Review: Gritty, dark, erotic
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 20, 2013
I read all four books in this omnibus for a book tour. The following is my honest opinion.Nightlife: New YorkPoor Aaron was just responding to a damsel in distress. What did it get him? Shot by a dirty cop and then turned into a vampire by the aforementioned damsel.This first dip into the Nightlife introduces us to Michelle, the damsel, and Aaron Pilan, her newly turned protege and lover. For most of the book, I liked Aaron. I liked Michelle. I did not like them together however. Their dynamics were stilted, odd, and weirdly tense. And that is why I liked this first book! Lust, sure! The weird dynamics are totally realistic when you're suddenly thrown together with someone you do NOT know at all. You are charged, fraught with tension, awkward, dealing with your issues, etc. I liked Michelle's nippy jealousy when Aaron seems to have a better power than she does; he can read minds, she can read auras. I like how he is overwhelmed and she grounds him. And I especially enjoyed the development of their relationship. It was fun to read. Some seriously hot sex scenes, a serious mess up by Michelle which starts with an assumption, resolution happens, woo. And a non-cliffhanger ending, but leading perfectly into the next book. I also enjoyed the intensely sexual feedings. I would much rather vampires be like this (intense, bloody, sexy) than de-fanged. At the end of this book, I was eager for more Michelle & Aaron.Nightlife: Las VegasAaron is using his mind-reading abilities to make a killing in Las Vegas at the poker tables. Unfortunately, he ticks off the wrong player gaining the ire of a sore loser named Demarco, a corrupt drug runner.I didn't enjoy this book as much as I liked the first one. We have no more information on Michelle's history, no true lessons, no development in their relationship. Instead, Aaron picks up a new blood slave/pet, Ana, convinces Michelle to keep her, and then the whole book is sex and drug use. There is the plot of Demarco being ticked off, hauling in his friends to help him steal Michelle and get rid of Aaron, the drug use stemming from that, and then a couple violent action scenes, but mostly it focused on sex and drug use, both for the vampires who were injected with heroin forcibly and the pet, Ana, who is addicted to the vampire venom and constantly looking for another fix while they are asleep during the day. The insta-love for the whiny, annoying Anastasia and lack of development of relationship just left me flat. I am the anomaly though as many people seemed to have love this book best. I guess erotica is hit or miss for me. However, if YOU like erotica, or books that focus mostly on sex with a few declarations of love tossed in, you will like this.  The sex is copious and energetic with occasional bursts of primal, possessive, predatory violence from Aaron. The ending has this private detective, seemingly popping out of nowhere, an afterthought to go along with the Demarco plot, witnessing the carnage and deciding he wants to be a vampire so he follows them to Paris, sneakily...Nightlife: ParisFour days after the death of Ana, Aaron already wants another pet, something Michelle is adamantly against. All those declarations of love for Ana sound really realistic, huh? See? That's why I didn't like book 2. Nightlife: Paris however is much better. It is a thorough history on Michelle, how she became a vampire, how her view became so twisted, etc. And along with her history, we have this story line of the private detective who followed them to Paris, and then another storyline of an ancient myth is introduced as Aaron and Michelle become separated. As depraved and twisted her history is, I liked getting to know Michelle's history to understand what made her the way she is. As the tension rises and there is a lightbulb that seems to go over her head, things come to a halt as Aaron and Michelle are separated. He seemingly learns just how much he does love her although their master/servant bond is now severed and he belongs to someone else. There is a lot of mystery and things left hanging with a menacing cloud. You have to wonder what is going to come next!Blood SlaveThis fourth book in the omnibus, Blood Slave, was actually my favorite. The characters seem more real, even with telepathic powers, the danger certain, the horrors of life ringing true. While Hope has lead a most brutal life, she is very accepting of it in a strange, boiling anger kind of way: a fighter attitude just simmers beneath her supposed complacence. Sold into sexual slavery by her own father at the tender age of 14, life hasn't been easy for the 22 year old. Now in the US, she is a prostitute under the thumb of the Colombian drug cartel. Although not wholly aware of her telepathic gift, El Tiburon uses Hope more as a lie detector than a prostitute, allowing her to work for an escort service. Although her debt to him is paid off tenfold, he is continually raising it and demanding more and more money for the privilege of her being in the US, not allowing her to renew her visa, holding her hostage as an illegal.After a lesbian client from the escort service ends up biting her and failing to hypnotize the telepathic Hope, Hope is kidnapped and presented to lesbian Lia's master, Enrique. Enrique turns Hope into a blood slave, exchanging her drug cartel prison for a shinier cage. Hope is terrified of Lia who is a total psycho just dying to rip her to shreds. For one who has lead such a harsh life, you have this hope (punny!) for Hope that her life is getting better. Not just a sex toy, she gets her legal visa and goes to work as an interpreting secretary and telepathic spy for Enrique's business ventures. And all is well until Enrique leaves her at the mercy of Lia when he goes to Panama for a business trip. I admit, it was hard to read. Poor Hope is tortured thanks to that psychotic so and so, tossed back to the brutal Arana of the drug cartel, raped, beaten, tortured, raped again, and then nearly killed when she tries to save Enrique from Lia's murderous intents. This book was one heck of a ride. Again with the copious amounts of sex, but it seemed more right in this instance. I'm not sure if it is because of Hope's profession or due to her intense, sad story that you were happy that she was finally getting some sex that focused on her.******************Overall for this omnibus, I would say it is gritty, dark, and intensely sexual. I love how every author I've read approaches vampires slightly differently and Travis Luedke is no different. These vampires have a unique flavor to them that is all them and unmistakable for someone else's vampires. I'd like to continue in Michelle and Aaron's story and see where Urvashi takes them. I wouldn't mind reading more of Hope, too, and see her become a vampire instead of just a pet. I think she and Enrique complement one another.