Series: Dead in the City #2
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on July 1, 2014
Format: eARC
Pages: 320
Source: NetGalley
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Shane Quesada, a four-century old vampire sentry, is known for cold, unemotional precision when hunting rogue vampires.
Maya Robertson is a youngling vampire who will not be controlled—and to prove it, she rejects Shane’s protection—only to find herself in over her head with an alpha werewolf.
Soon, a war between the coven and the werewolf clan ignites, and Maya and Shane flee to Louisiana, where their passion for each other grows—as does Maya’s power. When she finds herself at the center of the conflict, will she finally trust Shane with her life—and her heart?
*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.
Sara Humphreys delivers another page turner with this fantastic sequel!
The Dead in the City series continues with VAMPIRE TROUBLE which features the sexy, brooding vampire sentry Shane Quesada and the feisty baby vamp Maya Robertson. Shane is a centuries old vampire who prefers immersing himself in his job as sentry for the vampire Czars of NYC, Olivia and Doug. His love life is non-existent and he’s given up all hope of finding his true mate until he sets eyes on the young and rebellious Maya. Shane’s instantly driven by a need to be her protector, but that need becomes stronger when Maya gets herself mixed up with a werewolf Alpha that has serious consequences. When her coven is forced to go to war with the werewolves in their city, Maya has no choice but to trust Shane and take the handsome vampire up on his offer of protection. With the looming threat of war, Maya and Shane must leave town and head to Louisiana, where things between the two get just as hot as the weather down in New Orleans.
I absolutely love Sara Humphreys NYC vamps! In my eyes they’re the perfect mix of dark and romantic while still keeping true to some of the original vampire myths I’ve grown up on. One of my favorite elements to this series is the whole “destined mates” angle which I’ve seen mostly in the werewolf genre, but feel Sara seamlessly ties this into the story line without overdoing it. Finding your bloodmate also comes with some supernatural perks that are unique to each couple (i.e. day walking and telepathy with their mate) which I find fascinating. Sometimes the mating factor makes for an insta-romance but that’s not the case with the couples in this series, most of the pairings are unexpected and the relationships have a few hurdles to overcome before the happy ending, which is how I like it.
From the moment Maya and Shane met, I knew their story would be entertaining and sweet. Shane Quesada starts off as your typical alpha male soldier, he’s old, stubborn, guarded and loyal to his vampire coven. When he unexpectedly finds himself in a dream state reliving Maya’s last moments as a human one night, Shane knows there’s more than meets the eye to the snarky bartender and soon starts believing she might just be his bloodmate. When Shane reveals all of this to Maya she freaks out and refuses to believe she’s to spend eternity with the ancient overprotective vampire, so she does what she does best, rebels, getting herself into trouble with some dangerous weres.
The relationship between Maya and Shane isn’t all rainbows and roses but that’s what makes these two so endearing. You have the emotionally unavailable Shane and the independent, flirty Maya who has experienced some trauma in her old life but refuses to let anyone tell her what to do in her immortal life. As the book progresses we learn Maya was a victim of a brutal sexual assault that left her dead and ultimately led to her turning. I’m not a huge fan of this kind of violence in my books, but I think the author handles this topic in a manner that’s not graphic and traumatizing to the reader.
Both Maya and Shane are equally as stubborn but experience a sense of growth when they’re together that probably would not have occurred otherwise. I really fell in love with Shane’s character when he learns of Maya’s past and tries to comfort her and overcome her fear. Their flirty banter is fun to watch, but it was the tender moments between Shane and Maya that solidified their romance for me, it felt organic. As for the smexy factor, when it happens it’s off the charts HOT…Maya and Shane are perfect together and I couldn’t get enough of them!
VAMPIRE TROUBLE delivers a page turning read with non-stop action, romance and a fair share of twists and turns with a few sweet surprises! While this book focuses mostly on Maya and Shane’s story, we get to revisit some familiar faces from Tall, Dark, and Vampire, see what’s happened with them since their story and meet some new faces, including the werewolves. I know I shouldn’t have favorites within the series, but I might have enjoyed Shane and Maya’s book a little more because of the constant suspense and their impromptu road trip down South. I have a hint of who the next couple will be and can’t wait to see what Ms. Humphreys has in store for said vamp and werewolf, I’m a sucker for a forbidden romance! I’d highly recommend this series to vampire lovers (like myself) or Paranormal Romance junkies, you won’t be disappointed with this refreshing new world and the NYC vamps.
This sounds really good, and I need a vampire fix. Have you read the Penton Legacy series or Sweet Blood series. Would you say these are similar?
I’ve only read the Sweet Blood series and yes, this is similar. I think you’ll enjoy these if you liked the SB series. Haven’t heard of the Penton series, who’s the author? I’m always looking for new vampire books! 🙂
It really sounds like I need to get, Tall Dark and Vampire to join this ride.
I need to meet this Shane dude 🙂 I like that you said the story is a little dark, you know me..lol
Thanks, great job!
I think you’d enjoy this series Loupe! Not sure if it’s on audio but if it’s not it’s worth the read 😉
so many books and so little time. I’m going to live through your reviews of this series, lols. Rocking review Lori! Man, I miss my vamp reads, but I’m reading a couple this weekend!
I love Sara Humphreys books, so far all of them, and this book was no exception! I agreed with everything you wrote : )and I can’t wait for the third book to come out. Great review!