First, I'll start by saying that when I looked into reviewing this book, the author, Jaz Primo kept telling me that it wasn't like the usual vampire novels that I've read.. I'm thinking.. 'Ok, Well I've read a bit of everything so I'm not sure how it could be different..' But of course, it intrigued me & I opened it up... The man is not only a great author & human being, he is also a freakin' genius! I literally could not put this book down & I read it in a weekend! And yes, the extraordinary Jaz was right. This certainly wasn't the usual vampire novel. And it totally rocked!
We are introduced to the beautiful vamp, Amber, who feels, after centuries of walking the world, she is ready to end it by seeing her first sunrise as a vampire and turning to ash.. She suddenly changes her mind but she is already critically injured from exposure & ends up taking shelter in a garage, where an 8 year old Caleb saves her life.. She ends up saving his life in return through a series of happenings she puts into action, to repay him for the favor...
Flash ahead many years.. Little Caleb is now a gorgeous book-worm history teacher at a local community college. And Amber is now the sexy red-head alpha-vamp Katrina, with a changed identity to roll with the times.. She is drawn to Caleb, her little "Angel" and ends up enrolling in his classes to check up on him.. She isn't prepared for the surge of lust she feels now that the little Caleb is a grown-up hottie.. One thing leads to another and she finds herself having to confess her nature to Caleb. He doesn't take it to well.. Runs in fear, actually.. But after a few rough starts, he decides she is worth the risk, as he feels that irresistible pull to her, as well.
However, an evil vampire from Katrina's past emerges into their new future with her eyes & fangs set on Caleb. Katrina will do everything in her power to protect her new love, even calling in favors from vampire friends of the past... But as the evilness builds, will it be enough to save herself & Caleb? Or will she lose her love forever?
This is one amazing novel! You know it's going to be awesome when you don't even want to put it down to sleep, and that was me for a bit! This is certainly a unique take on the classic vampire paranormal romance & let me assure you... It will knock your socks off! It truly deserves to be called a spell binding page-turner of epic proportions! I don't want to give any spoilers here when I say it's different, but trust me.. Run out to pick it up & see the kind of awesome "different" that I'm talking about! This is one author & series that are going to be a permanent part of my reading collection for many years to come! I'm not easily impressed by new vamp novels but this fantastic one-of-a-kind book & one-of-a-kind author both have me hooked for life!
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PLATINUM REVIEWS GIVES JAZ & "SUNRISE AT SUNSET":
5 PLATINUM RINGS!!
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Blurb:
When is a bloodthirsty predator the best protection against
a psychotic killer?
When the predator is both a vampire...and the woman you
love.
Caleb is bravely overcoming a dark past while having no memory
of the beautiful vampire that saved him.
Despite a promise to stay away, Katrina is compelled to
return to him.
However, a vengeful rival from her past has dire plans for
both of them.
"We vampires are focused and tend to shape our own realities."
My name is Katrina Rawlings, and I am a vampire. I declare that with neither pride nor ego. I am simply nature's most dangerous predator. On occasion, it's a very valuable quality. It helped me protect Caleb Taylor one day when he was very young. But that single, traumatic day is behind him now; wiped from his memory, or so I hope. Caleb has finally matured into a rather striking young man, and believe me, I like what I see. I'll readily admit that there are issues for us to confront and overcome, though a sense of mutual commitment isn't one of them. I'm feeling hopeful for our future together, in fact. But an adversary from my past has returned to haunt me, and she's trying to get back at me through Caleb. That was her first...and last...mistake. I'll protect my Caleb at all costs, and I'll make her regret the day she was born. So, I suppose that I'm not just a vampire. I'm about to become someone's worst nightmare!
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EXCERPT:
“Caleb, I think honesty is so important between two people, and there’s something I want to tell
you,” she began with a resolute expression, her green eyes catching his pale blue ones intently.
“Yes?” he asked after locking eyes with her gaze.
Her hands felt soft around his, but they had grasped his hand tighter after her last statement. Is
she bored with me? he wondered. Or worse, maybe she doesn't feel the same connection to me that I’m feeling for her.
“I've had a number of relationships in my time,” she began awkwardly. In my time, she thought
ironically. If he only knew. But then, perhaps in a few minutes he will.
Oh no, Caleb thought, maybe she senses something in me that reminded her of a previously failed relationship.
His hand flinched between hers.
She quickly detected his flinch and asked with concern, “Is something the matter?”
“Me? Not at all,” he replied a little too quickly.
She narrowed her eyes at him slightly before reverting to a more relaxed expression.
“Relationships are hard for me. It’s hard for people to accept me as I am,” she continued carefully.
“Okay,” he nodded. Oh great, he thought, she’s going to tell me she’s a lesbian.
“You see, I’m not like most people you know,” Katrina continued.
He raised his eyebrows.
She immediately realized that things weren't proceeding like she’d hoped. She was stalling, and it
was apparent he was becoming confused. The palm of his hand had already started to perspire a
little between hers.
“For example, I’m not a day person at all,” she stated matter-of-factly. “In fact, I can’t be in
sunlight. You might say my sunrise begins at sunset.”
His eyes widened slightly. Okay, he thought, she has a disease that keeps people from being in sunshine?
“Oh, I saw something about that on a Discovery Channel program about a year ago,” he offered
encouragingly. “It’s not as uncommon as you might think, really.” It might help explain why we’re were
never able to get together during the daytime, he thought with some relief.
Katrina arched one eyebrow and shook her head. “No, you don’t understand,” she tried to
correct him. “Those people have a disease. I don’t have a disease. It just hurts me to be around
strong ultraviolet radiation.”
“Um, okay,” he replied with a single nod and a deepening frown. UV radiation sensitivity, he
contemplated wildly.
“It’s the result of a genetic mutation,” she explained. “Like a
medical treatment gone wrong?” he inquired with an expression of disbelief.
“No, it wasn't a medical treatment. It’s…” she tried to continue.
“Government experiment?” he interrupted.
She frowned at him and corrected, “This has nothing to do with the government.” Thank
goodness, she thought to herself as an afterthought. Her kind definitely tried to keep governments
from being involved, which would probably be disastrous, at best.
Her clarification seemed to stump him for a moment, but she could tell that his thoughts were
already racing. She had no way of knowing that he doubted her sanity at that moment.
“Okay,” he conceded politely. “Anything else?”
“I don’t like to eat most normal human foods,” Katrina added carefully.
Caleb winced. What the hell? he wondered wildly. Normal human foods? It was turning into a
conversation from hell for him. Well, she does normally order salads when we go to restaurants, he recalled.
“So, you’re a vegetarian?” he asked hopefully as he started to pull his hand from between hers.
Uh-oh, Katrina thought as she allowed him to withdraw his hand. She hadn't realized that she
had been holding her breath, and she exhaled a heavy sigh. “I’m what society would best describe as
a vampire,” she said finally.
Caleb actually laughed out loud once, then seemed suddenly ashamed, and quickly clasped one
hand quickly over his mouth. And I thought Melanie was half-crazed, he mused darkly.
“I’m so sorry,” he apologized. “You just sounded so...”
“Serious?” she offered helpfully.
“Um, no,” he corrected without actually using the word “crazy.”
“I’m quite serious,” she insisted evenly.
“It’s just that vampires aren't real, Katrina,” he added with a growing sardonic grin. “I mean, I
love vampire horror films as much as the next guy.”
His tone sounded somewhat condescending, and she resented his speaking to her like some
superstitious child. “Oh, but we are real, Caleb,” Katrina retorted heatedly as her eyes glowed green
in the dim light of the lamp.
Caleb jolted slightly in surprise and demanded, “How did you just do that?”
Something dark stirred in his memory for just a split second, and it sent a chill up his spine.
Then it was gone, like some fleeting flash from the past.
Katrina took a deep breath to relax and regained her composure as her eyes returned to their
normal green hue. She didn't want to upset him further and risk continued misunderstanding. Have I
just made a terrible mistake? she wondered.
“Caleb, it’s what I've been trying to tell you,” she continued gently.
Had the light from the nearby lamp merely caused an optical illusion? he wondered. And yet, why
did the sudden change in her eyes seem somehow strangely familiar to me?
He suddenly felt edgy and irritated that the evening had taken such a negative turn. Mostly he
was disappointed by it all. He’ had hoped their connection was the beginning of something special.
Now it just seemed that Katrina was just another of society’s misguided souls suffering from some
sort of mental illness. He sighed, and she looked into his eyes curiously.
“Caleb?” she asked tentatively and reached out to grasp his hand in hers again.
But he pulled back from her outreached hand with a jerk and rose to stand from where he sat
next to her. “I’m very sorry, Katrina, but I think I better go,” he said nervously.
She sat where she was but pleaded gently, “Caleb, please sit back down so we can discuss this.”
He shook his head and turned to depart in the direction from which they came. “I’ll call you,
Katrina,” he added almost as an afterthought, but it was an empty comment that he immediately
knew he didn't mean.
He felt about as disappointed as he could recall in his adult life. Katrina was supposed to have
been someone special to him. He’d been falling in love with her, after all. Now everything felt like it
was melting away in a matter of minutes. The help she needed was far beyond his ability to cope
with, and at that moment he felt he just needed to leave so he could sort out what just transpired
between them.
“Caleb,” she called as she watched him walk away, his pace quickening after he briefly glanced
back over his shoulder at her. “No,” she whispered angrily. “Not like this.”
She was determined not to let him depart on such bad terms. At the same time, she silently
berated herself for not having taken a better tack with him on the subject. It had been so many years
since she’d confided her secret with someone she thought she could trust. She’d obviously lost her
touch completely. In a split second, Katrina rose from the bench more quickly than any human
could and raced ahead of him in a blur of motion.
Caleb was staring down at the sidewalk as he walked, but he thought he heard something swish
by him in a dark blur to his right. He glanced up and saw Katrina standing in front of him with her
arms folded across her chest. He frowned, glanced back to the empty park bench down the path,
and looked back at her. His eyes narrowed slightly.
“How did --” he started to ask.
“Please, Caleb,” she began.
He shook his head and turned to walk in the opposite direction. “Goodnight, Katrina,” he said
as he walked away. This time, he kept his face upwards but realized he was going in the wrong
direction. He rolled his eyes upwards and muttered, “Crap.”
Suddenly she appeared before him seemingly out of nowhere. “You’re going the wrong
direction, Caleb,” she offered gently.
His eyes widened with complete surprise, and he jumped slightly as he realized that he hadn't
even heard her footsteps before she appeared before him. He backed away from her quickly, and
this time he kept his eyes on her as he withdrew.
Katrina seemed to stay where she was, and he turned to walk quickly away from her. Only this
time his pulse was quickening and his nerves felt deeply unsettled. What the hell?
She heard his heart racing even from the distance between them and called after him, “Caleb,
please stop.”
He began running down the path and glanced over his shoulder to see if she were still there, but
she was already gone. He quickly jerked his head forward and saw her waiting with her arms crossed
in front of her again. Only this time, her eyes were burning with a bright green illumination.
Abruptly, something sharp triggered from deep in his memory. His eyes widened as he stared
back into her eyes. An intense shock went through his body, hammering at his chest and burning in
his stomach. He didn't understand where it came from or why, but he knew immediately what it
was: sheer terror. His heart felt as if it was going to burst from his chest. Something visceral from
his distant memories yelled, Run!
Katrina saw the nearly simultaneous transformation in his eyes and heard his heart suddenly
erupt in thundering beats. Confusion ran through her as she tried to gauge what just happened to
him.
Caleb spun to his right and sprinted perpendicular to the sidewalk path and into the nearby trees.
Terror gripped him like a claw tearing simultaneously into his mind and heart. All that he knew was
that he needed to escape. He picked up speed and dashed through the trees, thinking he could elude
her somehow.
She watched him divert from the path in a blaze of sudden speed as her mind raced for an
answer to what was happening to him. She hastily recalled something about the topography of the
area that forced a sense of dread through her stomach and swiftly began to pursue him while
shouting, “Caleb, stop! There’s a ravine!”
Caleb was unknowingly heading towards the deep drop-off located beyond the trees just past the
manicured portion of the park. It fell off for about forty feet from the ground with a number of
large rocks interspersed among the low brush all the way to the bottom.
He thought he heard Katrina calling to him again, but he kept running and maintained an
impressive speed as he sprinted across the grass and between the tree trunks. Suddenly, the grass
was taller and small bushes appeared, but he kept sprinting blindly into the darkness. He was
winded, but still making good time and glanced over his shoulder to see if she were pursuing him.
Suddenly, there was emptiness under his right foot, and he felt himself tilting into open air...........
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~~~~FIND JAZ HERE ON FACEBOOK~~~~
~~~BUY SUNRISE AT SUNSET ON AMAZON HERE~~~
~~~BUY SUNRISE AT SUNSET AT B&N HERE~~~
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