Blood Avenged (Sons of Navarus #1)
by Gabrielle Bisset
Length: 253 pages (60K words)
Genre: Paranormal (vampire) erotic romance
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"I am everything you desire.
I am vampire.
Powerful and manipulative, Vasilije does as he pleases. A vampire beholden to no one, he takes what he desires, drinking deeply the pleasures this life has to offer. When one of his own is staked, Vasilije must travel to New Orleans to exact his revenge. There he meets Sasa, a beautiful woman who arouses him like no other has for centuries. Vasilije’s need for vengeance is equaled only by his passion for her, but what he finds in his revenge is just the beginning... "
WARNING: Vasilije isn't a beta pretending to be an Alpha. If you want a sweet hero, his story isn't for you. He's mad, bad, and dangerous to know. But his heroine is strong, so she can handle his style.
Contains adult sexual situations and language.
Natalie Gibson's Review:
Vasilije is a middle aged vampire (500 years). His sire is dead, thereby releasing him to sire any and all vampires he wants. He does this often and is known to be a loving maker seeing to the needs of his 'children'. He can feel each and every one's location around the globe. If he wants them near, they come. If he wants solitude they leave. He is the boss and he loves every second of it.
Sasa is a good girl who loves her dying mother. She also happens to be an empath who gets in too deep with a voodoo priestess. Using her powers in exchange for treatments for her mother, puts her neck deep in the vampire world. She finds herself between a rock and a hard place when the woman she's sworn to help, who she owes, sends her to spy on Vasilije, a man who she instantly feels a connection. She witnesses the staking of one of Vasilije's children and is forced to lie about it. She is in so deep and soon even she doesn't know what side she's on.
In my mind, there is no better setting than New Orleans for a vampire story. It is so dirty and gritty and old world. If vampires were to exist there would be tons in NOLA. If you like erotic vampire romance then you will enjoy this one. There is plenty of blood drinking and a dominant god like beautiful male to make you daydream about getting bitten, and being possessed by an all consuming need for another. The pace of the book was pretty good. The beginning scene was wonderful and I loved seeing Vasilije on the hunt in the modern world. Everyone could be his if he wanted; no one was off limits or out of his league. The sex was off the charts hot from the very first scene where he and his new vampire share a human woman. It was well written and thoroughly erotic. In my opinion the chemistry between Sasa and Vasilije was good enough to make me overlook the negatives I found.
My real complaint is that the ending was anticlimactic. The two vampires are almost equivalent ages with matching passions and the whole book builds up to this big standoff that is over in a few short pages. I wanted a fight, a struggle, a battle. Instead there was just some monologuing and rehashing of grievances and then stab to the old heart box and it's over. Then, there is a last chapter that feels tacked on where we find out that Vasilije is a member of the Sons of Navarus and they are feuding with another ruling group of vamps. It really felt like it came out of nowhere. I can see why the author added it. It is a set up for the series. It would have been better if there had been a hint of this undercurrent throughout the story.
I am willing to forgive those few things as snags in the first book of a series. I had high hopes for the next one and, as I have already finished Blood Betrayed I can tell you, they were exceeded. Come back in a few days for that review.
I award Blood Avenged 3 satin pillows.
Good review!
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