Beside the Darker Shore Vampire, Vampire Thriller, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal Mystery, MM Fiction
JMS Books LLC
Oct. 8, 2023
Kindle
316
Amazon
What might the ethical Governor David Gedden give up for one man's exquisite beauty? It's terrifying to consider when the man is a destructive blood prostitute and David is responsible for the state's peaceful vampire community. Blood sales in Boston are up, blood taxes support a thriving new nightlife, neighborhoods have been refurbished, and deaths by vampires have plummeted. David is assured reelection.
However, the blood addict Stephen Salando has returned from exile with one unalterable plan: to turn the good governor into a vampire. Stephen is an immortal dhampir, whose beauty obliterates reason, who rouses in David a fierce desire he's ignored his whole life. But for David to have Stephen, he must ally with an ancient vampire, the community's seductive archnemesis. To have him, he must become a killer himself.
Will David hold on to his ethical public life? Or will he follow what he most desires, a kiss with a killer to become a vampire himself?
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
This was a very interesting book and a unique take on vampires. Governor David Gedden of Boston, Massachusetts has been able to accomplish something few other states have, he has formed a vampire community that has added to the state’s revenue. Restaurants, parks and blood banks alleviate the need for blood from humans.
Along with Alex Marshall, a nine-hundred-year-old vampire, they have given vampires a haven and humans are less fearful of them. Death of humans has significantly dropped and on the night that David and Alex are having a gala in celebration of all that has been accomplished there is an interruption by Alex’s son Stephan. Stephan was exiled three years ago and now is back without a doubt ready to cause chaos.
Stephan is half human and half vampire, a dhampir capable of walking in the sun, requires no blood and is immortal, being immortal is a secret few are aware of. Stephan is at the gala uninvited and ready for trouble. He has come with Arturo, a vampire who believes taking blood should come from a human being not a blood bag. Arturo is the definition of what everyone thinks of a vampire and it is confirmed when he leaves a dead police officer laying on the ground.
Stephan’s reason for returning is his desire for David to be a vampire, unfortunately, David is unwilling to agree to it. Stephan is a blood prostitute always begging Arturo to drink from him, which he seldom does. Stephan’s mother is human and the Lieutenant Governor, but she has absolutely no control over her son. Stephan destroys sixty percent of the blood in the blood banks leaving a shortage of blood and opening the way for vampires to once again seek human blood.
Trouble also comes from Elena, a Molecular Biologist who is determined to experiment on Stephan to discover how he was created and wanting to create more like him. All the good David and Alex are doing will go up in smoke if those working in the background succeed in destroying all the good that has been done, bringing humans and vampires together.
What would happen if it was possible to create more like Stephan, humans who are immortal, there would be no end to the damage that could be done. Stephan lives between two worlds, humans and vampires not belonging fully to either one. If David would become a vampire, they would both have eternal life and Stephan would have the man he loves capable of feeding from him.
The characters were wonderful, there were secrets, lies, betrayal and surprises. Reading this book was a view of what happens to an honest and devoted man who loves someone who can only bring him down. This is not an easy read but a worthwhile one because the author did a wonderful job of keeping me interested and glued to the story till the end.
