Bloodmoon by Aurora Whittet – Review & (Double) Giveaway

***NOTE: This review is for the third book in a trilogy and may contain spoilers for the first two books. To read my reviews for Bloodmark and Bloodrealms, click the links.***

This final book in the Bloodmark Saga was, without a doubt, my favorite. Instead of focusing so much on the romance, this time the story centered on the battle between Ashling’s pack and the Dvergars. That led to an ultra-exciting ending to this paranormal trilogy!

It had been a very long time since I read the first two books in this series, so I did a super quick skim-read of the first two books, and I’m certainly glad I did. I’m not sure how easy it would have been to pick back up with this third book—even though Whittet sprinkles in reminders, I had forgotten quite a few of the details of what happened in those first two books. So, if you’ve read them, you might want to give yourself a refresher. If you’re new to the series, this is a great time to jump in!

 What Fed My Addiction:

• Action-packed. Ashling discovers that she can travel to the Bloodrealms in her dreams, which means that she’s able to be in two places at once. So, we got scenes of Baran’s capture (and torture!) in the Bloodrealms interspersed with scenes of Ashling and Grey’s search for the Old Mother and the Crone and their battles with the Bloodsuckers. This meant plenty of action to keep the story rolling right along.
• Themes of faith. This third book had lots of themes of faith interwoven into the story that I don’t remember from the first books. The book explores the idea of a creator (in this case, Old Mother) who has always been present but does not interfere until Ashling and her pack specifically seek her out. And yet, the book shows how she has been with them always and how her plan was for her people’s good—even when things were going horribly wrong. Faith in something you cannot see is a major theme in the book as well. All of these elements could be applied to faith in any creator, of course. But even though the religious overtones were sprinkled throughout the book (especially toward the end), they never felt overbearing or heavy-handed.
• Ashling’s self-reliance. In this final installment in the series, Ashling finally discovers how to truly trust herself and to take charge of her own life. Not that she was ever a simpering heroine who let the men take care of her, but in previous books she did always feel a sort of helplessness and lack of control when it came to who would “claim” her. In this book, she made the decision for herself and stuck with it! (No more love triangles or insta-love!)
• Family and “pack.” Even though Ashling learned to rely on herself, that didn’t mean that she didn’t have plenty of help and love from her family (and her extended pack family). The way they all banded together in this book was inspiring!

What Left Me Hungry for More:

• True love. I got it. Grey is Ashling’s true love and they complete each other. I didn’t need to be reminded of this fact constantly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that Ashling found her soul mate and all, but I think if she’d told Grey one more time how much she loved him, I might have had to cry. 🙂

An exciting and fitting end to this paranormal adventure, Bloodmoon truly delivers. I’m so glad that I didn’t let the final installment of this trilogy fall by the wayside (as I’m known to do with series—especially when there’s a long break between books). I give this book 4/5 stars. 

***Disclosure: I received this book from the author via iRead Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

Aurora Whittet started out as a wild red-haired girl in Minnesota dreaming up stories for her friends to read. Mama’s Knight: A Cancer Story of Love is just the latest in a string of acclaimed works. Her first official writing endeavor became The Bloodmark Saga, featuring a werewolf princess-turned-ruler who falls in love with a human boy. Her first novel in the Bloodmark Saga, Bloodmark, came out in 2013, followed by Bloodrealms in 2014 and the final book Bloodmoon in 2016.

    

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