Even if I was in a paranormal romance mood big time when I read this, I still wasn’t in the mood to being crowded by sex scenes right off the bat. Luscious cravings lives up to its name with a sexual dream in the first chapter, and continuing sexual episodes of some kind almost every chapter thereafter. Still, I could skim and ignore it since there was an actual plot at the same time, plenty at stake, tense motions, and a hurried pace.

It opens with the heroine still reeling from a traumatic event with a vampire she fell for, shaking off her urges to be with the guy and lead a somewhat normal life, or else normal for her. She’s now turned to being a low-key vamp assassin while continuing her job as a cocktail waitress in the local casino. She can’t ignore much for long, though, as vampire politics start inching into her work and she has to face up to everything she’s been fighting to avoid so she can overcome it.

The ending leaves off with a bit of frustration and a lot of unanswered questions urging the reader to pick up the third. Skimming reviews, I saw enough of the third revealed to be glad for once that there are spoilers so I know to avoid it. The ending of the trilogy apparently angered a lot of people, and I can only be glad of my emotional investment being slight by reading the second, not the first and not the third. With that turnout, it won’t be a trilogy I’ll complete. I already get pissed enough at books as it is.

Candace is a likeable villain, even if she’s controlled a little too much by her hormones. She doesn’t make stupid decisions, she faces most things head on, but she really needs to fight the sexual itch sometimes. Ash is awesome but a lot of his involvement with the story leaves so many questions and answers waiting to be revealed. There’s a lot of serious bad at play with other characters, which I’m assuming is wrapped up with the third.

Despite some flaws, I did enjoy it and the reading was quick. Plenty kept happening, my interest was hooked, and even though the bedroom scenes were frequent, they were actually well written with a hot touch. It's worth a read for Paranormal fans, but I think you'd get a better grasp of the characters reading the first book before starting this one. Just be aware the third will likely irritate you. ( )

The first book in this series was pretty terrible. It took me a long time to come around to reading this next volume, "Luscious Craving". Since I bought the entire trilogy at once, I knew eventually I would read on. I'm kind of glad that I did. This book is considerably better then its predassessor. Candace Steele is a very unlikeable heroine. She doesn't have a great personality at all and in this book she was such a tramp! I'm no prude but Candace went to and from two men in this book in a way that was kind of gross to me. Candace is a vampire killer who works security for a casino in Las Vegas. In this entry, Candace learns of a huge con about to go down. Slowly she unravels what the plot is and who is involved. I enjoyed the flashbacks into the past of Ash, the bane of Candace's existance. She can't live with him and can't live without him. Everything in between is turmoil. The writing isn't great in either of the two stories I've read thus far. Whether its the writing style, or the lack of intrigue in the characters, I have a hard time getting pulled into the tale. The story picks up at the end when the sex stops for a minute and the action takes over. I actually became mildly engrossed at this point and as soon as that happened...the story was over. I don't have high hopes for the third and final book...but the end of this book did show that there was potential there all along and Ms. Dean obviously missed a chance to make the story really work. This book pales in comparison to the other vampire tales in the market today. There are plenty of other books more deserving the reader's precious time and money. ( )