by Diane Whiteside
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| List Price: | $14.00 |
| Average Rating: |  |
| Lowest New Price: | $4.46 |
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Product Description
Vampire fiction with a twist-and a touch of Texas heat. First in an exciting new trilogy.
Former Spanish knight Don Raphael Perez has been a vampire for seven centuries, and is now the leader of the largest vampire territory in North America, spanning Texas and Oklahoma. But a rival is challenging his rule. Then he meets veterinarian Grania O'Malley, who's never felt the touch of a man. Raphael has sworn never to initiate a woman into the eternal pleasures of the flesh, but now it may be the only way to save her from his bloodthirsty adversary...
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Too many Spanish words and too hard to follow., 2008-09-03
I was annoyed and angry at the use of so many Spanish words, of which there were three types. (1) Some words were in the glossary at the back of the book. I was going back and forth to the glossary more than I cared to. (2) Some words were defined within the text and not listed in the glossary. My memory was not good enough to remember all of those. (3) Some words were not defined in the text and also were not in the glossary. I was frustrated when I took time to go to the glossary and found the word not there. My annoyance took me out of the story too much. Down below, I've listed some examples of Spanish words used, so that readers may determine their own comfort level for reading this book.
There were two stories being told. The Rodrigo story occurred around 700 years ago. The Rafael story occurs in the present. Throughout the book, the author went back and forth between these two stories. I would have preferred reading the entire Rodrigo story first, then the Rafael story. The back and forth method of telling these stories interrupted my immersion into either story. I think each story was interesting but not when continually interrupted. Telling the Rodrigo story first would not have given away anything important to the second story.
Rafael is a vampire. Grania is human. Sometimes, the characters and events were hard to follow. The New Orleans ruler wanted to take over the Texas territory. Characters were going back and forth between these two groups, spying, attacking and killing. At times, it was hard to follow what was happening and why.
I liked the characters and the story about Rafael and Grania, but it wasn't enough to offset the problems mentioned above. At times, I wanted the book to be over.
CAUTION SPOILERS:
On page 34, a barn own speaks to Grania, through mental telepathy. I was interested and intrigued, but Grania refused to pursue the conversation. The owl said to her: "You are the ancient one, who has been guarded by the wise one." Why did she ignore the owl? She could have asked questions. I was frustrated. This was never answered in the book.
One of Rafael's methods of warfare was obtaining information about his enemy's finances. Rafael then gave that information to three different multimillionaire corporate raiders, to help them takeover, raid and or steal from his enemy. I wasn't expecting that. It was a good idea for the story, but the author never described anything past the initial meeting. I would have liked more details about what the raiders did, if it worked, and how it worked.
EXAMPLES OF SPANISH WORDS USED:
The CAPITAL letters below were done in italic in the book. My software limits me.
Examples of Spanish words that were not in the glossary: P121: "he tried to kill that PENDEJO." P126: ""POR SUPUESTO," Raphael murmured." P129: "CONO, despite five hundred years of experience in seducing women, he was still sitting on the opposite side of the room from her, as if there was a DUENA on guard." P308: "But we have it now, DIOS MEDIANTE." At the end of one scene (P223) there are two sentences. "Even forever doesn't seem long enough for loving him. Amarte para siempre, no seria suficiente." I assume the second sentence is the translation for the first sentence. Why is it necessary for the author to do this?
The following are examples of Spanish words that were in the glossary, but I was annoyed with having to look them up. P9: "VERDADERAMENTE, Rafael agreed." P125: "Rafael smiled privately. It seemed he'd acquired a CASAMENTERO. LA DOCTORA glanced out the window at her truck and visibly decided against running. POBRECITA."
Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: fourteen. Setting: around 700 years earlier in Europe and Turkey and present day U.S. (Texas, Colorado, California, Louisiana). Copyright: 2006. Genre: erotic paranormal romance.
For a list of my reviews of other Diane Whiteside books, see my 2.5 star review for The Irish Devil posted 8/31/08.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Vampires That Shift, 2008-02-17
Anyone know of any hot romance books where vampires turn into bats? I've always been a werewolf-type person with paranormal books. I just love the part where man(or woman) becomes beast. So, any paranormal romance books that have a vampire character(s) that transforms into a large bat?
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 2.5 Stars - So-so, poor pacing and unless you're multilingual the Spanish/French phrases bog it down even more., 2008-02-14
Don Raphael is the vampire leader of Texas on the verge of a turf war that brings him back in contact with his sworn enemy. Grania is the wildlife researcher who is amazed to discover that Raphael is the man she has dreamed of since she was a child and that Raphael is the first man to inspire a deeply sensual attraction in her even as the she discovers his secret nature and decides to do a more thorough 'study' of the mating habits of vampires and sets out to do a little personal research to collect more 'data'.
Don Raphael's past told in Grania's dream sequences was interesting and really the only thing that kept me slogging through book. Aside from that the majority of the book just plods along and the relationship between Grania and Raphael takes so long to get going that it is hard to build up too much enthusiasm about them. Also as other reviewers have mentioned, while the use of Spanish phrases and words for all the different roles in the vampire hierarchy and for Don Raphael's romantic declarations give the book a flavor, they also slowed the story down for me even more pulling me back to reality as I struggled to remember what the terms meant and to search my brain for the little bit of abyssmal Spanish I remember from high school ( I didn't realize that there was a dictionary in back, until I read another review, but even having to look all of these up all the time would have had the same effect) Finally, in the last couple chapters everything in the book comes together and the plot actually begins to move along with Raphael's big battle against his ancient enemy and Raphael's realization of Grania's true value beyond their blood/emotional/soul bond -- Grania brings the crucial something extra to Raphael that will allow him to survive.
So overall this was so so read, and I have to agree with others that there are much better vampire romances out there and even though Whiteside's are supposed to be erotic, I didn't see too much here that made the book steamier than the mainstream ones. There was a bit more emphasis on body fluids and some not very sensual repetitive descriptions of physiological reactions, personally I don't think this stuff ups the sensuality level at all. Ho hum. But I found Bond of Blood at the thrift store so at that price it was worth a try to see what Whiteside's vampire stories were like, but I won't be rushing out to buy the next one.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
This falls waaay short., 2007-12-18
This is the first book I have read from this author, but it was disappointing enough that I will not be coming back to her. This book is incredibly poorly written-- characters are cliched, and so poorly rounded that you don't understand why they do what they do or say what they say. They are very 2 dimensional. The writing style itself seems somewhat juvenile, and the sex scenes are uninspired and repetitive or occasionable laughable. The narrative is very level, with no builds or arching action-- The plot to overthrow the protagonist that is mentioned in the other reviews is hardly articulated, seldom seen, and never exciting. The most interesting bits do come in the flashbacks-- The period scenes in which Rodrigo is transformed into a vampire. The rest of the story is a boring wade through unsatisfying storytelling. And I can't get over some confusing things-- She has dreamed of this man all her life, and she finally meets someone who looks exactly like him, and they don't really address that for about 100 pages, and when they do, all the author says is that Grania, the female protagonist considers whether or not she could be Rodrigo's reincarnated wife. Things like this really bother me-- it seems the author sets up plot lines and never follows them through. I feel like this is a poorly woven tale, and I would never ever recommend this book to anyone. Better vampire romances abound- check out Hamilton, Ward or Harris.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
 Bad Vampire Mafia storyline, 2007-08-08
I bought the trade size version on super clearance at Amazon. After blowing through it, I can understand why it was so dirt cheap. I could not stand this book.
The book was about vampire mafias fighting over territory.
Raphael is the Texas vampire leader, replete w/ human and vampire body guards because of the multiple assassination attempts; he's also involved in some sort of Trust fund, that I had trouble understanding.
Grania is a new veterinarian hired and meets Raphael the director of the Trust fund for the first time. Raphael resembles the man she has always dreamed of, but he doesn't recognize her at all. When Grania catches Raphael in a compromising encounter feeding off another woman, the cat is out of the bag and she knows what Raphael is. When he begins to keep an eye on her just in case she may publicize her discovery, they both begin to feel a sort of bond between them. Raphael does not comprehend the bond, but Grania thinks it may have to do w/ her dreams.
The dreams were the only scenes in the book that were some what interesting, but I just could not get into any of the characters as they were cookie cutter like. Nor was the book particularly sensual. Frankly, I'm shocked that Berkley is not making this book a mass paperback edition. I do not intend to buy any Diane Whiteside vampire books in the future.
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