Review: A thrilling, exciting, and romantic adventure
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 22, 2010
It's in the late 2060's. Global warming has changed the landscape, creating poverty and an increasing demand on rationed energy. If that's not bad enough, Griffin Hilliard also has spent the last four years on the run from hired killers. Griffin's psychic and empathic, and his family believes he may have discovered secrets they were trying to keep and now want him eliminated. When killers do finally catch up to him, shoot him, and are about to finish the job, help comes in the form of a sympathetic vampire named Jarrah.It turns out that Jarrah is not a very good vampire because he still maintains a respect for life and a desire to be human. Not wanting to see an obviously decent Griffin wasted by hired thugs, he dispatches them with brutal efficiency and takes Griffin home to heal him. What neither expect is a deep physical and emotional attraction to each other.This attraction surprises Griffin because he's not gay. He's never even been tempted by men before, but something about Jarrah calls to him. At first he thinks he may have been drugged, then he thinks it may be vampire "glamor". Griffin is aware of vampires as the time he's spent on the run, and his psychic abilities, have shown him that these legends do exist. He's well aware of their ability for mind control and believes Jarrah is using it on him. Jarrah then uses some to show him what it's like, and now Griffin is faced with the fact that his attraction to Jarrah comes from within.Jarrah has spent the last 67 years closing off his emotions. When he was turned into a vampire, he lost his loving older brother and his loving partner, who betrayed him out of fear of what Jarrah had become. Jarrah now just exists, feeling neither pleasure nor pain. But the attraction for Peter is so great, emotions start stirring again, and he thinks he may even feel his heart beat at times.The story is flawless. Dialog is natural and intelligent, the plot moves along at a perfect pace to keep the reader engaged and interesting, while still giving each scene sufficient detail. The characters are nicely developed with their own unique traits, both good and bad. The story builds to an exciting conclusion as Griffin faces his killers, and the details and outcome seem organic and natural. While erotic at times, it's not vulgar. The scenes are passionate, sexy, erotic, and very very nicely written, never being overbearing. The setting is interesting in that it falls into the camp of science fiction, but still maintains a comfortable level of familiarity with our current world so that the science fiction aspect doesn't overshadow the romance and excitement.It's absolutely a five-star male romance story. The perfect blend of characterization, excitement, romance, and sexuality.