Diane Whiteside: Bond of Blood

Review by Vicky London

The Plot:

Bond of Blood is the first book in Diane Whiteside’s Texas Vampires series. Don Rafael Perez has been a vampire for seven centuries. He was a medieval Spanish knight who once fought in the crusades and still carries his same code of honor. His battle skills and leadership have helped him to become one of the most powerful vampires in North America and the leader of the largest territory; Texas and Oklahoma. But a cunning and seductive rival is planning his downfall, Madame Celeste wants his territory and is willing to start an all-out war to get it.

One of Rafael’s gifts is to give women ecstasy while he feeds from them. He is a dream lover for any woman he takes; one who is as dangerous and exotic as a jungle cat. None have caught his attention as thoroughly as Grania O’Malley, a new veterinarian at the Texas Hill Country Raptor Center. Rafael soon realizes that he shares a unique bond with Grania, one he cannot explain and doesn’t trust.

Grania is convinced Rafael is the man she has been dreaming of since she was a child, but the dreams have the eerie sense now of being memories. Her whole life has been based on scientific fact but she has no explanation for the creature that is the seductive Don Rafael nor why she desires him so intensely. Grania’s involvement in the secret world of vampiros is a distraction that Rafael cannot afford at a time that he needs to be stronger than ever.

Review:

Bond of Blood has been on my TBR list for quite a while and I’m glad I finally read it. Diane Whiteside has a great beginning to her Texas Vampires series here. She deftly builds her vampire world in a way that is seamless and doesn’t interrupt the story with long explanations. Diane writes romantica for Ellora’s Cave and she brings the same level of intense sensuality to her vampiros. Whiteside has a beautiful style of writing that brings the story to vivid life. I’m definitely looking forward to her next book in the series, Bond of Fire (January 2008). You can order Bond of Blood by clicking on the book cover above.

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