Series: Awakening #1
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Published by: Forever Yours on April 1, 2014
Format: eARC
Pages: 240
Source: Author
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THE AWAKENING
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, civilization no longer exists, and only the strongest survive. The few remaining humans must band together with supernatural beings to battle unspeakable evil—or all hope will be lost.
Kimber Treat is an ordinary woman with an extraordinary gift: she can raise the dead. As a necromancer who works with the police, she communicates with murder victims to bring their killers to justice. But after a normal session goes horribly wrong, Kimber realizes she's summoned something dark and sinister. She's unwittingly unleashed the apocalypse, and everyone blames her . . . except Duncan MacDonnough, the devastatingly handsome vampire she can't stop fantasizing about.
As society shuts down and flesh-eating hordes close in, Duncan vows to protect Kimber. He can keep her safe from others—but not from the insatiable carnal hunger he feels for her. Now racing to reverse the chaos she's unleashed, Kimber can't afford any distractions. But even as she succumbs to Duncan's seduction, she fears that he has a hidden agenda. And with the line between life and death starting to blur, his secrets might kill her-or worse . . .
*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Necromancers…vampires and zombies, oh my – a sexy start to a page turning series!
VAMPIRE’S HUNGER introduces us to a fascinating new paranormal world where necromancers work with the police using their talent of raising the dead (usually temporarily) to question the deceased and solve crimes. Kimberly (Kimber) Treat is one of those necromancers. When she’s called in to bring murder victim Richard Whitcomb back from the dead, Kimber uses her ability to tap into the magic of the Unseen but something goes terribly wrong. A darkness attaches itself to Whitcomb’s soul as he’s reanimated and before Kimber can send him back he attacks the medical examiner in the room jump-starting the zombie apocalypse.
Fast forward to six months later where Kimber and her BFF Natalie are living in an apartment with vampire Duncan and his fae friend Aodhán in order to survive in this new and dangerous world. As independent as Kimber is, she knows there’s safety in numbers and together their chances of survival are greater. Duncan has always had a soft spot for Kimber and suggests moving to his Queen’s fortress with Natalie where they will be granted saftey, but everything comes with a price. Maddalene wants to resurrect her vampire consort and will stop at nothing to bring him back but Kimber refuses to help the vampiress who had her parents murdered. When she refuses to aid Maddalene…Kimber, Natalie, Duncan and Aodhán must face a threat far worse than the zombie apocalypse..a powerful vampire Queen.
“It was time for her to face her fears and beat those bitches down.”
The author’s candid voice immediately draws you into her paranormal world of magic and the undead. Kimber is a strong and fun heroine, she never wastes an opportunity to make a smart ass comment and I love her for it. I enjoyed her personality but it did take me a bit to warm up to her completely, once she realized she needed her friends and quit the “I can do it all by myself” attitude she grew on me.
Even with her necromancy abilities, Kimber’s still vulnerable and has no love for vampires which I understand after learning what happened to her parents, she has her reasons. She has a few self-loathing moments because she feels the outbreak is essentially her fault and is trying her best to make things right, even sacrificing herself at times. Her attraction to Duncan is evident but she’s hesitant to pursue anything because of his vampire nature. At first this bothered me because Duncan has given her no reason not to trust him, but I admire Kimber for never forgetting a vampire is a vampire, even if he’s a hot one! She has more self control than I would have in her situation, but it was great to see that she just didn’t throw herself at Duncan.
“So carpe diem and carpe penis.”
Duncan is as yummy as vampires get, he’s smoking hot, an alpha male, a protector and he has a great sense of humor. He doesn’t fall into the brooding vampire category (even if he rarely smiles) but he believes himself unworthy of love because of his dark past. The intense chemistry and flirty banter between him and Kimber is one of my favorite elements of this story, it sheds some light on the lurking danger. He knows Kimber has reservations when it comes to getting involved with him and he gives her space when she needs it. I wasn’t expecting too much sex in this book because of zombies and all but Ms. Garner pleasantly surprised me with a few that left me in need of a cold shower! What I enjoy most about Kimber and Duncan’s relationship is that it starts off friendly and doesn’t instantly become love, they do care about each other but are getting to know one another throughout the story. Natalie and Aodhán are great supporting characters with their snarky comments and obvious flirtations, I can’t wait to see more of them in future books, their interactions where fun to read and helped diffuse some of the tension between Kimber and Duncan.
“He was beautiful. And right now, in this moment, he was hers. There were no promises for tomorrow. Nothing else mattered, just this.”
Zombies are the initial threat in this world story begins but it soon becomes apparent that it’s the vampires who pose a greater threat. This twist was a little confusing to me being that they’re in the middle of the zombie apocalypse and all but I hope it’s fleshed out more as the story unfolds. As a first installment I expected a little more world building but Ms. Garner focused more on character development and their relationships which I didn’t mind, I’m just left with some questions I hope are answered as the series progresses. The ending wraps up too quickly for me with a cliffhanger feel that left me wanting more…in a good way. VAMPIRE’S HUNGER is a fun and sexy start to a series that has left me anxiously awaiting its sequel!
The Awakening Series:
About Cynthia Garner
Cynthia Garner discovered her love for writing when her sixth grade teacher told the class to write a story that began "It was a dark and stormy night..." With that Cynthia's love for all things paranormal was born. When she's not working her day job as a mostly mild-mannered Human Resources Manager, she's on her laptop writing or playing way too much Solitaire. Originally from Northeast Ohio, Cynthia now lives in the desert Southwest.
So maybe I’ll read this. Even with the zombies. Maybe 😉
Trust me, you’ll hardly notice the zombies with all the smexiness! 😉
So, this is what, like a dystopian paranormal romance?? But, they don’t DATE them do they? Like in… *cough* Edie Spence…
I guess you could call it that..haha UMM…no! The zombies are not datable in this world..eww I still cringe at that zombie romance! 😛
It does sound good, but well, zombies. So not for me.
The zombies are not the main focus in this story, I’d give it a chance 🙂
Sound good Lori 🙂 The only necromancer books I read are Anita Blake, and this seems to have a little of everything too. Besides the super HOT alpha male 😉 I just went to audible and I was almost glad it wasn’t there..LOL My budget is busting…LOL So I’m glad to be adding to my TBR, and patiently wait for the audio. I bought the Anthology to Immortal Hunter already… I’m exciting to be starting soon.
Great job!
Have fun with the boys of the EU Loupe! They’re yummy. This book was just released so it might take a bit to hit audio…lucky you! 😛
Obviously I’m having a change of heart because I’ll read this for the zombies and not for the vamps. #Loriisabadinfluence
Don’t blame me for introducing you to an awesome show (TWD)! Haha There’s not as much zombie action in this as I thought there’d be but it’s a good read! 😉
She’s a zombie fan now Lori…lols. We did it! 😀
We win!!! 🙂
I grabbed this one using some of my B&N settlement money. I hope I enjoy it as much as you did.