Publisher: Berkley Heat
Date Published: July 2011
ISBN: 9780425241264
Erotic, Paranormal, Vampire, Romance
Trade Paperback
Reviewed by Lil
Obtained by Publisher
Elisa is a servant to Lady Daniela, a vampire and Region Master in Australia. She is human and accompanying several vampires unnaturally turned as children to a place where they may have a chance to learn to control themselves and their bloodlust in order to have some semblance of existence in the vampire world. The fledglings have been thoroughly abused by their cruel makers and are dangerous to everyone, potentially even to Elisa. This is something that was brought home by the attack and death of the object of Elisa’s affection and the rape of herself by one of the most unstable of the group. That young vampire was summarily removed as a threat for all time but this servant’s motherly instincts cannot abide by the thought of the other fledglings being executed.
Malachi is a Native American and young for a vampire. He has found peace in rescuing big cats and rehabilitating them on his island so that they can either return to the wild or live on the preserve in a fashion of the wild with a little help from him and the human Native Americans in his employ. He looks on his agreement to try to rehabilitate these child seeming vampires as something close to an act of futility or insanity. Mal sets strict ground rules for the handling of the fledglings and for Elisa. However, it doesn’t take him long to discover that the young woman accompanying the wild vampires should be considered dangerous, too...to his peace of mind and to his heart.
Ms Hill’s writing is as exquisitely lush and beyond steamy as always. Her Vampire Queen series is satisfyingly dark and edgy with sexual tension and erotic scenes that will knock your socks off. VAMPIRE INSTINCT does not differ in that way.
That said, there was a component in this that was particularly difficult for me as a reader to accept. The heroine is still recovering from her rape and near death at the hands...er, teeth of one of her previous charges. Even with the abilities of this particular author, a favorite of mine, I could not quite believe that Elisa would be able to see past the experience in such a relatively short time from the incident. And especially when there is what appears to be a repeat spun out before her eyes with the victim this time being a female fledgling at the mercy of a stronger and larger male fledgling. That deep well of compassion and motherly feeling didn’t seem to fit with this trauma.
The emotional connection between Mal and Elisa was beautifully woven and make no mistake; the story will take you on an emotion filled ride. What with the relationship between the main characters and the ongoing attempts to save that which might otherwise be thought an abomination in both worlds, readers will find themselves going from fear, to tears, to elation.
This is the first time in the series, though, where I was not feeling that sense of romance so keenly between the hero and heroine. Having the memories of Elisa’s tragically killed previous love so fresh and sharp and so frequently playing in her mind detracted from the current relationship.
Though this was not my favorite of the Vampire Queen series, VAMPIRE INSTINCT is still an intriguing and worthwhile read. The ability of Joey W Hill to write compelling stories with moving interconnected relationships is impressive.
This is an objective review and not an endorsement of the book.
No comments:
Post a Comment