanger, at the end. So now it looks like I'm moving on to book 6.

[Zayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not great. I couldn't but it down, but was always on the look-out for something twisted to come. I love the sneak peak of the Norse gods toward the end. That was cool. The biggest part I didn't like about this one, was that I wasn't thrilled by how Mavis and the others took the news that...
(*Spoiler Alert*) Anne was pregnant. And the culprit of who knocked her up was Olaf (go figure).

**Forewarning, This is a long-winded rant here about Anne's behavior in this, sorry.**
I would've been fine if Anne had come out and said she was wanting a child but didn't know how to tell them about wanting one and that Olaf was the easiest and most wanting to do it for her, that he gladly offered to give her a child for Mavis and her foursome. Sure, she seemed pretty embarrassed by throwing up her breakfast, but, And this is a big BUT, it was never really further explained or pursued by the author as to how much she wanted to be with a man. If she wanted to be sexually with Olaf, that would've been cool too, so long as she told Mavis and Aurelia BEFORE sleeping with OLAF! Not biased against bisexuals either, since I have a bisexual friend, but if she told her lover and said she wanted to get pregnant by a man, then at least she would be telling her lover what she wanted, but, and I know my friend well, she would never say that because she knows there are other ways of conceiving. Anne didn't say any of that BEFORE SHE SLEPT WITH HIM. They accept her child and pregnancy, and her half-assed apology. Even though she said she was committed to them only. It got to the point where I kind of just blank out all of her parts and dialogue because I was so frustrated with the way she handled how she got pregnant. She's not loyal to them! And now she can't even be useful to their cause! **End of rant!**

Aurelia, Mavis, and Morgana on the other hand are amazing and amazingly strong characters. Mavis is only going to keep getting outlandishly stronger. Possibly to the point where she can actually take on all of the Ancients by herself. That would be a sight to read.

[M L Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rough around the edges but completely worth it

So this series is a little rough. The author has already addressed having hired a new editor to republish later so that's fine. However I love this series, it's very well done with a lot of good ideas. There are some consistency errors and typos but I think it's still well worth the time and I can't wait for the next set in the series.

[Sam Way · Rating 4 out of 5]

4*

I would’ve read this quicker if I hadn’t been so busy!

Another good read, a few questions have finally been answered. This is a good series, and well worth the read. I still struggle with the style of writing, I had to re reAd a few paragraphs.

Again I would’ve rated it higher had it not been for the amount of grammatical errors and mistakes.

[RA Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about a cliffhanger

I would like to actually get something done IRL but apparently that's off the table since the only possible reaction to that ending is to immediately download the next book.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great adventure

I love this series of books! It just keep getting better. My hands keep sweating at every page. More adventures, love, passion, villains and pain.