Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novella
Note: This story is a continuation of Frankie’s Vamp and has a cliff hanger ending, but in my opinion, it could be read as a standalone. Also of note is that the Hot Encounters stories were previously published and the reissued version of the story has been revised and reedited.
While on his daily run, Detective Lucas Ford was attacked by a rogue vampire. Being 6’6″ and well over 200lbs enabled Luc to fend off his attacker, but not before being seriously injured. Six months later, Luc is one of the officers responding to a bar brawl at Hot Encounters, and still wary of vampires after his attack. He feels the inexplicable need to arrest the sexy vamp, feeling an attraction to a man for the first time ever.
As Luc investigates a series of rogue vampire attacks in the city, he begins to notice Bryce watching him. Fed up with being stalked, Luc returns to Hot Encounters and corners Bryce in the men’s room, where he lets go of his inhibitions and fucks Bryce. The hot sexual encounter ends when “straight” Luc walks out on Bryce. The problem is that Bryce had mated with Luc but forgot to mention it. Now unable to feed from any other human, Bryce is resigned to his fate, death. His one true regret is that Luc, as his mate will die as well.
The Hot Encounters stories are starting to feel a little like a serial, short in length, a mysterious foe, likable protagonists, and best of all, easy and fun to read.
I can’t say that the characters, Bryce and Lucas, or even Merrick from Frankie’s Vamp were the most complex, but that did not take away from the story and it is my hope that as the series continues, we will get to know the various men better, because to be honest, I was not feeling Bryce’s character. When we met Bryce, he was the capable second-in-command of the Perth coven and yet add a little Luc and he becomes a pushover bottom with a serious lack of backbone. Lucas was a bit more realistic to me, the total Alpha cop. Yes he too was on the two-dimensional side, but it worked for his character.
On the side of things that made me wonder was that Luc seems a little too knowledgable about the location and effect of the prostate during sex, which did not feel quite right. In fact, Luc’s acceptance of Bryce as his mate was a bit rushed, especially since Luc maintained that he was straight though the entire story. Also, I found a couple of instances where the same or similar descriptions of some parts of them having sex were repeated.
I have been a fan of Griffin’s for years and look forward to seeing where the men of Hot Encounters end up and if they can figure out who Weston, creator of the rogue vampires, is and how to stop him.