Blood Flows Deep in the Empire

This erotic fantasy begins with a prologue set 11,000 years before the rest of the book. A group of gods whose job had been to protect has turned against the universe and is causing calamity everywhere. Dyletri, God of Fertility, views it all from a distance and is enraged. He vows to make them pay someday. He also begs for the life of the one human woman he has come to love. He makes a bargain with the Fates that in 11,000 years, she will be brought back, at the expense of another life. Ismini is meant to be that sacrifice, but he has watched over her since her birth. What will happen when the inevitable time comes? Can he watch her be sacrificed to his long-ago bargain, especially when he feels a pull to her, a desire for her like nothing either of them has ever known?

I was sucked into this world and adventure from the very beginning. Finding myself completely wrapped up in what was happening to them, greedily racing through it to discover the outcomes, longing for what I wanted to happen. The author created strong vibrant characters, people you care about and want to see triumph over all that comes against them, from outside and from within their own hearts and souls. A masterpiece.

Here is a small guest post from the author.

-What would you tell a new author (or whatever you want to talk about)

It’s not as easy as you think! Honestly, if you really want this career, buckle-up and prepare yourself. It’s sad how many amazing, talented authors I see freak-out and give up because they realize going in that it’s not just writing a book and that’s it. There’s a whole pile of other things that go into being an author and you gotta have resiliency to stick to it.

Breaking Point, Order of the Elements
By Jess Bowen

This was one of those books I bought for my kindle on a whim. I don’t remember when or why, but I like fantasy, and the description sounded interesting. I was browsing my kindle the other day and decided to give this one a try. That simple, spur of the moment decision led me on a journey of wonder and fun, taking me on a truly delightful adventure. I love fantasy anyway, and this book had a perfect blend of fantasy and mythic elements with fresh new ideas and twists.
The book is about six young people, about age nineteen, who are brought together, two of them from our world and time, destined to save another world and time from an evil overlord. Classic fantasy theme. But these six characters and the world they need to save are different. The characters are strong with more complicated personalities, the good in them counter balanced by their own human flaws. They are brave, impulsive, and prone to act without thinking, struggle with things like anger, while still working hard to learn all they need to know and ready to sacrifice themselves to save their world. They have individual talents and powers, and together they have something very special.
There is romance, but it’s not overpowering the story, because the story is about them all and about their quest. There was no sexual content, but it didn’t need to be there for this story to feel complete and satisfying.
The book ended with the cliff-hanger to end all cliff-hangers, and all I could do was sit stunned and cry out, “No wait! I need more. I need to know what is going to happen next!”
The only disappointing thing about this book is that the sequel isn’t out yet as far as I can tell, and I want it.
I finished this book last night, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking of it ever since. I applaud this author for giving us a book that left such an impression on me, so that all I want to do is go back and read it again. I’m already recommending it to everyone I know who loves fantasy of this sort. Well done, Jess Bowen! Thank you.