Born in Blood

By: Alexandra Ivy

Narrated by: Jim Frangione

Sergeant Duncan O'Conner has seen it all before. Beautiful erotic dancer murdered at home, no suspect, no motive. But there's one clue: She's missing her heart. It's enough to make the hard-bitten Kansas City cop enlist the help of a necro - one of the dead-channeling freaks who live in the domed city of nearby Valhalla. It's a long shot, but desperate crimes call for desperate measures. Unlike the other "high-bloods" in Valhalla, Callie Brown considers her abilities a gift, not a curse. But when she reads the dancer's final thoughts, she senses a powerful presence blocking her vision. This is no ordinary homicide. This is the work of a legendary necromancer who controls souls. A ravenous force that will put Callie's skills to the test, O'Conner's career at risk, and both their hearts on the line...literally.

©2014 Debbi Raleigh (P)2014 Recorded Books

I liked this book.

I really liked this book. I liked the premise and I liked the world building. Not sure if I will go on to book 2 just yet. while the book was enjoyable the story seemed choppy to me. we started off with Duncan flirting with Callie and Callie secretly lusting after Duncan. Next thing I know they are making out in Valhalla. I was also confused as to why the "high bloods" didn't consider themselves human. and I always roll my eyes at the whole Maury "He IS the father" situations. It hasn't been done right in a very long time. The difference between the sentinels also wasn't very clear or why it was that way. I did love Duncan's personality. He was alpha but knew when to stay in his lane. He had the sweetest ways of showing Callie how much he adored her. I loved the parts where he'd kiss her hands, neck, face, and lips all while telling her what he'd like to do to her.

story - 3
narrator - 3

I like Jim Frangione's performances but when an author starts calling their men "males" and their women "females" and then on top of that toss in the word shitkickers I can't help but flash back to the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Face it authors, JR Ward has killed Jim for any of your stories unless you steer clear of those key words Mrs. Ward has beat to death in her own books.

A well deserved 5 Stars

It was by chance I found Born in Blood but I am so glad I did. This is an excellent read with a rich storyline of intrigue, mystery and love. I am looking forward to finding more of Alexandra Ivy books!

WHAT A GREAT START TO A NEW PNR SERIES

Well Ms Ivy certainly delivers in this, her new 'The Sentinels' series and, as she skilfully builds a whole new world, populates it with fascinating and interesting characters and beautifully weaves a romantic love story throughout it, you will be taken on a thrilling magical journey of discovery.

There are two species - the Highbloods who are The Sentinels all gifted with differing paranormal powers and live in Valhalla but they're feared and disliked by many of the Humans (called Norm's) and are often shunned and called Freaks but, when needed, the Highbloods will happily come to the aide of the Humans despite all the insults and prejudices but always with a Bodyguard.

The plot starts off slowly when a dead body is found without a heart Duncan, an arrogant, jaded but thoughtful, sexy, gorgeous Kansas City Detective calls for help from Callie, a confident Highblood whose ability is that she can link to the dead and see their final moments, but things don't go the way they should this time. Duncan has worked with Callie before and is very attracted to her but, because of the inter-species prejudices, Callie tries to stay aloof…… yeah right remember the thoughtful, sexy, gorgeous description - exactly - no hope. Then the storyline picks up speed as the dead are walking again and the race is on to find out who, what and why someone's pulling the strings.

This fascinating and entertaining book, which is flawlessly narrated, captures your imagination, gifts you with great characters who are involved in the action, suspense, surprises, murder, gore, there's an evil Witch and an even more deadly Necromancer wanting world domination but there's also passion, romance, sex, and the H/H, and the secondary characters, have great chemistry together as they fight to save the world…. and their lives.

Worth a credit? For any Alexandra Ivy fan or paranormal romance lover this has to be added to your basket and listened to asap - so YES, IMHO, it's tick, tick and tick which makes it definitely creditworthy.

Good & Bad

I liked the world building, characters & the escalation of the bad guy but then it was ruined by defeating him with little to no detail of how they did it or how they saved Callie in the aftermath. I feel cheated. 🙄😜

Amazing

I don't have much time to write reviews but I couldn't miss telling you how much I loved this book! It may have been helped by the talented Mr. Frangione but this seemed so much like a book by JR Ward. THe story was great! I can't wait to see where it leads us! I don't want to give anything away but if you have histories like mine don't let this great read pass you by...

New great series born to listen!

Jim Frangione who reads for JR Ward books is dreamy in this very good story. Necromancers, Witches, Psychics and a likable macho detective make for a great mystery. If you like JR Ward you should very much like this new series. It has a similar vibe but its got a very different world build that is well done. Its takes a few chapters to get into the story but stick with it - it gets very meaty. Makes me wish it was a movie. Standby, its good enough to be a strong visual story if it gets picked up.

Great World Building!

Listened for Fun/Read for Review (Audible/NetGalley)
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 4.25
Character Rating: 3.75

Audio Rating: 4.00 (Not Part of the Overall Rating)

First Thoughts when Finished: Born in Blood was my first time reading Alexandra Ivy and it won't be my last.

Story Thoughts: Incredible world building and an interesting mystery. I was really impressed by how much I enjoyed the case at the center of Born in Blood. It was well though out, executed well, and had me hooked from beginning to end. I wasn't really invested in the romance part of the story though. I think that had more to do with the characters than the story though.

Character Thoughts: I am going to admit it took awhile for me to warm up to both Duncan and Callie. I didn't dislike them but they didn't make me want to root for them either. About 3/4 of the way through the book though I began to really start liking them. I did like the side characters though and can't wait for the BF/Guardian story. That is a couple that I am already rooting for! :)

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Jim Frangione / Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins


Jim's voice is sex on a stick! I love his male voices and his pacing is wonderful. It always takes me a minute to warm up to his female voices but once I do they flow really good too.

Final Thoughts: I am looking forward to book 2!

Very good start to the series :D

4 stars

This was a very good story. I really liked Callie and Duncan and was rooting for them from the beginning. I accidentally stumbled on Alexandra Ivy when I picked up Predatory for the Immortal Guardians #3.5 story and ended up also reading Sentinels 0.5 which I really enjoyed. Because of this, I decided to buy Sentinels #1 when it came out. I'm glad I did and will be looking forward to more in the series.

Callie is a "High Blood" which is a genetically advanced human that has certain powers. There are many different types but Callie is a Necromancer aka Diviner. Callie goes out to help the police sometimes when they need help on murder investigations as she's able to see the last memories of the person that was killed if it's soon enough after time of death. She's sent out to help the police one night when she encounters something strange that's never happened before...another Necro speaks to Callie in the dead woman's mind...something that shouldn't be possible.

Duncan is a police detective on the Kansas City police force. He was married but didn't love his wife and they got divorced recently. He hasn't dated since the divorce and has been trying to focus on work (and sometimes drown his sorrows with booze). Duncan has met Callie before on previous consultations for the police and has always felt an attraction to her (and dreamed about her...a lot). When they get thrown together on this case, Duncan is determined that it's about time for him to connect with her on a more personal level.

Callie's encounter with the strange Necro in the head of the murder victim causes some concerns and Duncan ends up going back to Valhalla (the High Born's compound/base) with Callie and her protector. While at Valhalla, they try to figure out who the strange Necro is and, when they have down time, Duncan and Callie get to know each other better. Callie has felt the same attraction to Duncan that he's felt for her. Although they both know they have separate lives and being together long term isn't likely, they both decide they'll take whatever time they can get together and give in to their attraction. Things with the case end up going wonky when the body of the woman that was killed turns up missing and then the murdered woman is seen walking and talking. It ends up the strange Necro used the woman to steal an artifact and kill a man and everyone is majorly freaked. The main reason for the freakout is the fact that no Necros are known to be able to raise the dead. Necros can get in the mind of the dead but none have ever been know to be able to actually make zombie-like creatures and this is what the strange Necro seems to have done. The regular humans are iffy (usually ok but with a tenancy towards prejudice behavior) about the High Borns and everyone is worried that if the humans find out that a Necro can actually raise the dead it might cause major problems for the High Borns. They find out that the item the woman stole may be important so everyone scrambles to try to figure out what it was for and what the bad guy plans.

During their searching for answers, there are some ominous indications that something big is coming down and that Callie will be central to the conflict. Duncan is determined to do what he can to protect her and tries to stick with her as much as possible while they work the case. This doesn't always go smoothly as the other High Borns don't really trust Duncan and Duncan's friends aren't exactly kind to Callie, trying to make her feel like she doesn't have the right to be with him. Regardless of the conflicts, Duncan and Callie grow closer as they spend more time together. They realize that it's gone further than what they intended and that their relationship will probably end once the case is over but neither of them is willing to do anything to stop what's happening between them. Duncan seems determined to keep things going with Callie but Callie seems convinced that once the case is over they wont be able to keep their connection with him living in regular human society and her living in Valhalla. Things progress in the case but there's some problems when Callie is taken and Duncan and the High Borns desperately try to find her. During their attempts to find Callie, Duncan's loyalties are tested and he chooses Callie over all else. When the final conflict happens, the bad Necro uses Callie in his spell and she has to try to fight him before Duncan and all her friends are killed. Callie is able to halt the spell but then there's more issues as she can't end it and is trapped in stasis by the spell (which is killing her). They have to find help for her and Duncan ends up finding what they need to save her. In the end, Callie is safe and sound and Duncan makes it clear that she's his (and that he's not going anywhere) and they start planning out their HEA.

This was a very enjoyable story. I really liked Callie and Duncan. I got sucked in to their story quite quickly and was totally rooting for them to get a HEA. The story was pretty good too, showing a good balance between the romance and action plots. I had a hard time stopping once I got in to the story and didn't want it to end. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I'd recommend this story. Thumbs up! :)

Fun!

Ok, so my idea of fun is kinda weird. However this book was just fun, yeah they fought and killed people and there was magic and dare I say it...hot sex. It was an awesome ride of a book. Can’t wait to read sentinel #2. I wonder who the scary bad guy will be this time.

I enjoyed this

First off, this narrator is awesome. Anyone that says otherwise is nuts. I found this book enjoyable. This is my first book from this author and I intend to seek out more. There is action, humor and sensuality; all my favorite traits. Nothing is too offensive, in my opinion. A very entertaining listen.
-V from Kansas