Rosemary Laurey

This HUGE book is actually two books in one. It contains Book One and Book Two of Rosemary Laurey's Vampire Series. Though this edition is out-of-print, the two books will be reissued separately this spring.

The first book is KISS ME FOREVER. American Dixie LaPage travels to England after inheriting a home from her long lost great aunts. When she arrives she becomes entangled with an Elizabethan Age vampire named Christopher 'Kit' Marlowe. Yes, he is THE legendary playwright of the same name, show more and an eye patch-wearing vampire. Dixie and Kit must battle against a coven of dark witches out to destroy them both.

The second book is LOVE ME FOREVER. Dixie and Christopher have moved to Ohio, and they own a store called The Vampire Emporium. Kit's dear friend and fellow vampire Justin Corvus pays them a visit, and he is immediately attracted to one of their human customers Stella Schultz. Stella is a struggling single mom to her son Sam, and they are living in a less-than-desirable neighborhood. Though she is attracted to Justin, Stella is hesitant to fall for him because of being hurt before. Their new relationship is threatened when Justin breaks the vampire colony's laws while defending Stella from her neighborhood's street thugs.

Both of these books were enjoyable - very good character development, detailed descriptions of places and events, and good dialog between characters. I thought it was an original idea to take an actual person from history (Christopher Marlowe) and make him a modern-day vampire. I would definitely recommend reading Rosemary Laurey's Vampire Series. show less

September, 1940. The plucky citizens of rural England have adapted to wartime life. Everyone uses blackout curtains, rides bicycles to save gasoline and takes in children from the cities or families whose homes have been damaged by bombings. Alice Doyle, the local doctor in the town of Brytewood, in Southeast England, administers what aid she can to the residents of her area. After having been up all night delivering twins, she comes across an injured man in Fletcher's Woods. She doesn't show more hesitate to bring him home with her, so she can care for him at her clinic.

Too bad the man she helps isn't a man at all, but one of four vampires employed by the Nazis and dropped into the English countryside to attack from the inside. When the ambulance that she has called finally arrives, the man has inexplicably disappeared. Alice's sweet Grandmother, who she lives with, invites the ambulance drivers in for a cup of tea. One of them is a nice young man named Peter Watson. Or he seems nice enough, but when Alice finds out that he is a Conscientious Objector she loses all respect for him. A healthy young man like him should be out there fighting, like her brothers are.

The disappearing man was the first odd occurrence, but there are soon more. Alice and her nurse, Gloria, have their hands full and desperately need some assistance. Their prayers are answered when a first aid assistant is assigned to them. It turns out to be none other than Peter Watson. Alice will have to find a way to work with the man, despite her personal feelings.

The vampires have their plans, and soon they are putting them in action. Fortunately for the citizens of Brytewood, there is some truth to the old folklore tales that everyone has been raised on. Magic still exists in England, though it has long since been dressed in a veil of normalcy. Take Alice's Gran, for instance. She is Pixie, a centuries old magical race and Alice is, too, though her rational mind refuses to believe it. And the old Sergeant in the village is a dragon. He rarely uses his dragon shape now, but he is still in command of his powers and is ready and willing to use them in defence of his beloved country.

If the Nazis think they have a monopoly on the supernatural, they are sadly mistaken. The vampires they have recruited are far from the only creatures in this war and they will find that their task is much harder than they had anticipated. The humans have far more help than they ever realized, but they will need every bit of it to defeat the greatest evil that the world has ever known.

This book is a wonderful combination of historical fiction, romance, fantasy and paranormal. I was immediately interested in the World War II setting and I loved the imaginative use of the folklore of England. I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to reading the next two books in the series, Bloody Awful and Bloody Right. The only complaint I have is that the book should have been proofread more carefully. I received a finished copy and found quite a few typos and context errors that would have been caught by a good proofreader. Otherwise a very entertaining, delightful book! show less

Two stories in one. The first story is Hand of a Master. Helen is hired by Luc to catalog his library. On her first night, Luc and Branko, his secretary, stage a BDSM scene in the garden outside her window. She is aroused. Luc and Branko know she watched them. Luc and Helen then proceed to engage an affair. Helen's contract is coming to an end when there is a break-in and the cook is murdered. Who did it? What were they looking for? Will Helen stay with Luc?

The second story is Touch of a show more Dom. Adele is hired as a cook to replace the murdered cook from Hand of a Master. She is also looking for her father, so the position makes it possible to look for him since it was where her father supposedly went when he left Adele and her mother. Helen and Branko set up a scene for Adele's first night. Unlike Helen, Adele interrupts the scene and wants Branko. The two of them begin an affair. Will Adele find her father? Will she and Branko continue their affair if she stays?

I enjoyed these stories. I liked that they were part of a series. I liked how these characters were in tune with each other. Their relationships were open. They were made for each other. I liked the graphicness of the scenes. They were hot! There were secrets that slowly made their ways out.

I look forward to reading more of this author. show less

Reviewed by Victoria
Book provided by Ellora’s Cave
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

Hand of the Master by Madeleine Oh is not part of a series but it could be. I would love to know what happens next with these characters. I chose this book because after reading the summery it stuck with me. I had to know what happens.

Helen is a recent widow making a fresh start at a job in the south of France cataloging a private library. It seems the perfect way to see a different part of show more the world. She wants to move on from her past.

Luc has a collection he wants cataloged and from the tons of applicants he picked Helen because he knew about her interest in bondage. His partner and personals secretary Branko both think Helen is a perfect person to complete them.

The chemistry between Helen, Luc and Blanko is sizzling hot. The sex scenes were sweltering hot. I am not just sure how these three would work long term because Luc seemed not too happy when Helen spent time with Blanko without him.

This book moved at such a fast pace I would have loved it if the author slowed the pace down and flushed the book out a bit. It seemed rushed in places especially the end. Overall, I enjoyed reading the story. This story pulled me in and did not let go until the very end. show less