Amity Cross - Blood Rites #2.5

We were introduced to Sebastian Vaughn in Royal Blood #2, just enough to whet the appetite and wonder exactly what that grudge he has with Sykes is. I went into this knowing that there was no HEA for this particular man so if you’re looking for that then this is not for you. I’m a diehard fan of Amity Cross and when this was announced I was over the moon to be getting the back story to Vaughn, I think it’s one that really did need its own little novella to fill in the blanks. It would have consumed too much of X and Mercy’s story and detail would have been lost in amongst their story.

So in true Amity style, she brings us this novella with much gusto…yeah, there’s an insta love but those I don’t mind especially coming from the pen of this lady. Vaughn is your rich bad boy with a double life; Lorelei is from money but has none of the haughtiness and entitlement mostly associated with this type of character. The time span in this novella is short, however these two characters explode when meeting each other and Amity paints a rich picture of their two worlds colliding. I have to say I preferred Vaughn as an unknown, I think it made him more dangerous, enigmatic, but it was utterly captivating watching this story play out and seeing the consequences of certain actions. It also serves to remind us Royal Blood fans exactly how ruthless Sykes is. I loved the brief appearances of X and The Watchman. I have a feeling that The Watchman will be a defining role in the next Royal Blood book and it was good to get a little bit of an insight to his “job” and why he’s so revered.

Whilst you will get lost in this story about Vaughn and Lorelei I think that you get left with mixed feelings. Don’t get me wrong, I like Vaughn but I do wonder if his intentions to help X are correct or if he harbours a little bit of animosity for X not helping when asked. We shall see.

Great little novella for which I have awarded 4 ½ stars for. For me there felt like a little was missing from when Lorelei was taken. I needed more details than Amity gave I think. I know….gruesome as that sounds, it was the only part that I kind of felt lacking. Moving on, it will be interesting to see how much more of a part he plays within the next book. Again Amity, another fab ride!