Jabril (Vampires in America 2) - D.B. Reynolds

Back cover summary- 

Houston, Texas-Cowboy boots, baseball and journeys to the stars . . . right? Wrong. Because Houston is also home to Jabril Karim, one of the eight powerful Vampire Lords who control all of North America. And as Private Investigator Cynthia Leighton will soon discover, not all Vampire Lords are created equal. For Jabril is the face of evil in the new world, a vampire who values no life but his own, who enslaves those he desires, steals whatever he covets and destroys anyone who stands in his way. Running from L.A. and its seductive Vampire Lord, Raphael, Cyn sees the Houston job as a welcome refuge, a place to get away and heal her broken heart. But Texas will be no vacation. For in Jabril Karim, Cyn will confront a true enemy, one who will go to any lengths to satisfy his lusts, enrich his coffers and expand his power. Fighting for the lives of two young sisters, Cyn's journey will take her through the streets of Houston and back to L.A., where the human police are determined to bring Raphael down for the murder of one of their own. But the danger doesn't end there. For Jabril has set his sights on Cyn, and he will stop at nothing to have her.

Review (warning spoilers)-

Jabril is D.B. Reynold's second installment in her Vampires in America series.  We see the continuation of Cyn and Raphael's story with a new antagonist in the vampire Jabril.  I love this series! Too bad that it's not that famous.   Jabril is a very good follow-up to Raphael.  The story is fast, smooth and action packed.  I read it in one sitting (or lying).

Cyn goes to Houston partly to forget Raphael and mostly to work for Jabril to locate his missing ward.  Unfortunately, Jabril just intended to use her to piss off Raphael.  Cyn realized Jabril's evil plot and foiled it.  Raphael, of course, quickly comes to her rescue, not that she needed it. They kiss and make up and (hopefully) will live happily ever after.

I just have one small comment about the story.  I don't understand why the vampires had to wait for Raphael to arrive to start rescuing Cyn considering that he had to take a plane and all to get to her.  Other vampires of Raphael's were already on hand, so why wait?  I guess it's for dramatic purposes.

I already discussed Cyn and Raphael's characterizations in my review of Raphael.  In Jabril, we see an evolution as they both accept and give way so that they can be together.  I guess that was their main problem as they are both alphas. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to the next one, Rajmund. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Rating: ***** Highly recommended

Angel's Blood (Guild Hunter 1) - Nalini Singh

Back cover summary-

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she is the best--but she does not know if even she is good enough for this job.  Hired by the dangerously beautiful archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, Elena knows failure is not an option--even if the task is impossible. Because this time, it's not a wayward vamp she has to track. It's an archangel gone bad.  The job will put Elena is the midst of a killing spree like no other--and pull her to the razor's edge of passion.  Even if the hunt does not destroy her, succumbing to Raphael's seductive touch just might.  For when archangel's play, mortals break.

Review (Spoilers!)-

A natural born hunter, Elena Deveraux is the best in her profession, that is why Raphael, the fearsome archangel  of new york hired her to track Uram, an archangel gone mad with blood lust.  Of course, it is not only Uram that Elena needs to worry about because Raphael is equally dangerous.  It  doesn't help matters that she is very attracted to him.  At the end of course, Raphael and Elena stopped Uram's madness.

I really liked this book. It is a fresh take on the vampire story and it offers more than sexy vampires but also angels who are higher up in the paranormal food chain.  Angels are beings of incredible beauty and power.  Unlike vampires, they have never been human and therefore they behave with incredible cruelty and savagery.  Raphael, our hero, is not an exception to this.  This angle is also what makes the story refreshing because he is no whining immortal.  He is a savage beast of magnificent beauty and power who is shocked to realize that he loves a mortal woman and would choose to die than live his immortal life without her.  Sweet. Our heroine, Elena, is no damsel in distress.  She is a warrior woman and a born vampire hunter.  She is stubborn but not irritatingly so.  She admitted a few times that Raphael made her feel feminine.

The story is well written and absorbing.  While reading Angel's Blood, I can't help but think that it is definitely in another class.  There is a plot. The world where Raphael and Elena lives is so vividly described that until now I could still see angels flying and landing in skyscrapers. Even though the romance between Raphael and Elena is central to the story is it not forced.  The characters are well developed and well formulated that they are haunting.  I can almost hear Raphael's wings flapping in the air and smell his scent of water and wind.  Great strong hero matched with a great heroine.

Finding an absorbing new series is a real treasure.  I am really looking forward to the next one.


Rating: *****



Tags: Nalini+Singh Angel\'s+Blood Elena+Deveraux Raphael Guild+Hunter

Generated by: Technorati Tag Generator

The Vampire Shrink - Lynda Hilburn

Amazon summary-

Denver Psychologist Kismet Knight just wants a little excitement in her life. A little publishing fame and fortune. She doesn't believe in the paranormal. Especially not comic book children of the night. But when a new client pulls Kismet into the vampire underworld, and introduces her to gorgeous Devereux -- who claims to be an 800-year-old vampire -- Kismet finds herself up to her neck in the undead. Not to mention all the other bizarre creatures crawling out of Denver's supernatural Pandora's Box. And if being attracted to a man who thinks he's an ancient bloodsucker isn't bad enough, someone -- or something -- is leaving a trail of blood-drained dead bodies. Enter handsome FBI profiler Alan Stevens, who warns her that vampires are very real and that one is a murderer. A murderer who is after her. In the midst of it all, Kismet realizes she has feelings for both the vampire and the profiler. But though she cares for each of the men, the reality that vampires exist is enough of a challenge . . . for now. 

Review (warning spoilers!)

Kismet Knight is a psychologist who bit off more than what she could chew when she had a brilliant idea to become a vampire psychologist.  She discovered the world of "vampire wannabes" after counseling Midnight  who Kismet believed to be merely a disturbed  young woman.  Midnight believes in vampires and wanted to be one.  Kismet suddenly found herself entangled with the vampire world--even if she didn't believe in vampires---specially after she caught the interests of the gorgeous master vampire Devereux.. The villain in this book is Bryce, a vampire that Devereux made.  Bryce wanted to be with Devereux but since Devereux was not interested, he planned to kill Devereux instead.  Of course since Kismet is a modern woman, she got to save her man (even if she is not convinced yet that he is her man) by beheading Bryce like the Highlander.

I did not expect this book to be good.  It was a pleasant surprise.  I never have high hopes when the book cover is cheesy but this one turned out to be quite good. It is definitely on my list of books to read while waiting for the next Sookie Stackhouse book.

Kismet Knight is no Sookie Stackhouse or Bella Swan.  She is a highly educated, pragmatic, no-nonsense woman.  She is über-sensible.  This is the reason why it took her a while to believe in vampires even in the face of overwhelming evidence.   I admit this made everything a bit dry because the book was written from the point of view of Kismet and unfortunately, she is a bit emotionally inaccessible.  Devereux is a very strong romantic lead.  He is an 800 year old celtic vampire with a twist---he can do magic like Merlin!  How cool is that?

Kismet is lucky.  Devereux is just in-love with her by default. The result is a story with the heroin struggling to accept that a beautiful, powerful man loves her and if she could love him back instead of the usual woman is running after the man storyline.

The Vampire Shrink hits all the spots and I highly recommend it to people to likes Sookie Stackhouse.

Rating: *****


Kismet Knight Devereux Linda Hilburn what to read after sookie stackhouse paranormal romance vampire books

---