Blood Guard

An ordinary woman learns her blood might be the key to saving the world in this engrossing erotic paranormal romance. Tendra Parrish is mourning her mother’s recent death when a huge and gorgeous man, Athan, abducts her. To Tendra’s shock, he tells her he’s a vampire and he’s to deliver her to his older brother, Idris, who will someday become king of their clan. Her blood is supposed to give Idris the power to defeat their rival clan and save humankind. On their way, though, Athan and Tendra develop attraction to and affection for each other—feelings that make Athan’s duty to deliver Tendra to his brother far more complicated. The plot gets bogged down in backstory early on, but once the rules of the world are established, things move along engagingly. Tendra and Athan’s characterization sometimes falls back on common tropes, but Erickson adds interesting new aspects to those tropes, and their chemistry is pleasantly intense. Athan and Tendra’s journey marks a promising beginning to Erickson’s newest series. Agent: Marisa Corvisiero, Corvisiero Agency. (Sept.)