Killing the Bloodlust

Crystal Anderson is an outcast, with a vampire who won’t take no for an answer interested in her. She is a vampire slayer by birth but her heart isn’t in it. She cannot risk getting one of her family killed because she hesitated at a crucial moment. Therefore, she refutes her heritage and has been shunned by her family. She instead becomes an average Joe, serving in the army. The powerful vampire Nicholai has put the word out that she is not to be touched by any other than himself. This provides minimal protection; who is going to save her from Nicholai as well as his brother Dimitri, who also wants to claim her?

Robert Parker has his own interest in Nicholai and Dimitri. Robert wants them dead…permanently. He is intrigued by the spunky woman who walks freely, if a little warily among the vampires. She doesn’t have the look of a host (a blood donor of sorts) but neither is she a vampire. Why does she frequent their company if she has no need? She must be the head bloodsucker Nicholai’s consort. That should make her Robert’s enemy, but he cannot stop his imagination from running wild when in her presence.

Killing the Bloodlust is a fast paced original vampire/slayer story. I was impressed with how Ms. Spear set up slayers as part of their genetic make-up; slayers are born, not made. They have a few superpowers such as strength and speed. Crystal is portrayed as strong, sensitive, confident and lonely. She cannot bear to kill the vampires outright, not when they are so human looking. Defending herself against them however is another story entirely. It was interesting when she becomes mad enough and feels the need to kick butt; she is a force to be reckoned with! Crystal’s ambiguous feelings toward Nicholai were refreshing. It was different to see the vampire not portrayed as a heartless monster nor a debonair, misunderstood soul. Nicholai was exactly what a vampire should be, cruel and suave at turns. Robert took a bit of warming up to. He was enraged at the death of his sister and desperately trying to rationalize his rage so as not to seem a vigilante. His constant mistrust of Crystal, while frustrating, was integral to the story. Killing the Bloodlust is a must read for lovers of vampire lore.

Reviewed by: Joletta