Every series is likely to have a weak entry and this one is it for Vampires in America. Raphael and Cyn are back in the spotlight, but they now they share it with a crop of new characters, including the title vampire character.
This time we move northwest to Vancouver, British Columbia and Washington state. Sophia herself has been summoned there by her Sire in the wake of three vampires’ untimely murders. Coincidentally, Colin Murphy, a retired Navy SEAL has relocated to the area to clear his mind and live a quiet life. But he winds up learning about the vampire murders, and as the ultimate protector of the innocent he becomes involved in the case in order to bring to justice those responsible. As they cross paths and work together, we realize that they have their own history, which presents a challenge. But they will have to work through that to locate the killer in time before he hurts anyone else.
These vampires were children of Raphael, and the Vampire Lord is none too happy to know of their demise. He doesn’t trust Sofia, and Cyn wants to help solve the case as well, which only exacerbates his concern for her safety and the unpredictability of the outcome. But if we know Cyn, we know she is committed to the job and will face whatever danger there may behead on. But this time around, she may have bitten of more than she can chew.
One of the reasons I enjoy this series is that there’s a lot of focus on the mystery component, and while there’s definitely a strong presence of romance, it’s not overbearing a lot of the time. Well, for this book that’s gone out the window. Sure, there’s a mystery but the romantic melodrama is laid on thick. This is because we’re not dealing with one couple now, but two. And that’s just too much for me. I just wasn’t invested in Sophia and Colin’s situation in the least and I’ll outright admit that I skimmed a lot of their scenes.
I was hoping for the books to get away from the missing women trend that it had going, and it did do that here. But it still wasn’t enough to create a compelling enough storyline. I guess D.B. Reynolds stuck with it before because it was a strength.
I would have recommended you skip this book altogether, but there are a few major plot developments that are worth reading. I can say that I was able to skim through certain scenes with little consequence to getting the big picture, so if you feel that urge, go with it. You’ll be fine.
And of course, a VNF review of this series isn’t complete without my comment on the cover…which is still pretty bad. I feel like they get worse and worse. The male model’s pose looks completely unnatural, awkward, and so NOT badass for a supposed Navy Seal. And once again you can barely read the text at the top of the book thanks to the trees. Whoever designed it obviously skipped the “contrast” chapter in their graphic design book. It’s ONLY one of the major principles, but what do I know!
So yeah, this book was a bit of a let down, but it wasn’t enough to deter me from continuing with the series, especially knowing that Duncan gets his turn next!