In the world of Pure Ones, where sexual intercourse with anyone other than one’s Eternal Mate leads to a slow, painful death within thirty days, love comes with the warning label “fall at your own peril.” Rain, the Healer of this immortal race, is the only exception to the rule. In order to harness and accumulate enough energy to heal severe wounds, she must take a Consort once every ten years … and draw strength from his blood and body through sexual exchange. As the war with vampire hordes wears on, few Pure-males who are strong enough to serve as her Consort remain.Valerius is one of the few. As the Protector of the race, he is by far the strongest candidate Rain could hope for. Despite their instant attraction ten years ago when they first met, Valerius has staunchly avoided applying to be the Healer’s Consort. The brutality and violence he suffered as a Roman sex slave in his human life ate away at his soul, leaving a raw, gaping wound of anguish and self-doubt, which two thousand years of stoic, solitary existence has not been able to heal.As the decadal rite draws near, as threats from their nemesis intensify, and as Rain’s strength drains with every healing act, Valerius beats back his inner demons and gives himself to the Healer unconditionally. Rain chooses Valerius despite her fear that her desire and need for him would lead her to repeat the mistakes of the past with her first Consort. To avoid that tragedy, Rain stipulates from the beginning that Valerius cannot fall in love with her, for she cannot love him in return. Even though the consequence is death, this is the one promise Valerius cannot keep. As Rain and Valerius battle their personal pain and fears, they must decide whether they let their histories and duties dictate their destiny or whether they risk all for a chance at everlasting love.
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Out of all the books I have read this one is the most intense one, there were times I thought to stop reading as I was not sure where this was heading, yet wanting to know how it would end, as some of the characters had grown on me. And truthfully I can say am not sorry, best reading I have done in a long time.
The Pure Ones, are ones where sexual intercourse with anyone other than one’s Eternal Mate leads to a slow, painful death within thirty days, love comes with the warning label “fall at your own peril.” I don’t think we could survive this, to know that loving someone and it was not returned and that after having sex one would wither and die.
Rain is the healer of the Immortal Race, and she is the only one that does not fall under that rule, every 10 years she can take a consort and he will restore her.
With their battles with a horde of Vampires thins them out. Valerius is the Protector and the strongest candidate that Rain could hope for. One thing that he had been avoiding. The things he has gone through and suffered as a Roman Sex Slave make feel unworthy of her.
As Rain and Valerius battle their own pain and fears they must decide if their duties or their wants and desires are more important.
The story was very interesting and spanning over 2000 years possibly even more , the characters were deep caring and loving.
Will Rain and Valerius find eternal love, read the book to find out.
I feel like i am scarred for life right now and i am never gonna be the same!This book opened up a whole another world to me than i am used to in this genre,and with Aja James compelling way of writing it made for an amazing keeper that i will never forget.I love vampires-and their dark natures but in this book we get presented to another supernatural creatures called Pure Ones who were given another chance at life by a Goddess and have pure souls and gifts to help them defend the balance of the Universe.They have a sacred law that a Pure One can never have sex unless its with their soulmate,or else they die within a month.I gotta admit that i like that rule and expect many celibate heroes from here on,lol.
Many characters are introduced and we get many POV from almost all of them,but the central characters are the warrior Valerius Ambrosius who becomes the consort of Rain who is a Healer.The Healer is the only exception to the rule for a month every ten years and have to choose a temporary consort to take Nourishment from him-which includes blood and lots of sex.I found this world facinating and dark in a alluring kind of way.I had to google some of the chinese food and names mentioned because i was so curious about it all,even the old ancient chinese tales that Rain mentioned.
Healer of the Race,Rain to me was a goddess of her own.She was a stunning lady with so much wit,compassion,grace and light.Sure of her gift and sexuality-i loved how confident she was and never had any bullshit about her.It is obvious how drawn she was to Valerious when they first met in China ten years before.I loved how she wanted to get to know him and tried to destroy the walls around him.When she found out the source of his demons she didn`t turn away from him-but choose to love the tormented soul he was.Valerius Marcus Ambrosius was a hero unlike any other i have met before.My soul called out to his at his first appearance and i never became the same again.He was so raw and tortured and had so much agony and pain inside him that it hurt me when he hurt.I really felt it when he wanted to crawl out of his skin!His past as a human living during the Roman Empire made me want to hurl the book across from the room and just weep with the unfairness of it all.It just hurt so much inside me for what he went through.No wonder he couldn`t stand it when anyone touched him,and NO WONDER he rejected the offer of being Rain`s consort.I realize that Valerious recognised his eternal mate in Rain,but he had been so much haunted by his past that he was afraid of what it would bring back for him.Watching him love Rain did something to me.How he gave everything he have,but still longing for Rain`s love thinking it was unrequited.He was so incredibly sexy in his own way in that while he was a badass merciless killer in battle-in front of Rain he oozed vulnerability and self-doubt thinking himself unworthy of her.Oh dear my…i love Valerious with my whole heart.!
Rain and Valerious are soulmates with a bond so intense that my eyes hurt in their every moment together.There was so much angst,passion,torment,longing and love between them.They are ONE together,and i honestly thought them so attuned with each other that i sighed with the pleasure of it.Its one of the most fascinating ascpects in romantic relationships to me!(Dreamy sigh).There are many more intriguing characters in the series i want to get to know:Seth and Jade have tons of chemistry in just THAT ONE scene and i am craving more,Sophia as a teenage Queen are fun and adorable but her crush in Ere are irritating me despite Dalair being her true soulmate.There are more to their story and i am desperetaly wanting more of that!Cloud and Aella have sparks and i can`t wait to read their book in “Pure Surrender”.This is my first book by Aja James and she really impressed me with this dark,vivid,sensual world of the Pure Ones.
(My review can also be found in Goodreads)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2581728604
As we reach the end of this fabulous,fantastic,mindblowing series,it is a good time to go back to the beginning. To a new,rebooted,Pure Healing. A beginning that introduces the beautiful people i love so much. One that some found difficult to read. Because so much happens in it,it could be a bit….overwhelming. Not for me,i loved it from the start as you can see in my original review. But i understand why Aja decided to give it a sort of makeover. And the result is more than worth it,trust me! It is different,but still the same,if that makes sense. More detail in some areas,and a little less in others. And by more detail,i mean MORE DETAIL! I already loved Val and Rain as a couple,but with the added heat? HOTDAMN! Valerius’ past is still as painful,the abuse he suffered still as heartbreaking. But Rain ís his cure,for all eternity.
And seeing the other members of this beautiful family again,knowing what i know now? The road they still have to follow? The growing up? Those little hints that are still dropped throughout? The overall storyline is still the same,but the reboot has an extra sparkle. One that makes it shine more than it already did…..