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My Heart is Within You
by Marguerite Labb
Dreamspinner Press
280 pages
5 KISSES
Haunted by Your Soul
by Marguerite Labb
Dreamspinner Press
316 pages
5 KISSES
Our Sacred Balance
by Marguerite Labb
Dreamspinner Press
300 pages
5 KISSES
buy here
Blurb:
The power of heart and soul holds the key to the survival of the last of the ancient vampires. Kristair is running out of time. His race has faded away, prey to delusion and deterioration, and his only chance to live long enough to find a cure is to bind his psyche to a human vessel in a long forgotten ritual.
Kristair’s chosen vessel is Jacob Corvin, a man of passionate stubbornness and fierce loyalty; he has captured Kristair’s fantasies so completely that he is both the vampire’s greatest strength and most crippling weakness. Drawing upon Jacob’s spirit and Kristair’s resolve, they each bind a portion of their souls to one other. For as long as Jacob carries Kristair’s heart within him, the vampire can continue his quest.
Just when they have hope, their mission is threatened by The Syndicate, a group of younger vampires who attempt to force Kristair to teach them his secrets before he disappears like the rest of the ancients. Battling both The Syndicate’s attacks and his unexpected need and love for Jacob, Kristair’s strength begins to fade, forcing him to make a decision that will change his and Jacob’s lives forever.
Review:
Just when I thought I could not take another Vamp story. We began this Blog in March, and I can remember asking Ms. Labb if she’d participate in an author interview with us. I asked her if she wanted us to review a particular book for her, and she had one tiny request. Something she had written solo. If it would be okay. Okay, an easy request. I found her Triquetra Series and was thrilled. I love anything Celtic. Then I saw it was a vamp story and I did a small role of my eyes. Another blood sucking story. Lovely.
Shame on me! I started reading about Jacob and Kristair and almost immediately fell in love, not only with them, but with the plot as well. Ms. Labb put a sweet twist on vampires. She made me sit up and dig into this story with both eyeballs.
At the start of the story we have an ancient vampire who looks to be no older than a twenty something year old young man. He’s sitting in the stands of a football game and talking to a young lady, who turns out to be his adoptive daughter. This young girl adopted him actually when she was fifteen and alone in the world. She’s now in her twenties as well and is very protective of him. Kris, as she calls him, is dying and he’s on the hunt, (literally) for a new human vessel. He has his eye on Jacob Corvin, the running back of the school’s football team. Jacob is his chosen one and he couldn’t have chosen a better vessel. Jacob is handsome, down to earth, and very energetic, whereas Kristair is serious, ever so much so, a brooder, and on the verge of losing his mind. He admires Jacob’s energy, his beauty, and his view on life. They even each other out. They make you love them. And I did. I do.
Kris had to play it slow to win Jacob’s heart though. Jake was not making it easy, but who can blame him? While Kris was playing it slow, he stalked Jacob every where he went, going as far as watching him sleep at night from the fire escape outside of his dorm room. Instead of freaking out and trying to hide, Jacob actually finds himself enjoying the attention. He actually moved his bed as close to his window as he could, in order to flirt with the hunter, predator, and vampire. Their first sexual encounter turns into something a whole lot more than sex.
Jacob has his hands full with the vamp, almost from the first night of them being together things begin to happen, and none of them pleasant. The only great times the two have are in bed. At the start I thought Kris would be the dominant one. I mean it makes more sense. He’s thousands of years old; he’s a hunter, and all things that scare you at night, yet he’s a true sub at heart.
Kris, who has lived most of his life, alone and without a lover, was not prepared for the spit fire he found in Jake. Neither was I to be honest. I just love that boy! He’s sincere, outgoing, he loves to tease, he also is a take charge type of guy, and when things get heated up, his accent heats up. He’s no where near as stuffy as his lover is, and when I was in his head I found myself loving the way he thought about things. Very down to earth, very real character to believe in.
The story is told by both Jacob and Kris in the first person voice. Now, before reading this book, I had no idea it was written this way. So after I completed the first chapter and realized I wasn’t in Kris’ head anymore, but in Jacobs, I had to back up and re-read at the start of that chapter. I wasn’t warned, was not prepared, and Ms. Labb caught me being a lazy reader. I fixed that problem right away and stayed tuned into the boys and their adventures, the rest of their journey.
The story is set in Pittsburgh. YA!! Home of the Steelers! My favorite team by the way. I picture that city as being dark, full of steel, and cold. That image pieced with Kris and Jacob gave the story a perfect edge. Dark, gothic, and dangerous. Nothing is easy for the two men in love. From book one where they meet and fall in love and fight vampires to book three where they find peace and happiness, there’s always something going on that keeps you on the edge of your emotional roller coaster wondering what the hell is gonna happen next to these two?
I really hate to give anything of this wonderful story away, but some of the things I really liked, was the way Kris gave Jacob his tattoos. The way they could communicate without speaking. The way they felt each other even when they were apart. Though there were a few times I had to really think about which character’s head I was in because of the mind talking they did so often. I loved how Kris gave into Jacob, both in and out of bed, no matter what was happening. The ending of book one was a sad one, and if I hadn’t already had the second book, I would have been upset. And the same could be said about the ending of book two. We have these two men, both are madly in love, they just want to live a peaceful life with one another and to achieve that they went through hell. They fought vampires, they fought against things called the Ascended, who were like gods of some sort, and I don’t mind saying I didn’t care for them at all. They actually had the audacity to take Kris from Jacob! Poor Jacob. Not only that, Jacob’s best friend Tony meets an untimely death due to the vampires.
Lets just say all of Jacobs friends, and his life is changed forever upon meeting Kristair. Not saying it’s a bad thing. It made up for a great plot that was full of adventure and suspense. I loved everything about these books, even hating Narissa. In book three that Narissa has a lot to account for and when she is handed her fate, or rather when Kristair and Jacob are handed their fate due to that woman, I almost choked on the cup of coffee I was sipping.
Ms. Labb did an amazing job with all three of her stories in this series. I truly hope she decides to visit this boys again sometime soon. I think the Vampire Lord, Ussier, has a tale of his own to share, Ms. Labb. Oh and the covers? SWEET!! I love the covers. Kris is hotter than hell.
Review by Michele
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