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Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Book Review: Thirst (The Energy Vampires #1) by Jacquelyn Frank

Thirst (The Energy Vampires #1)
by Jacquelyn Frank
January 17, 2017
279 pages
Random House/Loveswept
A hidden society of vampires—and the humans they love—are at the heart of this opening novel in a biting, all-original series from the New York Times bestselling author of the Nightwalkers saga.

Rafe DaSilva is an energy vampire, soaking up nourishment from the sun—and, only when necessary, drawing sweet sustenance from humans who are pure in body and spirit. As the right-hand man to his queen, Rafe is a key player at a historic peace summit in New York City, which will unite the vampire nations against a common threat: the sycophants, who feed on humanity and kill indiscriminately. But Rafe’s fascination with a beautiful blond police detective may put everything at risk.


Detective Renee Holden has never worked a homicide quite like this. The victim has twin puncture wounds on his neck, and the only eyewitness swears she saw a vampire. Now’s definitely not the time to get distracted by a seductive stranger. But the suave, darkly austere, exotically handsome Rafe DaSilva is a hard man to deny, and as Renee falls under his spell, she also falls prey to his enemies. Desperate to protect her, Rafe lifts the veil on a shadow realm she can only visit—a world of intoxicating power, terrifying dangers, and forbidden pleasures.


Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

Renee Holden is a young NYC homicide detective. When her newest case centres on an affluent murder victim with suspicious bites on his neck, Renee is both puzzled and determined. Rafe DaSilva, a high-ranking member of the vampire queen’s inner circle, is intrigued by Renee’s doggedness but also concerned her investigation is leading her too close to the secret society he is charged to protect. When Rafe places himself in Renee’s path to discover crucial information regarding her investigation, he finds himself unable to resist the allure of the young detective and suddenly she is drawn into his dangerous world. 

Frank’s vampires are vamps with a sci-fi twist. Quite possibly the only vampires in existence, “e-vamps” extract energy by biting human donors at the top of the spine and drawing electricity generated by the brain. Vampire purists may not enjoy the change, however, I appreciated Frank’s fresh take on a standard paranormal type. There’s a lot of good stuff here. I enjoyed Rafe as a suave sophisticate with a quiet, simmering strength and class to spare. Renee is a strong female lead with a brain, confidence, and curves. Frank goes a long way to mimic ‘reality’ within such fantastic subject matter. Rafe and Renee’s romance unfolds more organically than is typical to the genre. Also, the vampire political structure reminded me of a perennial vampire favourite, the Sookie Stackhouse series. This leaves room for a full cast of colourful characters to flesh out the series to come.

In mimicking reality, however, there were aspects of the book that were too mundane. For example, a lot of information is revealed through dialogue. As such, conversations between characters seem to drag. Characters often mull over boring detail, and even spend a lot of time plotting and planning events that never come to fruition. There were some definite pacing issues. This is common in series starters, so I get it. I just found poor placement of crucial details and complete expansion of the ordinary.

Overall, the book was entertaining and I’m intrigued for sure. I’ll be looking for book two.

3 ½ sheep





Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:

Hi there. It's me! Again. Time to update some more. Trying to keep up with this and realizing I haven't updated this since 2015. (It's 2016 right now) I've expanded my online presence to include Facebook and Twitter, a website a blog and every other bleeping thing there is out there in the cyber world. Was finding it hard to manage all that exposure and get work done at the same time. I am writing under two names (JAX is for my steamier stuff...and yes, it does get steamier!) And I am in over half a dozen languages now! INCLUDING a full line of NIGHTWALKERS audio books with the glorious narration of the superb Xe Sands. I'm thrilled with the job she did!



A KISS OF MAGIC, Book One in the A Kiss of Magic series just debuted, soon to be followed by A KISS OF FIRE, A Kiss of Magic Book Two. Both are available for order and pre-order here. I am self-publishing these books.

In January of 2017 I am publishing a book called THIRST through Random House/Loveswept. It's a great book about a special kind of vampire. Check it out! I think it's available for pre-order already. The cover is also smokin' hot. This too is in electronic format only. (Hey, if you want print I'm right there with you! But I am at the mercy of my publishers!)

I'm still living in Asheville, NC. My kitty family has dwindled to a mere three cats. I have moved but still live in the Asheville area. My what a project that was!

Email will always be welcomed. I am a tech queen and my laptop has grown roots into my thighs. (And my bottom has grown them into my recliner). I am so thrilled about all of my books and I want to know what everyone thinks of them! I receive emails at jackifrankwrites@gmail.com these days. Feel free to say hi! 

If you haven't tried me, please do. I always recommend starting with JACOB. Or if you don't want to invest in a series, go for DRINK OF ME. It's a stand alone.

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