A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer

(Vamp City, #1)
Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Vampires live only for lust and pleasure in the eternal twilight of Vamp City. But the city's magic is dying. The only person who can restore it? A beautiful woman from the mortal world...one who knows nothing of the power she wields.

Quinn Lennox is searching for a missing friend when she stumbles into a dark otherworld that only she can see—and finds herself at the mercy of Arturo Mazza, a dangerously handsome vampire whose wicked kiss will save her, enslave her, bewitch her, and betray her. What Arturo can't do is forget about her—any more than Quinn can control her own feelings for him. Neither one can let desire get in the way of their mission—his to save his people, hers to save herself. But there is no escape from desire in a city built for seduction, where passion flows hot and blood-red.

This ones a bizarre blend of Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy. So much so that I classify and label it as both. It's too dark and gritty to be Paranormal Romance and missing some of that genre's staples. On the other hand, it is too focused on romantic interactions and the traditional romance tells to be considered pure Urban Fantasy. Plot-wise, it's a truly dark world they live in. Very gritty, violent, and many of the explicit torture scenes are had to stomach.

I have to say that if I were in the heroines situation, if my brother had been killed, I would make it a point to do all in my power not to save that awful city. Some of the characters are likeable, most completely not. The world atmosphere is an interesting one - a perverted version of Washington, DC, only where it's permanently night. At random times magic breaks through and a small sunbeam shines down. Vampires rule the world completely, and keep humans and "others" for slaves. These vampires are unique in that they all feed on more than just blood - some are pain-feeders, some fear, some pleasure (didn't meet any of those though!). It would truly be a depressing, frightening world to live in if you were anything other than a vampire, the survival rate being remarkably short.

The heroine, Quinn, is extremely likeable as she thrives on the love of her brother, friends, and is compassionate by nature but not cliche and filled with stupid moves. Sure, it would be tough for me to do some of what she did, but I blame it more on bravery rather than being dimwitted. She uses her head, her heart, and is trying to figure out this bizarre magic she has. Arturo held surprises for me a few times - he's passionately handsome and wickedly sensual, and just when you think he's had a sweet change of heart, he reveals a hidden layer of deceit. His mysterious nature was one of the best things about the book. I still shudder at the look in his eyes when she went through the sunbeam the first time, a truly "brrr" occasion.

I'm glad that the character didn't jump into bed with Arturo right away as it seemed she would and kept her independence. If a book focuses so much on sex that it's unrealistic then that's annoying. I even thought he turned out a bit cliche with some of his actions and speech until the very end, when my world was turned around yet again. The author writes good tense sexual scenes and foreplay build-up, even if nothing in the bedroom does end up happening. Sometimes it seemed a bit too much though - the reason the Paranormal Romance label is being applied is because there's a ton of the sexual build-up when they see each other and a little unrealistic on their attraction to each other and Arturos speeches toward her about it.

The story dives in pretty quickly - the opening paragraph is a good one that caught my attention swiftly, and there's not any slow, dull lulls. It's not so high paced it would read as an action book, but something demented is always brewing.

The ending wasn't a huge cliffhanger so I can forgive that, but it definitely held a thread of a surprise where you really want to read the next book to see what happens next! I will happily pick up the next book when it is released to see what new, depressing thing is in store for Quinn.

Book Quotes:

“A vampire may play with his food, but he never sets it free.”

Book Image:

Here is the author, Pamela Palmer's, website, in which she has a stunning artwork for her book. Yummy looking scene!