Spotlight On: Dirty Blood Series by Heather Hildenbrand

Hey guys,
So a few weeks ago I was approached by awesome author Heather Hildenbrand. The third book in her Dirty Blood series Blood Bond is due for release tomorrow and she asked me to help spread the word by posting something on the blog today.
I had never read anything by Heather but had had her series on my Wishlist for a while so when she offered the first book for me to review I jumped at the chance. I am now thinking what on earth have I been waiting for? She is amazing and fast becoming a favourite author of mine. I was completely blown away by Dirty Blood, the first in her paranormal series that involves werewolves. I have never really been a fan of werewolf books. I have liked them but not loved them. This series is amazing! As soon as I had finished Dirty Blood I had been on amazon buying book 2 Cold Blood for my kindle and starting it straight away.

So in preparation for the release Blood Bond I am sharing my reviews of Dirty Blood and Cold Blood book 1 and 2 in the incredible Dirty Blood series. But not only that I also have a interview with a very important character in the series.

Dirty Blood (Dirty Blood #1)
Heather Hildenbrand

Published By: Accendo Press
Publication Date: April 28, 2011
Date Read: August 24, 2012
Genre: YA – Paranormal/Werewolf
Source: Review Copy from Heather Hildenbrand
Format: E-Book

From Goodreads:
I killed a girl last night. I did it with my bare hands and an old piece of pipe I found lying next to the dumpster. But that’s not the part that got me. The part that scared me, the part I can’t seem to wrap my head around and still has me reeling, was that when she charged me, her body shifted – and then she was a wolf. All snapping teeth and extended claws. But by the time I stood over her lifeless body, she was a girl again. That’s about the time I went into shock… And that was the moment he showed up.

Now, all I can do is accept the truths that are staring me in the face. One, Werewolves do exist. And Two, I was born to kill them.

“Responsibility and visions have nothing to do with it Tara. You are my destiny.”

Wow!! I am completely and utterly blown away by this book. When Heather emailed me asking me to review this book I instantly said yes. This is one of the books that had been sat on my wishlist for months but I had never gotten around to getting it. One of the reasons for that is that I haven’t read many werewolf books that I have loved. Sure, I’m liked them enough but I had yet to read a werewolf book that I fell in love with. Now I have! I think this is the first werewolf book that I found unputdownable and I am so glad I read it.

Tara is just a normal girl. She goes to school, hangs out with friends and has boy drama along with all other normal teenage girls. But suddenly she is thrown into this supernatural world and discovers she is anything BUT normal. She is a Hunter… destined to hunt Werewolves. Yea you heard right Werewolves Little did Alex know that they do exist. But if she is destined to hunt them why is she starting to grow feelings towards Wes… a very hot, incredibly sweet and overly protective Were? Is everything as black and white as they seem or is there a way for sworn enemies to actually be together?

I love this book! It was so damn good! I was a little skeptical about it at first as like I said very few werewolf books completely capture me so much I can’t put them down. I have found the first werewolf book that I love! Right from the start I was completely captured and transported from my house to this addictive world of werewolves and hunters. What I really love about this book is that this is possibly the most original werewolf book I have ever come across. It’s not just a case of someone was bitten, turned into a werewolf and had drama joining a pack or something like that. I have found a lot of books like that. But Dirty Blood was completely different. Bites to not equal turning into a werewolf and this world of were’s is definitely more complicated that other werewolf books. There is more than meets the eye for sure and there are twists and turns all the way through the book.

Tara is such an awesome character. I really love her. I think she is such a strong character and you really see her go through a journey throughout the book. At the beginning of the book Tara freaks out… a lot when she finds this hidden world of the werewolves but by the end she is a strong kick-ass heroine who will put herself in danger to protect her friends and family. I love her. She is definitely my kinda girl who won’t sit back while others take care of the problem. No she is right in there in the middle of everything and that’s what I love about her.

Wes… oh Wes. I am absolutely 100% head over heels in love with Wes. He is just all kinds of yumminess. Right from the start I was in love with him. He is so awesome and made me laugh so many times. He is just everything that every girl wants wrapped into one very hot package. He is hot… and I mean HAWT! He is funny and thoughful. He is so sweet and very protective and just thinking about him makes me sigh! I am in love…. again!

This book has everything… hot werewolves… did I say that already?!?! Oh… I did? Guess I should move on from the hot werewolves then.
There is none stop action and twists and turns at every turn. It had me guessing right till the very end and had me sat on the edge of my seat not able to turn the pages fast enough. I am just completely in love with this book and can’t wait to read book two to find out what happens next. If you like books with lots of action plus heartwarming romance this is definitely the book for you.

“I was stubborn and unwilling to admit I was falling for you, even when I already knew I had.”

Format: E-Book

“You don’t disgust me, Tara. You amaze me, impress me, surprise me, and entertain me. You definitely don’t disgust me.”
     – Alex 

Wow! Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better Heather blows me away again. I absolultey adored Dirty Blood, the first book in the series and just had to read book two straight away as I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next. In no way did I think Cold Blood could beat Dirty Blood. I was wrong! Cold Blood was phenomenal and I am coming to the conclusion that Heather cannot write a thing that I am not going to love.

Tara is devastated to be shipped off to Hunter boarding school away from her friends and Wes. Add that to the fact that almost everybody there hates her because of her heritage Tara hates it! But then Tara meets Alex, her trainer who she recognises but also seems to hate her. But there is more to Alex that meets the eye. Can she continue to learn to be a great hunter and deal with her growing feelings for Alex when she’s supposed to be with Wes?

I loved this book a lot more than I actually thought I would. I had heard about this ‘other guy’ before I started reading it and it didn’t make me happy. I am a Wes girl! I love him and nobody else in this series could ever beat him. So when Alex first made his entrance I instantly disliked him. Not only was he not Wes but he was a total ass! But… the more I read the more I started to see a different kinder side to Alex. By the end I really did love him… but he’s not Wes and I am still firmly planted to Team Wes.

There was definitely not enough Wes for me in this book and I missed him a lot. I wanted to slap Tara so bad for pulling away from him and not talking to him but I understood why she did especially when she feels like everyone is keeping secrets from her. This book is definitely a big journey for Tara. She goes through so much and finds out so much about herself I really felt like she grew into a much stronger more capable character that before. I love her and she is definitely one of my favoruite YA heroines ever.

This book is just full of twists and turns and just when I was sure I had figured out what was going to happen I was completely shocked and blown away. I think I spend that last 40% of the book with my mouth hanging open as I couldn’t believe what was happening. This is just a phenomenal chapter in the Dirty Blood series and I was left hanging going OMG I need the next book right now. I think I loved this book ever more than the first one. I adored every second of it and couldn’t put it down at all.

Its so difficult to talk about this book without spoiling anything because it just completely blew my mind. This is without a doubt my favourite werewolf book of all time and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.

“It’s partly my fault for not being around more. If I want to keep you, I guess I’m going to have to fight for you.”
     – Wes 

And now please welcome Elizabeth, Tara’s Mother, to the blog to talk to us about her intentions.