The Blood Destiny Series

This series hooked me from the beginning, and kept me going until the end. I like how it ended, in a very unexpected way. After reading this though, I had a hard time reading the Corrigan Fire series. I think i would have enjoyed Corrigan's perspective more if it had been woven into the Blood Destiny series.

As I expect from any Harper book, there were great elements of humor that had me laughing out loud. But this series is definitely not all about humor. There is real feeling, real loss and angst. I raged along with our heroine, cried with her and laughed with her. The plot is well constructed and all ends neatly tied up at the end. There is tons of action, but it doesn't feel rushed. I was extremely invested in these books and finished the entire series in just a few days.

This series accomplished that rare feat of getting better with each successive book.

I gave it four stars versus five, however, for the fact that our heroine and love interest had some very annoying character issues (most of which resolve by the end). 1) Our heroine is a classic TSTL (too stupid to live). She does things that are just dumb and takes forever to figure out basic things that the reader cottoned on to sometimes chapters or whole books earlier. This, sadly, doesn't really ever resolve. She is blithely oblivious all the way through even the last book.

2) Corrigan, the love interest... in the first couple books, he skeeved me out with his aggressive come ons. In the first book, he was essentially her "boss", Alpha of the shifters, and the aggressive flirting made me feel uncomfortable, based, as it appeared to be, on his physical attraction only.

3) I honestly couldn't figure out why so many guys seemed so attracted to Mack. I'm assuming she is gorgeous, though that is never spelled out, but guys are still flirting with her when she is bald, covered in vomit and blood and hasn't bathed in a week. And it's not her winning personality, either. It takes several books for her character to grow and develop into the likable character she is by the end. Early on, she is angsty, angry and confrontational. I could get it if it was just her "mate" who had some otherworldly desire to be with her.

So, in a nutshell, this was a really great series, kept me on the edge of my seat and had me reading until the wee hours of the morning. There are a few "irritating" factors, which, for the most part, were easily ignored in light of a fast paced, interesting plot and characters who really grew through the series.

Interesting and exciting series here. The female lead, Mack, is high strung, quick tempered, and not shy about using her fists to solve problems. I found her to also be kind and compassionate, if in a slightly martyr sort of way. Books 1-4 are like a fast car chase. Adrenaline is high, and I found it impossible to walk away from the series, despite becoming somewhat annoyed with Mack - who does grow, but not necessarily in realistic/believable ways. Her character is rather annoying at times, but not so much that it makes you not care what happens to her. The lead male in the larger arc of the story is only briefly present throughout, and we are left to infer almost everything about him other than that he is hot with very green eyes. The ensemble cast builds slowly and thoughtfully - though some details are left to the imagination. I liked the way conflict was portrayed in this book - the voiced fears and concerns seemed very believable and mostly well presented. I didn't love how relationships were portrayed. There seemed to be two main modes - undying loyalty or abject hostility. Book 5 complicates that a bit, but not enough for me. There was almost no romance here so if you are into that, you will be disappointed. The one, very brief sex scene, is also rather silly. Virtually no fore-play, yet both partners not only are instantly ready for fierce intercourse but both of them climax simultaneously.

Book 5 is the real problem. Instead of all of the masterful threads woven into the larger arc of the previous four books finding a pattern of resolution, they were cursorily tied up. This left me feeling unsatisfied. I thought the ending was borderline ridiculous as it was so out of character.

<spoiler>
The idea that these two alphas would just run and escape from all of their duties and responsibilities after having people make so many grand sacrifices for their leadership seemed completely contrived and disingenuous. While the two leads got their HEA, it came in a very teenage angst sort of way - lets just abandon all of those dangerous and pesky responsibilities, and go raise babies on a remote island instead doing odd jobs and caring for little kids. I just didn't buy it. It felt like a fantasy - something you think about when the going gets particularly tough - but not something you would ever do. And, although this is nitpicky, the way the pregnancy was handled was beyond ridiculous. I get it that these are fairy tales, but seriously. It takes 6-10 days for a fertilized egg to even implant itself into the uterine wall. The notion that other people or even a blood test could reliably detect a pregnancy before that is nonsense. The lack of plausibility here ruined that part of the story line, and this was made worse by the fact that the guy knew before she did and that she never even told him that he was her soul mate. Ugh.

I liked the idea behind the story and the adventures and I liked the (female) hero as a person; mainly because she has a "golden heart" - and I liked a lot of the friends she miraculously picked up.
But...
- our main character is not that intelligent and much in the story happens because of how stupid she acts (let's attack a demi- goddess by oneself in a completely strange world while all kinds of help is available, lets run away from the love of my life because he will probably kill me and the whole pack because I'm human - while she at that time knew she wasn't human),
- she lets people walk over her (one of many examples: Oh I need to give up the love of my life to head a council to safe the world and I'm not even allowed to talk with him before I do that - OK!),
- she gets angry for nothing and pushes away the people who love her - and can overreact violently (after letting people walking over her for some time - she could say "no" sometimes!).

At the start of the series she is described as a person who trained a lot and was very capable - and by herself saved the pack many times, but during the series she seems to almost lose the capability to train and prepare for anything. I prefer if the main character develops and gets more intelligent and wise; that doesn't seem to be the case here; the way she still at the end let herself be beaten/chased away by the "Bolux", again without ever letting other people help her, was very frustrating.
The end of the series in which she and her love just ran away for a quiet life was really not satisfying (just saved the whole world from an evil mage that was untouchable, then face a comparably very small problem and run away - leaving behind all their friends and their life).

I just finished the Blood Destiny Series, and while I really enjoyed it, there were a few issues that kept it from being a 5 star read. This review is going to contain some spoilers.

This series started off strong and maintained the momentum throughout. While there was a main "big bad" in every story there were also several smaller enemies that Mack had to battle along the way. I read quite a few fantasy novels so I'm used to the main species almost every story contain (shifters, Fae, mages, vampires, etc.) but Harper also introduced some species I had never heard of. That's interesting and refreshing.

I really did like the heroine Mack. She was sarcastic, witty, a proficient fighter, and tough. While she was compassionate and quick to forgive for some characters, she held grudges against others for nonsensical offenses. She also had some issues with being the last person to know some pretty significant things about herself which made her seem a little stupid. It took her forever to realize she was the Dragon Wyr even when multiple clues were forthcoming. She didn't realize when she was being manipulated (the Ministry Dean, the Sumer Queen, the Arch Mage, etc.) even though the reader could see it was coming from miles away. She also had to be told she was pregnant. There were at least 2 other characters that knew before her. Come on.

Even though she made some stupid and at times reckless decisions, you never questioned whether or not she was fighting for the greater good. Even with that, she was never an "ends justify the means" kind of person. She cared about all manner of creatures from dryads and batibats to phoenixes and ex-vampires and felt terrible when any of them were lost. Not only was she not afraid to fight for them, she wasn't afraid to show emotion for them. So often these strong heroines come off as robotic and unfeeling, but not Mack. She grieved for each and every person that she lost. She also wasn't afraid to kick some ass. From sparing with shifters and mages to full on battles with demi-goddesses and a crazed necromancer; even when she lost a battle, she won the war.

I appreciated that Mack wasn't too saint-like. She ended a clan of vampires after they repeatedly threatened her life. I don't mean staked them, she completely decimated their ranks. She also chose her happiness and the safety of her mate and family over the Otherworld creatures. Most heroines give and give completely ignoring their own wants. She broke up with her soulmate to appear as an impartial leader, but after she defeated the necromancer and found out she was pregnant, she had no problem with making sure that her and her family were safe. While I was shocked at first, I appreciated that she made what I'm sure was a difficult decision.

While there were no grammatical issues, I did have an issue with some of the purple prose. I almost put the book down after reading the first paragraph. "A few seagulls were keening overhead and the sky was a cloudless azure blue with the light gaze of the morning sun scattered across the ground. My feet pounded into the soft sand, making light indentations that would soon be swept away by the unstoppable force of the sea." I rolled my eyes but continued on and was very glad that I did. There were definitely other instances of purple prose and overly flowery descriptions, but nothing as extensive as that first paragraph.

The story itself, while not groundbreaking, was a great addition to the fantasy family. It was fast paced and fun without being over the top. I didn't want to put the books down and ended up reading the whole series in 2 days. I will definitely be checking out other novels by Helen Harper and recommend this series for other fans of the fantasy genre.

FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!!!! I decided to give the series a try and I am super glad that I did! I fell instantly in love with everything!

Helen Harper created such an incredible and realistic world that sucks you in and doesn’t let you go until you have finished it, believe me…I read all five books in just TWO DAYS!!! I don’t think my family enjoyed me much, but I still managed to do some household stuff and feed them! HAHA SOOO yeah this series is just amazing!

Mack is awesome, even with her anger and generally pissed off personality. The loyalty and love she receives throughout the series is great and the way Helen writes it makes you feel as if you right there with Mack and it makes you laugh, get angry and even cry. Just when you think you have figured out the puzzle of where Mack fits in or you think you know exactly what is going on something else happens and it sets your mind whirling again!

I enjoyed losing myself completely in this series and Corrigan is just…YUM! But I wouldn’t have minded a little Fae action either…but that’s just my preference. I enjoy fae more than shifter! The other good thing is that the romance isn’t overpowering, it’s actually very realistic. OH and I guess the only thing that sort of disappointed me was that the ending was a little rushed, I wanted it to be a bit more drawn out but it seemed that everything just sort of magically clicked at the end and then…it ended. Which sucked! I just wanted more of Mack, Corrigan, Sol….just ALL of them! I feel that there could have been more at the end…but I’m not the author, just a very enthusiastic fan!!

I am going to be reading more of Helen’s work and I can’t wait to share my thoughts with everyone!!!

LOVE this series~! No idea why people are giving it bad reviews. Maybe because it isn't full of detailed porn scenes. It's quite refreshing. I like romance and interaction without all the pages of sex ya just skim over to get back to the story. I mean come on, you've read one, you've read them all. There's only so many ways to have sex and give oral. This series is action packed and has great, witty dialogue. It's a very fun read and I've read the series twice now. VERY pi**ed that there aren't going to be anymore in the series. The author could have written much more and gone a lot farther with this. Stupid people writing bad reviews I can only assume from lack of sex musta made her not want to continue it. DEFINITELY worth your time to read if you're not searching for porn. Check out Hamilton's latest books if THAT's what you're looking for. SHE's forgotten how to write great Urban Fantasy.

I received the first book in the series for free, but after reading it I immediately bought the other four.
The author wrote this series in first person, which is very difficult to do as the only information available is what that person sees, hears or is told, but she did an excellent job of it.
The characters are very well developed and there is almost constant action, I must say I could not put them down. I was very impressed and thoroughly enjoyed this series, so much that I have just bought all the Corrigan series as well.
It appears I have a new favorite author to add to my list.
Thank you for your hard work and for a week of enjoyment.

I loved this series. Helen grabs hold of you with her words and makes you feel like you're there. Mack is one stubborn, strong-willed young woman, but you can't help but love her. I truly recommend this series. 5 Thumbs up

I found Helen Harpers book A gifted thief and was amazed. I do not know how l went so long without finding this amazing author. The stories she writes are rich and colorful. The blood destiny series is a very colourful story woven in a rich tapestry of fantasy. She has strong characters that have distinct, personalities. Her writing style reminds me of Robert Jordan, which is the best compliment I can give her.