Series Review: Blood Type by K A Linde

Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

Synopsis for Blood Type (from Goodreads):

A startling new vision of paranormal romance: When a human ventures into the world of vampires—a decadent milieu of blood-bonds and betrayal—she discovers that not all is what it seems.

For Reyna Carpenter, giving up her body isn’t a choice. It’s survival.

In a civilization laid waste by poverty and desperation, Reyna accepts a high-paying position with the wealthy and hungry vampire elite. Her new job is as the live-in blood escort for the intimidating, demanding, and devilishly handsome Beckham Anderson. He’s everything she expected from a vampire, except for one thing—he won’t feed off her.

Reyna soon discovers that behind Beckham’s brooding, wicked façade lies a unique and complex man. And that, in a dark and divided world, she is more valuable than she ever would have believed.

For with each passing night, Reyna can’t shake the sensation that it’s Beckham who’s afraid of her.

Series: Blood Type
Author: K A Linde
# of Books: 3 (Full Reading Order Here)
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: Yes
Genre: New Adult, Non-Contemporary, Paranormal, Romance
Heat Rating: Hot
Point of View: Third Person, Single
Publication Dates: April 2018 – August 2018
Source & Format: Public Library (Hoopla)–Audiobook

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I’ve only read one other series by K A Linde (Avoiding) and for me, it was a very refreshing series in the New Adult genre. So I was really curious to see what she could do with a non-contemporary romance. I love vampire stories and I’ve had great luck with other New Adult vampires reads in the past so this seemed like a win-win!

The Concept:

I work in transfusion science (blood typing and donations) so the scientist in me LOVED the approach this series took when it comes to blood and what vampires can/can’t drink. I thought it was so cool that vampires had to drink from the same blood type or else they get rabid: to me, that just makes sense because that’s the principle of blood transfusions!

The Plot:

I will admit, there didn’t seem to be much to the plot of Blood Type (Book #1). It’s focuses more on the romance and Reyna accepting her decision to give her blood to the vampires. I found it got to be a little too much back-and-forth with her feelings for Beckham since nothing else was really happening. But at the same time, we were getting a enough tidbits about what was on the horizon so it kept me invested (plus the romance was hot so I can’t really complain).

And those little tidbits are important for the rest of the series. Blood Match (#2) builds on those pieces and really creates a fast-paced follow-up that carries on right until the last book in the series (Blood Cure).

The Characters:

I enjoyed Reyna as a character. She’s a bit of a fish out of water and I think her reactions are exactly what mine would be if I was in her shoes. She’s got a big heart and I think that causes her to get walked over all the time; so I liked watching her shape her independence and stand up for herself. That being said, by the end of the series she seems to be that special snowflake more so and I got a little tired of it.

I had a different reaction towards Beckham. On one hand, the mystery surrounding his character had me hooked. There’s nothing I love more than an elusive male lead who only cracks every so often. On the other hand, I craved a little more from him–at least in the first book. Lacking his POV (while it helped add suspense to the plot and to his aurora as a bad boy) really had me craving for more depth into his character development. However, as the series progressed we do get to see that depth and dig a little more into his past.

The Romance:

Besides the physical chemistry between these two, I wasn’t entirely sold on Becks and Reyna at the start. I definitely understood why Reyna was drawn to Becks (he takes care of her, gives her her independence, etc). But I didn’t know why Becks liked Reyna all that much. I think the lack of his POV stopped me from understanding the draw besides the physical. Again, the more the series went on that more comfortable I grew with their story.

My Audiobook Experience:

I was a in a bit of a funk when I first started Blood Type but the audiobook quickly got me back into the reading mood. It’s very well done. It actually made me look forward to driving to work 😛 Sometimes I struggle with the third person audiobooks but I didn’t here.