Juliette Cross

“There’s no sophomore slump in this dark fairy tale adventure series! [...] Fans of Kelley Armstrong will find a similar blend of horror and legend, with a bonus romance.” ~RT Book Reviews, Top Pick The Black Lily resistance needs a larger army if they are to defeat the vampire monarchy. In order to do so, former lieutenant and traitor to the vampire Crown, Nikolai must seek help from the red-hooded temptress he needs to avoid at all costs. The secret he carries could prove dangerous for her if she gets too close...even though keeping her close—very close—is the only thing on his mind. Sienna will do anything for the Black Lily, and when Nikolai asks for her assistance to gain the trust of the commonwealth, it’s the last thing she wants to do. The thought of leaving her woods and her wolves behind is terrifying...not to mention the danger being with Nikolai poses. Each book in the Vampire Blood series is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order. Series Order: Book #1 The Black Lily Book #2 The Red Lily Book #3 The White Lily

The Red Lily

Annalissa Powner 

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating: 4.9 stars

The Red Lily is the second book in the Black Lily series and is somewhat a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, if you added in a sexy blonde vampire and a war against an evil vampire queen, with a dash of an enchanted forest.

This story was a wonderful read; it had just the right amount of swoon-worthy romance, steamy tension, scary bad guys and big picture plans to not only pull me in and keep my attention but also make me want to read the first boon the series, and all the books that follow after.

Before I keep gushing over this read I will go ahead and share my not-so-perfect notes:

1. I was sent this book for an honest review and I had not yet read the first book. This did make for a bit of a slow start for me, since I hadn't met the main characters, Sienna and Nikolai. Because of that, it felt like very instant love, which I don't like, but that was totally my problem and not the stories.

2. The action scenes felt a bit rushed, and I didn't get a chance to fully get into them before they were already over. They weren't bad but they weren't big either. Aside from the last two of the book I felt all the others were blinks along the story line, which was mainly about a war and dangerous things that were happening, so I thought the action would be a bit more lengthy.

Those are the only things I can say that I didn't adore because otherwise this book was wonderful, so onto things I totally loved.

Let me start by saying that I LOVE vampire romance stories. I'm not sure why but that has always been my romance of choice so when I received this book I was over the moon excited and started it that same day. Now, let's be honest. Vampire romances have been so over done it's insane. So many are done so poorly that it's hard to trust any that are suggested anymore, but Juliette Cross washed all my worries away within the first two chapters of this book. She gave me two likable characters and some actual meat in the story before throwing them into a bedroom and locking the door.

Red Lily takes the leading characters, Sienna, a feisty redheaded woman who lives in an enchanted forest guarded by her loyal Hart wolves, and Nikolai, our yummy Vampire Lieutenant who has left his place in the ranks of the Evil Vampire Queen's army to join the Black Lily forces and stop her. These two join together to try and find as many people as possible to fight along side them for the Black Lily's cause, and in doing so they realize that they make more than just a good recruiting team. As with any good story, it's not a simple walk in the park. They face a mad man of a vampire who makes it his mission to not only stop them but torture them both in every way he can.

I loved the chemistry between these two characters, the hilarious side characters and the message that anything worth truly having is worth giving everything for. Not to mention I love a story with a badass red head as the heroin, especially when she is riding giant wolves in a red cloak through an enchanted forest to save the day. Sienna was seriously amazing and well written, she wasn't some whiny, helpless girl who was only interested in the lips or body of the hunky vampire promising to keep her safe. Okay, she was interested in those things too but she didn't focus only on that, she even fought said hunk when his wants were not hers and she refused to back down. Girl knew that even though she could totally have let Nikolai run her away to the safety of The Black Lily, it wouldn't have been helping the people whose fight caused her to be paired up with him in the first place. I love it when we get leading characters that care for each other but won't let that love stop them from the main point that brought them together, aka the plot of the story!

All in all, Juliette Cross did a beautiful job in making a story that was not only sexy and fun, but also interesting and captivating. I will absolutely be reading more of her work and suggesting it to all of my fellow readers!

The Red Lily is the second installment in the "Vampire Blood" series and this is a continuation of the world building that we received within book one. I became so intrigued by the first book, although I did feel like book one was super rushed, whereas with "The Red Lily" it actually felt like a much more smoother pace in comparison. I am not sure if it was just due to the fact that this is the companion novel moving forward with the series, whereas there was quite a bit happening in the first book and it could be overwhelming but I definitely enjoyed this one so much more.

The characters that we are introduced to within "The Red Lily" are so relatable and solid. I guarantee that these characters will charm you so easily. The hero is what I would term an alphamellow or alpha cinnamon roll. I love how committed he is to the heroine and to his cause. But also very protective and a badass when he is fighting as well. He is so encouraging of the heroine and just uplifts her in the best of ways while also instilling his need to see her protected. There is something so valuable in how Juliette Cross writes her characters, they come off the pages as being compelling in ways that makes you want to know them on a deeper level.

The plot of the story was fascinating. I was so intrigued by the world building and how much more we get in this installment. You also will be on the edge of your seat with this story, especially in the later half. Whew, some of these scenes are wild and intense. So fair warning, that there is some crazy moments, and if you want to know the crazy moment with the heroine (just leave a comment and I will tell you, as I don't want to spoil it for you for those who haven't had a chance to pick this one up yet. I am honestly so excited to see what retelling will we get next.

As far as the retelling themes in this one, I absolutely adored the Red Riding Hood connections to the retelling. This is a retelling that just isn't done very often and I just adored it so much. What we get with this one is seeing the way in which the hero has a aura of mystery and broodiness to his character. but we also get the relationship with the heroine and her wolves and she does have a grandmother. So lots of fun unique hints that relate directly with the fairytale.

Overall I was fascinated with The Red Lily and I can't wait to see what the next installment will bring to the series!

Lover of Romance 

The Red Lily is the second installment in the "Vampire Blood" series and this is a continuation of the world building that we received within book one. I became so intrigued by the first book, although I did feel like book one was super rushed, whereas with "The Red Lily" it actually felt like a much more smoother pace in comparison. I am not sure if it was just due to the fact that this is the companion novel moving forward with the series, whereas there was quite a bit happening in the first book and it could be overwhelming but I definitely enjoyed this one so much more.

The characters that we are introduced to within "The Red Lily" are so relatable and solid. I guarantee that these characters will charm you so easily. The hero is what I would term an alphamellow or alpha cinnamon roll. I love how committed he is to the heroine and to his cause. But also very protective and a badass when he is fighting as well. He is so encouraging of the heroine and just uplifts her in the best of ways while also instilling his need to see her protected. There is something so valuable in how Juliette Cross writes her characters, they come off the pages as being compelling in ways that makes you want to know them on a deeper level.

The plot of the story was fascinating. I was so intrigued by the world building and how much more we get in this installment. You also will be on the edge of your seat with this story, especially in the later half. Whew, some of these scenes are wild and intense. So fair warning, that there is some crazy moments, and if you want to know the crazy moment with the heroine (just leave a comment and I will tell you, as I don't want to spoil it for you for those who haven't had a chance to pick this one up yet. I am honestly so excited to see what retelling will we get next.

As far as the retelling themes in this one, I absolutely adored the Red Riding Hood connections to the retelling. This is a retelling that just isn't done very often and I just adored it so much. What we get with this one is seeing the way in which the hero has a aura of mystery and broodiness to his character. but we also get the relationship with the heroine and her wolves and she does have a grandmother. So lots of fun unique hints that relate directly with the fairytale.

Overall I was fascinated with The Red Lily and I can't wait to see what the next installment will bring to the series!