Heart's Blood [Mass Market Paperback]

Gail Dayton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 29, 2009

Master conjurer Grey Carteret regains consciousness in a London gutter next to a concerned street urchin and not far from the body of a man murdered by magic. Some fool is hoping to use murder to raise a demon. Arrested for the crime, Grey must rely on the street urchin for help. But the lad turns out to be a comely lass, and she wants something in exchange.

Pearl Parkin, a gently reared lady struggling to survive in London’s slums, sees magic as a way out of the life she finds herself trapped in. But blackmailing Grey into making her his apprentice has unexpected consequences. As they plunge into the hunt for the murderer, Pearl discovers that the things she once desperately wanted are not so important after all, and that she must risk her blood, her heart, and her very life to grasp the love she needs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Love and magic collide in the thrilling sequel to 2009's New Blood. Orphaned sorceress Pearl Parkin lives on the rough streets of Victorian London, disguised as a boy for her safety and because women are rarely allowed into the elite ranks of magicians. Opportunity finally knocks in the form of Grey Carteret, the most powerful conjurer in England, whom she finds unconscious in the gutters near a man murdered by magic. Grey is summarily charged with the crime, so Pearl offers to help him in exchange for an apprenticeship. The two join forces to find the killer while slowly realizing their desire for one another. Fans of the first book will be delighted to get a more in-depth look at the rules governing the different magics and magical society, and clever plotting keeps things moving quickly toward the splashy final battle. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Praise for New Blood:

“Dayton’s skills as a writer are powerful, and this book would appeal to both fans of romance, and fans of fantasy, steampunk, and adventure fiction.”–Sarah Wendell, author of Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels

Praise for Gail Dayton’s One Rose trilogy:

“Fantasy doesn't come any better than Gail Dayton. Wonderful characters and a plot that draws you in and keeps you fascinated.”–RITA award winning author Robin D. Owens

“Gail Dayton has created a beautiful, unique world and family structure with her One Rose trilogy, and has done so both unabashedly and to great effect.”--C.E. Murphy, author of The Pretender’s Crown

“With unadulterated sensuality that practically ignites the pages and a fantasy quest that is as masterfully intricate as it is entertaining, The Compass Rose will absolutely blow away fans of romance-powered fantasy. In a word: wow!”--Paul Goat Allen, Barnes & Noble's Explorations newsletter

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; Original edition (December 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765362511
• ISBN-13: 978-0765362513
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,287,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gail Dayton began telling stories when she was five, when Bambi came home with her from the movies, but she didn't write any of them down until she was in fourth grade--a story about a cat. She discovered fairy tales not long after that, and her horizons expanded.

A RITA finalist for Best First Book in 2002 with Hide-and-Sheikh, a contemporary series romance from Silhouette Desire, Gail won the Aspen Gold award for Her Convenient Millionaire (another Desire), and was a Prism Award finalist for The Compass Rose. She won the Best Fantasy Prism Award the next two years, for The Barbed Rose and The Eternal Rose.

Gail lives with her husband, youngest son, and granddog Dolly the Princess Pitbull, on the Texas Gulf Coast, two blocks from the beach. The problem with living at the beach is that you have to LIVE at the beach. You still have laundry and housework and such, only with sand. However, the beach makes up for it.

She's a voracious reader, devouring more than 200 books a year, in most genres, especially of romance. She's a big wimp, so she doesn't read suspense/thrillers/really scary books, or horror--although if it's fantasy or science fiction, it doesn't bother her so much, because obviously, it's not real. And she finds a lot of literary fiction boring.

Whatever she reads, she writes, which means she's written contemporary romance, historical romance, "straight" historical, epic fantasy, fantasy romance and a number of other genres, because she loves it all. Admittedly, science fiction and fantasy are old favorites--she started reading those back when she still thought kissing was icky...

Visit her at http://www.gaildayton.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Blood Never Lies..., January 5, 2010

By 

Amy C (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Heart's Blood (Mass Market Paperback)

I love when I have high expectations for a book, and when I finally read it, it's as good if not better than what I had hoped for. And that was the case with Heart's Blood.

Grey Carteret, magister of the conjurer's guild, the most powerful conjurer in all of England, awakens face down in a stinky gutter, feeling as though his entire body has been badly beaten. The voice of a young lad interrupts his confused thoughts, claiming he's watched over him through the night, protecting him with his magic.

It doesn't take long before it's revealed that the lad named Parkin, is actually a young woman, Pearl Parkin. You see, she wants Mr. Carteret to apprentice her. As Grey adamantly denies Pearl, a commotion catches their attention. A murder has been discovered. The next thing Grey knows, he's being arrested for said murder. Determined to become Grey's apprentice, Pearl blackmails Grey into accepting her as his apprentice.

Amidst trying to solve the mysterious murders, a friendship forms between Grey and Pearl, along with a yearning for contact from the other that neither of them can explain...Another mystery to be solved. The romance between Grey and Pearl was slow, yet a burning build between them. The simplicity of it really impacted me; the holding of hands. Grey, without thought, licking the blood from Pearl's finger when it was necessary for her to draw blood for her magic. And the teasing, I loved reading their scenes together. It all blended so amazingly well with the mysterious murder plot and the further explorations of the Dead Zones.

This is one of those series I find myself craving more of. I can't think of one single fault with this series. It's a unique, vivid world with amazing characters...A true Keeper!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Magic and Wizardry in Victorian England (B Grade), April 1, 2010

By 

K. Garrabrant "Katiebabs" (Bloomfield, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Heart's Blood (Mass Market Paperback)

Grey Carteret is the most powerful conjurer in all of England. This well respected magician finds himself face down in a gutter one day. He has no idea how he got there and feels as if he's suffering from a bad hangover. When he comes to, a young lad interrupts him. The boy, who goes by the name of Parkin, has been keeping watch over a very grumpy Grey. He finds out to his surprise that this boy is actually a miss who can work magic. She is Pearl Parkin and is disguised as a boy because she is all alone and practically living on the street. She longs to be an apprentice, but can't because she's a female. Women who work magic are not acknowledged in the most elite of magical circles. Around the time Grey gains consciousness, a man is found dead from dark magic. The crowd accuses Grey of being the murderer, and is arrested and brought to jail. Pearl follows him and promises to send word to a few of his high ranking friends as long as he makes her his apprentice. Gray doesn't want one, but since he is stuck in a very bad situation, he has no choice. Through a blood oath, where he and Pearl share their blood, he makes a pack and Pearl gets her deepest desire.

Pearl goes for help and meets a few trusted magician friends of Grey, such as Harry Tomlinson and his own female apprentice Elinor Tavis. Both are thrilled with Pearl and welcome her into the fold. Grey's father, the Duke of Brandon, is able to release Grey from jail even though father and son are not necessarily on speaking terms. Now that Grey has been exonerated, he takes Pearl in and will build up her magical skills. But there are surprises in store for both of them because Pearl is a sorceress and one of very few in the world.

As Grey and Pearl learn to work with one another, they also search for the one responsible for the murder Grey was first accused of. Through the sharing of Pearl's blood, Grey draws out her magic to help him. This blood sharing, where Gray sucks on Pearl's bleeding finger at any certain time, makes their bond stronger. Grey begins to see Pearl in a different light. They now must stop a deranged individual who uses black magic to raise demons to kill. Only Gray, Pearl and their close knit group of skilled wizards can stop this fiend before it is too late for not only the supernatural community, but all of England as well.

Heart's Blood (Blood Magic #2) has a great Victorian historical feel with a nice blend of magic and mystery. The descriptions of British society surrounded by a multitude of mysticism and sorcery really works well here. This semi-underground world of alchemy is very rich in its telling and explained so well where you won't become lost.

Grey is a dashing and stoic gentleman who needs his hair ruffled. The woman who is able to accomplish this is the naive and innocent Pearl that he is drawn to. Their relationship changes from teacher to student so suddenly to an all-consuming love affair that really jolted me out of the action. Whereas Grey walks on egg shells with Pearl at first, because he is uncomfortable around her, he changes his mind out of the blue. Unfortunately the second half of the story is Grey and Pearl bed hopping all over the place. Now I'm all for intimacies shared between the two many characters, but in all honesty, I felt this abundance of passion shared between Grey and Pearl really wasn't needed. If Gail had kept to the overall tone of the story and alluded to the love shared between Grey and Pearl, or perhaps written it in a more subtle way, then Heart's Blood would have really hit the mark for me.

Even with the sudden relationship change between Grey and Pearl becoming too much of a focus, including a very low move on Grey's part concerning Pearl, I would say that Heart's Blood has some great moments with an ending that delivers great fireworks and explosions, especially in regards to the murderer, who came as a complete surprise for me.

Gail Dayton's storytelling skills are excellent as she combines paranormal mystery and romance in such a way most readers will enjoy. Heart's Blood was a refreshing and unique historical fictional read.

Katiebabs
New Blood

5.0 out of 5 stars better 'an the first one, November 14, 2011

By 

Paranormal Fan "Wardstone Fan" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heart's Blood (Kindle Edition)

you might love this book if you...
1. steampunk romances
2. alternating POV between leading heroes
3. strong pro female voice
4. murder mystery involving magic
5. involved world building involving 4 magical constituents
6. desciptive magic using with new mythos

this book was awesome... really tight storytelling and character development all with a steampunk setting. i loved both Grey and Pearl and am very sad that there is no book 3. WHERE IS MY BOOK 3! i am very sad. i guess i will have to suffice to just reread them.