Review: BOND WITH ME by Anne Marsh

Review: BOND WITH ME by Anne Marsh

Fallen angels… They rule Moscow’s seedy underworld, promising untold pleasure to the females who dare to mate them. That promise – and Brends Duranov’s own raw sexual power – has hopefuls mobbing the velvet rope outside his elite club G2’s.

But Mischka Baran has no intention of hooking up with one of the Fallen. Not even after Brends gives her an unforgettable taste of the sin and seduction he can deliver with those wicked lips. She’s after information, not a stint as some Goblin’s toy of the month. What she doesn’t know is that with a sadistic killer carving up his brethren, Brends is playing for keeps, hunting the one woman whose bloodline can end the mayhem, whose bond can restore his lost wings.

Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Co.

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Single Title/Series: BOND WITH ME is book one in a new series from Anne Marsh with the next installment to be released in 2012 from Kensington.

Cover Thoughts: Awesome! When a fallen angel bonds with his bond mate, the two magically receive  tattoo like markings on their wrists announcing the bond as illustrated above. So cool how they focused on that. Love it!

Why I Read It: I received an Advanced Review Copy from the author.

My Review:

The Plot:

The year is 2090 and after the devastation of the human wars left them subdued and vulnerable, the paranormals of the world emerged from their hiding places. Now, where the city of Moscow once stood, M City reigns and is controlled by the most powerful of paranormals: the Goblins. Once glorious angels, the Goblins were cast from the heavens by the Archangel Michael, their wings stripped, their golden beauty darkened and in the absence of their once glowing souls, they were paired with a soul sucking beast whose hunger knows no bounds. Brends Duranov is one such Fallen. G2 club owner, the enigmatic Brends holds court over the female humans who greedily offer up their souls for his all consuming pleasure. But only one woman snares his complete attention and her resistance only fuels the flames of his desire.

Mischka Baran is searching for her wild cousin Pellinor. Fearing that she made good on her threat to bond with one of the Fallen, Mischka will do whatever it takes to find Pell and convince her to come home. As far as Mischka's concerned, nothing is worth selling your soul for, especially to one of the detested paranormals. When her search leads her to G2 and Brends, Mischka's faced with the first man to ever shake up her temper and her hormones to mind numbing heights. He drives her crazy with his relentless pursuit and when he dangles his ability to locate her cousin as bait to the bond he desires, Mischka is determined to resist. That is until it's soon apparent that a blood thirsty, sociopathic rogue is after her and Pellinor. When a Goblin's beast overcomes its Fallen half, he goes rogue, hunting the streets for souls and blood. To be a target of a rogue's hunt can only lead to death without the right protection and the threat is severe enough to have Mischka reluctantly succumbing to Brends's bond.

Determined to bring down the rogue that's terrorizing his streets, picking off women and even one of his own Fallen brothers, Brends will do anything and use anyone to meet his goal. When it becomes obvious that his rogue is after Mischka and her cousin, he sees the chance to bait his trap. Knowing where Pellinor is, he offers Mischka the favor of taking her to her cousin in exchange for her becoming his bond mate. Bonding with Mischka allows Brends to feed off her soul while he grants her the endless pleasure she desires. Once the bond is witnessed and the swirling tattoos arise along the flesh of their wrists and forearms, Brends can bury deep within Mischka's mind, see into her soul and siphone off the richness of her emotions but most importantly he can keep her safe as she's to be the lure for his rogue. The only thing that Brends didn't prepare himself for is Mischka's tenacity, her need to control the situation as well as those around her including him. Her commands and snooty good girl behavior amuse Brends to no end and soon he's concentrating on turning her hot temper to boiling and breaking free the naughty girl deep within that craves release instead of focusing on the hunt. Unlike any bond mate he's ever had, Brends tries to resist Mischka's allure, but the harder he tries to ignore the affect she has, the more he finds himself relenting to her pull and the fact that he can't nor will he ever let Mischka go.

The Heroine:

Horrified by the injustices in the world, Mischka's determined to help and do what it takes to stop the rogue that's after her and her cousin. Knowing she's bait doesn't necessarily give her much cause for concern for Mischka will sacrifice herself first before she'd let anything bad happen to her cousin.

Having always been jealous of her cousin's wicked and wild ways, Mischka resents her need to always be the good girl, always steadfast and reliable, but with Brends driving her to distraction the naughty girl she's always wanted to be finally breaks free. Brends, while infuriating, strips Mischka free of her constricting good girl shields and in his arms, she doesn't have to worry about always doing what's right but instead she can do what brings her the most pleasure and that's Brends himself. When Brends releases her of the bond he ultimately manipulated her into, it doesn't take Mischka long to come to the conclusion that their bond was the best thing to ever happen to her.

The Hero:

Dark, mysterious, and practically leaking sensuality like a sieve, Brends has women all over falling at his feet, helpless in their desire. Sadly for them, Brends could care less. Mischka, at first just a means to an end, soon becomes the sole mantra of his thoughts. Her wants, her desires, and above all her safety become paramount to everything else. She changes his life in that for the first time in his three thousand years on Earth, Brends acts selflessly.

My Final Thoughts:

A tantalizing read, BOND WITH ME was good from beginning to end, however, the world building felt a bit unpolished with areas lacking information that I would loved to have understood. Then again, those areas can easily be explained in future books which has me looking forward to the continuation of the series.

However, there is one aspect of BOND WITH ME that I thought perhaps could have been completely left out of the book and that's Pellinor's bonding with another Fallen. In some respects it drew focus away from the main protagonists because their romance happens so early on an so erotically that at the time, I was craving more of them rather than Brends and Mischka. Also, while the affects of Pell's bonding are wonderfully shocking, it unfortunately made made the affects of Brends and Mischka's bonding a forgone conclusion and I hate knowing what's to come in my reads. 

All in all, I enjoyed Brends and Mischka especially their first few meetings. The dialogue between the two is positively smoldering allowing brilliant sexual tension that made the rest of their relationship burn up the pages. While the resolution with regards to Brends's past isn't nearly cleared up, his bond with Mischka is cemented giving readers their coveted HEA.

Dark, gritty, and sinfully erotic, BOND WITH ME has the all the makings of a great paranormal series. And for fans of fallen angels, this is not a read that should be missed.

B-

More Reviews:

Book of Secrets: 4/5
Anna's Book Blog: 5/5