Monday, April 20, 2015

Review: Bite at First Sight

Bite at First Sight (Scandals with Bite - Book 3) by Brooklyn Ann

Publication Date: 07/04/2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Imprint: Casablanca
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 384
ISBN-101402274505
ISBN-13978-1402274503

(Received for an honest review from Casablanca)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, itunes

Brooklyn Ann on the WEB: website, twitter, facebook, goodreads

Books in the series

Scandals with Bite

1. Bite Me, Your Grace
2. One Bite Per Night
3. Bite at First Sight

Coverart:




Excerpt from, Bite At First Sight, courtesy of 

Synopsis:

Her interest is purely scientific
Cassandra Burton wants to study medicine, surgery, healing, and everything related to the human body and its mysteries-and she's willing to rob graves to do it! But a lady can meet dark and dangerous characters lurking around the cemetery. And who could be more fascinating than Rafael Villar, Lord Vampire of London? If she could study his physiology, she could learn so much that would help humans. After all, he's immortal-and Cassandra is now his prisoner...


Thoughts:

If you like your Regency romances with a splash of the paranormal than Brooklyn Ann's, Scandals with Bite series, is right up your alley. The third book in the series, Bite at First Sight is an entertaining mix of historical and paranormal romance. Readers who like strong heroines and brooding heroes will not be disappointed with this addition to the series. Rafe is the Vampire Lord of London and Cassandra is a would be doctor. Together they become embroiled in betrayal, political intrigue and a very steamy romance. A great addition to the series!

This is my first book in the Scandals with Bite series and my first by this author. I think I would have benefited from reading the other two books in the series first, but Bite at First Sight does stand on it's own well. There were a few mentions of things that went on in the previous books, but not enough to throw me off while reading it. Brooklyn Ann did a good job of backtracking, but not becoming distracting. 

My first impressions of this author were for the most part good. I liked the world building in this book and found the subplots intriguing and full of surprises. Her characters were on point and I found myself really interested to see where she would take them throughout the story. Ann's transitions were good and I didn't feel like anything in the story was filler or fluff. The romance scenes were hot and steamy and very evocative. Overall I liked this one a lot. 

Rafe's backstory was interesting and Cassandra had all of the marks for a good heroine. I tend to like my heroes a bit on the alpha side and Rafe most definitely fit that bill, though he did cave in regards to Cassandra, but that was a good thing. Rafe's scars gave him a distinctive manner that added to his commanding aura, but it also gave him a vulnerability that is missing in some Regency and PNR heroes. A very well thought out character!

One of my favorite parts of this one was the balance between the Regency elements and the paranormal elements. Even though Rafe was a vampire he still adhered to what I expected from a Regency character. The customs of the day and the political climate were still true to form and Ann did a wonderful job with those parts of the book. It made the setting come alive and became essential to the story.

Cassandra was a woman before her time and a very pleasant character to read about. She wanted nothing more than to practice medicine in a time when it was unheard of for women. I liked that aspect of the story and her desire to find out more about Rafe's physiology. What better way to learn than to explore, lol. The romantic parts of the book were spot on and readers will love it.

Bottom Line:

Brooklyn Ann was a great new author for me. She put two genres together that I love. Regency and paranormal. Her characters were engaging and full of life and I loved the brooding alpha male vs. the smart would be doctor theme. The behind the scenes action was perfect for the book, from betrayal to politics. The Regency setting was still kept intact, but spiced up a bit with a vampire and really hot romance. Great job with this one!

Bite at First Sight is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!





About the Author:


A lover of witty Regencies and dark paranormal romance, Brooklyn Ann combines the two in her new vampire series. The former mechanic turned author lives with her family in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. She can be found online at http://brooklynann.blogspot.com.

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