Review: Dark and Intense Fairy Tale
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 18, 2014
This is another mind blowing, intense and deeply psychlogical read from Kitty Thomas. Readers of this author will be familiar with her imaginative literary erotica. For my part, I am still working my way through her backlist, having read Tender Mercies, Submissive Fairy Tales and Big Sky. At times I like a dark read that blurs the boundaries between wrong and right, moral and immoral and good and evil and few can equal this author. Kitty Thomas’ books always provoke a moral dilemma in my head, which stays with me long after I have read the book!In Blood Mate we have a powerful and ancient vampire August, formerly a pious man, who was turned against his will and who bears a terrible curse. He must drink the blood of his terrified human victims night after night, his desperate efforts to end his life being fruitless. The only way that his torment can be assuaged is to find his one and only blood mate, a woman whose mind he cannot enthral but who will be able to satisfy his blood-lust each night, negating his desire for another’s blood, and remain with him for eternity.But hey, this is in no way your usual tortured vamp meets his mate affair, leading to a HEA. In fact if a neat and tidy HEA is what you are after than this is not the book for you. This is Kitty Thomas and Nicole, the heroine of this story does not play ball and fall at the vampire’s feet, despite her physical attraction to him, for she has already found her soul mate, her husband Dominic, and she is not giving him up without a fight! What follows is a dark and twisted tale examining love, blood-lust, desperation, guilt, torment, sanity and jealousy, peppered with scenes of eroticism and violence which literally took my breath away and had me questioning what was right and what was wrong.August is a vampire who will go to any lengths to ensure that Nicole accepts him as his blood mate and the lengths he goes to are not romantic by any means. Despite his actions I do have some sympathy towards him as he does retain a spark of humanity. It is this spark of humanity, coupled with the wish to not harm his mate, that drives the plot in directions that only this author could envisage.Nicole‘s husband Dominic, a strong and sympathetic character, is also a key player in the development of the plot and the ending took me completely by surprise and I have not stopped thinking about it since! I will not say any more as to do so would spoil the plot for those that are tempted to buy the book for a truly entertaining and thought-provoking read. Do not just take my word for it but check reviews elsewhere.