Paranormal vampire romance. Stand alone but best if you know the Dark Protector world.
Fun adventure ( )

Put a reporter and a vampire together and what could possibly go wrong? Yes, that's the setup for this story and it's just as fun as it sounds. Vampires protect their existence by any means possible. Reporters protect their sources. Two stubborn people drawn to each other despite not wanting to be. This was a fun story. It's hard to find a Zanetti book that's bad. So if you're looking for a paranormal romance and you like vampires, grab this one. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Action-packed and steamy paranormal romance. I really enjoyed the wit and sarcasm of the characters.

Opening Sentence: Chalton Reese stepped smoothly around several women wearing Christmas garlands in lieu of clothing, ignoring their outstretched pamphlets.

The Review:

Teased is the type of paranormal romance that I highly enjoy. The story starts out action-packed and doesn’t let up. The romance is irritation and attraction all at once before becoming more for this lovely couple. This is an incredibly fast moving romance, “hard and fast” is how the vampires and their mates fall in love according to Chalton Reese.

I have never read a Dark Protector book before and this novella was a fun tease into this dark and dangerous world. This series did seem similar to the Midnight Breed series by Lara Adrian (reviewed the 1001 Dark Nights title Stroke of Midnight) in that the males are only vampires and the women are something more but they are not vampires. I got a bit of a glimpse into how the vampire politics and world works but for the most part it was glossed over in order to keep up the action of this novella.

Chalton Reese hasn’t been on a mission for the Realm in a long time, at least a mission that isn’t computer related and involving the indoors. Years ago, Chalton opted to no longer be an assassin but a computer expert instead so he isn’t exactly thrilled to be back on the streets again looking for the woman writing articles that could prove the existence of the paranormal.

Olivia Roberts is on her own mission. A mission to save her friend’s life and the only way to do that is through the articles that will prove that the supernatural are real. She is hoping that she can use this material into blackmailing a vampire into saving her best friend’s life.

Tempted begins with the action packed scene of Chalton trying to capture/kidnap/save Olivia’s life. I really enjoyed each characters wit and sarcasm with the other as they are discovering the strange pull that they feel towards each other. The ending of this story had me laughing about how I couldn’t believe that was how everything tied together, I didn’t really see that coming.

Overall, this novella is a bit dark but with the humor and love that the several of the characters feel towards each other it really isn’t that heavy of a short story. This was a fun, exciting and steamy read that has me looking towards the rest of the Dark Protectors series.

Notable Scene:

“Hmm.” Her shoulders settled, as she no doubt found some measure of safety with people all around them. “What did you say?”

He couldn’t repeat what he said since it involved getting her naked and was no doubt very inappropriate. “I wished you a good day.”

“Right. What do you want?” Clearly, she didn’t believe a word he said.

“To talk.” He glanced around. “Away from the crowds and the cold wind.”

“Ah.” She nodded, the wind lifting her hair. “In your spaceship or lair? You wanna wear my skin as a suit, do you?”

He laughed, unable to help himself.

She blinked again. “Murderous kidnappers shouldn’t have such nice laughs,” she murmured and then stilled.

Did the woman say everything that was in her head? While the idea should irritate him, instead he found an intriguing charm in the idea. Creative people were often the most interesting, now weren’t they? “I have no plans to murder you.”

“That’s a relief,” she snapped, trying to pull her hand free.

FTC Advisory: Evil Eye Concepts, Inc. provided me with a copy of Teased. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )