Raphael (Vampires in America #1) by D.B. Reynolds

It’s an intense and exciting world D.B. Reynolds has created in Malibu, California “-home to rock-and-roll gods and movie stars, the beautiful, the rich . . . and vampires.” I was sucked (no pun intended) in from the start, and fell madly in lust with the Vampire Lord, Raphael!

Blurb

Powerful and charismatic, Raphael is a Vampire Lord, one of the few who hold the power of life and death over every vampire in existence. Thousands call him Master and have pledged absolute loyalty on their very lives. But when, in a brazen and deadly daylight attack, a gang of human killers kidnaps the one female vampire he'd give his life for, Raphael turns to a human investigator to find his enemies before it's too late.


Cynthia Leighton is smart, tough and sexy, a private investigator and former cop who's tired of spying on cheating spouses and digging out old bank accounts. When Raphael asks for her help in tracking down the kidnappers, Cyn's happy to accept. But she soon realizes her greatest danger comes not from the humans, but from Raphael himself.


Battling Russian mobsters and treacherous vampires, and betrayed by those they trusted, Cyn and Raphael find themselves fighting for their lives while caught up in a passion of blood and violence that is destined to destroy them both.

*********** 

I’m a vampire hussy born, so to speak, during the days of Twilight-mania and then reared on the streets of Caldwell, NY with the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I’m not sure how it is I never read this story – or the series – given that I own the first six or so books. What a travesty, that!

If you’re a fan of Paranormal Romance and Vampires but are tired of the same old done-to-death stories, as I am, then I’ll tell you this… don’t wait another second. Grab this book – well, at the least the first two books – and prepare to be WOW’d!

Though, I do have to admit/warn that I was left with my mouth hanging open when I discovered that, despite the attraction and intense sexual chemistry between Raphael and Cyn, there's no happily ever after in this book. But according to my dear friend, Karla, that is resolved in book two which is why I say you need to have both books on hand.

But seriously, it’s not often I’m left desperate for the next book in a series, but I was this time!

The Red Diary by Toni Blake

Sun, sand, and one woman's private fantasies recorded in a seductive red book . . .

Prim and proper Lauren Ash has a secret side no one else sees—she records her sexual fantasies, in intimate detail, in a very personal book meant for her eyes only.

When hired-hand Nick Armstrong finds the red diary, he's shocked…and aroused. Never before has he come across anything so private—or so sensual. And given the way the Ash family has hurt his, he soon begins to see this as a potent weapon for righting an old wrong. Wouldn't it serve the haughty Lauren right if he used her own fantasies to seduce her, make her fall in love, and then break her heart?

But there's much more to Lauren than Nick expects, and before he quite realizes it, he's opening himself—and his heart—to her. Can Nick let go of the past and surrender to Lauren, body and soul?

*****

The Red Diary

This is one of Toni Blake’s earlier novels, written in 2004 and recently re-released. It's a very steamy read and while there were things I loved, there were things I didn’t love, but still, all-in-all, an enjoyable story.

The plot:

Lauren Ash is the daughter of Ash Builders owner, Henry Ash. On the outside she’s prim and proper, but Lauren has a naughty secret – her red diary, in which she pens all her deepest, most erotic fantasies, never in her wildest dreams thinking that anyone else will ever read them.

Nick Armstrong is the owner of Horizon Painters, and he has a secret too. His company has been hired to paint Lauren’s house and Nick takes the job himself, wanting a glimpse of her life – a life that should have been his. But twenty years ago Lauren’s father cheated Nick’s father out of his half of the business, and now just a glimpse of the life he missed out on isn’t enough. Now Nick wants revenge, and he thinks he might just have found the way to get it – Lauren’s diary.

The characters:

Nick is a likeable character - very sexy, very smart - though I wasn’t completely on board with his reasons for wanting revenge, or the way he was going about getting it. But, he’s a man with a lot on his plate: running his own company, and helping support his sister Elaine and handicapped brother Davy. And he's got a lot on his mind: the grudge he’s been holding onto, one that’s turning him into a bitter, angry man.

Lauren’s character started out very weak, in my mind. She was easily led around by her friend, Carolyn, never really standing up for herself or making her own wants known. As the story progresses, she becomes a much stronger woman, but still, I never really connected with her.

The story:

As I said, this is a very sexy story, but the things I most enjoyed about it had nothing to do with sex, or our hero and heroine. What tugged at my heart and kept me turning the pages was the tragic story of Nick’s younger brother, Davy. He’s got such a sweet boy's heart and soul, trapped in a man’s body, after suffering a horrific, brain injury. It was the time I spent getting to know him, his likes and his interests, that really had my attention. What an emotional side-story his is.

The bottom line:

I'm a huge fan of Toni Blake's Destiny series, as well as her H.O.T. Cops series written as Lacey Alexander, and while I really did enjoy The Red Diary, I didn't love it. I had issues with Nick's sneaking around Lauren's house, reading her diary and plotting his revenge on this woman who had nothing to do with her father's deception. I also had issues with Lauren, in general. I found myself more interested in the secondary story-lines than that of our hero and heroine.

My thanks to Avon Books for providing me with a copy of The Red Diary in exchange for an honest review.