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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This book reminds me very strongly of the Immortal Guardians series by Dianne Duvall and also the Midnight Breed series by Lara Adrian. But more the Immortal Guardians one. If you liked that, you’ll love this.
Similar to the Immortal Guardians, in this series, there are humans and others. The bad others are vampires or Dark Ones. The good others are Pure Ones. I haven’t quite worked out how the others are different from humans. It seems to be some kind of reincarnation after death. The Pure Ones are not allowed to have sex except with their mate. No mate, no sex.
This book is primarily about the romance between Rain and Valerius. Rain is the Pure One’s healer. Valerius is one of the elite protectors of the Pure Ones.
The role of the healer is an interesting one. She appears to use her life force to heal, and so every ten years she needs to recharge her life force. She does this by taking a consort for three months, and by drinking his blood and his…well, you know… she recharges enough for the next ten years. The stronger the consort, the stronger the healer becomes. And Valerius is the strongest of the Pure Ones.
Valerius is very old. His father was a Roman gladiator. After his father was killed, Valerius was sold as a sex slave. This period of his life has left him unable to offer himself up to be Rain’s consort. And yet, with Rain refusing to take the same consort more than once (there’s a story behind that), she’s down to weak men who will be unable to recharge her sufficiently to sustain her for the next ten years.
This book skips a little bit between various Pure Ones, and one Dark One, in order to set up various threads that will weave through the story arc. I found it a little disorientating right at the start, because we start with the Pure One’s queen, and not either of the two main characters, but otherwise it was fine.
I gave the book four stars, and I was definitely keen to read more. I was a little baffled though to realise that the next three books are all ‘dark’, and it’s only the fifth book in the series that goes back to the Pure Ones. That seems weird to me. Like maybe alternating would have been okay, but three dark ones in a row? I guess I’ll have to read one and find out. But this book hasn’t set me up to be a big fan of the Dark Ones, so…
But yeah, if you liked Immortal Guardians or the Midnight Breed series, definitely give this one a go.
Val was a victim of horrible child abuse and my heart actually hurt while reading that part, however that being said it’s also what made him become the protector of the young, old, the innocent and family. The Protector!
Rain is the Healer and very important to all the immortals. Every ten years she has to recharge and heal her body from healing theirs by having crazy hot sex and blood from one of the strongest and let me add sexy as hell warriors! Ok after 10 years of being in lust with Rain but actually acting the opposite toward her, it’s time for Val to step up for his turn. Val and Rain are drawn together from the start but it takes time for her to realize he has problems being touched, it actually brings him pain. Rain then has to actually heal him.
I loved all the charters in this book, and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens to each of them. It was very well written with a mixture of violence, action, suspense, drama, and sweet sexy sizzling hot romance that was at times heart wrenching but awesome! Pure Healing was definitely a great start to an awesome series! Aja James is an amazing author! I love her books!
Sexy paranormal romance, ideal for fans of this genre, this was about a tormented hero and a brave heroin, they both needed each other to heal, but their love is forbidden…
She’s a healer and she can’t be with the same male for a long period of time, he’s a warrior with a terrible past.
Do yourself a favor and read this book!!!
Brilliant… Beautiful… and WOW!! With Pure Healing, Aja James has officially earned a spot on my must-read list!
This book, or rather this series, is about exquisite fallen angels and their battle to defend and protect humankind. I loved it!!
The World-Building: while their base was in Boston, the Pure Ones got around. In existence for millenia, they’ve lived together, fought together, and loved together. I enjoyed the mythos that served as the history to this wonderful group of characters. From ancient Rome to ancient China to Amazons and humans… it was impossible not to become engrossed in the texture the author created with her imaginative embellishments.
The Characters: Rain and Valerius were the main characters, but everyone got a piece of the shine and I’m intrigued by them all. I wish some of them didn’t have to die so I could get to know them better and see them get their very own happy endings. Anyhoo, what developed between Rain and Valerius was surreal. It was sensual and captivating and an ethereal feel to it. I got so much of them and still craved more.
The Plot: it was obvious to me that there are many moving parts to this story and while I’m unsure how the author keeps track of it all, it was never confusing. For every question answered, every secret revealed, more clues are left behind hinting at something more to come. So I may not know everything yet, but I’ll be having a blast trying to learn it all!
“Hear me well, my heart. I love you. I have ever, ever shall, love only you.”
To the moon and back I loved Aja James’ introduction to her Pure/Dark Ones series! If you are a vamp lovin’ reader, then I highly recommend you sink your teeth into this one!
This got to me from the start!
The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance:
Heat/Steam:
Story/Plot:
World building:
Character development:
The setting: Present day, Boston, MA
The Hero(s): Valerius Marcus Ambrosius (a.k.a. The Protector) – Val is one of the Elite guards of the Queen of the Pure Ones. Queen Sophia is human, seventeen years old and goes to Harvard. Val is the strongest and has the most kills of all of the Elite and is the oldest, born around 200 BC, Val’s age dates back to ancient Rome. He was a sex slave while he was human and now can’t stand to be touched, so much so that his weapon of choice is the chained scythe.
The heroine: Rain – she is the Pure Ones royal healer. She gets her healing strength renewed every ten years by taking on a consort for thirty days, who is chosen in a rite. She feeds off the sexual energy and if the consort is strong enough, that holds her through ten years until the next rite. Rain feels slighted that The Protector hasn’t applied to be her consort since he is the strongest male she knows.
The Love Story: Valerius met Rain ten years ago at the time of the last rite. He was instantly attracted to her despite his history and aversion to being touched. Though he would not apply to be her consort for that very reason and the fact that he thinks his past makes him unfit and unclean. Rain also felt something strong when she met Val, and thought of him while with her last consort.
I really liked this book. Valerius had a similar life to Zsadist from BDB, though Val is gorgeous and his scars are only on the inside while Zsadist had scars on both the inside and on the outside. That is really the only comparison with the BDB I am going to make. I loved Zsadist’s story and this one as well. I often hate it when the Hero is so damaged, but I loved Valerius because he was quiet and brooding and like Zsadist, who didn’t like to be touched, it ends up making for a super steamy love story!
I am now going to discuss the origins of the Vampires (Dark Ones) and the Pure Ones so if you believe this to be a spoiler, please don’t read any further… I’ve read a few books in the past about Angels who fall and turn into vampires and it seems very similar in these books, but different enough to be wholly original. Though the Pure Ones do seem extremely angelic and are pure of heart. Plus they become Pure ones after their human death.
The Vampires (Dark Ones) are basically fallen Pure Ones. They “fall” when they fall in love and aren’t loved in return or if they have sex with anyone who is not their true mate which breaks their law. Though I really don’t understand why there is animosity between the two groups. I suppose it will be explained more in the next book.
One thing I didn’t like about the book was Sophie and the exceedingly low opinion she has of herself. I mean it is one thing to know you aren’t as beautiful as some people, but another to have such a low opinion of yourself as to fell you aren’t worthy of attention. She is the Queen of an immortal race and has known that since she was born. I highly doubt someone raised as a queen with all those immortal warriors as guardians would really have such a low opinion of herself. But that is part of the story so we will see where it goes. I see she has a few books down the line devoted to her story so that should be interesting. I did read the blurbs of all the books and now I can’t wait to read all of them and I haven’t yet finished BDB, which I planned on doing before starting this series, I just couldn’t wait any longer to dive into this.
Great start…
Ok, I have read MANY, thousands of romance novels, hundreds of great authors, and I now add Aja James in that list! This story is extremely well written! I am fascinated by the new world and characters Aja has created. Loved this first book in the series and am moving on to the second, Bravo!
Ok, wow, just wow! This book drug me in and put me through an emotional roller coaster ride. This first book in the series was phenomenal and my only regret is that it took me so long to start it (I’ve had this first book in my Kindle for quite a while).
There is so much packed into this book. This is a whole new world for me in paranormal romance but the groundwork has been executed beautifully. The story flows oh so smoothly and just pulls you in and before you realize what happened, you’ve finished the book. The characters I met in this book from this new world are all amazing, and the history of the two main characters, Valerius and Rain, will definitely pull those heartstrings.
In this new world, there is a constant struggle between good and evil and there is a balance that must be maintained. The Pure Ones are immortals and protect mankind from the Dark Ones, vampires. But as this book unfolds, there is introduced a new evil. I know there are many more books in this series and I’ve read the blurbs on them all. I am intrigued to see if my suspicions of whom this new evil turns out to be but I have several books to read in order to determine this. And I’m looking forward to devouring this series in order to find out!
I will give a trigger warning. Roman slave purchased by deviant couple, sexually and physically abused for years by his masters and their guests. If you can get past that warning and read this book, I doubt you will regret it. If you can’t and decide not to read this book, you really are missing out on an awesome series!
So good and great start to the series !!
Rain is the Healer of the Pure Ones race. The Healer takes a Consort “every ten years to draw strength from his blood and body to heal severe wounds.” Valerius is the Protector. He hunts and kills rogue vampires who harm humans. One day Valerius decides to apply to be Rain’s Consort. Rain knows Valerius doesn’t like to be touched. How can they become a mated couple for thirty days with this lack of intimacy between them?
I found this novel to be intriguing. I have read Christine Feehan, J. D. Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Anne Rice. There are some similarities but the story is uniquely its own. We start off with Sophia’s (the Queen of the Pure Ones) voice told in first person. Then we hear from the other characters in third person. The romance of Rain and Valerius is steamy hot. The subplots keep the reader interested in how the plot plays out. The world building is slowly progressing. Perhaps in book two it will be fully developed. I will look forward to reading the next book in the series.
I’ve been seeing a lot of my Goodreads friends reading the Pure/Dark Ones Series by Aja James and I also got it recommended to me a while ago to try the series out. I’m finally making time for them. At least slowly trying to fit the series in between review books and challenge books.
Pure Healing is the first book to the Pure/Dark One series, so a lot was going on in this book. There were several POVs too in this book, which made it enjoyable to read. If you’ve read the Black Dagger Brotherhood series that has a lot of POVs to it, then you would feel right at home with this book. This book and series are different from the BDB books though. At first, the book starts slow and introduces us to Sophia who is the young Queen of the Pure Ones. She’s very young and tended to get on my nerves at times, but she is still young, so she has time to grow on me. Aja then introduces us to Valerius and Rain. Valerius is one of my favorite types of heroes in books, and that is the Tortured Heroes. I felt for him immediately, especially after finding out what happened to him. I had to skim through that portion of his story since it was uncomfortable to read, but it was a must to tell the readers why he suffers in the present day.
The female character Rain is a healer in the story and is destined to have a consort every ten years that keeps her healthy. I didn’t connect well with her at first in the story until her backstory came into play also in the book.
I loved the world-building in this book and where Aja is going in the series. I love the history in the book too. Pretty much all the characters have been alive for some time (except the Queen), and they all have an exciting story to tell on where they came from and how they became a Pure One. Pure Ones are like Vampires since they have the qualities, but there is something different from the horde vampires (evil ones) that have it out for the Pure Ones. I enjoyed the book and looked forward to diving into the second book after I finish some other books. I have it already waiting on my kindle for me.
(On a personal note: I may type up a more extensive review or different one later on, but as of right now this is it while suffering from dizzy/vertigo spells. Hoping to feel better soon, so I can finish up even more reviews. It’s also affecting my reading this week with the dizzy spells. Thanks to a particular medicine that I’m now being weaned off by my doctor since it causes too many side effects and I would rather deal with my migraines again. Hopefully, the next medicine works better than this one.)
Story Rating: 4 stars
Steaminess Rating: 3.5 stars
Standalone or part of series: Part of the Pure/Dark Ones series.
Do I recommend this book? Yes.
Will I read other books from the author? Yes.
Tropes/Elements: Fated Mates; (Forewarning: A backstory of rape is mentioned in this book and details are written to on what happened. It’s tough to read.)
Hero: Tortured; Broken; Warrior
Heroine: Healer; Pure One
5 Eternal Healing Stars
This. BOOK…
Oh… My… God!!
The world building…
Was fantastic. Simply The Best!
The characters (and there are alot of them) …
Very Clever
Would I Recommend this book…
Hell. YEAH!
What did you first think about this author when starting this book?
Had never heard of her.
Did I Absolutely Love the start of this new series??
It’s the Best! One of my favorite new series.
*Trigger Warning ~ Dark content contains flashback scenes detailing rape & abuse
Favorite Quotes…
Oh she knew she was playing with fire, but how delicious was the burn.
“And when a Pure-male falls in love, hell, when any male falls in love, you’re a slave to age-old instincts to win her, protect her, provide for her, Nourish her,” Tristan said with passion. “It has nothing to do with being her Consort, my brother, and everything to do with being her Mate.”
“I see you’ve come to terms with the obvious. Now the question is what you’re going to do about it. In love, there’s no holding back,” Tristan told him with sudden, uncharacteristic insight. “You have to lay yourself bare, everything you are, at her feet and pray that she’ll put you out of your misery and accept you.”
“And if she doesn’t,” Tristan went on, “it has no bearing on what you have to do. You’re hers regardless of her choice. It is your duty, your very purpose for existing, to ensure her strength and vitality. You have what she needs, Val.”
“When Valerius’eyes became shuttered with self-doubt, Tristan laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You have what she needs,”he said again. “And you’re capable of giving her more than she’d ever bargained for because you love her. Whether she wants it or not, it’s your gift to give her. True love requires no reciprocation. True love is unconditional.”
I graciously received a copy of this book from the author. I voluntarily chose to post a review of my Honest Opinion of this book with No Influence or Interference from any company of person.
Pure Healing by Ava James is another fantastic book. I have read Dark Desires first which showed me the potential of this author and now I am hooked, and it seems she is no one hit wonder! This book is just as unique and different as Dark Desires was and had my attention from the very first page. The plot was intricate and turned this book into one of those that is difficult to put down. There were a few nice twists hidden within and a few secrets that the author did not release the answers to yet, so I have to keep reading this series until I find the answer to them, trust me that won’t be a hardship!
In this book the author focuses on Rain, the healer of the race, and Valerius. Valerius is an incredibly strong yet also very weak character, which makes him absolutely adorable! The conflict within him is never ending and he struggles to resolve that. Typical caveman style, he does not want any help with it, nor does he know how he could or would ask for help.
Thankfully Rain is not your average healer and has been around the block once or twice, plus she is rather persistent or some may say stubborn. She is a very strong female lead in this story and I really enjoyed learning about her character
The author packs a lot into her books. There is a lot of plot going on as well as a lot of character development which is a amazing! Plus she sure knows how to pack in the steam, and trust me there is a good amount of that going on as well! All in all I admit I am hooked and will continue reading more of this series. You can’t go wrong with this series since it has it all, plot, uniqueness, romance, steam and interesting characters!
I didn’t know what I was getting into when I was asked to review a book I supposedly should have read in 2012? Well I hadn’t. But I do have a review. In the beginning I actually thought this book was about the Queen of the Pure Ones-Sophia. After all, it started off with her introduction, nevertheless it become clear that this series would tell 1-2 stories adding depth to the character. And frankly Sophia was getting on my nerves so I am happy it shifted to be about the Protector Valerious Marcus Ambrosius (Val) and the healer Rain.
Pure Ones, are basically beings given a second chance at life.. ones that were better then the horrifically crappy lives they had previously lead. But the are not Vampires.
Val has been avoiding Rain for 10 years since they first met. He knows he should volunteer to be her consort to replenish her powers be he finds the she is his Achilles’ heel. After being almost murdered by a cell of evil vampires. Val pledges himself to Rain who has wanted him since she has lain eyes on him. But there is a problem. Valerious has a horrible past that prevents him from touching his beloved. Which is needed to feel Rain and give her back her strength. I felt that the first book held promise and With all the twist and of war and sexual tension I did enjoy this installment 4/5
I’m not going to start out this review like I would normally do by giving a bit of an overview of the story. The synopsis does that well enough. What I will start out by saying is that I loved this book.
Quite a few characters are introduced and have their own bits of story that need to be told so that it can lead up to the bigger picture. But what I loved most was the story of Rain and Valerius. He had a brutal past that left him unable to endure being touched. A mere touch causes him extreme physical pain. It’s really quite heartbreaking to learn of exactly what happened to him at such a young age and how, despite a connection that he feels towards Rain from the moment he sees her, he not only doesn’t feel he is worthy enough to be her Consort, he doesn’t believe that he can give her what she need to survive. Rain didn’t have an easy human life either. I found myself crying a number of times while reading this book.You just can’t help feeling for Valerius. His past, his current struggles, his self-doubt. For me, it was rather heart-wrenching to read.
Then there is the part of the story that involves Sophia, the Pure Ones’ Queen. She almost seems like your typical teenager. She goes to school, thinks about boys a lot, but Sophia isn’t typical. She’s guarded at all times, and she’s training in combat for a war that is coming between Pure Ones and vampires. At school Sophia meets Ere, a teaching assistant to one of her professors. He’s interested in Sophia, and she’s smitten with him, but there seems to be a mystery surrounding him.
And, of course, there is the possible war with vampires that I mentioned! The vampires seem to be trying to destroy all of the Pure Ones, even if it means turning Pure Ones into vampire assassins to do it.
I just found Pure Healing to be so interesting and intense that once I got into it I didn’t want to put it down. I definitely recommend it to those who love paranormal romances. I’m assuming that this is just book one in a series because not all aspects of the story were resolved by the end. There are still secrets to be revealed, mysteries to be solved. I honestly can’t wait for more.
**Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.**
I really love the new twist that the author Aja James has did with the vampires in the world of the Pure Ones. The vampires are made or created. Vampires are Pure Ones who have fallen. A fallen one is someone who has chosen to be turned or changed instead of dying.
Pure Ones can only have sex with their soulmate. If they have sex with anyone else then they will die a slow and painful death and are then given the choice to become a vampire or a dark one you might say or die.
Pure Healing has many different and interesting characters with different POVs but a few of my favorite was their Queen, a young girl still in college, who has a lot of growing up left to do.
Then we have their healer, Rain. Rain is the exception to the rule of not having sex with anyone other than your mate. Rain takes a Consort every ten years to replenish her energy so that she can continue to heal. She loves her job as the healer and has vowed to never take a mate or never to fall in love.
Valerius is the Protector of the Pure Ones. When Valerius was human he was used as a sex slave and the horrors that man went through I don’t see how he managed to go on with his life. All I can say is that he is one tough dude. He didn’t come away from it all unscarred; no he had his share of psychological problems.
A war has broken out between the vampires and the Pure Ones. Pure Ones are turning up dead, changed or disappearing. If they don’t find out soon who his changing, killing or taking their people what is to become of the Pure Ones’ race?
Pure Healing has been a great start to a whole new series. I love the new twist on the vampires and the new race of vampires or the Pure Ones. The world building in Pure Healing has been an epic journey leading us into the next chapter of the Pure Ones. Although I would have liked to have seen more action on the vampires but well maybe in the next book, right? I can’t wait to start the next book in the Pure Ones series, Dark Longing.
Pure Healing would be a great book for anyone who loves vampires and mixing a little pleasure as well is just a side bonus. I would definitely recommend Pure Healing to all vampire fans.
I’m a big fan of Christine Feehan’s Dark Series, and this reminds me a lot of that. I always find it interesting to discover different authors’ takes on similar folklore concepts, especially in the supernatural realm with respect to Vampires/Immortals. I liked the concept of this book and where Ms. James took it, especially with the depth she was able to achieve in terms of the MCs and their back stories. I like the complexity she achieved without getting long-winded or “over-explaining” things are many authors are prone to doing. I still don’t quite have the hang of the whole concept, but I believe that is intentional in that we are meant to learn more as we read through the rest of the series. I already have book 2, and I am looking forward to learning about this subset society the author has created.
Pure Healing is an elegantly written dark fantasy novel about a vampire-like race called the Pure Ones. They’re different from vampires in many ways however; there’s no feeding off humans in dark alleys or anything like that here. The Pure Ones are a more refined group of beings, and the tale of their origin is just one of the many unique elements that add to the book’s world building.
The world building is what I really enjoyed here. Even the ages-old vampires were given an interesting twist that sets them apart from other books in this genre, with a truly creepy genre-blurring villain in their midst. I loved reading about how everything came to be, how each character got to where they are now. Everyone has a story, a gift, and a specific purpose in the organization that serves their race.
The story alternates between viewpoints so we get a little bit of everyone’s perspectives, even the villain’s. I see other reviews comparing it to Black Dagger Brotherhood but for me, Pure Ones was better. I found that it just resonated more with me and elicited more of an emotional reaction than the three BDB books I’ve read, especially at one point towards the end when one of the characters tearfully begs another to stay. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t sobbing at that part.
There is action here, but there’s also foreshadowing and build-up to the next installment in the series, with a certain character giving me the heebie-jeebies so I just know something is going to happen there unless my instincts are way off. Must. Keep. Reading!
If you are looking for a superficial, quick urban fantasy read with a cross-species instalove storyline (so, like, any other vampire story), this is probably not the book for you. If you want a carefully thought out, layered fantasy novel with seamless prose, I would recommend Pure Ones.
A bit of a different spin on the usual vampire stories , in this book if you are lucky you get a second chance after death , you can fight as a champion of the pure ones , live for thousands of years & free the world of the curse of vampires , the only down side is if you fall in love & that love isnt reciprocated you either die a slow death or become one of the creatures you spend your life killing .
There is plenty of action , some heartbreak & a great romance in the middle of it all , can’t wait to read more from this author
Interesting…. I’m having problems with this review. It was a very good book and I really enjoyed it. Character development was great and such an interesting take on vampires since both races are technically vampires but one is pure while the other isn’t. Wow…. just wow. I want to read more.