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Kept (Blood Lust, novella 1 )
 
 

Kept (Blood Lust, novella 1 ) [Kindle Edition]

Zoe Winters
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)

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Product Description

The First Novella in the paranormal romance Blood Lust Anthology by Zoe Winters

Heat Level: Sensuality. Brief, non-graphic sex.

* The anthology of Kept, Claimed, and Mated: Blood Lust, is available for $4.95. (Significant savings over purchasing the novellas individually.)


DESCRIPTION

As a cat therian (shifter), Greta's blood is already sought-after to enhance spells and potions, but due to a quirk of her birth, her blood is potent enough to kill for. For centuries cat therians have sought shelter with magic users, giving rise to tales of the cat as the witch's familiar. When her tribe plans to sacrifice her, Greta must ally herself with Dayne, the dangerous local sorcerer who is the only person strong enough to protect her.

THE BLOOD LUST SERIES:

Kept
Claimed
Mated

REVIEWS:


"I loved the premise and Zoe sure has one great imagination. Id like to read more about this world (hint, hint, Zoe)." --- Paranormal Romance Author, Cynthia Eden

"Her stories are quirky, dark and rick with sarcasm. With paranormal fiction all over the place these days it takes a true talent to stand out. Zoe Winters is just that." ---- Pierra Tocci, Book Talk, Breakthru Radio

EXCERPT:

The wards dropped as Dayne opened the door to reveal a diminutive black cat with bright golden eyes sitting primly on the middle of his front stoop. She blinked up at him full of rehearsed pet store innocence, her tail wrapped around her tiny paws.

“Mrarrr.”

“You must be kidding me. I don’t take in strays.”

Dayne slammed the door. Did the werecat think he couldn’t sense the magic crackling around her? Was she that naive? Perhaps a junior wizard still under apprenticeship would have been fooled, but not
someone with his level of experience.

He drained the last dregs of coffee from the mug in the microwave. There was a second knock.

“Oh, for God’s sake.” He was going to zap the little miscreant halfway across town and let the preternatural border patrol sort out the pieces.

Dayne opened the door this time with a spell ready on his lips, but stopped short. She was breathtaking, not that this was uncommon in a Were. They tended to have a certain magnetism.

She had short dark hair, and she was leggy . . . a personal weakness of his. Black leather pants encased her legs as if they’d been stitched onto her. It seemed only magic could have gotten those pants on and would be required to get them off again. A red silky top plunged to reveal ample but not overpowering cleavage.

The werecat had a large duffel bag slung over one shoulder and balanced against her hip as if she’d planned to move in.

He held up a hand before 'little Dayne' could cause him to do something colossally stupid. “The wardrobe change doesn’t alter my position, princess.”

“I thought you’d be old,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

He gave her points for not stammering that opening line. “What leads you to believe I’m not?”

“I need help.”

Well, she got right down to it, didn’t she? Such a Red Riding Hood. It was intoxicating. In a different mood, with a different species, he might have let her into his lair.

“Not interested. Try the Salvation Army.”

The brunette wedged one high-heeled boot inside the door.

“Please. I’ll be killed. The tribe plans to sacrifice me.”

Desperate, frightened eyes.

“And somehow I can’t work up any feeling on that topic. Goodbye
now.”

“Wait! You can use my blood.”

Dayne arched a brow. Not quite as naive as she appeared.

“I get my were-blood online. I have no use for you.” In truth, he could think of many uses for her, none of which required the promise of her potent magical blood. The phone rang, preventing little Dayne from taking over. “If you’ll excuse me.”


*If you like Zoe Winters, you may also like Kait Nolan H.P. Mallory*

Product Details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 198 KB
  • Print Length: 59 pages
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: IncuBooks (November 25, 2008)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B001M5TE1I
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,110 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

79 Reviews
5 star:
 (39)
4 star:
 (23)
3 star:
 (13)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (79 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Decent, but flawed. I have no regrets; I was entertained for 80 cents, May 19, 2009
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Kept (Blood Lust, novella 1 ) (Kindle Edition)
Plot Summary: Greta is a werecat, or a Therian, and she's days away from her 28th birthday. Due to the special circumstances around her birth, Greta's tribe has decided to sacrifice her on the full moon and siphon off her power. The only safe place to hide is with Dayne Wickham, a local sorcerer who managed to wipe out half of her tribe several decades ago. When Dayne slams his door in the face of a cute black cat, he knows that Greta is more trouble than she's worth. However, by coincidence he's badly in need of werecat blood for an upcoming spell, so they strike a deal. Greta gets protection and Dayne gets some of her blood.

This is a decent paranormal romance novella that kept me entertained, but it has a few big flaws that make me question all these five star reviews. Normally I'm not a fan of novellas, simply because it doesn't give the writer enough time to develop the kind of characterization I'm after. However Winters managed to construct a nice little world given the length of this story, and for only 80 cents (Kindle version), I feel like I got my money's worth.

Overall, it feels a bit rough, and the dialog needs some polishing. When the hero referred to another guy as his `bestest best friend,' I couldn't tell whether Dayne was being sarcastic or not. If it's NOT sarcasm, then it's a damn awkward phrase coming out of an old sorcerer's mouth (how old was he supposed to be anyway? I don't think that was answered). I found a lot of choppy spots within the dialog that need to be worked on. It doesn't flow like a pro yet.

If I were reviewing this for a friend, I would tell the writer to fully commit to her sex scenes. Winters goes half way and then never delivers the goods. It's a frustrating combination, and no one likes a tease. It's no good mentioning something blatant, like Dayne's fantasy about having Greta's legs on his shoulders, and then punk out when the fantasy becomes reality. My advice would be 1) either back off the sex completely, or 2) craft a well-thought out scene that includes a decent build-up and climax. No more halfway stuff. It doesn't make this reader happy.

I think there's potential here to spin this novella into a full length novel or series. I checked out the author's website (where Kept is free incidentally), and she's planning additional novella sequels. I admire indi-writers and what they're trying to accomplish, but I suspect one of their traps is only getting criticism from close friends and family. I think this novella could be exponentially improved with some help from a cold-eyed editor who doesn't care about bruising egos.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Not for me, August 24, 2010
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Kept (Blood Lust, novella 1 ) (Kindle Edition)
I was not expecting much from this novella and therefore I can't honestly say that I'm disappointed. The story is very short and consequently the characters and setting are lacking from details. The characters seem incapable of engaging any sort of complex emotions, even when they find themselves in situations that should test the depths of the person. I couldn't feel any chemistry between the two protagonists of the story and I found the suspense and intrigue not very interesting.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Fun but slightly rushed, September 4, 2010
By 
This review is from: Kept (Blood Lust, novella 1 ) (Kindle Edition)
Kept wasn't entirely what I expected, but I liked it well enough. For a novella the characters are developed well, especially Greta's cat phases are deliciously detailed and ring true.

The story itself is interesting enough, the attraction while not really romantic, feels like a realistic attraction, the evil tribe leader plot felt threatening enough, so plotwise there wasn't anything wrong with it at all.

I've been reading a lot of novella's lately, and I think it's hard to write a good romance novella, because you need to solve the conflict and make the characters fall in love with eachother in a very limited page-frame. In the first half of the story I felt Greta should suffer from a way bigger impact from the huge betrayal she just suffered. It comes back a bit at the end, but still, she should have spared more thought at the fact that her whole family wanted to actively murder her.

So in the first half of the book she does the worldbuilding and conflict building really well, but her character's stay a little disconnected. In the 2nd half of the book, the characters and their emotions feel more fleshed out, but then the conflict gets a bit rushed.

It wasn't a bad story, it had its interesting and touching moments, but it could have been more.
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More About the Author

Zoe Winters writes quirky and sometimes dark paranormal romance. Her favorite colors are rainbow and clear.

To receive updates on new releases from the author, send an email to: zoewintersbooks AT gmail DOT com with "Subscribe" in the subject line. Newsletters go out only when there is an actual new release or a big contest. Your inbox will not be cluttered, newsletters won't go out more frequently than once a month, and you may unsubscribe at any time.

You can visit the author at: http://www.zoewinters.org

Be sure also to visit http://www.theriantype.com for some fun supplemental material.

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