A review by sinfulshelves
Wildblood by A.J. Vrana

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧—𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘵.” - Kai Donovan

🐺 🩸|| 𝙱𝙾𝙾𝙺 𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙴𝚆

⚠︎ check TWs | 18+ content ⚠︎

📖 Wildblood by A.J. Vrana

Star Rating: 5/5 ★★★★★

Spice Rating: 2.5/5 🌶️🌶️.5

Spice Frequency: 1/5 🔥

POV: 3rd

Couple: Miya x Kai Donovan 

Available on KU on October 29th, 2024 

 • urban fantasy romance

 • ADHD/PTSD rep 

 • established couple 

 • thriller vibes 

 • mafia aspects 

 • badass FMC + MMC 

 • morally grey MMC 

 • men in therapy + insane character growth and development 

Wow. I have no words. I won’t lie, this is not my standard read BUT I am so glad I read it. What an epic and unique urban fantasy with gritty and vi0lent elements, lore that was so well described I could live in the pages, and a romance so true and boundless I never doubted it for one second. These items made it a page turner, a tear wrencher, and at times…a panty dropper. 🤭 

For my peeps who follow me for spice, I will say this isn’t the spiciest book. BUT HEAR ME OUT OKAY! it does NOT need it. The lore is so fascinating, with such intentional and descriptive writing that makes you feel you’re a part of this world. I haven’t even read the Chaos Cycle duology yet (books before this one - although Wildblood is advertised that it can be read as a standalone so don’t worry!) and I was able to comprehend everything and envision it all SO CLEARLY. On top of that, the setting and character descriptions were so incredible that I could just jump into this world and know my way around without a problem. That’s SKILL. That’s TACT. I applaud the author for how much she was able to weave into the world building without making it overwhelming or a dump at any point. 

Let’s talk characters. Our MMC, Kai Donovan, is easily EASILY the most complex MMC I have ever read. Why? I’m glad you asked. The author obviously poured her whole heart and soul into this character as if he lives rent free in her head. You can picture him next to you as you read, you learn and grow with him as the story progresses, you feel his emotions and you 100% fall head over heels for him by the end. That ending? My heart. I definitely had a tear fall. I loved seeing his character growth. We love men in therapy and we LOVE seeing male mental health rep. It’s so often skimmed over so I DO APPRECIATE THIS even though I’m typically a man hater 🤣✋. This opened my eyes, and I loved it. 

Our FMC, Miya, IS SO F—ING BAD@SS I JUST WANT TO KNOW HER PERSONALLY. I wish so badly that she was real. Not only is she this epic Dreamwalker (read the book to find out what this means, just trust me when I say she’s so flipping cool) but she’s also an incredible partner and friend throughout the book with a heart of gold.  Her character really spoke to me in so many ways, but the main one was how in tune she was with herself and how confident she was without her man. They’re separate humans in the BEST way, because Miya doesn’t NEED a man but she WANTS Kai and she never gives up on him. I love that. 

I’m yapping, but basically overall this story was incredible. I absolutely devoured this and I’m so excited to read more from AJ. I’m currently trying to convince the author to give me a spicy scene of Kai on his knees begging…wish me luck 🤣 READ THIS MF BOOK!!