Review by Sadonna
TITLE: How to Entice a Fiend
SERIES: Vampire Related Crimes
AUTHOR: Alice Winters
NARRATOR: Michael Ferraiuolo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 10 hours and 2 minutes
RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2025
BLURB:
Mads
As a member of the vampire council, being tasked with keeping an eye on a few people shouldn’t be too hard, right?
Wrong.
The moment I meet the VRC, I realize how very wrong I am. It’s fascinating how in a group filled with ancient beings, the only reasonable one is the human. Definitely not the grumpy vampire… or the other grumpy vampire… and don’t get me started on the eye-searing clothes the bubbly one wears.
And that’s when I run into Ender.
Well… run is probably the wrong word. It’s more like he accidentally saves my life, joins me for a fun torture fest from some guy who woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and then ends up fleeing through unknown territory with my naked body slung over his shoulder.
Is there a better meet-cute than all of that?
Probably not, as long as we ignore the real reason I’m here.
Ender
Keeping Rylee safe is the only thing I should care about. So then how is it that I find myself being pulled along by Mads, a member of the council that I’ve sworn to get rid of? He’s charismatic, charming, and really far too suspicious, but our paths merge as I fight to end an injustice that started hundreds of years ago.
Mads is making me realize that maybe there is more to my life than becoming a martyr for people who seem to think I’m the bad guy. While others see me as a monster, he sees who I really am.
And I will do anything to keep him from the danger he’s been drawn into.
REVIEW:
Note: This story contains spoilers for the previous books in this series and builds on earlier events. Reading the series in order provide maximum enjoyment of Book 6.
Oh how happy I was to discover a new Vampire Related Crimes series audiobook! While a lot of the VRC regulars appear here, the real stars of this show are Ender and Mads. Ender we have met in the previous book, but Mads is a totally new character in this series. He is a complete unknown to our VRC clue and to Ender.
Ender has been trying to keep Riley, a child vampire safe. But he leaves her alone for a short time with STRICT instructions not to leave. Of course she is a child, so she sees a cat and decides she needs to rescue it 🙂 But while she’s able to catch the cat, she in turn is caught by the vampires are looking for Ender. Ender is the key to everything. His maker Abel is the one who is trying to leverage Riley to make Ender come back to do his bidding. Which is nothing good!
When the US Vampire Council is attacked and Mads is found with them, well things get very cloudy. Who is Mads? What is he doing here? Who is he working for? He’s a very young vampire but he can go out in the sunlight? What is his story? It’s unclear if he is a good guy or a bad guy.
When Mads and Ender are attacked and kidnapped, they have to work together to get free of Ender’s maker. Only then does Mads reveal WHY Abel has been looking for him and what he know that is so important. And it’s a doozy! But Abel has an army of vampires doing his bidding and Mads and Ender really just have the VRC. Can they fight this bad guy off? And what is the tie to an old case of theirs and the true culprit?
Ooooooh I loved this. Ender is a fascinating character. Clearly he’s not all bad as shown by his care for Riley and his willingness to go to the ends of the earth for her. Then there is his protectiveness over Mads that grows throughout the story. They start off as strangers, but end up lovers halfway through this saga. I adored their banter and Mads attempts to bend Ender to his desires. Ender is reluctant because he knows what happens to anyone he cares about. And boy is Abel a bad guy! The rest of the VRC, Claude, Alexei, Marcus and Finn are their posse. Even Orin is called into service watching over Riley. The story is a rollercoaster ride and there are a number of scary moments! But as usual Alice Winters does not disappoint.
Michael Ferraiuolo gets a lot to dig into here! There are plenty of accents, over the top Claude, grumpy Ender and sunshiny Mads. Riley is adorable and hilarious – and so is her cat with the best name EVER. I found myself laughing over their antics. But there are plenty of serious moments as well – particularly the flashbacks of both Mads and Ender’s rather hideous past dealing with vampires and Abel in particular. But rest assured, there is a very satisfying ending to this story. I hope it’s not the end though! These characters are thoroughly entertaining and I adore this author/narrator combination. Highly recommended. Fans of these series will love the latest book.
RATING: 
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