Review: Born in Blood (The Sentinels #1) by Alexandra Ivy

Title: Born in Blood
Author: Alexandra Ivy
Series: The Sentinels #1

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Sergeant Duncan O’Conner has seen it all before. A beautiful erotic dancer is found murdered in her 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.

Alexandra Ivy is one of my favorite authors, so when I found out about this new series of hers, I knew I had to read it. For some strange reason though, I had completely forgotten about it until recently when I saw the second book at NetGalley (which of course I thankfully requested).

Born In Blood is set in this completely new world where humans and supernaturals co-exist. Humans are not only aware of them but most importantly they know what each species can do. That was very surprised since usually in the paranormal books I read humans are either in the dark about them or they just know that they exist. They never know what they are capable of or how strong they really are.

Callie Brown is a diviner, aka a necromancer, who has the ability to enter the mind of a person who has been recently murdered and find out the one responsible for their murder. As a diviner, she’s under the protection of the Mave (the leader of all the supernatural creatures and of course the strongest of all) and thus she’s always protected by a Sentinel. When she’s needed at a crime scene, Callie arrives only to realize that this is not an ordinary case and it’s not because of the sexy cop she can’t get out of her mind but because of another diviner stronger than her.

Meet Duncan. Duncan is a cop who loves his job. Despite what other believe, Duncan may not be the supernatural’s biggest fan but he surely recognizes their importance. Sometimes humans need all the help they can get. His partners may think that Callie is a freak but to Duncan, she’s the biggest challenge he ever got. She’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, simply irresistible. So when he realizes that Callie is in danger, the only thing he wants is to protect her. Too bad she already has a guardian…

Born in Blood was so different from the other books I’ve read by Alexandra Ivy. She has created this whole new world and characters. I really loved that. Duncan and Callie were an amazing couple but there were times that their relationship seemed unreal. Duncan was so sweet and compassionate at times that made me wonder “is he for real?” besides that and the fact that their relationship progressed super fast, I had no other problem with them. They were two people who wanted to find happiness, to love and to be loved.

The plot was…ok. It wasn’t as great as I thought it would be but it didn’t disappoint either. I think that the fact that I’m in love with the Guardians of Eternity has definitely affected my opinion of this book .

What I loved was the secondary characters: Fane and Serra, Wolfe and the Mave (which is a woman btw) and a woman named Myst (she doesn’t have a big role in the book, we only get a scene, but having read the second book, I can tell you that she’s definitely important).

Another great book by Alexandra Ivy!

Totally recommended!