Review: Chosen By Blood

(Para-Ops #1)
By: Virna DePaul
Publisher: Berkley
Published: July 7, 2011
Format: Paperback
Source: For guest review from Ruby Reads
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 384
Rating: I really enjoyed it

Five years after the Second Civil War ends, humans and otherborn- humanlike creatures with superhuman DNA-still struggle for peace. To ensure the continued rights of both, the FBI forms a Para-Ops team with a unique set of skills.

My thoughts...
I liked the mix of romance with the action. There was a lot of action considering they are a special ops team made of "Others". You have a Mage (Lucy), werebeast (Hunt), Wraith, dharmire (Knox), a human with psychic abilities (O'Flare), and Felicia who is just a FBI agent. They didn't all get along and there is sexual tension buzzing all over the place which of course made for good reading.

I liked all the team members and how much they played a role in the first book. The author did such a great job developing the secondary characters that I actually fell in love with Wraith and O'Flare. I liked them even more than the main characters. The chemistry that the two of them have and their personalities really drew me in. So I was extremely happy to see that the next installment in the story is Wraith's and O'Flair's.

The story line kept at a steady pace and there really wasn't a lot of down time in the book. Between the team working out their differences to come together as a team and actually pulling off missions, the only real downtime was when the romance part comes into play. And ironically for me, I geared more to the team building than I did the romance and I am a huge romance fan. There was just something about the way the team interacts with each other that really grabbed my attention. Each team member had their own personality and it shines through in the writing, so much so that you know who is speaking before the author even tells you. I enjoyed the entire book and I cannot wait to read what happens next.

Favorite quote...
Hunt- "Yeah, sorry to get all woo-woo on your ass, but it's true. Sure you have lots of needs. You need to love and take care of your family. Same with your clan. You need to lead by example and serve society and do your duty and all that shit. Heck, I think you've even needed to be a pain in my side ever since we met. But your true weakness? The only thing that you'll always need, the one thing that'll drive you over the edge someday if you don't have her, is Felicia. And you're her weakness, too. So what does that tell you?"
Knox- "It tells me I'm fucked"
Hunt- "Yeah, but if you play your cards right, it's gonna be in the best way possible."