Welcome to the Immortal Curse world – where vampires avoid stereotypes, bad ass alphas have hearts and heroines know how to bump monsters back.
Lexi C Foss has truly created something spectacular here: a world where there are unlimited book boyfriend potentials, a truly immersive and unique take on vampires, and supernatural powers don’t automatically guarantee a win. And as for vampires, even if they aren’t your thing, this series is, because trust me when I say this: ichorians are not your run of the mill vampires, and this is so very very refreshing.
First, let’s get the performance out of the way. Sarah Puckett is it. She is absolutely the voice of Astasiya because frankly – she just FITS the character. She has an emotional range that can beat almost anyone out of the park. As for Kale: he is the number one voice for male characters for me. He is just it. He has an emotional range better than any other voice actor I’ve come across, and has accents that are absolutely spot on. He is able to hit Issac’s accent perfectly (aged British that’s been influenced with American). He is absolutely Issac, and as great as Joel did with the original recording, I’m ecstatic that Lexi had this re-recorded.
Blood Laws introduces this series’ main characters: the drop dead gorgeous billionaire playboy Issac Wakefield and the stunning, intellectual but snarky Astasiya Davenport. And while these descriptions may seem stereotypical, let me make one thing clear: these two are anything but the norm for romance.
Let’s look first at the Hero: Issac. Lexi has done an amazing job with Issac – as the description says he is an immortal masquerading as a billionaire playboy. This could easily have Issac falling into the trap of Christian Grey, and developing a rags to riches story in which he pampers the Heroine into falling in love with him. But that’s not how Lexi does it, instead crafting a hero that uses wealth as a means to an end rather than a dependent characteristic upon which the heroine falls in love. In other words: even if Issac wasn’t a billionaire, he would still be his bad ass self, just a little less well dressed. And believe me: he would still get the girl. Not to mention, while he ticks all the boxes for a well dressed alpha male, he truly shows a depth of emotion and range of thinking that are not standard to the A type big bad ass boys that you meet in many novels.
Now let’s take a look at the Heroine: Stas. Wow. I was not prepared for her to be just how relatable she is. Despite having what might appear to be a tragic and overused background, she is not a victim. She takes events on headfirst, and is the sort of character you could actually imagine being real. She handles every single major thing that happens in a relatable way, and I never found myself thinking that she was too perfect. She is also a very attractive woman, but maintains male friendships and plot devices are not built around every male in the series falling head over heals for her as soon as they meet her.
The chemistry of Stas and Issac is off the charts: despite having all the odds stacked against them in a literal sense they are literally under the impression that the two of they find a dynamic and passionate relationship that burns from the get go and crescendos in an important moment in the book. They compliment each other perfectly, and despite major differences in personalities and backgrounds, they have actual defining similarities that hold them together as a couple rather than he’s hot / she’s got a nice ass and our love knows no bounds. Essentially, they’re a real couple.
On the note of the characters as well, I love how Lexi is able to develop the characters and their backgrounds without a mind dump of over explanative paragraphs. You learn of their abilities and gifts in ways woven throughout the story that naturally just fit. This keeps the narrative flowing, rather than causing me to drift and want to skip parts. Even when its time to get down to really learning the paranormal world you find yourself in, she does it in such a way that the scenes and explanations make sense.
The supporting characters also bring a strength to the cast that truly makes you want to look to the next story. I’m not a huge fan of series where we go from couple to couple, preferring to go through a fully developed story line with one couple, but Lexi is able to truly make me want to see what happens next for each of the supporting characters. No one is one dimensional: even the biggest playboy of the series has a range that makes you really want to see his story. Interactions are natural, and setup many adventures to come (in both prequels and future novels, but more on that another day).
Another humongous point for Lexi is that she makes her alphas in this series respectful of today’s climate without going political. What do I mean by that? Well, she makes point that the hero is truly looking for consent when he is engaging in any sort of sexual play with the heroine. This does not detract from the story or the emersion in the fantasy, making this point in both subtle and overt ways.
The final major plot point I’d like to make is that Lexi has done something few authors really do in romances: even without the romance (which is essential and absolutely bombshell dynamic) there is a compelling story here featuring believable characters and supernaturals who can actually be defeated. This makes for one hell of a storyline throughout the series.
I cannot emphasize this enough: this is a true pinnacle of modern paranormal fantasy, and worth the read in every single way. Be prepared to stay up late, and don’t put down any of the books.