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Jabril

I enjoyed this second book just as much as the first in the series. The old characters were more well defined and the new characters were pretty much brought in with full personalities that made you either like or dislike them immediately upon meeting them. You knew who was who and who could be trusted in a tense situation.

Jabril Karim is one of eight Vampire Lords and headquartered in Houston, Texas. While Raphael rules through loyalty and respect, Jabril uses fear and threats. Mirabelle is a young woman who was placed in Jabril’s care as a 15-year-old along with her 10-year-old sister. In order to get his hands on her money and control her, he turned her one day after her 18th birthday, but he still needs her because she does not get the bulk of her money until she becomes 25, but after that, he will not need her.

When Mirabelle’s sister runs away to avoid the fate of her sister Jabril hires Cynthia to find her, though he does not believe a woman can do the job. What he wants is to claim Cyn and rub it in Raphael’s face for not making her his. With her arrival in Texas Cynthia decides that what Jabril wants is something she will have to thwart in order to save her sisters who were given to a monster.

While the main story is good we have a secondary story that is just as good and compelling. Enjoy this book and be ready for the next which should prove just as good.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rumor has it Raphael used a private investigator, a very private investigator from what I hear, but one who resisted even that arrogant bastard’s charm.” “You would hire a woman?” “Oh hardly, Asim,” he said with a dismissive flip of his fingers. “Talk to the lawyers and find a proper man for the job. But call this woman of Raphael’s anyway. I want to meet her, and that bastard’s ego could use a good pricking. Do you think he would mind sharing?” “I think he would rather share with a snake, my lord,” Asim said with a sharp smile.

Jabril
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Raphael

This is the first time I have read this author and I am very glad I had the fortune to find this book. While the plot starts out slow-moving, it is interesting from the beginning as we get to know the characters who will be important as the series moves forward. The prologue sets the stage for the story which will be told within the body. The characters themselves come across very well with personality quirks that make sense for the backgrounds they have been given. Then there are some who still have more time to have their personalities become more solid. The world they live in is very familiar to me since it is a place that I actually drive to or through on an almost daily basis.

Raphael is a Vampire Lord with the power of life and death over every vampire within his territory. He has the loyalty of thousands. A gang of humans attack his compound and kidnap a female vampire under his protection. Because humans are involved along with vampires he decides to hire a human investigator to help flush out his enemies. What he does not expect is to be drawn to that investigator so forcefully.

Cynthia Leighton is smart, tough, and sexy, she is also a private detective and former cop. When Raphael comes to her for help she is more than happy to oblige since she is tired of the cheating spouses and tracking bank accounts. Her work with the vampires may not always go over well with the human population but she can do things for them that regular law enforcement will not. Cynthia finds Raphael to be very magnetic but she wants to keep her distance because her heart is not a part of the bargain.

Loved this first book and had to read the next one immediately. I think it would be great for anyone who has a love of vampires and the culture they have established here. Highly recommend!

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And yet as powerful as each of them was, none was so powerful as Raphael himself. Some were older, but age was not everything. Some claimed greater skill, but skill was no substitute for strength. These things were never spoken of; they were simply understood. Boundaries were observed, respect was paid. Anything else would lead to war. And none of the men in this room wanted another war. But someone did. Someone thought to use Alexandra against him. And that someone would pay dearly.