Follow the author

Lindsay J. Pryor

Follow

Blood Dark (Blackthorn) Paperback – September 21, 2015

by Lindsay J. Pryor (Author)

4.7 820 ratings

See all formats and editions

‘There are guardian angels, and there are monsters with wings’

Caitlin Parish should have been the last person to fall for a vampire. A member of the Vampire Control Unit, her relationship with master vampire Kane Malloy had explosive consequences. Caitlin’s colleagues count her as the enemy. And now she’s going back.

Kane has made powerful enemies of his own – and is being targeted by the head of the Global Council, Sirius Throme. With the stakes higher than ever before, Kane knows caring for Caitlin makes him vulnerable. Worse, her decision to return to VCU feels like betrayal.

With Throme threatening to tear Blackthorn apart, and the prophesied vampire leader finally revealed, Kane and Caitlin must both fight with everything they have to stop an all out war. But they’re fighting on opposite sides…

Right when she needs him most, Caitlin makes a shocking discovery about Kane. Has he been playing her all along? And can she trust him with her life when he won’t even trust her with the truth?

The choice Caitlin makes will change the game in Blackthorn forever.

What readers are saying about Lindsay J. Pryor…

‘I don’t think I have read such a finely executed dark PNR world before…This series truly surprised me. I didn’t think I would love it that much or be intrigued by it. I couldn’t stop thinking about these books once I was done with them… The world-building is spectacular. The characters are enthralling and addicting… Plain fabulousness.’ Gaga Over Books

‘I am completely enthralled with this paranormal series. You get so wrapped up in the story and characters that you lose track of time… This is one of my favorite series so far this year!’ Paranormal Book Club

‘This is a paranormal universe like none you have encountered before… There are stories that are so powerful, so intense that I do not believe anyone should warn you about what is to come… I truly do feel that if you love the Paranormal genre and have not yet discovered Lindsay J. Pryor or these novels then you need to read them, experience them firsthand.’ Keeper Bookshelf

‘I am officially addicted to this series. Why, you ask? Because Lindsay Pryor is my kind of fearless author. She isn’t afraid to “go there”, to create characters and situations that challenge me as a reader.’ The Demon Librarian

Print length

396 pages
Language

English
Publication date

September 21, 2015
Dimensions

5.06 x 0.9 x 7.81 inches
ISBN-10

1910751367
ISBN-13

978-1910751367
See all details

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bookouture (September 21, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 396 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1910751367
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1910751367
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.06 x 0.9 x 7.81 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,043,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #20,727 in Vampire Romances
- #41,362 in Romantic Fantasy (Books)
- #71,684 in Paranormal & Urban Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 820 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Lindsay J. Pryor

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Sign up to be the first to hear about Lindsay's NEW releases here: http://bit.ly/150twsa

Lindsay J. Pryor is a speculative fiction author published by Hachette U.K. Her dark, gritty and complex dystopian BLACKTHORN series has achieved numerous Gothic and PNR Amazon number ones both in the UK and the US. Her spin-off LOWTOWN standalone novels are underway as well as her upcoming romantic Gothic horror.

Quickly deciding that fantasy was more interesting than reality, Lindsay has been creating stories since she was nine years old. She holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Psychology and Communication and is a qualified Psychology lecturer and English teacher. She taught for eighteen years before becoming a full-time author.

Lindsay was born and grew up in Wales and now lives in South West England with her husband and a plethora of wild woodland creatures.

To find out more about Lindsay and her books, please visit her website: lindsayjpryor.com

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

820 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

BarbarinaS

Each book is better than the last!

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2015

Verified Purchase

Like many others I love this author. I have followed her from her very first book and I remember only too well the angst in waiting for the next book to arrive. I no longer have that reaction. I am in no hurry to have the next book and in fact feel better knowing it may be a while in coming. You see the books are that good. They stay with you long after you have turned the last page and waiting for them to arrive is a tease we can live with when it means it prolongs the enjoyment when it (the next one in this incredible series) finally comes. If you have doubts about this then ask Kane as he is the master at prolonging things.

However once the book gets here then it does get a little more difficult to control reactions (you can ask Kane this as well). When Blood Dark started downloading on my Kindle I approached the reading calmly, slowly. Well, the slowly part is true, the calmly not so much. It is impossible not to feel a thousand emotions running riot as the story unfolds. Caitlin starts our hearts beating and Kane makes them stop and the emotional roller coaster ride means the reading slowly goes out the window along with the washing, cleaning and cooking. All this happens and there is also a clever plot and a most captivating host of other characters we have met and no doubt will continue to meet as the drama unfolds.

Lindsay has the power to create characters so enthralling and her writing is so intense and so rich in description and actions that the superb world-building becomes your world. This world is so real that the thought the experience might end too soon is very difficult to accept. You slow down the reading yet you still find yourself racing to finish things so you can get back to the book anyway. It is a losing battle because you discover the wait for this one has been worth every written word the author has slaved and stressed over.

Our heartstrings are pulled taut as we follow and savour the twisting and often dark corners called pages. They beckon the reader with power, greed, and love, deep abiding and engrossing love expressed in beautifully expressed physical actions that defy hot. Kane and Caitlin are an addiction that holds us prisoner. We are literally chained or tied to the bed post, unable to breathe, waiting with bated breath for the next moment in Blood Dark that will bring us pleasure so painful that we don’t know whether to laugh or cry, believe or ignore, trust or run from. Just like the characters in this narrative we are torn, confused and questioning when all we want is to believe it will all turn out fine in the end.

The author is a master at generating tension but I have news for her... I can wait for more. BUT I do need to know more is coming and, with any luck, if it’s as good as the fifth book in the series then, as someone totally dedicated to the idea that connection is what cements a writer as a writer then I am a very lucky reader.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Nikynik345

OMG...OMG.... OM freaking G!!! YES!

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2015

Verified Purchase

I had far too much fun reading this book!! It's getting harder and harder for me to compare all 5 books and choose which one is my favorite because they just keep getting better and better. This book was an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, you really didn't know who was betraying who, who you could trust, and ultimately whether or not Caitlin and Kane would end up with their "happily ever after". I can't go into full details of course, but I can hopefully assuage some of your curiosity by giving you some highlights or more specifically some of my favorite things that happened in the book. One of the things that separated this book from the last is that at one point almost all of the 8 main characters in the book met each other or at the very least knew about each other existed. The fact that the four couples Caitlin&Kane, Jask&Phia, Caleb&Leila, and Eden&Jessie's stories have finally begun to intertwine in a physical way is pretty cool to see. Unfortunately, having some of the biggest, baddest and most notorious figures in Blackthorne interacting with each other doesn't make for the best camaraderie between everyone. If you remember the first book about Caitlin and Kane, it was a story that delved deeper into Caitlin's history and if you think about it the story was more from her POV and we learned little about Kane's history and a lot about Caitlin's. Well in this book it was all about trying to figure out who Kane Malloy really is and by the end of the book you'll get a real understanding of Kane. I liked that the first book was a chance for us to understand Caitlin and now we understand Kane. I'd say that the first book didn't make me feel Kane and Caitlin's relationship could work, I didn't see them having a strong enough connection besides sex but this book completely changed that opinion! Kane and Caitlin are an inferno together and they just WORK! You'll have to read this book because wow.. not only is it a steamy one, it's also an intriguing one. You won't know who's trustworthy, you'll find out shocking facts, you'll see characters from the other books in new perspectives. It's truly a page turner you won't regret reading. I really don't know how I'm going to survive all the months before the next installment is released!!

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

History_Girl

Suspenseful and captivating!!!

Reviewed in Canada on December 17, 2015

Verified Purchase

Wow! Such great characters and plot. This book definitely keeps you guessing who you can trust!!! The plot development with its twists and turns will keep you glued to this book. I couldn't put it down!!! How will I survive the wait for the other books?!???!

Delphine Noble-Fox

BUY it and immerse yourself into the intense and wonderful World that is Blackthorn

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2015

Verified Purchase

Quick Review – Turn off your phone, cancel your plans, don’t answer your door, chill the wine. This book is an absolute page turner which will have you hooked from the outset. BUY it and immerse yourself into the intense and wonderful World that is Blackthorn. Don’t delay!

Longer Review –

Blood Dark is the 5th instalment out of a series of 8 books about the World of Blackthorn. The previous books Blood Shadows, Blood Roses, Blood Torn and Blood Deep all introduce pivotal characters, two at a time. Blood Dark is the first of the books where you see interaction between these characters as the plot lines interweave and, as a consequence, the series really picks up pace.

As a backdrop, the World of Blackthorn consists of 4 towns; Blackthorn, Lowtown, Midtown and Summerton. Blackthorn is dangerous, gritty, over populated, polluted and Summerton is a direct contrast, green, full of open spaces and beautiful.

The inhabitants of this world are rated on a sadistic points system (for example how good your bloodline is), and depending on how they fare, this will determine their future potential, employment status, social status, but most importantly, where they are allowed to live. Summerton is for the elite, the affluent and is full of green spaces, great schools and medical care, where as at the opposite end of the spectrum, Blackthorn is full of vampires, lycans, who ever is determined to be social detritus, not forgetting the convicts that have been discarded by the state. In Blackthorn, there is no funding for education, social wellbeing or medical care. It is survival of the fittest. Strangely enough, in this unjust and corrupt system, the suppressed factions within Blackthorn are at breaking point.

Blood Dark is the continuation of the story of Kane and Caitlin (which began in Blood Shadows) and the problems that their ongoing relationship is causing, both individually and together. I thought I had it all worked out, and yet I couldn’t have been more wrong as to where their story would take me. It is full of plot twists and turns and, as well as being an emotional rollercoaster it has an intensity about its content that is addictive and whilst each story does answer some questions, more arise as you progress!

Lindsay J Pryor has managed to create not only a fantastically believable backdrop (Blackthorn is a character in its own right) but her characterisation is well rounded and robust. Each of her anti heroes and heroines are flawed in some way, but they also display loyalty, kindness and determination. Its all about shades of grey – how characters behave in given difficult situations does not always determine who they are. Who is to say that they are the heroes or the villains of the piece? Its all down to perspective. It is a joy to read books with intelligent heroines, and the internal monologues highlighting the characters’ thought processes as they deal with whatever challenging situations they find themselves in, are wonderful.

But, as with any good story, there is also plenty of conflict to keep you on the edge of your seat, as the main characters do tend to suffer from an inability to trust and communicate well with each other, as well as having stubborn streaks. All of which combine to make you turn the page to find out what happens next.

Personally, I think that Lindsay is immensely talented, I love her style of writing and I think that she deserves every success. The only downside is what am I going to do with myself until Blood Instinct comes out and the JASKFEST can begin. Go Team Blackthorn! xx

2 people found this helpful

Jo-Anne

Loved this book.

Reviewed in Australia on October 2, 2015

Verified Purchase

Totally enjoying this series and looking forward to the next book. Has some great heart stopping and tissues required moments.

Littlemisscrafty

I frowned. I gasped. I cried. I had my hand clamped over my mouth on a plane from Inverness to London.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 13, 2017

Verified Purchase

Every time I read a new instalment in the Blackthorn series, it's touch and go whether they will top my favourite (which happens to be Blood Roses - the second book in the series). I love all of the Blackthorn books that I've read so far - they never cease to keep you on the page, turning the leaves long after you should have put the book (or your kindle) down and go to sleep... or feed the kids... or the cats... or do the weekly food shop (you know, the boring-but-necessary stuff). But it's always been Blood Roses for me. The ultimate will-they-won't-they love affair, the kind of love that's impossible to survive against the odds, and leaves you hanging like an unspent intake of breath. If there was ever a contest for the best in the series, for me, it's Blood Roses. Hands down. The emotional turmoil and suspense in THAT book tops them all. Until now.

Blood Dark is the fifth instalment of the Blackthorn series, and brings us back to Kane and Caitlin, who we saw in the first book of the series. The pair have an undeniable chemistry, which we were privy to in Blood Shadows. As a VCU (Vampire Control Unit) agent, Caitlin Parish is the most unlikely candidate for a relationship with Kane Malloy - the most wanted vampire by the head of the Global Council. And her decision to return to work after the dangers they faced and battled together is driving a wedge between them. Kane has his own demons to deal with - literally - and the ultimate struggle for this hero/heroine is that they still can't seem to trust each other, especially as they both seem to be on different sides. It's not just a battle of vampires vs humans in this series, or indeed this story, as Lindsay J. Pryor introduces us to more of the intricately described - and terrifying - fourth species (monsters to any Blackthorn virgins). As a master vampire, it's Kane's job to keep Blackthorn safe, but his relationship with Caitlin is complicating matters. He's got an important job to do, and being with Caitlin is not only putting her life in danger, but also the future of Blackthorn. The whole book is a rollercoaster of emotional tension, but it was the twist at the end that got me. I've since read Blood Instinct - book number six - but Blood Dark is still very much at the forefront of my mind. Kane Malloy is a classic alpha male hero - you know he's bad, he can be really bad - but this book gives us what many Kane fans will already have guessed; that underneath it all is a tortured bad boy who really just wants love and be loved in return. It's got it all - the suspense, the horror, the heat, the 'ahhh' moments, and best of all, the 'oh my god I can't believe the author has just done that to me!' moment.

I LOVED it. I frowned. I gasped. I cried. I had my hand clamped over my mouth on a plane from Inverness to London. Then it ended. I closed the book, and then I mourned for a brief period. You know - that book hangover period.

And then I downloaded the next one.

If you haven't tried Blackthorn yet, isn't it about time you did?

One person found this helpful

Sean Talbot

Blackthorn

Reviewed in Canada on September 23, 2015

Verified Purchase

I kind of skipped some of the books in the middle as I wanted to review this book. I was given a free copy of the book for an honest review thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture. I wasn't really sure what I was to expect when I read this book.

The first part I see is that they have a very good group of characters who have both good and bad in them. No character is perfect which is particularly what I like. I see issues with each character that they have to overcome.

I love the idea of Kane as he has a great ability to assist or to hinder. He is a very interesting character who seems to have hidden depths in him. I love the vampiric part of him as well since he seems to not be the typical vampire that people would assume

Caitlin is the professional who seems to always be put into situations that test her loyalty to her job and to her friends and lover. She always seems to be skirting the edges of what she should do.

The story was great however I can deal with out the sex scenes as I find that it doesn't really assist the story in any substantial way.

See more reviews