BR: Vampire Protector

Vampire Protector by Amy Corwin

5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed for The Romance Reviews, revised for blog

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I expected a lot of romance and a mediocre plot. But Vampire Protector stays clear from the cheesy girl-meets-vampire love story that we have seen so many times before, and turns it into a good urban fantasy with a heroine you will feel for.

Gwen doesn't remember much about what happened to her parents. She does know they were killed by vampires. Ever since, she helps people to protect them against these creatures. Nevertheless, she decides to take her vampire neighbour with her for safety as she returned to her childhood home. This simple decision leads to a series of events that concern master vampires, old family heirlooms and life-threatening situations.

The author created a lot of tension throughout the story by revealing Gwen's past step by step. We learn with her, and we only know what she knows. Therefore you feel more connected to the main character, and it keeps the plot going. Her remembering her childhood was very well done, by not only telling us about it, but also showing it to us through flashbacks.

What I also liked is how well written this book is. After a lot of so-so writing reading other books, it feels good again to have a proper dialogue that flows and clear and with vivid descriptions. The prose was kept simple, yet not annoyingly so. Overall, it was very pleasant to read.

The only thing that kind of lacked here was the romance. We get told about how their love for each other grows, but I just didn't really buy it. It didn't really feel genuine. There is some obvious lust, but this seems to stem more from our heroine's lack of intimate partners than true love. In the end, for me, they seemed more like best friends than true lovers. 

I had the same problem with the relationship between Gwen and her best friend. I kept thinking the whole time that her friend actually was a traitor that would stab Gwen in the back the moment she least expected it. Maybe I have read too many stories where this happens and I’ve become a little bit paranoid, but again I just didn’t see the sincere connection. In the end there was nothing wrong with the friend, but I kept having this feeling she was more of a stranger that randomly came to Gwen’s rescue than someone that has known her for several years.

The plot was well-rounded, no obvious holes there, and the overall story felt like the author put a lot of work into tying every loose end and making sure every little piece of mystery we come across is explained. It did feel slightly overworked at times, but not so much it disturbs the flow of the story.

Vampire Protector is a very well written urban fantasy with plenty action and suspense to keep you hooked throughout the whole book.

Blurb

Exploring Gwen's deliciously spooky and long abandoned childhood home in the company of her handsome neighbor sounds like a brilliant way to break her dating dry spell and find a few missing memories. Unfortunately, she soon discovers her mistake. John, her date, is a vampire and her house is not exactly empty. Secrets—and the dead—don’t always stay buried, and John’s extraordinary strength and determination may be all that can withstand what awaits them.


Gwen must unlock her memories and survive the devastating company of her Vampire Protector if she hopes to prevent the past from destroying her future.

Updating..

O my, it's almost Christmas, and pre-Christmas time always brings so much to do! For some reason it always seems those two last months of the year you have more obligations than those ten other months together. So, I'm behind on my review work *ashamed*, but I also have some very exciting news!

More reviews coming up for The Romance Reviews, including:

More YA reviews, including:

This blog's first guest posts and interviews!

And last but not least, my very first giveaway!

It will be international so anyone can join in on the fun.


So stick around for some more updates in this very busy time!

TBR Thursday

The three books on top of my ever-growing to be read pile.

Early to Death, Early to Rise

Book two in the Madison Avery series by Kim Harrison, and I really hope it is better than the first book in this series, Once Dead, Twice Shy.

"Seventeen, dead, and in charge of Heaven's dark angels—all itching to kill someone.

Madison Avery's dreams of ever fitting in at her new school died when she did. Especially since she was able to maintain the illusion of a body, deal with a pesky guardian angel, and oh yeah, bring the reaper who killed her to his untimely end. Not exactly in-crowd material. It's amazing that her crush, Josh, doesn't think she's totally nuts.

Now Madison has learned that she's the dark timekeeper, in charge of angels who follow the murky guidelines of fate. Never one to abide by the rules, she decides it's time for a major change to the system. With the help of some unlikely allies, Madison forms a rogue group of reapers who definitely don't adhere to the rules of Heaven.

But as she grapples with the terrifying new skills that come with being a timekeeper, Madison realizes she may not be prepared for what lies ahead—unless she gets some seriously divine intervention."

The Awakening

Second book in Kelley Armstrong's YA-series, and, in contrary to Kim Harrison's, I did like her YA almost as good as I did her adult one. Quite looking forward to read this, The Summoning ended with such a cliff hanger. 

"If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I'm a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever. 

Now I'm running for my life with three of my supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying." 

Vampire Protector

Reading this for The Romance Reviews, seems interesting enough.

"Exploring Gwen's deliciously spooky and long abandoned childhood home in the company of her handsome neighbor sounds like a brilliant way to break her dating dry spell and find a few missing memories. Unfortunately, she soon discovers her mistake. John, her date, is a vampire and her house is not exactly empty. Secrets—and the dead—don’t always stay buried, and John’s extraordinary strength and determination may be all that can withstand what awaits them.

Gwen must unlock her memories and survive the devastating company of her Vampire Protector if she hopes to prevent the past from destroying her future."
  

BR: Hell Rider

Hell Rider by Belladonna Bordeaux
3 out of 5 stars
Reviewed for The Romance Reviews

Hot and quite amusing short novel set in a paranormal universe during the late 18th century.

When one day Jocelyn Thatcher, a seamstress, meets Lucius Dominitius Stanton, she knows he is dangerous. What she doesn't know is that she is actually a half-fay, and that Lucius is an immortal who also goes under the name Death. They are mated together and bound by fate. But their love is impossible; Lucius can only live in the shadow, and Jocelyn can only live in the sun.

This book starts with a glossary, which I found to be rather confusing, as this is my first time to read a book in The Hellfire Club series. There are so many Royal families I kind of lost track of them. I would have found it clearer if the writer had woven this mythology through the story, so we would have more time to get used to this world and understand it better.

You can feel the amount of work the author has put into the background story, to come up with a whole political sub-plot, and it is such a pity that it just doesn't come alive the way it is supposed to. There is so much going on, but it is only mentioned so briefly that I couldn't really grasp the extent of it, especially since the whole system was quite confusing for someone who hasn't heard about this world yet. Perhaps the reason for this is that the events happened in the other books, of which this book is part of a series. I think this was also partly due to the rather short length of this novel. There wasn't that much time to explain it all, but I would have preferred if the author had confined herself to a simple point of plot, as opposed to trying to give us a bit of everything.

"He was gorgeous. Dark and deadly, she mused. Taller than most with broad shoulders and a face that would make an angel swoon, she bit her lip to keep from sighing when he leveled his black-as-original-sin gaze on her face. This man commanded all of your attention from the get and immediate respect from the go."

There is close to none romantic development, but this is explained to be because they are mated, so they are fated to love each other for the rest of their lives. The best thing about this book is the sexual tension, and the release of it. Mrs. Bordeaux surely knows how to write a good sex scene. The ménage with another woman was done very well, and the short orgy at the end of the book was quite believable.

The only real problems I had with Hell Rider were the glaring plot holes. It doesn't feel like a coherent story, but a series of flashes of one. There are so many things going on that are being untold and big periods of time unexplained. Again, this could be because this book is merely a part of a bigger whole. Another point that really bothered me was that, at the end of the story, I still had no idea how our protagonists even looked like. I hate it when every single detail of our characters is told, from their shoes to their hair, but this was a little bit too much freedom of imagination.

The potential is there, and even though it has quite some obvious flaws, Hell Rider is an amusing and quick read. It is part of a series of short novels called The Hellfire Club, and I will surely check the other books out to see if reading them will make me understand more about the world this is set in, because it really is an interesting one.

Blurb

Jocelyn Thatcher is a humble dressmaker’s apprentice determined to not go down the road of prostitution, as her own mother did. Thwarting her sensible plans for a decent vocation are the lurid sexual fantasies, which have begun to plague her hours. Those naughty little secrets lead her to a devastating truth—she’s half fay.

Lucius Domintius Stanton has served Satan for nearly three millennia. He’s a Hell Rider--the living, breathing visage of death. Along with the other three Riders, he collects the tainted souls destined for hell. His world is tilted on its ear when he meets Jocelyn. Turn her over to the Hellfire Club or keep her for his own? A brief interview with Satan will set the course. His lust for Jocelyn might just kill her.
 
Buy this book
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BR: Absolute Perfection

Absolute Perfection by Stephanie Burke

4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed for The Romance Reviews

There is one word that truly describes this book: unique. This will be something you have never read before.

By a twist of fate, royal naga Astika saves the little sea horse Taza when he is being followed by a crazy human who believes that eating a sea horse will give him immortality. And everyone knows that's just a fairy tale, right? Anyhow, by saving Taza's life, Astika is bound to him forever. They are destined to be mates for life. Astika's dreams of having a naga mate to lay a clutch for him to protect and look over are instantly destroyed. But even his divine parents cannot help him in this matter. He will have to make the best out of it.

I have never read any story about paranormal sea creatures before, and after Absolute Perfection, I can certainly say, I'm a fan. It's amazing to read a story that is so different from all the standard paranormal literature out there, to have a completely new lore to dig in and new creatures to get to know. The downside of this is that, because I had never heard about all these deities before, it was hard to keep track of them all. The author has included a summary of them, but I didn't really feel like looking them up while reading, because that would take the pace out of the story. It would be nice if there had been more time to get to know them. From what we can see in Absolute Perfection, those gods seem like an interesting bunch.

Even though you cannot relate to the main characters at all, their story is incredibly touching. It's really cute how they get attached to each other and find out that their fate isn't that bad at all. I fell in love with the tiny sea horse immediately and found his view on humans hilarious. I laughed out loud when he was telling about his adventures in trying to fit in into human culture. Absolute Perfection has a nice balance between touching and emotional scenes, and light, funny scenarios.

There is also a small amount of extra plot building around their blooming relationship. I thought this was done nicely, the plot enhancing their bond and giving them a reason to grow together. It gave the story a comfortable pace, making you want to keep on reading, without giving it a rushed feeling.

Basically, this is a male/male romance story. With the accessory sex. And some scales, sea foam and split tongues thrown in. This sounds like an awful and incredibly gross combination, but in this book, it actually works. It was quite sexy. Of course, this is only for the open-minded among us. But if you are open-minded and you let the story unfold, you can see the brilliance of it. The scales and long blue hairstyles almost make sense, and you can enjoy the refreshingly different love scenes. They are a little bit silly at times, but still remain a certain amount of credibility, and also very important, a certain hotness.

This book is not for you if you are looking for a serious book. You need to have a liking for this kind of weirdness that makes this book so good. If you cannot enjoy this, you will not be able make sense of it and you will probably hate it. If you think the idea of a sea horse paired up with a naga is awesome, you will thoroughly enjoy Absolute Perfection.