Archive for vampire romance books
Title: Kiss of Death
Author: Rachel Caine
Release Date: April 27, 2010
Pages: 256
Genre: Urban Vampire
So, the two couples set out – Shane and Claire, Michael and Eve – along with Oliver on their way to music fame and fortune. Everyone is so excited because passes out of town are few and far between – you don’t leave Morganville without the okay of the lead vampire, Amelie. It is all going great until they stop for food in a small town that has more than its share of rednecks. When Oliver disappears on some mysterious mission and tells them not to leave the little town, things go from bad to worse. When rogue vampires from Morganville track them down, intent on having Claire and Eve for lunch, rednecks are the least of their worries. As Shane tells the sheriff, “we’re not the bad guys here”.
The writing in Kiss of Death transports you to small town Texas, letting you connect with the unique personality of each character. The story of joy-riding teenagers, happy about their freedom, being sidetracked by hating humans and malevolent vampires delivers an exciting read that never lets up on the action. Rachel Caine delivers yet another great installment in her Morganville Vampire series. If you are looking for a fun, fast-paced, road trip adventure, you’ve got to read Kiss of Death.
Title: Insatiable
Author: Meg Cabot
Release Date: June 8, 2010
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 464
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Author Quote: “Insatiable is Girl Gothic, featuring empowered heroines who stand up for themselves and have goals outside of snagging a man (but who still love men, exasperating though they can be at times), and who don’t believe that being dead is a happy ending.”
But her bosses are making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn’t believe in them. Not that Meena isn’t familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper is psychic and knows how you’re going to die.
But not even Meena’s precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets – and then makes the mistake of falling in love with – Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side. A dark side that a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.
And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.
Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future . . . . if she even has one.
Insatiable will be released June 8, 2010 and will be available in both hardcover and Kindle formats.
In the mood for unrequited vampire love, torture, and a vicious battle to destroy an entire race? Then pick up J.R. Ward’s Lover Revealed, the fourth book in the author’s Black Dagger Brotherhood vampire romance series. The tale of the Brotherhood, an elite group of vampire warriors, continues as they fight for survival against slayers determined to eliminate the entire race.
The six testosterone-fueled vampires with huge libidos that make up the Brotherhood are constantly fighting to save their civilian vampire counterparts from the lessers, bound to an evil master called The Omega and determined to stop at nothing to carry out his orders. The only human to ever be made privy to the inner workings of the Brotherhood, Butch O’Neal is a tough ex-homicide detective who helps the vamps with their investigations from time to time but longs for more.
He’s also hopelessly in love with the blue-blooded vampire Marissa, although the potential romance has never come to fruition. His love was revealed in the first book in the series, Dark Lover, although a misunderstanding tore them apart.
After saving a vampire civilian from the lessers one night, Butch is captured by the enemies and tortured mercilessly. After The Omega realizes that Butch is not about to reveal the Brotherhood’s secrets, he cuts him and places some of his own evil inside, hoping that it will spread and destroy the rest of the vampires.
But Vishous, Butch’s friend and vampire roommate, finds him and is able to cut most of the evil out of him. He’s still dying, however, and Vishous calls upon Marissa to come to his aid. In her haste, she forgets to protect herself, and she and Butch end up being quarantined together. As Butch begins to get better, the two make peace with the past and begin to build their relationship.
Ward’s aptitude for writing erotic love scenes comes into play here, while also making clear to the reader that the two have genuine affection for one another.
An interesting twist in Lover Revealed involves Vishous and his growing romantic feelings for Butch. While the two have always been close friends, this new affection is confusing to Vishous and makes for a unique love triangle.
This vampire romance book is a great read, more erotic and romantic than previous installments, and fans of the series will not be disappointed by this latest adventure into the dark world of the Brotherhood. Get Lover Revealed at your favorite bookstore.
Also, check out the next installment in J.R. Ward’s vampire romance books series, Lover Unbound!
Imagine the enjoyment that an avid vampire novel reader feels when they find a vampire romance book that is not only a a good, fun read but also one of a series. Well, this is what I found when I read Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta. The story centers around Milagro De Los Santos, a highly educated but ‘out of steady work’ literature major. She’s been working as a literary consultant for rich families but she’s unhappy that she’s not writing the types of things that she wants to write and, even though her life is fine, she feels like something is missing. When one of her clients invites her to a book signing party – which would normally not be a problem – she arrives to find that the author is the man who deserted her so many years before in college, Sebastian Beckett-Witherspoon.
Of course, Sebastian will not leave her alone and he proceeds to belittle her until running away is her only option. I am sure I would have done the same thing, the only difference being – if it happened to me, there would not be an incredibly handsome man wanting to whisk me away just outside the door. It’s a jilted girl’s dream come true. Milagro cannot explain why she goes with this strange man, Oswald Krakatoa, but he is undoubtedly the most handsome man she has ever seen. And, for some reason, when she is with him, she forgets all about her humiliating moments with Sebastian. Apparently, Oswald feels the same way about her, because as soon as they are alone, they cannot get enough of each other. Their first kiss rekindles feelings she has not felt for years – but, just as the going gets good, Sebastian runs into the room to stop them. This ill timed interruption turns their passionate kiss into a fall to the floor for both of them with cut lips. Her humiliation complete, Milagro runs off to lick her wounds and spends the next few days feeling sicker than a dog. And craving raw meat.
This story has one twist after another. Thankfully Oswald realizes what has happened and saves her in the nick of time from her ex to take her away to his secluded country ranch where the rest of his family awaits. It seems Milagro is going through a transformation that takes time; sweet Oswald is determined to make sure she is alright.
Happy Hour at Casa Dracula is a fun, upbeat novel and Milagro is an incredible character that reminded me of youthful wishes I used to have. She’s beautiful, but insecure enough to make her sympathetic without being too irritating. She’s witty, strong, and vulnerable all at the same time. There are sexy scenes in this fantasy book but they are handled well and the dialogue is really funny. And since it’s a series, I’m eagerly waiting to go buy the next installment – there are two more now available in the series!
Here are all of the books in the Casa Dracula series:
#1: Happy Hour at Casa Dracula
#2: Midnight Brunch
Librarian Jane Jameson is having a lousy day. Her boss, in a fit of nepotism, just gave her job away to a family member. To add insult to injury, her severance pay is a gift certificate to the local bar. So Jane does what any self-respecting, recently fired, unlucky in love 30-something female would do: she bellies up to the local bar to drink away her sorrows.
A sexy and sympathetic vampire named Gabriel happens to be hanging out nearby and after listening to her story, gets her sober and helps her to her car. Unfortunately for Jane, her car quits halfway home; to top off a really crappy day, she gets accidentally shot by a drunk hunter who mistakes her for a potential wall trophy. Gabriel, following her to make sure she gets home safely, sees the accident and comes to her aid. Since Jane is near death he gives her a choice: she can either die now or be “turned” and come back as the undead. She chooses Door Number Two.
Suddenly, the loss of her job is the least of her problems. She now has to learn what it means to be a vampire. Fortunately, vampires are completely “out” and there’s a synthetic blood product available that doesn’t taste too bad. But while trying to deal with her new condition, her newly dead aunt appears as her roommate. She has to forget about her favorite Southern-fried cooking and settle for cold bags of blood. She has to struggle through the daylight hours and pretend to actually still be breathing. And her mother won’t stop asking annoyingly pointed questions.
Jane’s also being framed for a vamp murder, and she better locate the real killer quick before she’s targeted by the entire vampire community. Her on-again, off-again relationship with Gabriel is one most girls can relate to, and provides heat and chemistry that smolders throughout the book.
Jane, isn’t just another one-dimensional character, though. She’s portrayed as a normal, nice girl, not overly neurotic, who loves to read, is kind to babies and small animals, and puts up with her bad-mannered family with aplomb.
Harper fleshes out other likable characters with a tongue-in-cheek approach , including Jane’s best friend Zeb, who’s in love with a werewolf named Jolene, and Dick Cheney, a bad-boy vamp with a crush on Jane. The tale is told in Jane’s sarcastically witty voice.
If you have any sense of humor, you will enjoy this read, and will no doubt want to read Harper’s next installments, Nice Girls Don’t Date Dead Men and Nice Girls Don’t Live Forever. But first, start by getting Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs!
The first book in the Night Huntress series, Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost, has always been one of my favorite urban fantasy novels, so I was thrilled to see the latest in the series ready for purchase – Destined for an Early Grave. We all know that awesomely excellent feeling you get when you see that the next book in a series – a series that you know is a good one – is available. I bought it immediately! This ire book series has some of the hottest sex scenes I’ve read – and I’ve read a lot! Ms. Frost does such a good job of making you want to be Cat. She is vulnerable, sexy, strong, unsure, and wanted – wanted by Bones in a major way that’s still believable after four novels.
In Destined for an Early Grave, we have Cat and Bones still comfortably head over heels for each other. Cat is a part vampire/part human vampire killer and Bones is a several hundred year old Master Vampire. You don’t doubt him and his feelings. I’ve not felt that a man’s emotions were so genuine since Noah told Allie in The Notebook, “I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day.” Of course, this was right after Noah built a house for her.
Unlike Bones, Cat is still harboring some trust issues. Who wouldn’t, considering the fact that she’s the daughter of a vampire father and a human mother who was raped by that very same vampire. As such Cat is unable to show Bones any vulnerability; what if Bones knows how much he could hurt her? We’ve all been there – you duck and cover. And as you can imagine, Bones is astute enough to sense that Cat is holding back a piece of herself from him – something he has a hard time understanding.
But, I digress, sorry. Back to the book review.
In this installment, Cat is starting to have nightmares which trouble Bones. At first, she keeps them to herself, unaware of the danger inherent in having another vampire state that she belongs to him during her dreams. The “dream vampire”, Gregor, claims that he and Cat were married before she married Bones. Huh? How could this happen? I won’t give that away but it’s certainly worth the read. While the plot could have become confusing with memory replacement and timeline issues, I have to hand it to the author, she kept me reading.
With this book, you’ll get lots of great action and see all the other characters from the previous novels – Vlad, Tate, Spade, Ian – plus a few new ones to love and/or hate. And, there are quite a few surprises that keep things hopping. Whether you’ve read any of the other Night Huntress vampire books or not, you can read this as a standalone novel since it’s complete and interesting enough to stand on its own. As usual, Jeaniene Frost does not disappoint.
First things first: If you haven’t been following J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, where have you been? Secondly: start with an earlier book in the series. You’ll have a better appreciation for the storyline of Lover Avenged, Book #6 in the series, if you do.
For those of you that have enjoyed the previous books, Lover Avenged doesn’t disappoint. It’s the story of Rehvenge, a pusher and nightclub owner and all-around badass vamp who’s also a sympath. He hooks up with a vampire nurse, Ehlena, who’s a bit of a recluse and spends her time either working at her clinic or nursing her schizoid father.
As a patient of the clinic, the other nurses steer a wide path around Rehv because of his menacing attitude. I mean, unless you’re attracted to the dark brooding type, wouldn’t you? On top of that Ehlena’s got her own problems, and at first is oblivious to Rehv and his attraction to her.
However as Rehv and Ehlena draw closer, he still must keep his true identity as a sympath a secret. If he reveals it he faces exile to a colony full of crazies. But when Rehv is asked to murder the Blind King Wrath, leader of the Brotherhood, the only person he can turn to is Ehlena.
The story follows a handful of other intriguing characters, like Wrath struggling with his new role. Tohrment, John Matthew and Xhex (characters from previous books) make appearances too. A large part of the book deals with Lash, a really unpleasant creature who’s a lesser, beings who have devoted their lives to ridding the world of vampires. This time he has a sexual appetite, and it makes for some really creepy and fun reading.
The intricate storyline and the relationship between Rehv and Ehlena work together to make Lover Avenged a strong addition to the Black Dagger Brotherhood paranormal romance book series.
Have you ever read a book that hooked you so completely, you immediately started thinking of what the movie would be like? Like, you envisioned who’d be the best hottie to play the lead?
That’s what I felt like as I read Rush of Wings, a book by novelist Adrian Phoenix. Guys, this this book would make an excellent movie. The story takes place in the vampire capital of the world, New Orleans, and with its unique, old world atmosphere it gives the story a classical setting.
The main character, FBI agent Heather Wallace, has come to New Orleans looking for the Cross Country Killer, also known as CCK, who’s a serial killer she’s been tracking for three years. CCK has been killing people all across the United States and Heather is determined to be the one to stop him. She comes to New Orleans when the latest victim is found outside a bar called Club Hell. The club’s owner, Dante, appears to know nothing about the crime, however after Heather interviews him she knows one sure thing: he’s the best looking man she’s ever seen. I kept trying to figure out who would play him in the movie. Yum.
As Heather investigates the murder, she realizes that Dante is not your average good looking guy, but is instead a self-described “nightkind” or born vampire. Heather decides to find out more about Dante and his possible connection to the New Orleans murders. You see she eventually comes to believe that CCK is in New Orleans specifically for Dante; but she doesn’t know why. However she learns that Dante has no memory of his childhood. Although his records describe a very tough life he has no memories of such a life. Dante doesn’t think there’s a connection between he and CCK but Heather knows there must be because each new murder has a unique message in it specifically for Dante.
For Heather, stopping CCK is the most important thing she’s ever done, or so she thought until she met Dante. Is he really a vampire or just crazy? Why can’t he remember his past? Can she resist her attraction to him long enough to stop the evil CCK?
I love it when a book forces me to use my imagination to come up with several possible outcomes. A Rush of Wings did just that. I found myself thinking about the book as I was driving home from work, wondering how things would turn out.
It was a great pleasure reading this book because the author does such a fine job building the suspense and creating a complex world of action and intrigue. Adrian Phoenix is off to a great start with A Rush of Wings, Book #1 in The Maker’s Song series. Urban fantasy book fans are sure to love this one.
Also, check out In the Blood, the next book in the series. Also, the third book in the series Beneath The Skin will be released December 29th.
