Dirty Blood brings a new look to werewolves.  I like the whole premise of how they came about and the dynamics between Weres and the Hunters.  It’s a nice change from the usual vampire/hunter scenario.

Tara is very headstrong and independent.  She tries to take on this new world that has opened up to her with fierce determination.  She isn’t a fan of being pushed around, or having things kept from her.  She pushes until she gets the information she needs.  Wes is kind of a pain sometimes.  I know he just wants to protect the best way he knows how.  But he has to realize that Tara is perfectly capable of taking care of herself…. most of the time.

There is a ton of action, and tension.  I like seeing the fight scenes because they are fast and you wonder what’s going to happen next.  There were a few things that totally threw me off after I had a feel on how the story was going to go.  I like when that happens.  It keeps me on my toes.  Most of the tension is between Tara and Wes.  They don’t know what to do about their feelings for each other.  On top of everything that Tara is discovering she also has to deal with normal stuff like dealing with her school enemy and a guy that doesn’t know when to give up.

Overall I enjoyed the story, and will definitely be reading on to see where this all ends.

Tara Godfrey is being held captive by Gordon Steppe who is trying to use her blood to form a werewolf army.

Broken Blood, the last book in the Dirty Blood series, was full of action and unexpected surprises.

My heart went out to poor Tara. The things the girl had to go through are crazy. Most people would not have the strength to endure her path. Gordon was really messing with her head – literally. I love that the story is told from Tara’s perspective. It makes you feel really connected to her. She showed tremendous growth throughout this series.

Tara’s great-uncle, Astor De’Luca cracks me up. He reminds me of Myrnin from Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampires. I’m pretty sure it’s the whole mad scientist/bunny slipper thing.

Gordon Steppe is the poster child for evil mastermind. He definitely has lying and manipulation down. We learn an interesting Steppe family secrete in this book that becomes crucial to the story.

There was a ton of stuff going on in the plot that made the novel difficult to put down. The story was well-written and the perfect length and pace. Heather Hildenbrand did a fantastic job with all the details that went into this series. The story has a solid ending that I enjoyed.

I always find it sad when a series I like ends. It does make it easier knowing that there will be a spin off series featuring Sam coming out in 2016.

Complimentary copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review.

It is funny to consider an urban fantasy to be “charming” but that is just what Dirty Blood is – blood, guts, gore, murder and all. Without looking up how it is placed on the genre ladder, I would say that this qualifies as young adult, or new adult, but I found it extremely readable as an adult urban fantasy novel as well. Tara is 17-years-old, but she seems more mature, while still throwing the occasional temper tantrum. Of course, if I were her, I would have thrown a fit and fallen down in it at the way she is treated by those around her.

You see, Tara thinks that she is just a normal girl, with a normal boyfriend she has been friends with most of her life. Well, until he turned into the football obsessed moron who ditches their dates for recruiters, agents and interviews. But nevertheless, normal school, normal activities, normal life. That is, until a girl turns into a wolf right in front of her and proceeds to try her best to rip Tara’s throat out. From that point on, you can toss ‘normal’ straight out the window and go for spectacularly weird all the way around. For Tara is a Hunter, from a long line of Hunters. Genetic killers, born to kill werewolves.

As Tara’s life becomes more and more surreal, she begins to realize that her whole life has been a lie, and that she has been left open to the perils of her blooming talents and the scent of Hunter that the wolves can sense, with no training to help her survive. While her mother may have been ‘protecting’ her, she has also left her open to attack with no defense.

This is a very fast paced read. Tara is thrown into the metaphorical deep end of the pool, left to struggle to learn to fight and kill with the help of member of “The Cause” a group of Hunters and Werewolves who are trying to stop the fighting between the breeds - to create peace from the ashes of war. It is a lot for a 17-year-old to take in – especially when her mother is determined to bury her head in the sand and pretend that Tara can simply spend her life on the run, hiding from those who would kill her. Or would use her for their own ends. For Tara is something more than a Hunter, and what she is puts her at odds with both sides.

There is a love interest in the story, and it is incredibly well done. Her new boyfriend, Wes, is very special himself, a “Dirty Blood,” a hybrid of Wolf and Hunter, an abomination to those who would keep the war going to appease their own hatreds and superstitions. With a small group of friends around them, Wes and Tara have a hard job ahead of them, Tara’s harder than anyone’s as she tries to overcome the ‘protection’ of those around her which actually does more harm than good.

Overall, I would recommend this for any UF fan, male or female. I don't normally care for YA and all the attendant 'sturm und drang' but this is not your typical YA. Tara is a great hero – she is strong and brave while still showing her lack of training and the shock and fear that such a tremendous change to her life, along with her fear for the safety of those she loves engenders. Of course, my favorite part of the book is during “the” big battle scene (there are several in the book) when her grandmother walks into a building full of warring Wolves and Hunters and commences to staking Wolves as if she is picking daisies. Awesome.

I received this book from the publisher in return for a realistic review. All thoughts are my own. The next book in the series is Cold Blood. Tara has been shipped off to Hunter Boarding School, where she will be safe and cozy and well-trained. Well, the well-trained thing might happen. The rest of it? Well, that is highly doubtful….

Hybrids.

If I had to choose one word to sum up all of my problems, this would be it.
Without hybrids, I wouldn’t have to watch my best friend slowly becoming a monster. Without hybrids, I could let go of the mentality “hunt or be hunted.” CHAS wouldn’t be scouring the Earth, intent on slaughtering and using Alex to do it. Without hybrids, I wouldn’t have to be on guard that losing my temper meant losing my shape. There would be no monster inside me, struggling to get out.

Then again, without hybrids, I wouldn’t have Wesley St. John.

"Doing something just because you feel like you have to or you're supposed to, that's not destiny. Destiny is doing something because you know you couldn't do anything else."

Woah! I am not really sure whether this review will actually make sense because I am still reeling from this book. It was just phenomenally good.

Left reeling from the discovery of the Hybrid werewolves Tara, Alex, Wes and The Cause must band together to try and sort out the mess that Miles left behind. But things are never as easy as they seem. Tara's wolf side is starting to emerge, will she fight it or embrace it? And will the team be able to save Tara from the Hybrids AND CHAS?

This book was just phenomenal and without a doubt the best one in the series so far. I am just completely and utterly in love with this series and it just gets better and better with each book. Heather is just a phenomenal author that throws so many twists and turns in there you feel like you are the one experiencing it all and cannot sit still as you are panicking about what is going to happen next.

Tara is awesome in this one. We definitely see a different side to her. We've seen her embrace her Hunter side of her but when her Wolf side starts coming out we see Tara going through a struggle. She is convinced that by embracing her Wolf she will be a monster so to see her going through this identity struggle we definitely see a different side of her. She's always been this incredibly strong heroine who takes everything on board and battles through it. In Blood Bond we see the more vulnerable side of Tara and I really loved that. She is in no way weak like some YA heroines but she is just human and we see everything taking effect on her.

Wes is just... *sigh* PERFECT! I know a lot of people turned to Team Alex in the previous book and Wes wasn't in the previous book very much. Well he is back and he is ready to fight for his girl and steal every female readers heart along the way. He is so much more swoon-worthy in this one and he is perfect and supportive. In the previous two books Wes was very much overbearingly protective in Tara and came across as if he didn't believe in her abilities. Well he is pretective but he's also supportive and it's clear he does truly believe in Tara he just wants her safe because of the amount he loves her. I am totally and utterly head-over-heels in love with him. So... if things don't work out with Tara and Wes just so Heather knows I'm fine with being written into the series and taking Wes off her hands ;)

Alex... Well I have mixed feelings about him in the book. Don't get me wrong I still love him and all but he is definitely no Wes and all the way through the book I just got the feeling he was keeping secrets from everyone and plotting something. I'm not sure about him and not sure I really trust him. I seriously hope I'm wrong but we'll see what happens in book 4. I will make up my mind about him then.

This book had so many twists and turns I'm pretty sure I have whiplash from this book. It's phenomenal and so many things happen that I did not see happening at all. I was completely shocked. Everytime I was sure I knew where the story was going I was left open-mouthed, jaw-on-the-floor shocked. I just couldn't believe what was happening and ended up just freaking out for the whole last 40%. Endings of books do shock me quite a lot but none actually literally leave me speechless. Blood Bond did! I just literally couldn't speak... okay that's a lie I could say three words... WHAT! JUST! HAPPENED! I was so shocked by the ending of this book I was just like OMG WHAT?!?! And now I am freaking out over what on earth will happen with these characters next... the wait for book 4 is going to be torturous.

For somebody who isn't a big fan of werewolf stories I am completely and utterly addicted and obsessed with this series. Its just phenomenal and would recommend this series to everyone. The first book is great and they just get better and better with every book. Blood Bond was phenomenal and I would give it a million stars if I could. I cannot wait to see what Heather does with this series next and I will definitely be waiting very impatiently anxiously awaiting the next installment. It was just freaking epic!! Phenomenal!!

"Being in love with you is more than I ever thought possible. You're my family, my soul mate, the one I was made for. I'm not going anywhere."