Classic Maiden

"The first installment in a sexy new paranormal romance series by Larissa Ione, author of the bestselling Demonica series!

A WOMAN OUT FOR BLOOD
Nicole Martin was only eight years old when the vampire slaves rose up in rebellion and killed her family. Now she devotes her life to finding a vaccine against vampirism, hoping to wipe out her memories—along with every bloodsucker on the planet. But there’s one thing she cannot destroy: her searing, undeniable attraction for the one man she should hate and fear the most . . .

A VAMPIRE OUT FOR REVENGE
A member of the renegade vampire MoonBound Clan, Riker is haunted by demons of his own. When he recognizes Nicole and remembers how her family enslaved his loved ones, his heart burns for vengeance. But when he kidnaps Nicole and holds her in a secret lair, his mortal enemy becomes his soul obsession, his greatest temptation, and, perhaps, his only salvation—a hot-blooded lover who could heal him with her touch . . . or bury him forever."

My Thoughts:

When I first saw the cover for this book I just knew I wanted to read it. Being a fantasy fan and loving vampire stories, this was right up my alley. Obviously, vampire stories are done to death, but when they're done well, and are dark and dangerous, the stories are the kind that I love. The author, Larissa Ione, is known for writing well-written Paranormal Romances. But here, I thought, there were some minor flaws. However, because of the intense and angsty romance, it made up for it. There's a lot of misunderstandings (without being annoying), lies and surprises along the way and it kept me clued to the book.

In this world Vampires are for the most part slaves to humans. The Martin family being behind the biggest anti-vampire organization there is. Nicole Martin grew up practically being raised by one of the family's slaves, the vampire Therese. But when Therese dies, "apparently" from being killed by her vampire mate Riker, and then with a slave rebellion that follows which kills most of her family, it leaves its mark on her. She comes to hate vampires and becomes an expert on vampire physiology. She grows up in France, but when she comes back to America she takes over the Martin organization. Or so she thinks. There are things she's not aware of, and the half-brother Chuck who she thinks she can trust, is keeping secrets from her. There's more to this which I won't spoil. I will add that while she hates vampires, there's a lot of things done to vampires she doesn't approve of.

"No, the title of Nightmare King belonged to the male looming like a death sentence in front of her, a gorgeous sandy-haired vampire in worn, bloodstained jeans and a loaded weapons harness beneath a long leather coat. A male named Riker who, twenty years ago, had killed Terese. His own mate."

Riker is a vampire from the MoonBound Clan. He lost his mate Therese 20 years ago. He was there at the night of her death, but knows things Nicole doesn't about the events that happened. However, there are things he doesn't know too, that has something to do with what happened to Therese while being a slave for the Martin family. All of this we come to learn more about, as Nicole and Riker starts to unravel them.

“Nicole lay where he’d put her, still unconscious, her long strawberry-blond locks spilling over the grass like blood, her bottom lip swollen from biting it. He gathered her in his arms, aware that he hadn’t held a female this way since his mate. But Terese had been smaller. Lighter. Much more fragile. And where Terese had smelled of rose water, Nicole’s warm skin carried a hint of crisp pears. What. The. Hell. Why in the world was he comparing the two? They were opposites. Human and vampire. Tall and petite. Evil slaver and innocent victim.”

Nicole and Riker, boy, their love story were intense! They start out hating each other, basically. It was all very messed-up character stuff that was written really well by the author, I thought. As they get to know each other and, eventually, help each other, we also come to know some of the members of the MoonBound Clan. I won't talk about that because I want readers to be surprised, but I will add that the stuff with the leader Hunter and the vampire legend had me curious and I look forward to his book. Oh, and I really loved the added Native American lore. Want more of that!

“Giving herself a mental shake, she jumped back into the conversation. “It would help if we knew the exact origins of the vampire species. We think the first case of vampirism started around four hundred years ago, here in America, but we don’t know where the virus came from, if it was originally airborne—”

Grant took a sip of his purple concoction and grimaced. “You know the vampire legend of their origins, yes?”

“Yes, but the legend is ridiculous.”

“Is it?” He had to be kidding.

“Two Native American tribal chiefs kill each other, and then a crow and a raven fight over their bodies, spilling their blood into the men, who afterward rise that night as undead? Um, yes. Ridiculous.”

“Some vampires agree with you. Mostly the turned ones. There are also rumors of demons creating the first vampires, but if they are so much as whispered inside these walls, Hunter will shut them down with rare temper.”

I highly recommend this book! It did have some minor flaws and I do think some people won't respond to this particular book, but I hope you will give it a try and see for yourself if it's up your alley. I just loved it.