Rating: 4.25 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Alasdair has been around for a long time. He was sired by the powerful vampire, Vasilios, in 47 BC and both of their names carry weight within the vampire world. While Alasdair can have any partner that he wants, he is selective and private and enjoys the chase almost as much as the catch. He is always one step ahead of his conquests and prey–that is until he sets his sights on Leo.
When Alasdair sees Leo, Leo’s scent intoxicates him as Alasdair stalks what he thinks will be his next meal. But when Leo unknowingly turns the tables on Alasdair, Alasdair takes him hostage. Leo isn’t even sure if he should be afraid of Alasdair, as the sight of the gorgeous vampire arouses him to the point of distraction. But there are unknown forces within Leo threatening Alasdair and forces within the vampire world ready to put an end to Leo.
Ella Frank excels at creating an erotic story and within it some exceptionally erotic moments. There are scenes in this story where characters are barely touching each other that are top of the charts erotic as the air around them has incredible sexual energy. This is also the start of what could be a fairly complex series.
This story takes us back to vampires that are ruthless bad boys that take what they want. However, there is a hierarchy and Alasdair, along with his cousins, Thanos and Isadora, have to follow the protocol set forth by the Ancients, or those that sired them. Even eternal life comes with a price and there are a lot of vampire politics abound. For a vampire book, there is not a lot of blood or gore and we hear of their ruthless ways more than we see them firsthand.
When Alasdair first sees Leo he becomes interested in him in ways he cannot understand. Something about Leo calls to him, his blood sings to him, but he can’t quite seal the deal on taking Leo’s blood. Leo is a museum curator and is well versed in Ancient Greece where Alasdair hails from and their lives become intertwined in ways no one fully understands. There are a few flashbacks to ancient times and we are shown the intense bond that Vasilios and Alasdair share, which also marks the beginning of what could be an intensely erotic triangle between the three men.
I would have liked to have seen a larger world built here to pull the story together better for me. We are told that Vasilios is the strongest most revered vampire, but not why or how that came to be. There is also no indication of what the vampires have been doing for the past, say, 2000 years. As the story progressed, there was somewhat of an expectation that we should have already known what powers the vampires possessed and there was a little something missing for me in that aspect. There were also a few aspects that I felt like I had seen or read before.
There was a lot of story presented here, but still a lot left to tell. A good portion of this book is highly charged foreplay between Alasdair and Leo. You should not expect a romance. You can expect selfish vampires, multiple partners, and well written electrifying erotica that is only the beginning of a story. There are a lot of unanswered questions and there are characters that are left in peril at the end of the book. The next installment is scheduled for release in January 2016 and the relationships in the series will be a mix of genders. Alasdair was an interesting start to what could be a promising series.
