Review: Powerful Paranormal Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 25, 2012
Our story concerns Vivian Drake, a bestselling author of fiction.  Vampire fiction.  Each book gets rave reviews for how real it seems, and how much the author knows about vampires.  There is a reason for that.  Vivian is a vampire.  Her real name is Saphrona, and she is over 200 years old.Since 1846 she has lived on a small farm, raising horses, cattle, pigs, and chickens.  Life is good, except she hasn't found her bond-mate yet.  Saphrona was once told by one of her father's mistresses that every vampire has one person they will spend eternity with.  A psychic later confirmed this, and said she would only meet her bond-mate when they need each other.  But Saphrona has broken off from her vampire clan.  The only vampire she still sees regularly is her brother.  And she has also given up on drinking human blood.  Animal blood works fine for her.Then a difficulty arises.  Diarmid, her father and also a vampire, wants to find Vivian Drake.  Diarmid is not happy with what she's been publishing, because it is so true.  Diarmid wants to find Vivian not to kill her, but to find out who her vampire source is, and kill them.  He assigns Saphrona the task of finding Vivian.  Diarmid knows Saphrona is powerful enough to do it.  Saphrona is in a tight spot.  She can't turn the task down, because Diarmid is her father.  But she can't accept it either because that means revealing herself.Since Saphrona is fairly wealthy from her book sales and farm income, she decides to hire a farmhand.  She puts an ad in the paper, and Mark Singelton answers it.  She asks him to drop by that afternoon for an interview.  He shows up, and Saphrona recognizes him.  He is her bond-mate, and she has always known what he will look like.  As she approaches him her "supe-sense" (supernatural sense) kicks in.Half-vampires like Saphrona have the ability to identify if other paranormals are around. Mark is a dhunphyr - an immortal human.  They are much like vampires, except they don't feed on blood.Mark may be the last dhumphyr alive.  Vampires are very good at knowing when one will be born, and they always kill it within a few hours of its birth.  The blood of a dhunphyr is very sweet to a vampire, and it is also a narcotic.  Some vampires get addicted to it.  Mark was lucky because he had a protector as a baby, and she kept the vampires at bay.As she shows Mark around the farm she starts to know for sure he is her bond-mate.  When she accidentally touches him electric sparks shoot through her body.  That's a sure sign of a connection between them.  She has no choice but to hire him.  He will move into the barn that evening.When Mark returns with his few belongings Saphrona senses another paranormal.  A shapeshifter.  The shapeshifter is Mark's dog, Angel.  This concerns Saphrona.  You can't always trust shapeshfters, because they can be one of two forms.  This one can be a human or a weredog.  To ordinary humans a weredog appears as a pet dog.  Could be this one is on a mission to kill Mark?Saphrona tells the shapeshifter they need to talk.  After Mark goes to bed that night the shapeshifter appears as Juliette, Mark's sister.  As far as her family knows she lives in London.  But Juliette explains that she is essentially Mark's bodyguard.  The vampires do not know Mark exists - yet.  And she intends to keep it that way.  If they ever do find out, she can shift into a weredog, and protect him.  But, she says, Mark has only known her as a dog.Saphrona has a problem.  She doesn't know if Mark knows what he is.  He certainly doesn't know who she is.  He also doesn't know what his dog is.  But as Mark and Saphrona are talking one evening Mark simply says, "I need to tell you something.  I am not 100% human."  So he does know.  Saphrona responds, "I am not either, I'm a half vampire."  Mark still doesn't know about his dog.So Saphrona calls a meeting of the three paranormals.  Juliette appears in her human form.  Mark is stunned.  Why is she here?  She is supposed to be  in London.  Juliette explains that she is a shapeshifter, and she describes her protection mission.  Mark doesn't believe it.  So Juliette shifts into the dog again.  And back to a human, so Mark can see it.  The three paranormals spend some time discussing where they go from here.  In theory all three are immortal, so they will see a lot of each other.Over time Mark and Saphrona fall in love.  And they do realize they are bond-mates.  They become intimate, which means they will be together forever.  But, should one of them die the other will die as well.  That's how close they are.Mark moves into the farmhouse with Saphrona, and Juliette takes the barn apartment for when she wants to be a human.  All is going well.  But Saphrona keeps going back to what she had been told by the psychic.  When two bond-mates find each other it means they need each other.  And it usually means one or both is in mortal danger.  She knows something is coming at them, and it won't be good.  And bad things do start happening.  Very bad things.  And it gets complicated, and ugly.  Mark, Sophrona, and Juliette all have a price on their head.  Can the three of them overcome the evil forces aligned against them?As a paranormal romance this book works.  There is a lot of suspense, and some action.  Of course, there is romance.  And there is always a conflict between the vampires and the shapeshifters, who don't get along.  And Mark, the  dhunphyr, is in the middle.  There are a fair number of sex scenes in the book.  None are graphic, but this a book meant for adults.  This is the best paranormal romance I've read in a few years, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Highly recommended.