The first three installments of Penelope Barsetti’s Dirty Blood series are dark and sexy reads. The fantasy world Barsetti has created doesn’t make much sense, but don’t let that stop you from sinking your teeth into this series and going along for the ride. The heroine is noble and strongheaded (to the point of annoyance), and the vampire “hero” is handsome, tortuted and arrogant. You’re welcome.

Verdict: RECOMMENDED

Subgenres: Paranormal Romance, Vampire Romance, Dark Fantasy Romance

Tropes/Themes: addicted to your blood, betrayal, abduction, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and age gap.

Spiciness: VERY explicit. If you don’t read these books for the plot, you will read them for the erotic scenes (just being honest).

Setting:

Characters:

• Larisa – A human woman immune to the sickness currently killing humans across the kingdom. Her blood is addicting to Kingsnake and makes him more powerful. Although she is falling in love with Kingsnake, she is desperate to retain her humanity and soul, and rid the world from the sickness plaguing humanity.
• Kingsnake – King of Vampires and Lord of Darkness working to prevent the starvation of his vampires due to the plague killing the humans. He promises to release Larisa once they find a cure to the plague. However, as he starts to fall in love, Kingsnake realizes that he will have to break that promise in order to keep her safe.
• There is a secondary romance between King Cobra (Kingsnake’s brother) and Clara (an Ethereal/Elf female assassin). This romance also follows the enemies to lovers trope, and is just as spicy and engaging as the romance between Kingsnake and Larisa.

Thoughts:

• This series is a dark fantasy romance. This means that while the vampire “heroes” have many good qualities, there is also certain cavalierness to how they treat humans lives (like livestock). That said, part of their progressions as characters is learning to be more empathetic to the human plight.
• The paranormal fantasy world created by Penelope Barsetti has created is engaging but anachronistic. At first glance, the word of Dirty Blood seems to take place in a “medieval fantasy” setting. However, characters behave and speak in ways that are very 21st century (for example, using words/phrases like teddy bear, psychopath, ponchos, combat boots, cockblock, etc. ). It is unclear whether this was intentially done by Barsetti.
• Reading recommended? Yes, for a fun and sexy time (but don’t overthink the plot too much).