Romancing the Dark Side

Vampire's Hunger by Cynthia Garner 
Series: Awakening #1 
Genre: Paranormal Romance 
Published by Forever Yours on April 1, 2014 
Format: eARC 
Pages: 240 
Source: Author 
Purchase: Amazon • Barnes & Noble 

Necromancers…vampires and zombies, oh my – a sexy start to a page turning series!

VAMPIRES’S HUNGER introduces us to a fascinating new paranormal world where necromancers work with the police using their talent of raising the dead (usually temporarily) to question the deceased and solve crimes. Kimberly (Kimber) Treat is one of those necromancers. When she’s called in to bring murder victim Richard Whitcomb back from the dead, Kimber uses her ability to tap into the magic of the Unseen but something goes terribly wrong. A darkness attaches itself to Whitcomb’s soul as he’s reanimated and before Kimber can send him back he attacks the medical examiner in the room jump-starting the zombie apocalypse.

Fast forward to six months later where Kimber and her BFF Natalie are living in an apartment with vampire Duncan and his fae friend Aodhán in order to survive in this new and dangerous world. As independent as Kimber is, she knows there’s safety in numbers and together their chances of survival are greater. Duncan has always had a soft spot for Kimber and suggests moving to his Queen’s fortress with Natalie where they will be granted saftey, but everything comes with a price. Maddalene wants to resurrect her vampire consort and will stop at nothing to bring him back but Kimber refuses to help the vampiress who had her parents murdered. When she refuses to aid Maddalene…Kimber, Natalie, Duncan and Aodhán must face a threat far worse than the zombie apocalypse..a powerful vampire Queen.

The author’s candid voice immediately draws you into her paranormal world of magic and the undead. Kimber is a strong and fun heroine, she never wastes an opportunity to make a smart ass comment and I love her for it. I enjoyed her personality but it did take me a bit to warm up to her completely, once she realized she needed her friends and quit the “I can do it all by myself” attitude she grew on me.

Even with her necromancy abilities, Kimber’s still vulnerable and has no love for vampires which I understand after learning what happened to her parents, she has her reasons. She has a few self-loathing moments because she feels the outbreak is essentially her fault and is trying her best to make things right, even sacrificing herself at times. Her attraction to Duncan is evident but she’s hesitant to pursue anything because of his vampire nature. At first this bothered me because Duncan has given her no reason not to trust him, but I admire Kimber for never forgetting a vampire is a vampire, even if he’s a hot one! She has more self control than I would have in her situation, but it was great to see that she just didn’t throw herself at Duncan.

Duncan is as yummy as vampires get, he’s smoking hot, an alpha male, a protector and he has a great sense of humor. He doesn’t fall into the brooding vampire category (even if he rarely smiles) but he believes himself unworthy of love because of his dark past. The intense chemistry and flirty banter between him and Kimber is one of my favorite elements of this story, it sheds some light on the lurking danger. He knows Kimber has reservations when it comes to getting involved with him and he gives her space when she needs it. I wasn’t expecting too much sex in this book because of zombies and all but Ms. Garner pleasantly surprised me with a few that left me in need of a cold shower! What I enjoy most about Kimber and Duncan’s relationship is that it starts off friendly and doesn’t instantly become love, they do care about each other but are getting to know one another throughout the story. Natalie and Aodhán are great supporting characters with their snarky comments and obvious flirtations, I can’t wait to see more of them in future books, their interactions where fun to read and helped diffuse some of the tension between Kimber and Duncan.

Zombies are the initial threat in this world story begins but it soon becomes apparent that it’s the vampires who pose a greater threat. This twist was a little confusing to me being that they’re in the middle of the zombie apocalypse and all but I hope it’s fleshed out more as the story unfolds. As a first installment I expected a little more world building but Ms. Garner focused more on character development and their relationships which I didn’t mind, I’m just left with some questions I hope are answered as the series progresses. The ending wraps up too quickly for me with a cliffhanger feel that left me wanting more…in a good way. VAMPIRE’S HUNGER is a fun and sexy start to a series that has left me anxiously awaiting its sequel!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.