Think it’s glamorous being a vampire? Think again.
The Faustin Bros., Book 1
Alexander Faustin is ready to settle down. He travels from NYC to sunny Colorado to find his destined bride. His delicate mission: to explain to her that vamps exist, that he happens to be one himself, and that he’d like her to be one, too. But the moment he lays eyes on Helena MacAllister, talk is the last thing on his mind.
It’s not like Helena to make out with a stranger on her front porch, much less invite him into her bed. Somehow Alex makes her feel safe, even while he’s dismantling her defenses. But in the wake of an accident, her faith in him is shattered. She learns her dream lover is a monster.
When a vampire betrays and terrifies his beloved, what can he offer her to make it up? Pancakes, of course. It’s a start, at least. And Alex has to think of the next step quick, because if Helena won’t take him back, he’ll never love again.
It’s no secret that I took a break from paranormals ages ago. It’s also no secret that I took a permanent break from vampires about 5 seconds after I read my first one (or close to it, anyway). So I’m sure it’ll come as a great shock to you that not only did I read a vampire paranormal romance, but I actually enjoyed it. Quite a bit.
For whatever reason, I was in the mood for a paranormal romance and asked for suggestions on Twitter. Angela James recommend this (and several others) and I decided to go ahead and try it, even though I generally don’t do vampires. She told me this one was different, and it is. Instead of being an action packed adventure, Called by Blood is a great character study.
When his mother tells him she dreamed of his mate, Alexander Faustin wastes no time heading to Colorado from New York to find her. Without thought or plan he shows up on Helena MacAllister’s doorstep and announces his intention to marry her. Then he kisses her. When she recovers from the shock she locks him out of the house and calls the cops.
Helena can’t deny her attraction to the strange man who so unexpectedly showed up on her door step. She’s torn between thinking he’s a stalker and wanting to invite him in. Due to some past relationships that went sour, Helena is wary of beginning anything with Alex. Eventually he wears her down and she let’s him in. After a long, hot night together Alex runs out just before daybreak, breaking her tentative trust in him.
But she’s in for the shock of her life, because Alex shows back up at nightfall. Only he isn’t the same Alex that left that morning. He’s charred – burned almost beyond recognition. And that isn’t all..he’s actually a vampire.
Up until this point I was mildly amused at Alex’s antics and curious to see where Bryne would take the story. I have to say I was very surprised at the direction she went. What started out as a kind of quirky tale quickly turned into a dark and captivating look at the darker side of being with a vampire.
I think Helena’s reaction to finding out Alex was a vampire is the most realistic I’ve ever read. Not only does she completely freak out, but she does it in a totally believable way. Alex needs to heal, so he calls his family and his brother comes out to keep him fed during the process. Helena understands he’s in no shape to leave, but she wants nothing to do with him. She avoids him as much as possible while she tries to understand what she’s just learned. Although she wants nothing to do with him, Alex isn’t left with much of a choice on where to go. Once he’s healed enough that he can move around on his own – though his skin is still too sensitive for clothes or to be seen by others – his brother leaves him there to clean up the mess he made. With no other options Helena is forced to deal with the truth of what Alex is and what it means for her.
I had a major problem with the timeline in the beginning. Helena goes from thinking Alex is a freaky stalker to sleeping with him in way too short a period of time. I was also annoyed with Alex at times. He seemed almost immature, rushing into things without thinking about the consequences. Of course he definitely paid the price for his reckless behavior. There were a few other issues, but they were minor. Oh, except I was annoyed at how abruptly this ended. I assume we’ll see/hear more since this is the first book in a series.
I was very impressed with the author for looking at the more realistic view of vampires and how humans would deal with them.
4 out of 5
This book is available in e-format only from Samhain Publishing. You can buy it here.