Blood Ties

I received a copy of this book from the author for an honest review. I've been on a new adult kick lately and have neglected the paranormal world of witches, vampires and werewolves I lived in for so many years. Needless to say, I thought it was time to return with Blood Ties.<br /><br />This story mainly revolves around Grace Valois, a half human, half witch hybrid. Although Grace is very powerful, she has no idea she comes from a long line of witches. At the beginning, she's just plain Grace; a senior at Long Island University and roommate of her best friend Julie. So when her powers begin to awaken, poor Grace thinks she's going crazy. Things seem to move on their own when she's around and seeing things equals crazy, right? But when a young girl on her college campus is murdered, Grace's world is turned upside down. After watching her best friend Julie turn into a wolf, Grace discovers that she's the key to stopping a witch's war that was set in motion long before she was born. Her destiny turns out to be far different from anything she could have imagined. <br /><br />Gina Whitney has created such an original story with Blood Ties. Her take on witches was very refreshing to read. She infuses the classic symbols we all know and love, such as wands, spells and pentagrams, with a new twist that took me by surprise...but I loved it! This book is a little dark but Whitney did a good job of balancing it out with the love interest of Grace and James. Although the love interest is there, it isn't the main focus of the story. And even though I wanted to know more, I understood that Blood Ties was more than just a romance novel. There was an amazing mixture of action and suspense which lead me to read wayyy past my bedtime. When I thought I'd hit a stopping point there would be another scene that I HAD to finish. There were a few loose ends that I wish had been explained in a little more detail but these did not take away from the story at all. <br /><br />Overall, I really enjoyed Blood Ties and I hope to see a lot more from Gina Whitney. She's proven to be an amazing author with a refreshing imagination and I look forward to reading more of her books. Not only did I enjoy her writing style but her choice of words cracked me up on more than one occasion. My hope is she will expand this story and maybe give us a second book about the new relationship between Grace and James? Or maybe a prequel that takes us back to the witch's war? Will she live forever!? Gah, I gotta know Gina, I gotta know! So kudos Ms. Whitney! You've written a fantastic book and I hope to read more soon.

<br />I was so honoured to receive this book from Gina for an honest review. <br /><br />This is not my usual kind of read, but I'm so glad I read it. <br /><br />Grace is at collage with her best friend Julie, who shes known forever. Grace enters in to therapy when she starts experiencing chest pains, hyperventilation and a rapid heartbeat. She thinks her body is preparing itself for some kind of jeopardy. Grace thinks this is just a part of her nervous personality until her hallucinations begin, when she thinks things start moving on there own. <br /><br />When a girl in Graces collage is murdered and Grace has dreamt about it, things start happening pretty quick. Grace is taken to her Aunt Evelyn, where she learns about the truth behind who she really is. This is where she meets the Bollingbroke clan and James. Grace and James are ment to be together and try to fight off there attraction to each other.<br /><br />I love the characters in this book, Grace seems like a normal person, I laughed at her in parts, I loved James, loved the relationship between him and Grace. I also liked Adrian in a way and felt a bit sorry for him and Addison. Catherine got right on my nerves. I thought the pace and flow of this book was just right, I found myself wanting to get to the next page quicker than I could. I loved everything about this book. <br />

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review, so here it is: I really enjoyed this story. It is well written and the storyline will keep you interested. Grace is a college student about ready to graduate and believes she is loosing her mind. Instead she is awakening s the most powerful witch to save witches and humans alike. Gina Whitney has done a great job on this one, here first book. If you like paranormal, witches and a twist included, then read this one, you will like it!

*I was given this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.*<br /><br />I had this wonderfully written review and goodreads decided to shut down and erase everything so here goes the short version...sorry in advance Gina :)<br /><br />I really liked this book. I know, I know. You read one witch/shifter book you've read them all. NOT in the case of Blood Ties. Gina Whitney puts a whole new meaning to what a witch and shifters are and how they came to be. Through her beautifully chosen descriptive words she takes you thru the awakening of Grace Voiles and what it means to be a witch, but not just any witch. A special halfbreed that is supposed to take on the evil Catherine Bolingbroke and keep her from overthrowing the witch counsel and the world. With the help of those who sided with her long dead mother, and the spirit of her mother as well, she will try to awaken her powers fully in time to kill Catherine before Catherine can kill her. She learns what true love means, how hatred can tear people apart and what others will lose along the way to make sure she stays alive. <br /><br />That being said on to my personal view of Blood Ties. I rated this book 4 stars based on originality. Gina kudos for a whole new telling on the witch genre. This genre has needed a breath of fresh air for a while and this was totally different. THANK YOU FOR THAT! I loved each chapter beginning with a qoute. Little things like that always bring a special touch from the author. It helps to know what you were thinking when writing it or at least where you want our minds going while reading it. I love the way your writing flowed and your choice of words were lovely. I could honestly say your writing reminds me of kelly armstrong in how it's descriptive but not overly descriptive while the dialect fit the characters to a T. nicely done. and it sounded beautiful. almost like when you read a poem and you think i've finally penned it write cause it flows that damn good. the whole back story of witches was awesome and it was nice learning it along with Grace as the story was told. I had to laugh several times when reading Grace's thoughts or certain things she'd say to other characters cause they were things you would have to know from a certain era or lived during that time period to catch what she saying. And throwing in the 3 sisters like in hamlet with the whole accurate biblical theme was real nice!<br /><br />Now what kept this book from being 5 stars.<br />It is marketed as a paranormal romance when there is barely any romance and it is way more like an urban fantasy. There is a bit of romance in it but it's more on the sidelines and not the focal of the story. Also chapter one completely throws you off. It should've been written as a prologue and had some kind of date to show you this was a past event to explain the rest of the story. There was also some errors in writing (ex extra words that don't belong cause the sentence was reworded and it was looked over by accident) which wasn't so bad that my ocd kicked in but enough of them to say something about it. What's up with explaining characters in the book like they are gonna be a big character and giving background info on them then offing them? Is that part of the psychic ability in the witches? Another problem I have is the relationship between Grace and her best friend Julie. If they are friends for years they deff don't act like it and during the story Adrian was described better and I felt more connected to him than James who is Grace's soulmate. It also sounded like Tamara and Nick knew Grace and her crew as well with the way it was worded and that threw me a bit. With as beautifully detailed as this story was I felt the characters lacked in that department and had there been as much time and detail put into them this story could have been outstanding. <br /><br />Overall I really liked this story and what Gina Whitney has done to take this genre to the next level. Thx for a great read!

<br />Grace Valois made a strange, and traumatic, entrance to the world. Her mother makes the ultimate sacrifice to keep her safe, and gives her over to the safety of her father.<br />Years later Grace is at college, and is just like every other student, with her best friend Julie by her side, friends since meeting in preschool. <br />But then she starts experiencing strange things from chest pains to hallucinations, and she soon discovers her whole life has been a lie.<br /><br />Grace finds out, after being taken to her Aunt Evelyn's for her own safety, that she is descended from a long line of witches. She was born from a union between a witch, her mother, and a mortal, her father. As such, Grace is destined to be an extremely powerful witch once her powers awaken. She also discovers that her friend Julie was assigned to be her protector. Julie is also descended from an ancient clan, a Native American clan of shape shifters. <br /><br />Evelyn calls upon other witches to help prepare Grace for what lies ahead. Among these witches is James, who was present at her birth. Grace and James are instantly attracted to each other, and as time goes on it becomes obvious that there is a reason these two feel that way. <br /><br />They eventually become tied together by more than just their feelings. This, unfortunately, leads to confrontation between James and his brother Adrian. What happens next seals the fate of both brothers.<br /><br />Grace finds herself confronted by a witch, an extremely powerful one by the name of Catherine, who was also present at her birth, but for very different reasons than everyone else. Catherine believes that by consuming Grace's powers she can become THE most powerful witch in the world. She has lived her life trying to find Grace for just that purpose, after being foiled in her previous attempt, on the day of Grace's birth.<br /><br />There are a lot of twists and turns in this story, and Grace discovers a lot about herself and her history. There are more than a few shock scenes involving the battles between those protecting her and those trying to kill her. There are also a few scenes which involve what can only be described as cannibalism. One in particular is quite difficult to read. But I think for the story to work the way it does, these scenes are all needed. Due to these scenes I would suggest this was a book for people over 17.<br /><br />The author has written the story very well, the characters are all believable in the roles they play in Grace's life, and the story keeps you gripped from start to finish. There is plenty of action throughout, and also a bit of a love interest to keep readers interested. All in all a good read and one I would recommend for sure.<br />

Grace finds out she isn't an ordinary college student. She is half witch half mortal and everyone wants her for some reason. She is destined to be the one to stop the evil witch Catherine or be evil herself. She knows she is going to be on the good side and with the help of her aunt Evelyn, her best friend Julie and some new friends she gets to work training. Catherine wants her powers for her own so she can rule the world. While Grace is learning how to use her powers and find out more about her new world she also falls in love with James. He has vowed to keep her safe from her birth. While Grace learns she has to do many things she doesn't like she also learns no one is safe from Catherine's reach and she may not be safe in her own home. The battle is getting closer and she better get her head straight.<br /><br />Grace is a good female lead. She is thrust into a new world she knows nothing about and does pretty good at accepting it. She lacks self confidence but that slowly grows as she learns more about her self. James is very protective of Grace and will do anything to keep her safe. He has a temper and sometimes has to make some hard decisions.<br /><br />I really enjoyed reading this book as it has a lot of action. It is easy to get pulled into this book. It is also different than the usual witch book as these witches are different. They have special needs that make the story stand out. You also get werewolves in this story so it has a good range of paranormal beings. This is a little darker than the usual paranormal books I've read lately and I liked that. The only thing I wanted more of was Grace and James. They have a great connection and I didn't get enough of if. This is a great book for anyone who enjoys paranormal books and are looking for something different.

I received this book from Gina for an honest review. <br /><br />I haven't read vampire/ supernatural books since the vampire diaries, so I was a pleasant surprise to be asked to read this one. <br /><br />All in all I enjoyed the book, however some of the character names reminded me of taillight and tvd characters and it took me a while to get past that, but hey that's just me. <br />I can truly recommend this book. <br /><br />Grace is the lead character and the daughter of the very powerful witch who dies shortly after giving birth to grace. <br />Graces father is mortal, and he is left in charge of protecting grace from the evil powers who wants to claim her in order to gain more powers. <br /><br />Grace seeks therapy when she starts experiencing chest pains and hyperventilation. At first she thinks this is all just a part of her nervous personality, but when her hallucinations begins, things start to become more and more clear to her <br /><br />She has nightmares and the Julie her friend has always helped her through them without knowing the exact content of the nightmares. <br />One night she is dreaming of the killing of Samantha, a girl from her class. <br />The next day Julie and grace watch the news telling about the killing, that's what makes grace realize that she has to go to the crime scene and find out why she dreamed the murder or if it really happened at all. <br />But once she set foot on the crime scene, life as she knows it changes, starting with realizing that julie her best friend, the girl she thought she knew so well, wasn't at all who she claimed to be...<br /><br /><br />A really great book, well written and a captivating story.

The book was a tad bit slow to start off with I kept getting frustrated because I was like "WHERE THE HELL IS THE ROMANCE!?!" but all good things come to those who wait, which people need to understand I don't Have patience God did NOT give me that gift. Now normally being in a female's perspective of a book sometimes annoys me because they kind of filter their thoughts but lord have mercy on us Grace does not have a damn filter and I was like "THANK GOD!" Which technically I should be thanking Gina as she wrote Grace, "this man was the kind of good looking that could make you say, "Oh my effin' God" loudly and inappropriately in the middle of church - at your mother's funeral." Adrian I liked him right off (but then I didn't like him and I can't say why) "babe, I know who you are." I mean yea he made me laugh, "yeah, I think she's real hot. I might have to give that filly a ride." And he's also an a**, who has no respect for women as naughty things come out of his mouth. Did I mention how unfiltered Grace's thoughts are? Especially when she's with James, "James, being all man, pushed my head back. It was evident he liked to be in charge, and opted to take over." It's good when a man knows to let the woman relax we need that every once in awhile. I liked the book some things were a tad bit confusing, but I overlooked them as it was a good book lol.

Blood Ties was a great read. I really enjoyed the different take on witches in this book (some of it will surprise you) and the descriptive way Gina writes.<br /><br />Grace is half witch half mortal and may just be one of the strongest of her kind, but she doesn't know anything supernatural actually exists until she dreams of a girl being killed and sees her best friend Julie turn into a wolf. Grace's powers are finally awakening which means Grace is in danger.<br /><br />Catherine is a vicious power hungry witch that is determined to kill Grace and consume her power. To help keep Grace safe from Catherine and train her to use and understand her powers Evelyn gets help from fellow witches James, Addison and Adrian.<br /><br />James and Grace have an instant attraction to each other, but there is also an attraction between Grace and James's brother Adrian. Grace has to figure out which one is love and which one is just attraction, the decision ends up causing more problems for Grace and both brothers.<br /><br />I highly recommend this book, especially if you like a good book about witches. Blood Ties will keep your attention with all of the great details, characters and action. Gina Whitney is great author and I look forward to reading more books from her.

Wow. This is a truly original and creative book. Original cannon and concepts. The only thing that even remotely feels familiar in this world is the romance. It captivated me from the first page.<br /><br />So now Let's go back to where the reviews usually start. I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for the review. Oddly enough I am not a blogger, personal friend or in anyway connected to the publishing industry -- Well other than being a voracious reader.<br /><br />Grace is a charming yet insecure young woman who has not yet come into her own. Through a series of events she meets James. There is a romance-- but the action involving Grace learning her history and coming into her powers is where the fantastic magic of this book happens.<br /><br />Best quote "I started eating like a hog that had just finished a joint." It was quirky, original and more than I expected by far. Warning: If you have a squeamish stomach and get nauseated easily -- well you were warned.<br /><br />The childbirth scene was so graphic that I was shocked into paying attention. I knew at that moment that this book was something unique.<br /><br />The worst part of the book is the cover. It was so much more than a romance. The cover sells it short.