Reviewed by Cheryl

TITLE: His to Protect

SERIES: The Vampire’s Past #1

AUTHOR: Rosa Swann

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 169 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  July 23, 2018

BLURB:

No matter how much you try to leave your past behind, it doesn’t always leave you…

Sean
After being hired for my dream job, I move back to the small minded town where I grew up, for the job and to finish my degree.
I’m surrounded by my past, by old classmates, old neighbourhoods and old prejudices against gay people.
But on my first day back, my eyes fall on something new around here. A goth guy sitting at the front of the class and I can’t keep my eyes off him.
Even though I don’t know him, I feel like I need to protect him, no matter what.

Jules
I can’t stay in the same place for too long. People start to notice that you don’t age, that you don’t get older, and add to that that the chance of vampire hunters finding you gets bigger the longer you stay…
I know that I’m running out of time in this town. I need to move on. I just need to finish my degree and then I can leave and start over somewhere else.
But when my housemate/blood donor turns on me and forces me to leave, I suddenly find myself asking for help from the new guy in our class.
Leaving doesn’t look as appealing anymore…

This is the first short novel about vampire Jules and human Sean in the The Vampire’s Past series. It takes place in a world of all sorts of creatures, vampires, werewolves, mages and, of course, humans, but there are also hunters, trying to rid the world of the un-humans.

REVIEW:

What do you expect when you pick up a book about a vampire. I know what I used to expect, but since they started to sparkle you can never really be sure. This is not a traditional vampire story. Thank goodness, this vampire doesn’t sparkle, in fact the opposite but he is certainly not your average bloodsucker, and it would seem the entire lore of vampires in this world is subtly different. For one thing, vampires can go out in daylight and don’t have to sleep in coffins. Jules managed the couch perfectly fine. They’re stronger and faster than humans but don’t seem to have any particular powers, and while they do need fresh blood every now and again they can stuff a pizza with the best of us.

Jules is the coolest vampire I’ve met in a long time. He’s emo, socially awkward and taking night classes at a local university while trying to negotiate the battlefield his relationship with housemate and regular donor, Lance, has become. Lance is becoming obsessively jealous and is bordering on abusive. Jules can see the end in sight but doesn’t relish the thought of trying to find another regular donor, especially when he’s on the run from the vampire hunters who kidnapped and tortured him, and killed his twin brother, trying to get to his ex boyfriend and sire, Rowan. As you can see, he’s in a difficult situation.

Sean doesn’t want to be back in town, and especially doesn’t want to go to that school. He’d hoped he could avoid seeing anyone from his past, not that anyone was mean to him, but they were asshole. Sadly, he finds himself sitting next to former friend and A1 asshole Darren, who isn’t very nice to Jules. Sean, on the other hand wants to be very nice to Jules, only Jules is skittish and resists all Sean’s advances.

Both Sean and Jules are delightful characters. Jules is dark and edgy, keeping his distance and distrusting everyone. Sean is his polar opposite – bright and popular, but nice. He takes to Jules immediately and won’t take no for an answer. When Jules’ relationship with Lance goes drastically South it’s Sean he turns to. The relationship builds gradually, almost from the first page, and we’re taken on a journey with Sean and Jules, from lesson to lesson, while they deal with their own problems outside college.

For a vampire, Jules is soft and vulnerable and isn’t afraid to show his emotions when he gets to know you. Although aloof at first, once he and Sean get going he lets go more and more as their connection builds.

Although Sean and Jules’ relationship is the mainstay of the book, there is a lot of good story going on around it. Jules’ relationship with Lance, his backstory, Sean’s struggles with the distance he’s put, and wants to put between himself and former friends and acquaintances in a town he hates, and through it all, the ever-present shadow of the demon hunter.

The story builds gradually, getting more tense as little bits of information are teased out and there are some real edge-of-the-chair moments at the end.

The book isn’t perfect, what book is. There are some rough spots if you look for them, but on the whole I found it to be a seamless read with unusual characters and a strong story. I’m very glad I picked up the next book, too because I need more of these two so I’m off to read book two.

If you like your vampires a little different, then definitely give this one a try. Be aware though, that although this is technically paranormal and there is technically a vampire, the feel of the book is very contemporary and there’s not a lot of paranormal in there. Jules is and angsty emo teen whose problems are more at home in a contemporary romance than a paranormal, and although vampire hunters are part of the story, we don’t really meet any, and there are no special powers in evidence. That could all change in Book Two. I’ll be happy if it does, and happy if it doesn’t because it really doesn’t matter what genre you put this book into, it’s a great book and you should read it.

RATING:

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