Holy Cow!! Vasilije is the epitome of HOT vampire! He does what he wants, when he wants and however he wants. Sasa, well she just happened to be in the right place at the wrong time and got pulled into a scheme that put her right in the path and eye of Vasilije after one of the vampires he's sired is killed. There is no denying the sparks between them and wow, let me just say, Gabrielle writes one hell of an intimate scene! You definitely want to not read this in public! I was definitely shocked in the end...I totally wasn't expecting what happened to happened the way it did but it was great!! Can't wait to start the next book andI hope to see where these two go next!! The things that did not work for me in this book: (Contains spoilers and direct quotations) The hero:Vasilije is a 400yo vampire whom we first meet in the prequel to this series. He is arrogant, hedonistic and a bit villainous and it worked for me then. However, the same characteristics do not endear him to me when he is elevated to the hero status in this book. For over hundreds of years he’s main focus been making vampires” Did you make him into vampire? Why? I am a vampire, love. It’s what we do”Vasilije rushes in to New Orleans to avenge the death of Teagan, one of his vampires, and apparently so overcome with grief in the loss of one of his own that he ends up having sex with the killed vampire’s girlfriend just hours the after the murder! (Obviously, respect for his dead friend is not a concern). He then proceeds to make another vampire, a total airhead, because he reminds him of Teagan. A bit later in the book we also find out that his sire, the woman he loved, was killed centuries ago but he obviously was not in a hurry to avenge her death (Priority issues or it did not mean that much to him? Needless to say, all that did not make Vasilije appealing to me)The heroine:Sasa is 27yo empath. She is a devoted daughter who looks after her ailing mother. Her first encounter with the vampire, Tatiana, is extremely traumatic.“Her growing fear exploded in to terror when the blond opened her mouth and with a sharp click flashed two white fangs”It is obvious that Tatiana is up to no good.“Never before had she sensed such rage and hatred for another. “I want him dead, but first I need him to suffer”Tatiana wants Sasa’s help with this revenge, but of course Sasa is a moral person.“I can’t help you to kill someone. Even my mother’s health isn’t enough to make me do that”But on the next breath we get:“But I’ll help you if you help my mother. Make her a vampire” (WHAT!!!???? You are asking that terrifying murderer to turn your mother???)Tatiana agrees to “help” Sasa’s mother“After I sire her, she’ll be as healthy as a horse; as long as you give her the blood I gave you to help her through her first days as a vampire.”“Is that it? What about after that?”“That’s what people are for”And finally:“Vampires aren’t monsters. They eat and drink just like us – well, except for the blood” (This is where this book totally lost me)The relationship/romance - there is noneAfter their first sex romp“Sasa knew it wasn’t the type of love found in tender love songs. She wasn’t a fool (Oh, yes, she was!) He barely knew her and this was result of too much alcohol and his need for of someone, anyone, to take away the pain of losing his friend”“Please” she begged in a voice that matched the pathetic look in her eyes”Don’t leave me alone now”When Vasilije calls for Sasa, he knows that“…as one of his vampires she’d have no choice but to obey his command. Whether she wanted it or not”And when they are re-united, he greats her with:“Sasa, come” (Is that suppose to be masterful? Well. Maybe it is, after all, that’s how I call in my dog!) To me,this is not love but ownership.The plot:Trough the book we get the glimpses that there is more to Tatiana’s attempt to kill Vasilije then the personal vendetta, however it is only in the epilogue that we get absolutely bombarded with information such as what the Son’s of Novarus are suppose to be, Order of Macaria, Prophesy, no less than 7 new characters and a lead-on to the next book. Sorry, but for me it is too much too late.I want my hero to be someone I can like, respect or admire, flawed, but with redeeming features, a hard-ass, not just a jackass. I want my heroine to be strong, smart, and feminine and not a wimp with maturity of a 5yo and an IQ of the guppy. There are a lot of excellent paranormal/erotic romance books around; however, for me this one did not qualify. Hot sex – yes, everything else that,for me, will constitute a good read – no. And for all the readers who rated this book highly – I might not agree with you, but I respect your opinion, and I hope you will grant me the same curtsey.
