temper sanguineRating: 5 stars
Buy Links: 
 Amazon | All Romance
Length: Novel


Gabe Vadas is an unusual vampire slayer. Not only is his lover Harvey a vampire, but Gabe also works for Victor Augustine, the most powerful vampire in Chicago.  Since moving to the city from Europe and meeting Harvey, Gabe spends his days helping Augustine take care of vampire business, including getting rid of bad guys stirring up trouble.

Recently Harvey and Gabe went to Las Vegas where they not only got rid of the top boss/local baddie in the city for Augustine, but also tracked down the evil vampires who had turned Harvey against his will years before.  While there, they learned about vampires who were getting high by feeding off of sick humans.  Now Augustine wants to send them to New York, where a recent coup has left the vampire politics in some chaos.  Although Victor is cryptic as usual about his true motives, Gabe and Harvey once again dig around, surprised to find connections to their dealings in Vegas.  Not only is there evidence of more feeding on sick humans, but also an indication that some of the players are up to even greater evil: an attempt to create an indestructible race of vampires.

Their findings in New York lead Gabe and Harvey on the track of the power hungry vampires, a journey that takes them to Hungary. The more they investigate, the more the men uncover about the evil plans.  They are determined to stop the bad guys before they succeed in creating vampires that are unstoppable, even at the risk to their own lives.

Temper Sanguine is the second book in Lou Harper’s Sanguine series, following on the great Spirit Sanguine.  I totally fell in love with Gabe and Harvey in that book and continue to adore them here.  They appear somewhat of a mismatched pair.  Gabe is a vampire slayer, like others in  his family.  He has been trained to do nothing but kill vampires, specifically the mindless, violent, feral ones. He didn’t even know regular vampires existed before he met Harvey.  Gabe is big and strong, showcasing his Hungarian ancestry.  He doesn’t have an easy time showing his feelings, but it is clear he is totally wild for Harvey.

Harvey has joined forces with Gabe and when Gabe gets sent off on assignment, Harvey wouldn’t dream of letting him go alone.  The two are a great team, whether it is fighting bad guys or in the bedroom. They are both strong and stubborn, but also determined to do what is right.  There is such great energy between them and they bring out the best in one another.  They are also super hot together (especially with Harvey’s fondness for role play). This story does a great job of picking up their relationship from the first book and showing how far the two have come in their feelings for one another.  I really just adore them as a couple and seeing them interact is my favorite part of the book.

Harvey was turned young and in a violent way.  He had a rough time settling into life as a vampire, but has now gotten himself under control.  Or at least he hopes he has.  But as the men investigate further the misdeeds of the vampires and the ferals they are creating, Harvey begins to worry that their role in his turning may mean he is susceptible to going bad himself. He has been researching a blood substitute so vampires don’t need to feed on humans (as a vegetarian Harvey wants vampires to find better options than people), and his research has led him to finding ways to possibly subdue vampires.  As Harvey and Gabe get further along in the case, Gabe realizes Harvey’s fears about going feral are causing him to keep secrets and possibly leading to danger for both of them.

In addition to the relationship end of things, most of the book focuses on their investigation into the rogue vampires and their evil goings on.  This story really nicely picks up the open threads from the first book and the initial case in Vegas.  It takes some of those loose ends and fully explores what is really going on and the dangers they all face.  As much as I loved the first story, I was a bit bothered by some of the unresolved plot points, so I was thrilled to see how well Harper pulls everything together here.  The investigation is exciting and thrilling and I was so captivated by the way all the pieces tie together and everything gets resolved.

We are left with tiniest hint that there is more to come however. I would be first in line to read another story featuring these guys.  I love them as a couple and I found the larger story line about the power hungry vampires to be fascinating and exciting.  I totally loved this book and am crazy for the series and would highly recommend it.

jay signature