Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost

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Night Prince #1

            This book is okay. I wasn't thrilled with it, but I've certainly read worse. If the rest of the series hits the best seller list, I'll read them, but I won't go looking for them.

            The first chapter of this book was the most interesting, in my opinion.  Leila is living in the Florida town where carnies spend the winter. They are a diverse, interesting and tolerant group who totally have each other's backs. Leila has more than an unusual talent. Due to a freak accident as a child, she must avoid physical contact with others for the sake of their health and her sanity. Electricity builds up in her body which can be discharged into another person with the most casual of touches. It's a lot like when your brother dragged his feet on the carpeting so he could give you a shock, but on a lethal level. In addition, when she makes skin to skin contact with another person, she "sees" their darkest secrets, experiences them as though she were living them.  And considering what a dark and twisted lot humans are, this can be downright horrifying.

            Leila is kidnapped for her ability to connect psychically with others. At first it is not clear why, but she eventually realizes these guys are looking for Vlad, one of the oldest and fiercest vampires in existence. And boy does she connect with him.

            Vlad and Leila seem to be made for each other, and they must band together to thwart the evil intentions of one of Vlad's oldest enemies.

            The story had plenty of action, but lacked spark. I didn't feel the heat between Vlad and Leila, I didn't get any sense of tension. It was just a bit flat. This is a fine story if you are out of others to read, but it just didn't ring my bell.

Dark Desire by Christine Feehan

          Dark #2

          I listened to this story immediately after listening to Dark Prince, the first book in the Dark series. While this one had a reader whose voice I much preferred hearing, I was once again not impressed with the audio book experience of this story. The reader had some unusual pronunciations for words which I found distracting.  Also I could regularly hear background noise on the recording – pages being turned, random sounds from around the reader. I don’t know what’s up with the recordings of Feehan’s books, but I think I’ll be sticking to printed versions from now on.

          This book started with the descriptions of the torture of a Carpathian male, and his subsequent burial alive. Nasty stuff. Naturally, being Carpathian, burying him in his native soil did not kill him, just kept him so weak he could not escape the confines of his prison. He remains there cut off from both sensory and extrasensory perception for seven long years, becoming increasing mad as time passes. 

          Jacque slowly builds his strength, first by consuming the blood of insects, and then as he creates and enlarges a hole in the box in which he is buried, larger creatures. At some point he begins to be able to reach another person telepathically, Dr. Shea O’Halloran.  At first he can only hear her thoughts but as his strength builds, his ability to make contact with her also increases. At some point he realizes she is his life mate, and in his unreasoning state assumes she has abandoned him to his hideous fate.  He decides to retaliate in the only way he can – by causing her mental anguish during her dreams.

          Over the course of time, Jacque increases his influence on Shea and guides her decision making till she is living and doing medical research in the Carpathian Mountains. While out walking one day she is drawn to a location, feels compelled to open a trap door in the earth and finds the pine box containing Jacque.  At first she assumes he is dead, but he quickly and violently destroys that idea. Shea removes him from the hole in the ground, takes him back to her place and spends many hours trying to repair the damage done by the torturers.

          Once the worst of the physical damage is dealt with, Shea and Jacque must work their way through the mental damage. And, while they are doing so, another Carpathian male is abducted and tortured. The best clues the Carpathians have are locked in the broken mind of Jacque. With Shea’s help and love, Jacque finds the strength to remember who the betrayer is, and helps to destroy him and rescue his friend.

          This book will never go down in history as the best ever written, and the technical issues with the audio aspect are a shame.  But it was entertaining – that being my main criterion for a “good” book. I’ll happily read – not listen to - the next book in the series, Dark Gold.

         

Darker After Midnight by Lara Adrian

          Midnight Breed #10

          I had two vampire books going at the same time – this being one of them. It was interesting to compare and contrast. This book’s vampires lived in America and were fairly modern in attitude and activity. The other book’s vamps were more old-world types living far from modern society. I liked the way Adrian’s vampires kind of hid in plain sight.  I also liked the family groups and clan rituals. These were creatures that were easy for me to understand because they are a lot like us. Even the bad guys are attempting to take over the known universe through political means, just like humans do. 

          This is the tenth book in the Midnight Breed series, but the first I’ve read. I liked it well enough, and am curious enough about the other characters I met to have added the first book in the series, Kiss of Midnight, to my to-be-read list.

          This is Chase’s story and his love interest is Tavia. Chase is a very old vampire, but like so many old ones, his savage nature is rising to the fore without a proper mate. A highly skilled enforcer of Breed justice, he is traveling the edge of sanity, hanging on by his fingernails.

          And then, across a crowded room (cue the strains of Some Enchanted Evening) he sees Tavia. He is on a mission to assassinate a powerful hungry vamp posing as a regular businessman. In reality, Dragos is planning on taking over the Earth and turning the entire human race into slaves and food. Chase feels it is his duty to take out Dragos before his evil plans can come to fruition. But Dragos didn’t get to where he is without being quite wily. Chase’s assassination attempt fails, but he encounters Tavia, a senator’s aide, and the woman he is destined to spend eternity with.

          Tavia and Chase and the rest of the Breed warriors join forces to thwart Dragos’ evil plans. And the end of the book is pretty bloody. But the good guys win in the end. And, surprisingly, the vampires of Earth become recognized and no longer need to skulk in the shadows.

          I wonder if the reading public’s fascination with vampire books has to do with the age old belief in a one true love, prince charming, soul mate, in combination with the idea of getting to live forever with them. It is a pretty intoxicating combo, isn’t it?