Roman centurion Dominic drew his last human breath during the time of Hadrian. In the centuries since, he’s seen much of the world change around him, but the vampire finds himself held captive in Melbourne, Australia, by his fascination with young, passionate, fun-loving, and alive tattoo artist Michael Chapman. Unable to resist the lure of Michael’s beauty, Dominic finds himself entering the parlor to get a tattoo he knows will fade.
The attraction he feels only grows, and despite Dominic’s extreme reluctance to get involved with a human, he and Michael form a bond—a connection that all too soon attracts the attention of a dark specter from Dominic’s bloody past. Soon, a dangerous game of cat and mouse threatens not only the budding romance, but also their humanity.
Dominic has been a vampire a long time. He knows that he can’t get attached to any humans but yet, the tattooist, Michael, almost calls to him. He knows that extended contact with Michael will make it harder for Michael to forget Dominic but he can’t seem to help himself. Eventually Michael seeks Dominic out and more than a bond is formed – love grows. It happens quickly but they just know that it’s right.
Michael decides that he will do anything to be with Dominic and to not lose the man he’s come to know and love. He decides that he wants to be changed to a vampire and Dominic agrees. But Michael isn’t prepared to become someone different. He wants to continue being just as human as he was before but he finds that that may not be as easy as he believed it would be. He soon learns that life as a vampire is much more difficult than he first thought.
Then there’s Galen who was the vampire who “made” Dominic who comes into town to wreak havoc with Dominic, Michael and their relationship. He’s out to prove something to himself as well as the two lovers and he’ll stop at nothing to get his point across.
This was an interesting love story in the fact that Dominic and Michael were so very different. They came from different worlds and from what I could tell didn’t have all that much in common. That being said they had a love that was boundless and, though tested a lot and doubted just a tad, incredibly strong. Both Dominic and Michael were stronger beings than they ever believed about themselves and proved that time and again. Their love was the absolute best part of this book for me.
I really liked Michael’s friend Abby in this story. She was the kind of friend that I think everyone should have. She loved Michael to pieces and believed in him no matter what. She showed her support and love in endless ways and I loved reading when parts of the story came about.
The story for me was quite intriguing for the first part of the book but seemed to slow down considerably in the second half of the book when Galen showed up. He was out to prove that no matter what, once you become a vampire, you lose your humanity. You can’t possibly be a thoughtful or giving being – it turns into all about YOU – as it did with Galen. I found that while I liked the thought behind that, the flashbacks of when Galen was turning Dominic and “showing” that info to Michael really slowed things down. I know it served a particular purpose but it just didn’t work for me. I also felt that the book lost a little umpf during the second half as Dominic and Michael were apart so much of the time. Since they were the electric factor that was keeping me reading the story lost a bit of its light.
Overall it was a very good story that I enjoyed reading but it was definitely a slower paced read for me.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
I have this and I got about 5 pages in and stopped. No reason, I've gotten about 5 pages in on about a dozen books in the last 10 days and stopped. Blerg. Total reading slump and can't even blame it on hormones. I hope this weekend I get my mojo back. It sounds interesting and we'll see if I find it slow in the second half.
Tam, you obviously need to read only five page long books for a while…
This is one I'm sure I'll get to eventually.
Tam – It's a slower paced read in general so if you plan to pick it up again then you should definitely keep that in mind. When you just want a mellow book.
Sorry you're in your slump. Maybe pick up a favorite and re-read it to get the feeling again?
Chris – lol Yes, 5 page books for Tam…I don't think there are many of them. 🙂
Tracy – lovely review! This sounds good and I love the cover! It's gorgeous!
Tam – *hugs* Hope you're over the reading slump soon!
Thanks Orannia. I love the cover too – just really unusual.