Blog Tour – The Edge of Hope (Bad Blood I) by Alina Popescu
The Edge of Hope is the debut novel of writer Alina Popescu, the first book in the Bad Blood Trilogy, a story of vampires, love, struggles, and a constant fight for survival.
Edge of Hope (Bad Blood I)
When tall, dark, and gorgeous shows up on your self-prescribed emotional recovery vacation, some would call it fate smiling down on you. If he also happens to be interested in your work and ready to make all the room you need in his life, it starts to sound too good to be true. Alexa skips the doubts and jumps right in, only to be thrown into the mysterious world of vampires.
The secrets of their origin and their very existence are far more important than her life to some of her new acquaintances. They are ancient, they are powerful, they have unlimited resources, and they are keen on controlling what the world knows of their kind. As Alexa discovers their complicated, blood feud bound world, she tries to better understand herself, heal old wounds and give love chance after chance. Will she survive the journey?
Find out more: http://alina-popescu.com/badblood
Excerpt:
I felt I should cry, but I just couldn’t. I was too angry…with him, with her, with everyone who liked the status, with Anthony and how he had changed my world. I couldn’t even see straight for a few minutes. When my vision cleared, I noticed a few messages in my inbox. The newest one was from him, apologizing for the public message and saying he never thought our common friends would be that stupid. It was so his style, minimizing what had happened and trying to find new targets for me to blame. There were other messages from some of the people who had liked their new relationship status saying they did not realize what they were doing at first, then they could not unlike it without hurting them. Bullshit. They were all assholes. The two of them for publicly posting the update. My so-called friends for not thinking carefully about it. Me for having believed whatever he had said in the car, even if hope had been buried somewhere deep down.
I took my car keys from the counter. The key card from his building was still there. He had made that especially for me a few weeks before the conversation in the car. He said it was over with her and had given it to me one morning, after a passionate night together, telling me he expected me to come over and spend the night a lot more often. It had meant the world to me and he had never asked me to give it back. I removed it from its ring and broke the plastic bar with my bare hands. I did not think I actually had the strength, but I did and it cut my hand a little. I kept looking at my blood as it dripped on the counter and hoped the pain I could no longer cry out would pour through that fresh wound.
That was when Louis walked in with a big, toothy grin on his face. “Hey, I am back and I bring delicious treats,” he beamed. He noticed my hand and the look on my face, and quickly dropped everything next to my computer.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, worry in his voice.
I opened my mouth to say something, but I just couldn’t.
“Alexa, was Anthony here? You have to tell me!” He grabbed my shoulders and shook me a little. I pushed him away and walked to the other side of the counter to lean against it. He came closer and took my hand.
“You cut yourself.” It was not a question. He could tell what kind of wound it was.
I really wanted to say it was nothing. Instead, I put my other hand around his neck, pulled him close, and kissed him. I expected nothing, in all honesty, other than cold rejection. I wasn’t really thinking, just acting on an impulse. But, for some reason, he kissed me back. When our tongues met, my knees gave out so I grabbed his shoulders with both my hands, bloodying his shirt.
He caught me in his arms and pulled me close, pressing me tightly against him. I was used to powerful reactions to kisses, but this was still off the charts. Vampire thing, I told myself. First line of baseborns. The one thought that was clear in my head was that I did not want that kiss to ever end. All the anger, hurt, and pain were gone, and this new situation with Louis seemed so raw, so pure. I felt his hand gliding down my thigh, then his fingers on the back of my knee. He hardly needed to do something for me to respond as he wanted me to so I put my leg around his hip. He never stopped kissing me, but somehow put my hands around his neck, took me in his arms and sat me on the kitchen counter, pushing his body closer to me.
I felt dizzy and mesmerized, and all I wanted was to keep feeling him. His tongue, his lips, his hands, his entire body. The moment I just left all thought behind and let my instinct take over, he brutally moved away.
“What the hell are you doing?!” he yelled, pacing around the kitchen and rubbing his forehead.
It took me a little while to try and gather my thoughts. But before I could say anything, a sudden rage got the better of me. What the hell did he mean by asking me what I had done? Wasn’t he doing it with me?
“Holding a vampire down and forcing my tongue down his throat!” I heard myself yelling back. “Oh, wait, that’s impossible!”
I could see the anger oozing through all his pores. His eyes were glassy and fear-inducing, his fangs were out and his body language spoke of a predator ready to jump on their pray. He started to say something, but I was faster. “Whatever it is, keep it to yourself, asshole!”
I jumped from the counter, pushed him away, and stormed out of the kitchen. I ran up the stairs, grabbed my gym bag, then got out of the house as fast as I could. I threw my bag in the car and started driving, fast and reckless, as if my life depended on getting to that gym. I got there in no time, changed in an instant, and started running on the treadmill. When it did not tire me enough, I moved to the elliptical bike and finally decided throwing punches at a big round bag filled with sand was way more refreshing.
Review
Alexa is on a path to reinventing herself. After her long term relationship ended and shattered her confidence, she is quickly rebuilding it and taking time to write a paranormal novel about vampires. Even though she has not written much, she has caught the attention of a magazine who wants to interview her.
When she meets Anthony, he is everything a woman could want. He charms her, he seduces her, and he talks her into moving into his home. However, he doesn’t share that he is a vampire and she is just one of a long line of females he plans to feed from.
Having been burned one time too many, Alexa refuses to be his pawn. When Louis, a member of the vampire council, comes to her aid she doesn’t know what to think. The one thing she knows Louis can’t stand Anthony and he may just become her greatest ally.
The Edge of Hope is the geeks guide to paranormal. If you are a facebook liker who follows quotes or enjoys geeking out with video games, this book is for you. I loved Alexa, she is pure hellcat. I liked the quirky trivia that flowed through the story and loved Louis. Anthony, although a total jerk, is pretty fascinating he has swagger that is for sure. I am anxious to read the next in the series, this book blew my mind.
Book trailer
http://youtu.be/K8pp3I6sLtk
Buy links
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JEBJXDQ
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JEBJXDQ
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-edge-of-hope-alina-popescu/1119064391
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ro/book/the-edge-of-hope-bad-blood-1/id853473403
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424918
About the author
Writer, traveler, and coffee addict, Alina Popescu has been in love with books all her life.
She started writing when she was ten and even won awards in local competitions. She has always been drawn to sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural realm, which explains her deep love for vampires and is also to blame for this trilogy.
Social Links
Site & Blog: http://alina-popescu.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoralinapopescu
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alina_popescu
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/alina-popescu
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/102637891138733033084
Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/alinapopescu
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