NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

A slow burning romance that has action, fun, grief and self discovery. It's not often you meet a female vampire hunter, this story has two. You will not be able to put this down. An awesome story, fans of Dean and Castiel will love this one.

'Cold Blood’ by Genevieve McCluer is a vampire story set in Toronto. I’ve read her previous books set in the city and have enjoyed them very much. This is the story of Kalila, a vampire seeking revenge for the murder of her wife and son, and her own turning. A newcomer to Toronto, she must first find out where he is hiding – and for that she needs the help of an information broker. Dorenia has a somewhat similar tale and seeks revenge on her nemesis too. By working together will they be able to find peace, and maybe something more?

I like Genevieve McClure’s writing style. It is fast and immediate and draws me in. I loved the nod to a previous novel ‘Olivia’, and to some recognisable areas of the city. She makes monsters sympathetic characters and gives them entirely plausible lives alongside the other residents of Toronto. I like this world she has invented.

I was given this ARC to review.

Great Paranormal Vampire Romance. This was really good and well written. I loved the characters of Kalila and Dorenia. The relationship between these two was equal parts funny, snarky, and sexy. There were some laugh out loud moments for me throughout this book. The slow burn romance between the main characters was a great part of this story as well. I do feel that there's a part two to this story or there should be and if there is one I will definitely read it. I have loved every book by this author so far, and I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family, and I look forward to what comes next from this author.

At the beginning of 2022, I said I would attempt to read books out of my comfort zone. I'm not really into fantasy books or anything to do with vampires or monsters or general things like that. I saw this book on the NetGalley (the cover caught my eye) and thought why not? And I'm so glad I did... I enjoyed the storyline and I was intrigued to carry on, the characters kept me interested and I finished the book before I knew it.
The story is about 2 vampires hunters, who also happen to be vampires themselves, who go out to get revenge against the 2 vampires that tore their worlds apart. Both Kalila and Dorenia both need to learn how to trust one another in a world full of monsters and hate. But also need to learn to live with what they have lost in their past and move on.

I can't wait to read more books by Genevieve McClurer

I've given Cold Blood a 3.8/5

I couldn’t resist reading Cold Blood by Genevieve McCluer. Both the cover and the blurb caught my attention. While I don’t read a lot of vampire stories, I do like to occasionally indulge in the tales of these paranormal creatures. I’m glad I decided to read this novel.

Actually, I consider this book to be as much an action and adventure tale as it is paranormal. The story is fast paced from the first page to the last. There is almost constant danger for Kalila and Dorenia, our two main characters. Most of the characters in the novel would fit under the definition of monsters, but that doesn’t mean they are all evil. Even monsters can have a good side. There is also a budding love story in the tale, though if you’re looking for wild vampiric (is this even a word?) sex scenes, you’ll be disappointed. This is more a fade-to-black-and-look-forward-to-the-future kind of romance.

What caught my attention most was the setting of the story. I’m familiar with Toronto, Ontario and the suburban cities around it, including Etobicoke. This is the area the author calls the “city of fiends,” and now I’ll be looking for these places any time I’m in the area.

I had a lot of fun reading Cold Blood by Genevieve McCluer. I recommend it to everyone who loves fast paced and adventurous paranormal books.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections: https://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

This turned out to be a fun read. It's a fast-paced vampire hunter story that's action packed and filled with drama. There are also a few odd surprises. I recommend.

Thanks to the publisher Bold Stroke Books and NetGalley.

I just can't seem to warm up to Genevieve McCluer's novels. I'm a big fan of paranormal genre, and this is the third book I've read from her. Although "Olivia" novel I liked a lot better than "My date with a vendigo", I was back to struggling with finishing this one... I didn't like the stalling, too much meaningless dialogues, and introducing Dorenia so late in the book.

3.75⭐️ This is a fantasy vampire story about two “good “ vampire hunters who are on a mission to get revenge for the bad vampires who killed their friends and family. And also turned them into the vampires they are today. Lots of other monsters make up some secondary characters.

It could also be an enemies to lovers tale because both MCs start out distrusting each other’s motives. Kalila is a middle eastern professor of Thermodynamics and Dorenia is a centuries old gypsy. Both are tormented by their past and seek revenge. They team up and it’s a bloody battle. Kinda like a high octane action movie.

I liked the fast pace story and was entertained.

ARC received in exchange for a voluntary and honest review.

This is a well written book with an interesting central premise and some really well developed scenes but it didn’t totally grab me. I enjoyed the idea of a vampire being a vampire hunter because she hates the evil vampire who killed her wife and child. The story takes a while to grip and we don’t meet the second main character Dorenia until well into the book.

The author uses the vampire framing to tell a story of outsiders, of how love can destroy and build, and how hatred can consume someone. There are also clever nuances of how different races are viewed. The concept is well handled and I’m not sure why I liked it but didn’t love it. I will look out for other books by this author though as this one is a solid three stars.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

I don’t read tons of vampire stories but this was fun. The first part has Kalila Yassin traveling to Toronto hunting the vampire who killed her wife and son. There is decent world building setting Toronto as a place where fiends (vampires, fairies and other creatures) mingle freely in their own society. Kalila joins forces with Dorenia, a vampire, agreeing to help take on each others nemesis. I enjoyed the back stories for both Kalila and Dorenia. If you enjoy vampire hunter stories you’ll enjoy this. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kalila lost everything thanks to a vampire asshole: her wife, her kid, her life... She's been using the 'gifts' he left her with to try and hunt him down ever since.

Dorenia was turned over a century ago by a vampire who hadn't exactly intended to do so, and wants her gone. She hoards information, and that keeps her safely out of his way.

Kalila needs info. Dorenia has info. And so begins a beautiful, deadly, slightly gory, love story.

Kalila is our first narrator. She's blunt, judgemental, and intelligent, which is an interesting mix. Especially when you throw in a bunch of trauma, lots of anger at the world, and a triple helping of hating what she is.

She is mainly armed with a long machete in a back sheath, and she certainly knows how to use it. She moves through the world calculating every step she and everyone around her takes. Every situation, every conversation, it's all a means to one end (kill the bad vampire), and if you're not part of that path, you might as well get out of her way, because she will cut you down and step over you, if you don't.

She thinks she is rational and calculating and emotionless, but humans rarely are, no matter how hard they work at it. So when she does emote, she hates it, and she hates whoever or whatever caused it.

She's rash, she's desperate, she jumps world record lengths to reach the conclusions that suit her, and her smarts usually come a distant second to whatever it is she wants to do right away. Her self-hatred is going to get her killed at some point, and she knows it, but if she can go down knowing that asshole is dead, she’ll be fine with that.

Enter: Dorenia. Instantly a very different vampire. She smiles, she's prepared, she meets bitter snark with light sarcasm. She's measured and calm against angry emotion. She has a story, too, and it comes with a business proposition.

Dorenia's narration has a completely different feel to Kalila's. Not just in her personality, but how she views the world. She sees possibility in things. A future, and a path forwards. She needs to kill her asshole, so she can stop hiding: she sees a future beyond the moment of his death.

Kalila is middle-eastern, and Dorenia is Roma, and McCleur does a really nice and subtle job of both bringing this up, and showing the racism they suffer. It's woven carefully into the overall tapestry, rather than taking centre stage. But Dorenia’s story in particular is very tied to her history as part of her Roma family, and we get some great views into their closeness, and her sacrifice.

The story is a good one, and I enjoyed it a lot. It doesn’t hide what the plot is doing, though it still manages to throw in the odd surprise, and it moves at a pace fast enough to keep me wanting to read just the next bit.

Incidental extra points for use of the word 'kempt’, as well.

If you like vampires that hunt other vampires, moral quandaries, limbs going flying (and getting stuck back on again), and cute women falling for each other - grab this one.

Vampire Hunter Kalila Yassin has spent the last eighteen years of her life tracking down the vampire who killed her family. She finds herself in Toronto where the latest sighting has been. Here Kalila discovers a strange subculture for vampires and monsters.
Dorenia is a century old vampire who deals in information. She has been searching for the vampire that turned her and chases her family for over a hundred years. Kalila is Dorenia’s best bet in defeating and killing her maker. And Dorenia can broker a meet between Kalila and her foe.
McCluer is a new author to me and I am very impressed with Cold Blood. The world she builds is gritty, dark and filled with monsters of all kinds. For fans of dragons, there is one as a tertiary character with a smallish part to play.
McCluer’s writing is strong and descriptive. There are no issues seeing what she wants you to see. The author’s imagination lights up the pages with her depth of story and character. For a vamp novel there was minimal slaughter(in comparison) and no sex scenes. It wasn’t until long after I finished the novel that both of these facts occurred to me. Obviously they are not missed in the storytelling.
Cold Blood is a compelling read which I highly recommend.

I received an advance review copy from Bella Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I am generally a big fan of vampire books but this one just didn’t grab my attention. It sounds very unique with one MC being a vampire who hunts other vampires and both MCs tracking down a particularly gruesome enemy vampire each, while falling for each other along the way. The book is written in first person, mostly from Kalila’s perspective but there are more than a few chapters told from Dorenia’s as well. Almost the first half is Kalila arriving in Toronto, getting the lay of the land and Dorenia is not even introduced until 40% into the book. There are a lot of fight sequences and very little interactions beyond that with the two MCs so it almost feels like the book is too fast and too slow at the same time. They do each tell their own backstory but by then I was kind of indifferent to the characters. There are a few side characters but none are very well developed, leaving just the mildly engaging MCs. Hopefully I’ll find another book by this author more suited to my taste but I couldn’t really recommend this one unfortunately.

This was an enjoyable read, it was well written with great characters and a good plotline full of action and drama. I didn't expect it to be funny so that was a pleasant suprise and I liked the cute romance element.

Kalila is out for revenge against a vampire that killed her family, it's been years but she's finally getting close. She calls herself a vampire hunter but she has a secret she's keeping that soon gets out.
Kalila soon connects with a vampire named Dorenia that may be able to help her in her hunt but there are things coming at them that they never even knew existed. They're going to have to fight hard to keep each other safe while trying to take down these monsters. Their thirst for retribution will bring them close together for their own personal desires as well.
this a great story with some unimaginable twists.

Thank you #NetGalley #BoldstrokesBooks #ColdBlood #vampiresrule

Since she was was turned 18 years ago, Kalila has been on the hunt for her family’s murderer and slaying vampires in her path. Her pursuit landed her in Toronto and with the help of the city’s information broker Dorenia, the pair collaborated to bring down their respective enemies.

There were plenty of kick ass action and moves from the ladies who wielded machetes, guns and claymores with a vengeance. The results were satisfying and if you are looking for a mixture of action, humour and some romance, you get to enjoy some of the kills alongside good laughs.


I just reviewed Cold Blood by Genevieve McCluer. Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

I really enjoy this read I love vampires stories.

Kalila and Dorenia have both suffer losses those losses shape who they become. They inadvertently windup into each other lives and decides to team up against the persons who wrong them but in the process they starts to learn live again.