Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Twice Bitten

AUTHOR: Rayna Vause

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 200 pages

RELEASE DATE: July 17, 2018

BLURB:

With a new species of vampire stalking the streets, the stakes are high. But that’s not the only reason hearts are on the line.

Danny Reynolds thought Kieran McCade was the one—true love and hot lust forever—until Danny found out Kier’s bloody secret and ran away screaming. Months later, Danny is facing his own paranormal crisis, and he needs Kieran’s help, but are there enough ways to apologize for breaking a vampire’s heart?

Nothing about Danny’s transformation is normal—not the attack that led to it, and not the symptoms Danny’s plagued with—but being in close proximity to Kieran is even worse than becoming a thing that goes bump in the night. Danny and Kieran aren’t the only things threatening to bump each other off, though. Secret organizations and clashing vigilante agendas want to get their hands on Danny. His only hope is to find a fix for his problem before he’s either captured or his abnormal transition starves him to death.

Danny and Kieran might have a real chance to repair their broken romance… but only if they keep Danny alive!

REVIEW:

When Danny discovered his boyfriend, Kier, was a vampire, he ran as quickly as he could in the opposite direction. But, after being attacked by an escaped experiment, Danny is neither human nor vampire, and the only person he can think of to help him is Kier.

In this universe, vampires are known to exist along with other things that go bump in the night. They also have genuine feelings, though other traditional vampire traits exist.

This was a story that kept me turning the page. I know what I wanted to happen, what I expected to happen, and then there was what actually happened – I got the majority of my wishes and expectations.

The arc involves two major camps, the vampires and Purity. Purity was set up to protect the public from rogue vampires. However, it’s founder, Dr Lydecker has since turned into a mad scientist, hell-bent on finding a cure to be administered to all vampires, whether they want it or not. The doctors second in command Melissa simply wants to rid the world of vampires. The two run Purity like a military organization.

With Danny’s unique status, it is Kier and his vampire friends who try to help and protect him. In the process, the past is rehashed. Playing the blame game also brings to light some things neither man told the other. All this happens, while trying to come to terms with what is seemingly hopeless odds of Danny’s survival.

Told in the third person, from multiple viewpoints. I got to see how and why many of the characters did what they did and why. I guess people become the sum of their experiences. These snippets added another dimension to the story which made events not as clear-cut as one would expect. Oh, here I’d like to give a shout to the characters Rogan and Alex – they’re cool.

I found Twice Bitten to be a vampire story with a difference. I’d not read one like it before as many novels of this ilk tend to stick to more traditional scenario’s. This had its classical bits, and there were some predictable moments. But, the extra’s made it special. There are healthy doses of physical and emotional drama, delicious heated scenes, power struggles, as well as some psychotic elements. In all, a damned good read.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon