Book ten in the series, BLOOD BOND is a surprise addition to the  Sentinel Wars series by Shannon K. Butcher. Book nine was released in March of 2015, and I thought the series was finished. Much to my pleasure, BLOOD BOND popped up on my radar recently, and I knew I had to read it. I have been a longtime fan of the series, which follows the Sentinels, three races descended from ancient guardians of mankind, each with unique abilities to assist them in their battle to protect humans against the evil Synestryn. There are all kinds of supernatural creatures running around to protect the clueless humans and it is rollicking good paranormal romance fun with a lot of sword fights and magic thrown in.

Ronan is one of the Sanguinar, a vampiric race that must drink the blood of Theronai to survive. Sanguinar are also healers, and their main problem is that in order to heal, they use up all the energy they get from the limited blood of the Theronai available to them, so they are all slowly starving to death. I have felt so badly for the Sanguinar through this series- they definitely seem like they've gotten the short end of the stick. Ronan has had an underlying agenda of bringing Theronai couples together to mate and create offspring who can feed his people in the future. Despite this kind of creepy mission, he's really a stand-up guy, and I enjoy him very much.

Justice is a woman who woke up ten years ago naked and an amnesic. She's been roaming the country ever since, compelled by an unknown power she calls the fates. The fates force her to do things like kill people, steal things, and hoard supplies. After being required to kill her best friend, Justice has held herself aloof and alone. She's definitely a sympathetic character, trying to be as good as the outside force in her brain and body allows her to be. Justice and Ronan team up and, of course, fall in love. Along the way, they leave a trail of destroyed property, blood, and pissed off bad guys. It's quite fun!

I'm so pleased to be back in this wonderful world of demons, vampires, and monsters. This book can be appreciated on its own, without any foreknowledge of the series. In the epic fight of good versus evil, it's great to see two fighters fall in love in the midst of kicking evil's butt and taking big baddies' names. Butcher's BLOOD BOND is a lively addition to her paranormal romance series, Sentinel Wars , about the unseen defenders of humanity.

Book Summary

Justice has never known freedom. She woke up ten years ago, naked and alone with no memory of who or what she was. Since then, she’s been a prisoner, compelled by powers she doesn’t understand. She’s roamed the country, doing whatever the fates demanded of her, good or bad. Completely alone.

Until now.

Ronan is starving to death. Like all the Sanguinar, his survival depends on finding the dwindling traces of blood left behind by an ancient, magical race. Weeks ago, Justice saved his life and since then, it’s been her blood he craves, her face he dreams about.

As evil closes in on all sides, threatening the only stronghold the Sentinels have to protect them, Ronan must find a way to gain Justice’s trust and free her from the dark powers that control her. Because if he can’t, the next person she is compelled to kill may be him.