Dirty Blood

Great start to a really good YA Paranormal series

Tara Godfrey is just a normal girl, living in Frederick Falls, VA on the night her life changed completely. After breaking up with her boyfriend at the pool hall and sending him home, she is unsuccessful in finding a ride home, so sets out to walk to the bus stop. While going through an alley, she comes across a girl who seems to be in some distress ¿ however, before she can try to help the girl, the girl ¿ changes into a wolf, and attacks Tara. Tara, to her surprise, manages to not only survive, but to actually kill the werewolf. With the help of her new friend Wes she discovers that everything she thought she knew about herself was a lie ¿ she is a Hunter, and it is her destiny to fight werewolves. How is it she never knew about this? And what are the ¿sides¿ that Wes alludes to? Will Tara decide to embrace her destiny, or will she decide to go about her life as it was?

While I don¿t dislike werewolves, I¿m more of a vampire person, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. I was a bit astonished ¿ no, taken aback is more like it ¿ when I learned that the favored weapon of the Hunters against werewolves was ¿ a wooden stake. Seriously? Why not a knife? Well, that is actually explained a bit later, but it still seems a bit strange ¿ I hope it is further explained in later books. The characters are well developed and the plot is smooth and quick-paced. Overall the editing and writing style are well-done ¿ at least in the first third of the book or so. After that, there are more editing errors, but still not too bad. This is classified as young adult, since the main character is a 17-year-old girl, and overall it¿s a book I would feel comfortable letting younger readers have ¿ there is some violence, but it¿s not bad, and while there are some romantic scenes, there is no sex. I was also happy that the romance between the characters seemed more or less realistic. Overall, a great book, one I¿d definitely recommend for fans of werewolves and paranormal/urban fantasy.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I loved this book, the plot was great and I love a good strong m

I loved this book, the plot was great and I love a good strong main character. Tara is strong, independent and well she’s just kick ass! Her world as she knew it completely changed one night, she met her then boyfriend for dinner and to play some pool, long story short they broke up because football seemed to be more important than anything else. When she was about to leave she realized he was the one who brought her there so she would have to take the bus, she took a short cut though an ally on her way to the bus stop. As Tara got closer to the bus stop she noticed a woman standing there and then her body shifted – and then she was a wolf. All snapping teeth and extended claws. Some hidden instinct kicks in and Tara manages to kill the wolf-girl, sustaining some minor injuries. Hot sexy Wes Shows up and poor Tara is in shock He takes her home and makes her forget.

The next day Wes shows up and starts explaining things she thought where only in books. What happens when things are not the way you thought they were and then some other wolf pack tries to kill you. But when they take someone you love you will do anything to get them back even if it kills you. I’m officially addicted to this series! And I’ll be getting book 2 as soon as I can! I loved the action the way Wes and Tara relationship grows and all the twists and turns and OMG I love Tara’s Grandma you will know what I mean when you read this book she is bad ass!

Review originally posted at Doodle's Book Blog I received an e

Review originally posted at Doodle's Book Blog


I received an email from Heather Hildenbrand asking me to review her book. After reading the first three lines in the summary I immediately said "Yes!" If you think the summary sounds good, you NEED to read the book! Heather did an excellent job not only creating a world a werewolves and their hunters, but also a story that will hook you from page one.

Dirty Blood opens to Tara breaking up with her boyfriend and him just up and leaving. Minutes later she realizes she has no way home in the snow. Her options are limited: call her mom, call her friend, or take the bus. The first two options aren't feasible, so she makes her way outside only to be attacked by a girl, er...wolf. It isn't long before a boy shows up and helps her forget what she saw.

There were two main characters in this book, Tara and Wes. Tara is like most rebellious teenagers. She doesn't do well with being told she can't do something and she doesn't want to involve, or worry, her mom. She was cautious and made me laugh. Wes becomes intrigued by Tara. He helps her forget, but is dying to know how it was possible for her to kill that werewolf so easily. He comes off as overprotective, but he truly only wants to make sure he will always have her.

I loved Dirty Blood because I was sucked in from page one and I never wanted to put it down. There was never a dull moment where I wasn't fully entranced in every word on the page. Tara and Wes were funny and I found myself wanting to tell them to stop being stupid on occasion. Some decisions they made were poor, but who doesn't mess up every once in a while. Tara was a little obsessive about Wes, but I was able to overlook it because they have a magnetic pull to one another.

Overall, this book was fantastic and only made my love for werewolves stronger. I highly recommend Dirty Blood if you want to read a book full of action, werewolves, and just a smidgen of romance.


FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.

Take time to read this!

This is worth your time!

Really enjoyed it!

I can't wait for the next one.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

BookWhisperer Recommended Dirty Blood

Hell Yeah!!! This was an incredible book. I would go as far as to say that this is a comparison to my beloved Cat and Bones Series. Heather Hildenbrand offers a kick ass and brutal read that will grab readers from the first page. Tara is your intense heroine that will take no crap from anyone. I was in love with her character from the start. Her sarcasm along with her no nonsense approach gives her a well round and fun personality that proves an immediate attention grabber.

This concept of the "Dirty Blood" was inventive and fresh. I like how it gives them an advantage over the other breeds, and places hope in the hands of our characters for a brighter future if they can overcome. The stereotypes of your werewolves and hunter are twisted in this novel, but it was all very intriguing with the exception of the werewolf's ability to talk when shifted. This talent was a bit odd for a me to follow in the beginning. The concept is easily summed up as Hunter and Werewolves. The "Dirty Blood" is the very rare occasion that a child is born with both of the abilities of a Werewolf and Hunter. The result is a stronger, and kick ass mixed breed that is destined to change the world for both species.

From the start through the last pages Dirty Blood offers a rollercoaster read, that will race you through page after page. I finished this story of 677 pages in less than 24 hours if that tells anything. With a story that you can not put down, Hildebrand promises more to come in the following installments. This is a BOOKWHISPERER RECOMMENDED read.

Very Good Read

Dirty Blood is a really great YA novel, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I was enamored from the very first page and found the overall story of hunters and weres fascinating and fast paced. I love a good story with plenty of action, and Dirty Blood does not disappoint. Tara is a very head strong protagonist, and though I wanted to shake her a few times, due to her ill decision making skills, I love that she is, in fact, a wonderful representation of many teens today. Her self reliant, stubborn demeanor creates a very strong female lead juxtaposed with the tall, dark, and handsome Wes as he tries to help Tara understand her hunter instincts and the danger they bring-to her, and everyone she knows. Of course, like all of us thrown into a situation we do not understand, Tara struggles with herself and her newfound abilities, and I loved watching her come of age as the novel unfolded.

The action was ever present and I had a hard time putting the novel down to attend to life duties, as I was so enamored with the novel. While I did find some similarities to the Twilight series, I think Hildenbrand does a great job making this story her own and creating wonderful characters and situations for readers to latch on to. The idea of a half were, half hunter was intriguing, and I really enjoyed it. Four stars.

Love This Book!

Great book! Loved this type of Werewolves/Hunters -
It really had a great message to it too.

Tara was a regular girl just out for some fun with her friends.
When she came across the world of werewolves, her life turned around.

She killed a girl/wolf - she didn't know they were real, but it attacked her... Next thing she knew, a guy was standing next to her.. telling her he would take care of everything - she freaked out... and he helped her home...

Wes, a Werewolf/hunter mix breed - He felt the pull towards Tara like a magnet - but fought it with everything he could. It was too strong though.

He brought Tara into the world of the Cause - where Hunters and Werewolves fought together to bring peace among the rest of the wolves/hunters - trying to keep everyone from killing. But it was too dangerous -

Tara ran into a werewolf (literally) and they fought. He was too strong, and he wasn't going to back down. He was out to kill Tara.

This book was awesome - I really loved the relationship between the werewolves and Hunters - you could tell there was tension there between a lot of them. It left you guessing until the end who was the one to turn on the group.

I was really impressed with this story though. I loved the relationship that Tara and Wes grew to have - I wish she didn't dismiss her human friend George so harshly - it just sounded like he was trying to get his future in order, which left little room for Tara. But at least they remained friends.

The book is left open for a possibility of another book for a series - I haven't seen anything on Heather Hildenbrand's page about a second book, but that doesn't really mean anything :)

Hopefully there will be another one - it would be fun to go into training more with Tara, and see Wes finish off the bad guys :)
Oh and let's not forget Mom and Grandma too :)

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.