Friday, July 13, 2012

Unwrapping: Review of ONCE BURNED by Jeaniene Frost

As a big fan of paranormal romance, I would be remiss if I had not read at least some of Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress novels and although I enjoy them immensely, I thought - no, I knew - I was going to enjoy her Night Prince Novels even more. Having read an excerpt of ONCE BURNED some time ago, I was very excited about the Dark Prince, Vlad Tepesh - the most feared vampire of all time - having his own time in the spotlight.  So when Avon Romance sent me a copy of book one in the Night Prince series - ONCE BURNED - I was ecstatic -- and not disappointed!!

Blurb for ONCE BURNED:

She's a mortal with dark powers...

After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person's darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude...until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world's most infamous vampire...

He's the Prince of Night...

Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all—but whatever you do, don't call him Dracula. Vlad's ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him—a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.

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If you've read any of the Night Huntress series, you may have already met Vlad Tepesh. He's the most dangerous and most feared vampire ever to walk the earth. He's the vampire who inspired the tale of Dracula - a name he most definitely despises and which he would easily burn you alive for calling him. He's nothing like the vampire portrayed by Bram Stoker but don't think him all peaches and cream either. He's a fearsome man and he has enemies.

When we first meet Leila Dalton, she is known as Frankie and is working with a dwarf vampire named Marty in a carnival act. Marty knows her secret and helps her control it. He also knows another secret about her that even she doesn't know but it comes out later so I'm not going to tell.

Leila suddenly finds herself fearing for her life when kidnapped by vampires set upon using her unique talents to track down and kill a vampire seriously more dangerous than themselves - Vlad Tepesh. Forced to use her mental abilities to locate him, what these foolish vampires don't know is that Vlad is able to connect with Leila mentally and promises not to harm her if she aids him in his retaliation against the kidnappers. She agrees. Vlad vanquishes all of the vampires except for one whom he plans to torture - uh, interrogate - to find out who or what is behind this attack.

Leila finds herself pulled into a battle between Vlad and his enemies. She discovers who Vlad really is and rather than fearing him, she finds herself falling victim to his charms and his promises. His greatest promise and the one she grows to resent the most - to never love her.

ONCE BURNED by Jeaniene Frost is everything I expected it to be - exciting, edgy, dark and action-packed. It's non-stop storytelling brings the danger and excitement of Vlad Tepesh full front as we hoped would happen after meeting him in the Night Huntress series. Cat and Bones even make an appearance for the fans. If you've not read anything by Jeaniene Frost before, that's okay because ONCE BURNED reads excellently as a stand alone novel with a cliffhanger ending that will have you begging for the next book to be released.

Jeaniene Frost is a talented writer with a vivid imagination that she conjures through her multi-layered characters - the characters you meet in ONCE BURNED are no exception. Vlad is everything you want in an Alpha Hero who is surprisingly protective and loyal. Leila is everything you want in a heroine who can hold her own against Vlad, his vampires and the bad guys. You have to admire a heroine who slaps Vlad Tepesh and lives to talk about it.

ONCE BURNED by Jeaniene Frost is an action-packed, fast-paced, dark and dangerous paranormal romance with sufficient blood, gore and vampire destruction to keep you on the edge of your seat but at the core of this story is Vlad and Leila. It's Vlad's growing attachment to this woman who he has claimed as his own yet cannot love and Leila, who has never known real love or a man. Leila, who has been fiercely independent and constantly on the run who is now determined to claim this fearsome vampire's heart. This is a romance that is going to keep us coming back for more until either Leila's heart is shattered or ours.

I highly recommend ONCE BURNED by Jeaniene Frost to anyone who enjoys a romance born from the fires of danger, passion, loyalty and desire. If you love paranormal romance, if you love watching a man hard as nails and fierce as fire slowly begin to show the love that exists deep within then read ONCE BURNED and get hooked by the Night Prince series by Jeaniene Frost.

Happy Reading Everyone and don't forget that the A BLOOD SEDUCTION Giveaway is still running but will end tonight at 11:30PM EDT - so hurry if you want a chance to win 1 of 4 copies!

ONCE BURNED by Jeaniene Frost, Avon Romance, available now in print and ebook formats - original release date, June 26, 2012.

                                                                 

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