I am all about a good vampire romance. And while I have no prior knowledge of this series and what Hughes has put out with it. I feel like overall it was a good vampire romance read without getting really over the top and tropey. Especially with it being vampire hunter and vampire. Now while saying that I liked portions of this book but felt like parts of the book felt really forced or awkward. With the unique take on vampire lore it really kinda sent the read all over the place. Overall it was an okay read but I think a lot of people would really enjoy it.

The take on this vampire lore is quite different, and somewhat a little farfetched.

Kat isn't one of the most endearing characters. She is narrow minded, and her discrimination towards the vampires is very tunnelled. Understandably so, since she witnessed the vile acts against her family when she was a child. Up to a point, her loss explains her attitude, but to tarnish the whole race is a little hard to swallow. She acts as this brave, face it all heroine, but this backfires as she comes across as being smug. The other thing that I didn't like about her is naming her arsenal of weapons. OK, it's a bit of fun in the begenning, but the novelty wears off when it's constantly repeated. Her involvement in the battles is totally over the top, almost laughable. I found myself struggling with trying hard to like and connect with her.

Now Ryker is a totally different story. He is everything I expect from an ancient vampire. He might have been reluctant in forming attachments with anyone, but his reasons for doing so are more plausible. I rather like him, and wish I could say the same for Kat.

Overall, it's an entertaining read, but I feel that I am missing something. The blurb says that it's a standalone, and maybe if I had read the previous book, my views would be different.

I was kindly issued with an eARC from Netgalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

Overall a good paranormal romance with lots going on. Good characters and a splendid romance at the heart of the book.

WOW, wow, wow! What a great story; a new favorite. It was so good I hardly know where to start. But I will try.
Before I even get into the main characters I just have to say that the world building was SO good.
Kat, man I loved that fierce little warrior. She was going to slash her way through as many vampires as she could. Yes, she knew that it could end up getting her killed but she had some scores to settle. The emotions just pulsed through her and erupted into everything around her. Well, when vamp hunting but emotions dealing with people that involved hugging, not so much. In fact one of my favorite phrases had to do with this. It was when Alexis grabbed Kat and hugged her. "Casual hugging and kissing simply wasn't a thing growing up. So inside, I was Code 3 running hot with all sirens and lights." Yeah. That's not to hard to understand at all and continues in the written without being annoying. I liked how the author wrote like that. I liked the flow and the humor.
Now onto Ryker. He was a whole basket full of interesting. I'm treading carefully here though because he was one surprise after another. I don't want to say too much and ruin it for other readers.
Even most of the secondary people in the story had depth, helping round out the story. Kat's sister Rey will add important pieces to the story as well.
Battles? Oh, yes there will be more of those too. Good vs Evil for sure, Intense battles. More times than not Kat isn't totally convinced exactly where some people fall in those categories. It causes quite the struggle within her. Especially when it comes to Ryker. She really didn't want to even be around him let alone like him. Too bad because a romance does develop. Just probably not like your usual run of normal romance. But definitely enjoyable. Even though there were tensions and troubles, this story also made me smile a lot. A lot of it coming from these two main characters.
It comes to a satisfying ending. But I also think one particular enemy wasn't ended quite yet. Sounds like another book just might be in the future. If it is, sign me up.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I just could not get into this book no matter how hard I tried. When I first started it, I was so confused that I swore I must have been wrong when I read this was a stand alone. So much so I actually went back to check, and yup, it says so. Obviously I haven't read the first book, so I don't know if it would have helped or not, but I really feel like this starts off with us being dropped into a world that we should already know about. But I figured I'd piece it all together as I went on. Which I more or less did. There are still people and places that are talked of as if we should know about them, but whatever. I spend the vast majority of this book being annoyed at one thing or another, and it wasn't until towards the end that things actually got good for a little while.

So my biggest problem with this was Kat. I hated her. Like, really hated her. She was just so goddamn annoying and almost everything that came out of her mouth or thought in her head pissed me off. And then her repeatedly wanting to kill her father? Oh my gawd, you psycho, not every single vampire is a bad guy. That would be like saying every single human is a bad guy. I get it. She was traumatized as a kid and has a chip on her shoulder the size of Jupiter. But holy shit, use your head. Huh. Guess I hated her more than I realized.

I could have really liked Ryker. I do so love me an extra powerful vampire. But it really got to me how stupid he acted when it came to Kat. Everything always came back to her with everything he did. Even when they just met. It was just so eye rolly. Then add in the fact that with all his super vampire powers he misses all sorts of "clues" that Kat easy catches. It was so tiresome to read about how he didn't think he'd be able to find his friend/brother without Kat's help. What the hell has he been up to the past 1000+ years?

Ryker is searching for a fellow ancient vampire who is like a brother to him. One who actually has the mantle of vampire king. Kat is also searching for the vampire king in order to dole out her revenge for the murder of her family. Little does Kat know, but the one she thinks is king...is not. The two of them cross paths one night when Kat is fighting a vampire and Ryker shows up to help her kill him. They quickly learn each of them is searching for (apparently) the same person, but Ryker always works alone. Well, he used to anyway. The next day they form a partnership of sorts and get to work learning about the king's abduction and what exactly went down. They each are intensely drawn to the other, but Ryker knows that with Kat's overwhelming hatred of vampires she would never accept him if she learns the truth.

So we follow these two around as they do their detective work and hide leads from each other. They're finally successful in locating the king but he is nothing like he used to be and now they find themselves surrounded by enemies. With no other choice, Ryker reveals his true self and Kat is faced with a truth she never expected and doesn't know how to deal with.

A good chunk of the ending actually wasn't bad. Fighting off the enemies and trying to figure out how to keep certain people safe actually made this book much more exciting. There were a couple things that happen that I didn't really like, but I also don't plan on reading more of this series so I don't really care. We do end with the immediate enemy being taken care of, but with the king still not right in the head and the mastermind still in shadows, it's not over by a long shot.

I liked the story but I wish I had read the previous one because I feel like I missed out on a lot of world building. I loved Ryker and the search for Elias was full of mystery and action. Kat is a complicated character and I waffled between feeling sympathy and hope for her and dislike at her rigidity. The romance is slow building and the suspense of the plot is fast paced. It makes for an enjoyable read.

It's the first book I read in this series and hope it won't be the last.
It's a gripping and entertaining novel that kept me hooked till the end.
I rooted for the well thought characters and loved the world building.
I'd be happy to read other books by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I'm in love! You just have to love all the characters with their quirkynes and sense of humor. I love that Kat isn't a woman that gets easily blown away by a charming simile and that she doesn't throw away every she believes in for a crush. When she does it's a conscious decision. And Ryker is so cute. I love how he understands her and supports her and loves her strength and vampire fighting abilities.
I would definitely recommend this book and can't wait for more.
I received an early draft of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All my opinions are my own.

I've ready several books but Mary Hughes and have enjoyed them all including this one. Her vampires are wonderfully crafted and their counterparts as well. From beginning to end you're drawn into the story and kept at the edge of your seat. I can't wait to read the next from this fantastic author, I appreciate the opportunity to read this book and give my honest opinion and feedback.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This reads as if it is part of a series, but can be read as a stand alone. The story is self contained with hints of another story. Kat seemed quite obsessed and close minded, but I liked Ryker. Found the story to be intriguing. A little mystery, romance. I rate it 3.5 stars.