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Abandoned by his werewolf lover, the only thing Reylan wants is to return to his vampire life of blood and beautiful boys. It’s a solid plan, until his first meal as a single man tries to kill him.
Hoping to free his young would-be assassin from the religious zealots that sent him, Reylan enlists the help of Iain Grieg, a charismatic priest with unsettling knowledge of the night’s secrets.
Surrounded by conflicting agendas and an army fuelled by hate, Reylan fights to secure his future, if he can only trust the mysterious priest and bury the ghosts of the past.
This book was full of unexpectedness, in the best way possible! It kept me on my toes, and I was never sure what might happen next or what new twist would be thrown at me. But they were things that always made sense and added to the tension and grippingness of the story.
One of my favorite things throughout this series has been the interesting and complex relationships among the characters, and this book added even more of that with some new characters. *SEMI-SPOILER for previous books* Show Spoiler *END SPOILER* The other new character had a more familial relationship with Reylan and Reylan was very protective of him, but I enjoyed that too. And of course there were still some great relationships from the previous books.
The characters themselves continued to be interesting and complex too, especially Reylan. He’s really grown on me as he’s changed—or maybe just as I’ve gotten to know him better—throughout the series. I wasn’t a huge fan of him as a person in the first book, but now I’ve seen a lot more of his good side. And even his colder, more vampiric side that comes out sometimes is interesting. And Dorotha? I love Dorotha, she’s the best. 😂
I also really like this portrayal of vampires. It’s kind of the classic sexy vampire, and it’s well-thought-out (as is the whole supernatural system) with some interesting elements and exactly the kind of sexy biting I love! (Although this one didn’t have any bite-filled sex scenes like the others did, just a non-bitey sex scene.)
Last but not least, I once again enjoyed (well, maybe that’s not quite the right word since it always makes me sad and feel bad for the characters) the darkness in the story. But I also enjoyed the humor scattered throughout.
I’ll wrap this up by saying I ended up reading half this book in one night because it pulled me in and I forgot I was even reading. So far, this series has only gotten better with each book, I love the complexity in the characters and plots and relationship dynamics, I love all the supernatural stuff, and I’m looking forward to continuing!
Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1 and 2 in Christian Baines's Arcadia Trust series. Anyone who likes m/m paranormal, a fairly classic and sexy version of vampires, complex relationship dynamics, and some darkness.
Other Books By Christian Baines
Stand-Alone Books
Series: The Arcadia Trust
