Kiss Of The Vampire (Warriors of the Rift, #1)

by Cynthia Garner

Every 73-75 years a comet travels close to Earth, opening a rift between dimensions that allows paranormal entities to travel through. These entities are called preternaturals and unfortunately most are criminals. As a result, human police forces work with preternatural Councils all over the world to handle matters of crime.

Half-human, half-demon, Nix De La Fuente is a special liaison reporting to the Phoenix, Arizona Council. When her vampire friend is murdered—the second vampire death in days—Nix is determined to find the killer. She is shocked to learn her former lover Tobias Caine—the vampire who'd walked out on her five years before—has been assigned to investigate with her.

Rumours begin stirring that a demon may be responsible for the murders and Nix herself becomes a suspect but as more bodies turn up, the evidence points to Tobias's arch enemy, Natchook, whom Tobias felt was responsible for the assassination of his vampire leader centuries before. The only problem is Tobias has no idea where Natchook may be hiding.

With the Council determined to get rid of Nix and murders steadily on the rise, time is running out, forcing Tobias and Nix to put aside their past in hopes of saving their futures.

• ISBN10: 0446585114
• ISBN13: 9780446585118
• Publish Date: 29 March 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 5 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Forever
• Format: Paperback (A-Format (178x111 mm))
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cocktails and Books]

Just when I thought I had the paranormal universe figured out, Cynthia Garner comes out with one hell of a scenario to explain why we have vampires, demons and shapeshifters. Would you have ever thought those supernatural beings were actually aliens who skipped through a temporal rift to our world and then stole human bodies to carry on? No? Me either, but you know what...the explanation works!

Nix de la Fuente, human liaison to the Council of Preternaturals, assists the police in solving crimes that involve human and supernaturals. Having been rejected by everyone that she's ever loved, she sets out to prove to that she is more than just a human/demon hybrid. It's a daily battle for her to control her demon, but she takes steps to make sure her humanity prevails. She relies on her friendship with her partner, Dante and tai chi to keep her grounded and centered. But when vampires start dying in a gruesome manner, Nix comes face to face with the one person in her past that will test her resolve to maintain her humanity as well as the hardened shell she's put around heart.

Tobias Caine has returned to Scottsdale after leaving five years before. The only reason he returned was at the request of a friend, but when she's found murdered the council puts him in charge of the investigation. That puts him in direct contact with his ex, Nix. Tobias left because he was worried about his affect on Nix because her demon side was coming out more and more. Though he loved her, he thought leaving her would be for the best. Now, just being near her makes him understand that maybe he never quite gave her or them the chance they needed. He has to figure out a way to turn off his emotions towards Nix and find out who is behind the gruesome killings.

Luckily for us, the love and lust Tobias and Nix have for each other is much bigger than the reasons they split. Tobias is a vampire you will be placing on your vampire boyfriend list. From the moment he "walked" in to the story, he commanded your attention. He's good at hiding his emotions, except with the one person he loves and that is what makes him so damn attractive.

Nix is a tough cookie. She'd figured out a way to love herself and control her demon (wouldn't we all love to be able to control our demon??). Even when faced with having to deal with Tobias, she figured out a way to be somewhat professional while she breaking inside. It take a strong person to be able to do that, especially when you're still in love with that person.

I loved the storyline with the Rift and I can't wait to see where the next story takes us. Since I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the last of Natchook, I'm sure we'll see more about the radio transmitter he was attempting to use to create another Rift. Pretty sure what he's up to is no good, but he seems to be spectacular at that.

An awesome start to the series and leaves me waiting with bated breath for the next one.

[EBookObsessed]

Every 73 years a comet passes by the earth causing a rift between dimensions, and the Extra-Dimensional (ED) beings would push their criminals through the rift as punishment for their crimes, not even knowing or caring where they would end up. (Making Earth the Australia of the universe.)

The only exception to this is Tobias Caine, who was a secret service agent who followed the assassin of their king through the rift. Now Tobias is a vampire special investor to the Council of Preternaturals. He has returned to Arizona after a phone call from an old friend who needs his help. Only he returns a day too late, and his friend is among those killed in a series of vampire slayings. The Council has assigned him to find out and stop whoever it is that is able to kill a vampire, the most dangerous of the preternaturals. Arizona is the last place that Tobias wants to be. When he left five years ago, he needed to get away from Nix de la Fuente, the beauty that stole his heart. Nix is half-human, half-demon, and Tobias’s vampire nature would bring out her demon side. Since that usually leads to insanity in the half breeds, Tobias knew he had to stay away from her for her own good.

The time of the comet’s arrival is quickly approaching again, and humans are not happy knowing there will soon be another influx of the stronger preternatals. Five years after Tobias left town, Nix is now the human liaison to the Council, and she has been assigned to this vampire killings in case the killings are being done by disgruntled humans. She is not happy when Tobias walks onto her crime scene. She has finally moved on from her heartbreak, or so she hopes, but she is not ready to spend the time with Tobias necessary to solve this case.

While they investigate they slayings, they will also delve into the issues of their past and hopefully they can move on to the future.

This was a well written story, and the characters were very enjoyable, including Nix’s full-human partner, Dante. My one complaint is that the story seemed to end abruptly. Although the who and whys of the vampire slayings are given by the end of the story, there were still many issues that I felt were not addressed before the end of the story. This appears to be book one of a series and I hope that it will simply be a continuing investigation.

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