Twice Tempted

Twice Tempted (2013) Jeaniene Frost

Leila is living with Vlad, but quickly comes to discover that as much as she loves him, she cannot live with him not loving her.

One of the things I particularly like is the history that the various vampires have seen.

the Knighthood of the Temple of Solomon had secret rituals. One of them involved drinking blood instead of wine in a mimicry of the Last Supper. For members of the original eight Templars, as I was, the blood wasn’t human, though we didn’t know it. We thought our increased strength and accelerated healing came from God.”

“You were tricked into drinking vampire blood?” Wry snort. “I’ve been there. When did you find out what it was?”

“Centuries later when I met Vlad. In truth, it was a relief. I thought I couldn’t age because God wanted to keep punishing me for spilling innocent blood in His name.”

There is, of course, a lot of boinking in this book, but there is also (finally) the start of give and take in the relationship–as it becomes a relationship, rather than an affair.

Not that Vlad doesn’t still have issues.

“Fourteen hundred and thirty-one.”

I blinked. “What’s that?”

“The year I was born, which is not, as you’ll note, yesterday.”

“So how is that different from me assuming some risk in order to hunt down the bitch that nearly killed me three times and succeeded on the fourth attempt?”

“He’s a chauvinist?” Marty offered.

“Exactly.” Then I glanced over, seeing the wryness stamped on his features. “What?”

“You’re the only one surprised by this, kid.”

Let me reiterate how much I HATE this cover.

As usual, only his hands and face were bare. The rest of him was covered by boots, black pants, and a smoky gray shirt buttoned up to the neck. Unlike most well-built men, Vlad didn’t flash a lot of skin, but those custom-tailored clothes flaunted his taut body as effectively as running shorts and a sleeveless muscle shirt.

I HATE these covers.

I do like this story, but not quite as much as I did the first time I read it. I like that Vlad and Leila are building a relationship with give and take, and I like that Leila is completely aware of who Vlad is and not blinded by her love. But I’m still frustrated by the way Vlad treats his prisoners. Even if he does glibly explain it away.
Rating: 8/10

Publisher: Avon

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