Donna Burgess - Darklands, A Vampire Tale

Susan Archer is a police officer with a hard traumatic past, when she was younger her twin-brother Peter was killed accidentally, but it was so traumatic for her that she carries that night on her soul forever. Even in her present life that memory shadows over her relationship with her boyfriend Michael Matthews all the time. She never told anyone about Devin McGree, the gorgeous vampire she cannot seem to get out of her mind.

Twenty years after Devin McGree accidentally killed Peter and taken some of Susan’s blood, he knows it’s time to get Susan home where she belongs. He knows he has to finish the job and turn Susan into a creature of the night. She hasn’t aged a bit after he gave her his love bite and soon people will start to notice.

From the moment Susan and Devin meet each other after twenty years, she know he’s not the cold blooded murderer she accused him to be. She also knows the attraction between them is still there, even though she cares for Michael, its Devin who burns her inside and out. When she is completely turned, she knows it’s time to leave town with Devin, but will Michael accept this so easily?

Darklands, A Vampire Tale by Donna Burgess is a fabulous dark urban fantasy novel. This book is full off violence, paranormal creatures and fabulous sexual scenes.

Susan Archer is a strong stubborn woman, you could say she is a little cynical and unsympathetic, but I believe she has every right to be that way after what she’s been through. From the moment she meets Devin at an early age her whole life has been a roller coaster.

Devin McGree’s life has been one living hell from the moment he was turned into a vampire. All he knows is violence and torture, but he managed to escape that life and be happy when John and Lillian took him into their loving home. But his torturer Kasper Jacobsen wants revenge and is hunting him till either one of them is dead. Now Susan and Devin have to work together to stay one step ahead of Kasper in order to stay alive.

I have to be honest…at first I wasn’t that fond of the violence in this book, but I come to realize that it was important to tell the whole story…and what a fabulous story it was. It’s not a light paranormal romance I’m normally used to read, but I was definitely captured from the first page. I knew I had to finish the book to see how this was going to end.

Donna Burgess did an excellent job writing this novel and I really hope she continues doing this. I’ll keep my eyes open for her new books in the near future.

James Simon - Immortal Beloved

Tommaso di Cavalieri and his love Victoria met each other in Renaissance Rome in 1534 and fell madly in love with each other. One night they were attacked while leaving a party of their good friend Michelangelo, Victoria is murdered, her body totally drained of her blood and Tommaso barely survive the attack.

Tommaso learns later on that he survived the attack because he has tasted his attacker’s blood and slowly turned into a vampire. Through the years he slowly accepts his fate and finds a new purpose in his life. He learned about reincarnation and he is determined to find his soul mate Victoria again, even if that means it takes forever to find her.

Immortal Beloved by James Simon is a very good debut novel. It’s full of true love mixed with history and supernatural beings.

Normally I don’t read books written from a men’s point of view, but I have to say I was pleasant surprised when I was reading this novel.

Tommaso is a fabulous character and from page one, he lured me into his world and my heart cried when he was telling his story bit by bit.

In modern time Tommaso is an ER doctor and is still searching for his Victoria, but despise he’s a vampire he wants to help humankind. So working in the hospital he is doing his very best to help out the one who needs it the most. Then one night during a charity event at the museum he meets his lost love Victoria again.

Victoria is a nurse with a gift to heal people, she is drawn to Tommaso from the start, but she cannot explain why. When Tommosa explains things one step at the time, she admits that she cannot remember him or their past together, but she knows she can trust him completely. So he takes her on their journey through his memories to let her experience them again.

But danger is just around the corner, because a secret ancient group is after Victoria and they won’t stop until she is dead. Tommaso has to do everything in his power to protect the woman he loves.

This is one of those books that will keep your attention from the start and hold it through the whole story. On one side you want to keep reading because you want to know how it all goes, but on the other side you don’t want it to end. For me that is a good book, a story that will keep you occupied till the very end.

I’ll definitely keep my eyes on this author and see what he will write next, because I know it has to be something good.