Passionate Thirst was OK. Even though I thought Candace and Ash made a good couple, the reason for not wanting to change didn't ring true. She knew what he was and went into it with her eyes open. Without giving anything away, I felt the mystery aspect was a bit contrived and I wished the author gave a more plausible reason for what was happening. It wasn't a total loss though because I want to read the next book.
3.5 stars ( )

I din't finish this book. One sex scene after another. not very imaginative

Passionate Thirst, by Cameron Dean, is the first novel in the Candace Steele, Vampire Killer series. It's about as average as these things come: badass female vampire slayer falls in love with sexy male vampire, etc. Fortunately for my sanity, both the author and the protagonist recognize the vampire's obnoxious, "Alpha Male" behavior for what it is: controlling and harmful. Unfortunately, the book's ending undermines any progress made in that direction.

The story follows Candace Steele, who works as security in a Las Vegas casino. As she narrates, there are periodic flashbacks to her lover, Ash, an old and powerful vampire. After narrowly escaping death when he tried to bring her over, Candace left Ash and became a vampire slayer. She uses her ability to sense vampires - an ability which most vampires don't even know humans can have - and kills not with the traditional wooden stake, but with thin silver stakes disguised as hair ornaments.

Candace has to deal with two problems at once: first, realizing that the hit singer Temptation McCoy, whom Candace has been assigned to protect, has a vampire in her entourage; and second, the return of Ash, who is still set on winning her heart no matter what she says.

It's the "no matter what she says" that forms the crux of the book's problem - one that plagues both supernatural romances and real life - the idea that a woman's "no" can't possibly really mean no if a man doesn't want it to. This is made all the more disturbing by the fact that Candace is able to call Ash out on his behavior being controlling and manipulative, and the fact that she is able to keep telling him no instead of just falling into his arms.

That's not the disturbing part, of course; that's the reassuring part, the part that puts this novel above most similar stories in its ability to recognize harmful relationship dynamics. But all of that is thrown away by the story's ending, which hinges on the fact that Candace cannot be killed or taken by another vampire because she "belongs" to Ash.

That's the disturbing part: the fact that Ash's behavior is not upheld as normal, romantic, or unharmful, and yet it is still tacitly accepted as "just how vampires are." In the end, it's hard to say whether that's a better or worse perspective than the average paranormal romance.

http://www.helium.com/items/1587980-passionate-thirst-cameron-dean-review ( )

I'm really over vampires. I've been reading about them for well over a year now and I'm just not interested in them anymore. This is a bog standard vampire book set in Las Vegas. Not bad, but definitely not excellent. If you've never read one, you might like it, but if you've read Anita Blake, you don't need to go here. ( )