Kindle Edition Amazon Category:  Fantasy Publisher: Noble Blood Books ISBN-10:  1494362244 Type: Fiction Pages: 212 Copyright: May 5, 2015 ISBN-13: 9781494362249 Price: $2.99 (eBook) Blood Price is a dark fantasy tale about a young woman who wants to live forever, but the price at which eternity comes may be too high.  Josaleene started out as a poor girl raised by her mother.  Never having anything of her own growing up, she dreamed of one day meeting a rich Noble to take care of her.  Desperate to change her ill-fated future, she carefully planned a way to get into one of their lavish parties with the hopes to meet one.  A Noble wasn't just some rich human.  A Noble was much different.  They were a race of human creatures who were broodingly dark, beautiful and powerful.  They all lived within an enormous palace under the peaceful rule of their leader, The Patriarch.  To become a Noble, you had to be chosen and turned magically.  And then leave all thoughts of a human existence behind.  Josaleene just wanted to be Chosen and turned, to live in the palace and never want for anything again.  She did not expect to fall in love, to be loved in return, or to be thrown in the middle of an ages old war that threatened to wipe out all life.   Learning that Josaleene may have to sacrifice herself to save all life spurs her Noble lover, Dartein, into action, sending him racing across the land for answers to save her.  Will he find what he needs to save their love?  Or will they end up paying the ultimate Blood Price?      Excerpt --- Josaleene peeked out of the doorway making sure no one was walking by. Those folk who lived around her were all poor and hungry. She did not want them to see her dressed up like a highborn lady. They would shun her, or yell at her to take off the clothes she did not deserve to wear. She was a common girl. Lower than common really, born of a street whore. Her mother may have sold herself to make money, but she was the greatest woman Josaleene had ever known. She was always clean and smelled of lilacs. She took good care of her little “lady” and never let her go hungry, even if it meant she went hungry herself. Her late night visitors never came to their room, she always entertained them elsewhere, away from Josaleene. Her mother would sit and tell tales of the lords and ladies of the village they lived in, Nobles Rest, and their festive parties. She would tell of the mysterious guests they would invite, and then how the village lords would fight with each other for weeks over whose party was the best. She would laugh at them, but always said that they never wanted for anything. Especially if someone of their family was picked by a Noble as a Chosen. The Noble Court was made up of an ancient race of...well exactly what they were was shrouded in dark mystery. The history of their race was erased from human minds by time and any written word on it was locked away high up in the palace, guarded heavily by the Patriarch's magic. In the times they lived no one even bothered to ask or wonder about the Nobles. They were just an accepted reality that had been around for centuries. And everyone desired alliances with them. Every generation the Noble Court would choose a member from the human village to become part of their court. Every time the choice was made from a passionless decision, based on someone’s influence and wealth or ability to provide necessary services to the Court. Families would compete rabidly against one another to have one of their young ones chosen. They would offer up immense amounts of wealth, land titles, businesses, contracts...whatever they thought would bring them favor at that time. It was no matter that children would never come of the union, the Chosen would live on for hundreds of years and would look after their family for as long as it suited them. Sometimes that wasn't for long, but the Council of the Noble Court was always gracious and grateful to the families who had a relative in the court. The folk of the Noble Court were beautiful creatures. And they were deadly. The Patriarch who ruled them kept them peaceful, though. And through him they had peacefully ruled the lands around their court for over a thousand years. Their only price to keep this peace between the lands was to be able to pick one young human every generation or so to turn to keep their court full and vibrant. And of course, with all the wealth thrown at them to sway their decision on who to pick, the court was also incredibly wealthy. On the rare evenings that her mother was not entertaining, she would take Josaleene to the more wealthy parts of town in the Palace District. They would watch the lords and ladies for hours going about their affairs, and watch the strange Nobles come and go from the human's parties. From their outings, Josaleene had become obsessed with the beautiful creatures and wanted so badly to become a part of that lifestyle. Their women were always dressed in the finest dresses. Rich silks and brocaded laces, the smoothest satins and every jewel possible. Their full and lustrous hair was worn in every different fashion, but never short. Done up with nets and large gemmed combs that sparkled like stars under the brightest moon. It was rare to see them out of their palace too often. But Josaleene would go those parts of town at least once a week to try to catch a glimpse. Tonight though, Josaleene wasn't going to watch. She intended to get herself invited to one of those parties. She took in a deep breath, brushed at the skirt of her dress nervously and shutting the door quietly behind her, headed north towards the Palace District.

Excellent fantasy romance
Blood Price is a fantasy tale set in the town of Noble's Rest ruled by the Noble Patriarch, a leader with secrets he is determined to hide. His son, Dartein, upsets his people by daring to choose a human girl over one of his own kind. When Dartein sets off on a quest to save their love, he leaves his girl, Josaleene, at the mercy of the angered people. What ensues is a dramatic tale of adventure and romance that is high on emotion, and delivered in a poetic prose that perfectly sets the tone.

The story is very engaging for the most part and multiple plot elements add layers of depth to an often shallow genre. However, some threads do not seem to go anywhere, despite strongly hinting otherwise. Maybe the author was planning to expand on these, but sometimes a book can just write itself and seemingly good ideas become redundant. If the author writes a new version, maybe she could trim a few scenes and explore the better ones. The book is quite short so there is plenty of scope for expansion here.

The syntax could use some variation as one too many sentences begin with a pronoun. Also, some long-winded descriptions took me out of the moment. I must point out there were no major typos that I could spot, and I have a keen eye for those. (Maybe the previous review which suggested otherwise relates to an unedited version of the book?) Some of the word choices were excellent - very visual - and they helped the reading experience feel that much more tangible. A. L. Wright displays fantastic imagination and despite the niggles I was particularly impressed by what I understand to be her debut effort. I believe there is a lot more to come from this author and I shall be looking towards book 2 with interest.

Recommended Book
Very engaging. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. Well written and amusing. It pulls you in and you don't want to put it down. I loved it and can't wait for then next one to come out.

Five Stars
“Blood Price gripped me from the first page until the last. The author describes in a great detail the life of Josaleen, her Prince Dartein and the history of vampire nobles. The tension becomes palatable when Josaleen discovers she is pregnant and Dartein races to find a way to save her from a tragic prophecy. The love between Dartein and Josaleen is described in a passionate bittersweet way that makes the reader part of the gothic atmosphere of this story. Without too many plot spoilers the ending is full of angst seguing into a set up for another novel. I can’t wait for a sequel.”