Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Vampire with Benefits

SERIES:  Supernatural Selection

AUTHOR:  EJ Russell

NARRATOR:  Greg Boudreaux

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  8 hours and 43 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  March 4, 2022

BLURB:

.A match between a vampire and shifter could be deadly – but this broken beaver doesn’t give a dam.

Silent film actor Casimir Moreau had imagined that life as a vampire would be freewheeling and glamorous. Instead, he’s plunged into a restrictive society whose rules he runs afoul of at every turn. To “rehabilitate” him, the vampire council orders him mated to an incubus with impeccable breeding who’ll mold Cas into the upstanding vampire he ought to be. Or else.

As an inactive beaver shifter, construction engineer Rusty Johnson has fought – and overcome – bias and disrespect his entire life. But when his longtime boyfriend leaves him for political reasons, Rusty is ready to call it a day. Next stop? Supernatural Selection and his guaranteed perfect mate, a bear shifter living far away from Rusty’s disapproving clan.

But then a spell snafu at Supernatural Selection robs both men of their intended husbands. Rusty can’t face returning to his clan, and Cas needs somebody on his arm to keep the council happy, so they agree to pretend to be married. Nobody needs to know their relationship is fake – especially since it’s starting to feel suspiciously like the real thing.

REVIEW:

NOTE:  This is book 2 of this series and as such, it contains some spoilers for book 1 as this book takes place roughly in the same timeline as that book.  I recommend listening/reading in order.

Rusty Johnson is an inactive beaver shifter.  He’s been working on a house for him and his long time boyfriend who suddenly announced his engagement.  To a woman from another shifter clan.  Rusty is devastated needless to say.  He’s already got the issue of being seen as less because of his inactive status.  The only one from his clan who seems to care about his happiness is his mother.  Rusty goes to Supernatural Selection- the supernatural matchmaking agency run by witches.  They guarantee the perfect match and he’s matched with a bear shifter named Ted who lives far from Rusty’s beaver clan.  This will extricate Rusty from the uncomfortable position he’s been put in.  Ted and Rusty are going to run a lodge on Ted’s property and things will be fine.  From their communications Ted seems like a really nice.

Casimir Moreau seems to keep running afoul of the vampire council.  There are only a couple hundred vampires left in the world and they take the secrecy pact seriously.  Cas really doesn’t like being a vampire and he tries to keep things interesting.  But he’s got an enemy in the other youngest vampire who is doing his best to keep Cas under his thumb.  Now he has set Cas up to take a big fall – that has already cost a human his life and might cost Cas his as well.  To keep Cas under control, the vampire council requires him to get married to the perfect match found by Supernatural selection.  his perfect match is an incubus from a family. If there is anything the vamps want, it’s a “respectable” mate for Casimir from an old family that can hopefully keep him in line.

Cas and Rusty are at Supernatural Selection to finalize their mate contracts when they are both told that their perfect matches are already married.  To each other.  This puts both Rusty and Cas in a difficult position.  So they agree to a temporary marriage to keep the clan and the council off their backs.  It doesn’t seem like it should work on any level.  But then Cas and Rusty get to know each other.  Cas supports Rusty as he’s finishing the house that he was building for himself but now has to turn over to his ex and his fiance.  He has to attend their wedding and Cas insists he will go with him.  Rusty attends the vampire reception for them.  Neither events go at all as expected.

The one real downside of the shifter/vampire mating is that shifter blood is poison to vampires.  But when Cas accidentally ingest a bit of Rusty’s blood when he’s injured, it doesn’t kill him and instead makes him high as a kite.  Huh?  Yeah, nobody can explain it.  But a Druid has an antidote.  While he’s in the hospital getting treated, Cas sets off the council again.  He’s really on thin ice at this point and he doesn’t confess to Rusty exactly why he’s so interested in the health of another patient.  Time seems to be running out for Cas and Rusty as their temporary marriage contract is coming to and end and they are going to have to marry their perfect matches after the full moon.  In the meantime, they continue to get closer and Cas decides if he’s going to have to give up Rusty, he’s going to enjoy the time they do have.  And when they share “bodily fluids” there is an quite unexpected side effect 😛  However, said side effect – while great for Cas – could actually cause even more problems for both him and Rusty.  There is also the little matter of the Rusty’s vindictive ex and Cas’s vampire enemy that they have to overcome.  When things go from bad to worse, the aforementioned Druid just may be able to help them turn things around 😉

Well this was so much fun!  I’m really enjoying this series and the world that E.J. Russell has built.  I loved Casimir and his sense of humor in the face of a lot of crappy circumstances.  Rusty is such a good guy and Cas gets pretty tired of the mistreatment that is flung Rusty’s way – particularly by his a*hole ex, but also his clan.  I got a particular chuckle out of his nickname for the ex and then his purposeful mispronunciation of the ex’s name at said ex’s wedding 😀  For his part, Rusty isn’t exactly thrilled with how Cas has been treated by the vampire council either.   I loved how they guys kind of went from not really enemies, but certainly not friends, to lovers.  There are lots of little twists and turns and subplots that kept the whole story flowing and kept it interesting.  I couldn’t wait to see how Cas and Rusty were going to get themselves out of the multiple situations they kept finding themselves in.  There was plenty of humor and steam and sweet romance to the story 🙂  It’s clear that they really care for each other and only want the best for each other.  Even if that means that they can’t be together.  The solution to their problems is a real gamble and a surprise that is very fun to read.  I can’t wait for the next Audio to come out because this series is just delightful.

Greg Boudreaux does a great job narrating this story and this series.  His accents for the vampires are spot on.  I loved Rusty and his stumbling and speechless self.  Cas is hilarious and his humor is well-performed. He’s definitely got the melodrama of a silent screen actor.  The whole wedding reception scene had me in stitches.  The stuttering outrage of Rusty’s ex was absolutely priceless!  Bravo to both author and narrator on that one.  Mr. Boudreaux also excels at the quieter and more poignant scenes.  I believed Cas’s remorse and sadness around the things he had done.  The tender moments between Cas and Rusty as well as the panic from Rusty were pitch-perfect. Nothing is overwrought.   Loved this narration and I can’t wait for book 3!  Highly recommended.

RATING: 

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