Beautiful Salvation

Blood Prince #5

by Jennifer Blackstream

Librarian's note: Alternate cover edition of ASIN B00NU3LWEC.

A princess with darkness inside her...

Aiyana’s dreams are filled with blood and death, her waking hours plagued by phantom cries for blood that seem to come from the earth itself. Fearing that she’s becoming a danger to her people, Aiyana determines to risk a bargain with a fairy to get rid of the frightening power inside her. If she can find the fairy. If she can get past the god she meets in the woods. If there wasn’t something about him that felt so...familiar.

A god reduced...

Saamal is a deity who has gone from being all-powerful to being forced to watch his land die. His only chance to save his kingdom is a marriage bond with the princess prophesied to return him to glory. The only obstacle? The princess has been cursed—trapped in a death-like state. When he is given a way to communicate with her, he has hope for the first time in decades. Unfortunately, the princess is horrified by his very nature and the future she envisions if she believes what he claims. The once all-powerful god must now do something he’s never had to do before...ask.

A marriage and a war...

When your real world is the Dream World, it’s difficult to know who’s telling the truth and who’s lying. A princess under a curse. A god stripped of half his power. The longer the land goes without the power it needs, the more it will take to awaken the kingdom’s...Beautiful Salvation.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Fairy Tales, Paranormal, Demons, Vampires

245 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

Jennifer Blackstream is a USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. She is amazed and grateful to have made a writing career out of a Master’s degree in Psychology, hours of couch-detecting watching Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, and endless research into mythology and fairy tales. She firmly believes that whether it’s a village witch deciding she wants to be a private investigator, or a single mother having a go at being a full time writer, it’s never too late for a new adventure.

A fervent devotee of cooperative board games, Jennifer sets aside at least two nights a week for team-based adventures such as Mice & Mystics, Sentinels of the Multiverse, or Harry Potter: Battle at Hogwarts. She uses games with dice-based mechanics to lure in her ridiculously lucky-rolling son and daughter in the hope that they too will develop a passion for cooperative escapism.

Jennifer currently has three series going:

BLOOD PRINCE SERIES (PARANORMAL ROMANCE, COMPLETE):

Book 1 – Before Midnight

Book 2 – One Bite

Book 3 – Golden Stair

Book 4 – Divine Scales

Book 5 – Beautiful Salvation

Bonus Adventures in the Blood Prince World:

Book 2.5 – What Big Teeth You Have (free when you sign up for mailing list mentioned below)

Book 4.5 – The Pirate’s Witch

Book 5.5 – Dead to Begin With (available only between Thanksgiving and whenever Jennifer takes her Christmas tree down)

BLOOD REALM SERIES (PARANORMAL ROMANCE, IN PROGRESS SPIN-OFF OF BLOOD PRINCE SERIES):

Book 1 – All for a Rose

Book 2 – Blue Voodoo

Book 3 – The Archer

Book 4 – Bear With Me

Book 5 – Stolen Wish



BLOOD TRAILS SERIES (URBAN FANTASY, ONGOING)

Book 1 – Deadline

Book 2 – Monster

Book 3 – Taken

Book 4 – Corruption

Book 5 – Mercenary

Book 6 – Caged

Book 7 – Betrayal

Reviews

[Douglas Meeks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read everyone of these books and as with any series some were better than others but they all had great stories and complex characters. Throw in plots that never seemed to go exactly where you thought they were going makes for one of the best short series I have read, the fact that the author was able to make each book a retelling of a beloved fairy tale (the word retelling does NOT mean it goes the same way as the fairy tale I can promise).

This last book not only tells the story of the last prince and his promised mate but also puts all the pieces of the overarching plot together for an exceptional ending that moves this series as a whole into my All Time Top 10 for entertainment.

I STRONGLY recommend this series and equally strongly recommend that you read them in order or you will lose the continuity and the overarching storyline. 5 Stars for this book and the series as a whole, loved it and can't wait to see the promised spin-off series.

[Lorrie (Clockworkbookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Paraphrodite · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.

The final prince story is a re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty. It has quite an epic final battle scene and with all five "princes" now married off and the emergence of a new world, it's interesting that there are additional books to the series. I can't rightly say that there are memorable secondary characters that I'm hankering for their book.

As for this book, Sammal is an ancient death "god" so he's done some pretty nasty things and made a lot of enemies. I liked that the other princes come to his aid, especially the vampire prince Kirill, who he seem to have a particularly acrimonious relationship. It's also nice to see all the heroines coming together to save the day. All in all, a solid ending to the story arc.

[BigComfyChairBookReviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good ending to this fantastic series. This one had a more unique “world” than the other 4 that required a little more explanation than the others. I found it really interesting. My biggest complaint was how little time the H&h had to get to know each other. They have like 3 hours together. That whole time Samaal is pressuring Aiyana to trust him when her whole life she has been warned against him. Blackstream typically moves her romances quickly but this one is really pushing it. I however found it intriguing, and a worthwhile read. I have read the entire Blood Prince series, twice, and will read them again in the future. They can all be read as standalones if you skip the prologues and epilogues, which I honestly skim through anyways. I really couldn’t care less about the whole “World Tree” plot. WARNING: there is sex in this book, it is not erotica, but enough to be a steamy & hot adult romance. Blackstream usually sticks to just 1 scene towards the end of each book. Please do not read if you are looking for something PG. Romance-4/5 Steaminess-2/5 Explicitness-3/5

[T.M. Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing ending

Just wow! A very powerful ending to the series but i hope she writes more!! Like seriously after reading about the five princes I'm invested into this new kingdom!!

[Coral · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot: 5/5
Characterisation: 5/5
Prose: 3/5
How much I enjoyed it: 5/5
Epic ending.

[✨✨ Claire✨✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ive chosen to do a series revie on this last book rather than a book by book review.

this series is...seriously cute! Dont get me wrong, we have the hunks and girls and the mates and the trials and tribulations that goes along with this, but i love the way this is written.

Initially we are told it from a tree's point of view...but not any old tree - the "World Tree". Only occurs every hundred or so years and only at the point where 5 kingdoms meet and only on certain nights. There is a being living in the tree. She has a plan but its not revealed until the very last chapter in the last book. You have an inkling but not total idea.

So. The 5 kingdoms all have princes who dont have mates. She needs them to have mates for this plan of hers to work.
We begin with Prince Etienne. A werewolf. This has a really sweet cinderella story to go with it.
Next is Prince Kirill. A Vampire. This one is kinda entwined with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Not as obvious as Prince Etienne, and Kirill is not....hmm..not as easy to be wooed i guess as Etienne was. With Kirill, everything is about knowledge, he needs to know as much as possible, find scrolls hidden for years etc, so his social skills are sorely lacking....which is where Irina is able to help...in more ways than one.
Next is Adonis, an incubus. The fairytale - rapunzel with a really paranormal twist. His situation is more complex than a usual incubus and even though he recognises the start of feelings for Ivy,he fears he cannot follow them.

all the while - these prince, who at the very first meeting were all on the defensive with each other, wary and untrusting...you can see walls slowly coming down. Olive branches beginning to be made.

The penultimate tale belongs to Prince Patricio. An angel with a curse - given a sword at a young age to give 'justice' to the worst sinners...to take the sins so they go to the grave with a clean soul. But its been hundreds of years.....hundreds of souls.....and the curse is slowly killing Patricio inside. And *****SPOILER ALERT***








Hes not actually the real prince. He gave his 'justice' to the real one and the king (again, part of the curse does this) was so thankful he made him the prince in his place.
This was one of the harder 'tasks' for the being in the tree, who we now know is called Eurydice. The fairytale - The Little Mermaid.
Marcela is the daughter of Triton, and while Patricio's ship is in trouble her, and her siblings go to rescue them.....but her brother is full of sin and wicked deeds. She sees Patricio kill him....and feels....grateful.
She rescues Patricio and sure enough she gets the second part of the curse - thankful and grateful.
It is hard for Patricio to open up. When marcela does what she does, she undoes hat the curse Patricio held over her. Now shes lost, afraid, alone and cannot believe whats shes done and doesnt like what she sees when she sees this prince......
Eurydice leaves the hardest till last. Prince Saamal is not just a prince but an actual God. The fairytale is Sleeping Beauty. This one is hard as it tests not only the trust that the 5 princes have tentatively gathered, but he has to convince a princess that has never met him, only heard bad things in this alternate reality about the "dark God". He has his work cut out for him while he tries to convince her to wake up, to love him. To trust the 4 other princes while his kingdom is becoming more and more unstable and threatening to literally open up and eat the inhabitants.

I really did love this series....i thought it was really nicely done. The intertwined fairytales were sweet - they didnt overtake the story, but it left a smile on your face. It showed that even the unlikeliest of people can become allies...friends even. Theres hope. Theres a new tomorrow.

Rather than leaving you with reels of too many sex scenes or swearing, it leaves you smiling after every book and at the end- it is literally.....

Happily Ever After

(if only that was true in real life!!!!!)

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was definitely the most twisted of the fairy tales and the most confusing in following what was happening in the story. I liked the author's creative spin on making "Sleeping Beauty" her own, but it was difficult to understand exactly what was going on. A lot of the time I found myself saying "I don't get it." Early on, I just stopped questioning or trying to figure things out and went with it, moving on to the next scene. This contributed to me not enjoying the book as much as I probably should have.

As for the characters themselves, I didn't care for Saamal or Aiyana. I couldn't click with them and found it easier to just focus on finishing the story. They weren't bad people and I'll admit that I couldn't separate my own personal beliefs from reading this fictional book. I didn't agree with Saamal's way of living and ruling in the kingdom and although his example with animals in defending his pact was completely accurate and a great point, I still can't bring myself to support his actions. It's not right and meaningless to ask people to sacrifice themselves when they haven't led a full life. What was the whole point of being born if their life is meant to be short and their last memory of life was having their heart torn out of their chest? They didn't ask to be born to serve the land, they didn't ask to sacrifice themselves for a pact made by the king where his life and his family's lives are automatically protected, they didn't ask for the creation of the land that they owe a debt to. None of the other kingdoms have such barbaric customs because the land was already provided for them as a gift from the gods. It was a gift, no strings attached, meant for the people inhabiting it. The same people that the gods or whatever higher being created them for, so they could bring about life, to create a new race, a new world. The creators made the choice to create humans, different races, and a physical land of their own to live in. The new races didn't demand it, the creators willed it as an offering, not a loan to be paid back in blood. Aiyana's new solution was better than what they were doing but it still shouldn't be expected from the people. They didn't ask for it, any of it. They were simply born and that's not a crime or something that you should feel indebted to in giving up blood or your life for land that was always meant to be there anyway.

I can honestly say the only enjoyable part of this book for me was the ending. Seeing them come together and fight on the same side was a nice reward and demonstrated how far they've come from their first time at the World Tree where they all bickered amongst each other. Seeing the women make a surprise appearance during the fight was a bonus, even though it was very short. Their final meeting at the tree with Eurydice was such a great moment to witness. It was beautiful and sad to hear what had happened but I'm glad that Eurydice was given a second chance and succeeded in her mission. She was brave and worked her butt off to get her own happiness as well as the princes who needed guidance in finding the women meant to bring out the best in them. I didn't have much success with this series but I will be reading the spinoff series and hope that it will appeal more to me. I liked some parts in these books so it's not a total loss but I'm not planning on reading them again.

[Angi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a finale! It was so packed full of so much! This was the most creative version of sleeping beauty. It was so good!

These books are so creative and packed full of drama, action, different relationships, love, lightness, darkness, just so many ingredients to make something spectacular. They deal with several aspects of fantasy: vampires, werewolves, demons, angels, mermaids, shifters, gods, magic. So much fun! I'm not ready to be done with all of them!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sleeping Beauty Gets The Blackstream Treatment in This Gripping Finale

I am already a fan of Ms Blackstream's writing style; I love the way mixes mythology and beloved fairytales and gives them a new perspective.

I downloaded the narration of this book too. Once again Matt Addis' performance was amazing! The pace he read transported me into the scenes and his tonal variations brought each character to life. He is a talented voice actor and I would happily buy books narrated by him in the future.

I loved the moral question of perspective that this story highlighted; what is good and right to one may seem evil and intrinsically wrong to another. Both our main characters had to reassess their views in this tale.

The background story arc that played out in the prologues and epilogues throughout this series has been completed in this book, however, there are a couple of bonus stories that are part of the Blood Prince series which I can't wait to read too - The Pirate's Witch (#6) and Dead To Begin With (#7)

[Sandra Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like this one

I just did not like this book. It was too dark and evil, and all talk of human sacrifice and blood was just disgusting. I get that the author based Saamal and his story on the gods and beliefs if the ancient native americans, which is why it includes human sacrifice -- but I just can't accept that anyone would willingly worship a god that had ever expected human sacrifices. And I certainly cannot believe that any woman would fall in love with him. I also understood that he had changed, and wasn't as bloodthirsty as he had been -- but he never agreed that human sacrifices were wrong at all. That alone was enough for me to despise him, even without all the other bad things he had done.

I did like the epilogue, as it gave the ending to Eurydice's story, and that was nice.

[Ilona Nurmela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aztecs meet Moana

I quite enjoed the ending of this book and the 5-book series even if the Aztec world and gore was for most part not my cup of tea. This was an interesting retelling of Sleeping Beauty / Briar Rose. Those who love the battle scenes in LOTR will love the epic battle in the end - especially loved the surprise twists (yes, multiple) and the reason for Kirill’s departure straight after the battle made me chuckle. I loved how the author gradually built the princes’ friendships and the transition from hate to love between Saamal and Aiyana. Recommend for lovers of more philosophical versions of fairytales and Sleeping Beauty in particular.

[Shannon Eichorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books about gods are a tough sell for me. There are too many ways to get wrapped up in all the worst parts of religion, but Jennifer had done such a great job with the rest of the Blood Prince series, and the frame story in all the previous books had introduced the MC and made him kind of sympathetic. He came into his own in this book, and if Jennifer ever wrote a new novel with these characters, I wouldn't think twice before reading it. The mechanics of this world and the way they direct the plot are interesting. The characters are strong and sympathetic, and I enjoyed this book.

[Tinisha Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!! Every page was just perfect! What a flawless ending to such a humor-filled, jaw-dropping, heart-clenching series. Jennifer, you are bloody brilliant! Seriously, I want to stand in front of Barnes&Noble and pour my heart out to every human that passes and beg them to pick up this book, yes, it was THAT good!

[Shanika · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a wonderful book! The battle was epic! I loved the fact that all my favourite characters from the previous books were included in this one! I loved how it played out and everything worked out in the end. This book has a great ending! I loved it! This is a retelling of sleeping beauty just with the prince being a God!

[Laurie Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series

It is awesome how the author wove these twisted fairy tales into a cohesive series. I love finding the similarities and seeing where they are different. This one was particularly touching given how much Samaal had changed in the hundred years and how Aiyanna was taught to fear what he used to do. The ending of how it all came together was done beautifully.

[Barbara "Cookie" Serfaty Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful Salvation (Blood Prince Series Book 5)

The love story of Saamal and Aiyana (Sleeping Beauty). When Aiyana was a baby Saamal claim her as his bride but his lover, Chumsna places a curse on her. You known the story but being a paranormal story a little twist, someone is stopping her waking? Will a god be able to win? Great story.

[Tina Bartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It was longer and more detailed than the previous books in the series. The plot was well developed and the threads from the previous books were skillfully interwoven into a fascinating whole that, although fantastical, made sense in context. 3.5 stars.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story started as a sleeper for me. I even started to believe it'd be a rather anti-climatic ending to the saga. But I was thankfully proven wrong. The best part of the story is in the last 20% or so, so it's worth the read.

Great series all in all.

[Karen Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book that kept me up reading past my bedtime

I am really enjoying these books by Jennifer Blackstream, unfortunately I won't be able to get anymore if I don't get enough sleep to keep my job.

[Pat Wittman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

So enjoyed this series. Loved all the characters and plot twists. The prince' are so much fun to watch as they work together.

[Tashi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful sort of ending to the series!! Very happy right now :)

[Elizabeth Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice series

Good twists on fairy tales. Very enjoyable! I picked these up on a whim and I was definitely happy I did.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and heartwarming

A series based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. A happy ending to a tragic love story. One that creates a new world and a new way to start over again.

[Maggie Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

so clever

What a fabulous series. I loved the writing style, and so many different characters. I’m now going to read the rest of this author’s books. Highly recommend.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of my favorites of the five books. Other than there being a beautiful girl sleeping, the whole Sleeping Beauty story is almost unrecognizable. But I worked my way through it and in the end it made sense.

Even though there are a King & Queen and castles, this ‘Sleeping Beauty’ version has a Aztec/Mayan world atmosphere, with blood sacrifices to feed the land. The explanation of how the land was ‘created’ is very hokey and I’m surprised any of them believed it at all. But other than that it’s interesting.

The final battle in here wraps the whole series together. The last chapter reminds me of how in a play the whole cast joins in for the grand final scene, reminding us of all the characters and their roles. In the Epilogue we find out why Eurydice brought the five princes together. It’s rather touching.
Though her main goal was to save her own personal relationship, she was also able to rescue each prince individually and teach them how to work as team. Thereby making all five better rulers and people.

Quick Thoughts: 1)I’ve been thinking about the main fairy tale princesses we’ve grown up with and how I feel about them. Red Riding Hood is a wimp, Sleeping beauty is boring (sleeping all the time), red riding hood, though not a princess, is just weird. As for the newbies, Mulon, the frog princess, Rapunzel their basically half-sisters. Of all, both classic and newbies, I like Cinderella, Snow White and Pocahontas. Those girls have spunk. They take their future into their own hands, not relying on someone else to push them forward. I guess Cinderella does, but she had to accept the fairy’s offer and step out to the prince.

Fave scenes: Saamal meeting the ‘in-laws’, the five princes preparing for battle, Aiyana’s sacrifice and trying to get Patricio onto Adonis, the demon dragons’ back.

[Amanda (The Literary Hoarders) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay this was a good book we finally got some action in a battle and some blood due to the nature of this world. So this the last story and belongs to the only who's story has yet to be told, Saamal. His story is different from the others since he has his mate but since this is a Sleeping Beauty retelling, she is asleep but it's still a challenge since they have never met so no the story really begins. Aiyana is living in a dream world without knowing she, or any of the inhabitants of that world, is. Due to a jealous ex of Saamal's, she has some of his power in her to counteract a curse placed upon her by said ex so this is why she is asleep. Now, I like Aiyana she has this fierceness in her and loves her kingdom but a part of me wonders if she's a teen lol since she fell asleep once she was of marriage age and yeah technically she over 100 years old since that's how long she's been asleep BUT she should still look like a young girl right?? Anyways this was a good story so much darker and intense than the others.

[Moira · Rating 4 out of 5]

27.1.2015 - 4,5*
Prostě... páni. Kdyby autorka napsala všechny předchozí díly tak dobře a propracovaně a s tak velkou dávkou fantazie jako tento, mohla to být celkově zatraceně dobrá série, jedna, kterou bych řadila mezi ty kvalitnější a originálnější.
Jak jsem psala, příběh byl plný fantazie, skvěle zpracovaných nápadů, tradic a zvyků... Nestává se často, aby poslední díl předčil všechny předchozí, ale tady to tak bylo. Série, která začala jako zaláskovanost a vygradovala do epického závěru.
Jistě, byly tam naivní místa, nebylo to dílo století, ale byla to nádherná pohádka, jejíž čtení jsem si neuvěřitelně užila.
Poslední princ a jeho princezna - smekám, jak dokázala Blackstream námět Šípkové Růženky rozvést.
Humor. Často jsem se smála, doslova culila jako idiot. Zuřila.
Jistě, nikdy se v příběhu nestalo nic doopravdy zlého a vždy vše vycházelo a běželo hladce, ale byla to pohádka. A s tímto posledním dílem ji beru za jednu z mých nejoblíbenějších sérií. .))

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend to read the first four books of this series first so you can understand the background story - even though the main story can be read as a stand alone. This last book in the Blood Princes series was darker and crueler than the others (in my opinion). It made a fitting end, dragged me down into the story and never let me out until the very end. Sleeping beauty in a way I never would have thought about but so very fitting, so very compelling. The hero is a god but still he has flaws and weaknesses and bears his cross quite admirably. And his lady love, oh wow. As always Jennifer Blackstream gives us a strong woman who finds her way and deserves the love she finally gets absolutely.

I'd be very sad if I wouldn't know that there will be a spin-off and I will be able to read more about the Blood Princes and about that wonderful fairy tale world the author created. Can't wait to see which fairy tales she will be spinning in the future!

[Jamie Gogocha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite fairy tales, so I was pretty excited to read this. The basic structure of the story was similar to the other books in the series. However, this one had better character development early on. That was something I felt was lacking in the two previous books. Beautiful Salvation wasn't as fast of a read for me because the story is pretty heavy on the lore, so I had to do some rereading to make sure I knew what was going on. This was a great and unique spin on the story.

Some possible spoilers ahead--




One of my favorite things about this book was the way all of the princes were involved to some degree. I loved seeing the relationships among them develop over the course of the series, and I think Jennifer Blackstream made an excellent choice to have everyone involved. I also enjoyed seeing how the whole series was tied together in the epilogue.