A Different Breed by Angel MartinezRating: 5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Angel Martinez takes the m/m paranormal genre to an all-new height in her fascinating novel, A Different Breed. After watching a vampire rip his sister’s throat out, Josh has joined a guild as a hunter. Armed with extreme senses that enable him to flush out the creatures of the night, Josh kills with revenge in his heart. Not once did he ever stop or dream that the undead he hunts may not be the evil demons he has believed all this time. When he comes face to face with an ancient vamp named Richard, Josh’s life turns on a dime as he feels the instant connection bloom inside himself. This is no bloodthirsty man, but instead an artist who has loved humans over the course of his life. For the first time in a long while, Josh lets the wall around his heart fall and makes the decision to leave the guild and the role of Hunter behind.

throwback thursdayHowever, those who control the guild are not quite ready for Josh to go renegade on them and thwart the plans they have made to accelerate the vamp hunting process. Before he can blink, Josh is part of an operation that may mean the death of his beloved Richard and himself as well.

I think the real genius here was the choice the author made to have Josh be as realistic as possible. Even though greatly smitten by Richard, Josh never fully loses his anger over the loss of his twin sister or his wariness about Richard’s potential to lose his self-control and become a bloodthirsty killer until almost the end of the story. These two elements combine to make Josh both captivating and the reader more eager to learn about him and just how far he will allow himself to be involved with Richard. Speaking of which, another tour de force takes place as Martinez gives a non-human character a decided “human” soul. It is Richard’s eyes and their habit of displaying every raw and tender emotion inside him that really draws Josh. A killer can hide many things, but his eyes will always give him away and Martinez uses that analogy well, not only with Richard, but with the bad guys as well.

Due to impeccable writing, I found myself losing any sense of time in this story—when I realized that only weeks had passed since Josh met Richard I was a bit shocked. You see, the relationship building that takes place in A Different Breed is so tentative at first that one forgets that these two have not been together for a very long time. By using the tie the two feel emotionally to one another and the growing ability to hear and feel each other even across distance, the author creates a seamless yet steady trajectory for their love—one that is beautifully real.

A Different Breed by Angel Martinez has it all—action, suspense, a bit of the macabre, and romance. It is a wonderful addition to the growing m/m paranormal genre and one you will not want to miss.

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