Can I Keep You

They meet outside an inn in historical England...the jaded vampire and the ingenuous young woman. Little do they know that their destiny is tied irrevocably.

Laura is running from her brother, whose interest in her is purely non-fraternal. Her last hope to survive on her own is to turn to prostitution, so she takes up the world’s oldest profession. However, she’s a complete innocent, and her first client is a slovenly, hideous sailor. Changing her mind, she tries to get away from him, only to find herself overpowered.

Enter a mysterious gentleman named Kane, whose war with what he is consumes and torments him by turns. The demon part of him cries out for her blood, and the small kernel of humanity left inside him calls out plaintively for absolution, a place to belong, and someone to hold throughout the eternal hell of his life. And somehow, the captivator becomes the captivated as he unearths a deep caring for this human who has fallen into his bed and his life.

Can I Keep You gets inside the vampire mind, and details Kane’s struggle between slaking the animalistic thirst and attempting to retain some semblance of the man he once was. Candy Nicks captures that fine and thrumming tension in this sexy, Gothic-styled romance. Kane’s character was well-developed and authentic, but the character of Laura seemed to be no match for his powerful personality. I found it difficult to like her, and think that Kane deserved better. The story redeemed itself to me though, with its classic theme of good versus evil, and the challenges Kane faced in retaining his human qualities. Can I Keep You is a meaty tale of vampire lore that will enchant you, even as it makes you wonder how well you’d cling to the wisps of your own identity if you found yourself in Kane’s situation.

Reviewed by: Michelle