Review: Engaging, different and I want more
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 5, 2013
I liked Cara as a heroine. Even as a detective with a tough exterior and feisty personality, she also displayed a believable vulnerability that made her seem more real. She had the respect and friendship of her work colleagues, and she was dedicated to her job. Her character could have easily tipped into the simpering, whiny female given her depressing childhood and the event that sent her fleeing town, leaving everyone and everything behind ten years ago. Another thing I liked about her was that she wasn't afraid of communicating. In once scene, she didn't beat around the bush when Kane asked about her ex boyfriend. I think it's safe to say that with Cara, what you see is what you get, and I liked that straight shooter attitude.Kane was definitely all alpha male. He kept his men in line, he usually had the last word, he was cocky as hell and dangerously sexy. He too was a man of many layers. The death of someone close to him made him lose his belief in love, and he vowed never to fall in love with a woman ever again. Once he gets entangled with Cara, all of his carefully crafted rules and vows begin to crumble one by one. Kane was another character who wasn't afraid to speak what he was thinking. He was surprisingly forthcoming about his obsession/infatuation with Cara. As the tenuous relationship continued, he began toeing the line even more between his desire for her and his commitment to his kind.I loved their chemistry. I did feel it, and moreover, I loved their witty and cheeky banter. They enjoyed riling one another up which led me to believe that if they ever shut up long enough to kiss, it would be exquisitely hot. I wasn't wrong. Their first hook up was fast and furious, and wickedly sexy. It was just the sort of thing I expected of a bad boy vamp/human coupling. But every other time was dousemewithwaternow hot. The suspense portion of the story was actually decent. A lovely game of cat and mouse. Too bad I guessed the mastermind behind the plot and the reason for it 18% into the story. If anything, it served to push Cara and Kane together for the sake of her safety.What didn't work: 1) I couldn't help but make connections to another vampire book: Kane referred to Cara as "Mia Bella", there was a bitchy vampire named Rosalee, vampirism versus humanity, and the oldest and most powerful vampires resided in Italy. 2) The villain's POV. I think the story would have survived without it. I ended up flipping past those closer towards the end. 3) Repetition. I didn't feel it was necessary to reiterate certain points over and over throughout the story. For example: Cara replaying the scene when she first saw Kane all those years ago. Kane reminding himself why he never wiped her memory in the past, and lastly, Cara telling herself she was certifiably insane. The story also needed some editing to help with punctuation, missing words and incorrect tenses.Overall I really enjoyed this story. I liked the pacing of it and felt that the characters had enough time to discover the essence of one another, even if a lot of it happened under stressful circumstances. The story was engaging enough to keep me interested and engaged the whole time. With better editing, this would have been a 4 or 4.5. But as it stands, I definitely think it's worth looking into. I certainly want to continue the journey with the Sons of Sangue and can't wait for book two.Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review.