Bloodwind by Charlotte Boyett-Compo is an e-book available from Hard Shell Word Factory and is the first book in the WindDemon trilogy.  It is now also available in paperback form !

Not strictly a romance novel this e-book certainly has some elements of a romance novel within it.
 

The anti-hero as Ms Boyett-Compo refers to him is Captain Kamerone Cree, the Prime Reaper, and one of the most feared beings in this futuristic world.

Bridget Dunne is a worker in the Behavioural Modification unit and part of a resistance movement against the Rysalian Empire and she knows that her role in the resistance is to bring Cree over to their side.

When Cree is betrayed by an unknown person and sent without a trial to Be-Mod 9 the resistance use this time to bring him over to their side.

While undergoing the treatment Cree is forced to suffer his own death in numerous ways and numerous times.  A part human and part animal the shapeshifter finds that it is the human part of his being that the Be-Mod unit prey on as they proceed to torture him day after day.

The only light in this world of bleak torture is the caring Bridget who he is drawn to even as she helps to torture him.  Slowly their work pays off and Cree finds himself becoming attached to Bridget and depends on her more and more to ease the suffering he goes through.  Little does he know that it is the subliminal messages being fed to him during the torture that are causing him to think in this way.  Nor does Bridget realise that she too is being manipulated so that she can overcome her fear and revulsion for the Reaper, a fear that is instilled in the kidnapped women of Earth.

Bridget was taken from Earth by the Rysalian Retrieval Unit which consists of the Hunters, Shepherds, Harvesters, Breeders and the Reapers.

The kidnapping of the women of Earth (Terra) is done by the Rysalian Empire in order to re-populate their dying world.  The Hunters would reside on Earth to seek out suitable females, the Shepherds would herd the women to an assigned place and the Harvester would take them to Rysalia.  Then the Breeders would assign the women mates so their world could continue.

The Reapers would be the ones to track down the ones who escaped, the ones to instil terror into every Terran woman and Captain Kamerone Cree was the most terrifying of them all.

Now Bridget must force herself to become close to the Reaper to save the kidnapped women and all those who are yet to be taken.

When Cree leaves the Be-Mod he finds that Bridget is becoming an obsession and he decides to buy her for his own personal use.  Stealing her from under the nose of her lover Konnor Rhye he calmly and viciously buys her, intending to have her as a housekeeper as he struggles to deny his feelings towards her and his restored humanity.

And so begins Bridget and Cree's life together.  Neither of them realising just how many people are a part of the resistance and how much danger they are in.  Nor do they realise just how strong their feelings for each other will become; and in a world where everything is monitored there will be no way to hide the depth of their feelings from others.

Without giving too much of the story away I have to say that the story of this novel is very complex and at times I found myself flicking back through the pages to re-read parts.  It is a novel that really makes you think.

Ms Boyett-Compo describes Cree as an anti-hero, however despite his extremely unlikeable personality at the start of the novel I found that as Cree stops fighting his human side and accepts what he is he is in some ways a lot more likeable that some other heroes.  There is a loyalty in him even from the start, even if this is towards his crew rather than towards humans such as Bridget.

Bridget meanwhile is a woman who would sacrifice just about anything for the resistance.  However she finds herself being constantly manipulated by others, both the resistance and Cree himself.  Her more difficult challenge however is not winning the war against the Empire but battling through her growing feelings for Cree.

With strong characters and a highly original and complex plot this novel is well worth reading.
 

RATING : 
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available from Dark Star Publications

Read an Interview with Charlotte Boyett-Compo

Also by Charlotte Boyett-Compo:  The Wind Legend's Saga, The WindDemon Trilogy, The WindTales Trilogy, Blackwind,  Prince of the Wind, Nightwind and In the Wind's Eye.

For a complete list of all the books including formats and release dates visit Charlotte Boyett-Compo's website