The Nightlife: New York

by Travis Luedke

[Angie]

The Nightlife: New York is a fun addition to the vampire erotic genre. Although nothing about the vampires is something we hadn't seen before, I did like the combination of features that the author used. When Aaron gets shot one night, Michelle finds him and brings him back to her apartment. Aaron thinks she's his guardian angel, but really she's a vampire, and the only way to save his life is to turn him. This forges an unbreakable bond between them, one that Aaron doesn't really understand the full extent of until Michelle begins to abuse it.

I hated Michelle! She's arrogant and controlling, but she was a lot of fun to hate! She's lonely so she's happy to have Aaron in her life now, but she does take advantage of the power she has over him. About halfway through the book, I wished that I had vampire speed and strength so that I could wisk him away from her! Aaron believes he loves her, even when he feels betrayed by her. Their relationship was complicated and interesting.

There was also a side plot involving some crooked cops who are after Michelle. I felt like this plot was really unnecessary and took away from pages that could have been spent on Michelle and Aaron's dysfunctional relationship and other more interesting points. I definitely would have liked to see more of the "addiction" that vampires can cause when they drink from a human for too long. This could have brought in some more fun and sexy scenes. Plus I just love seeing vampire mythology at work!

Overall, I did like this book, even the awfulness that is Michelle. Unfortunately, I had to drop a star for that ending. I was highly disturbed and grossed out. That scene was not needed at all. I feel like it was thrown in for shock value. Michelle could have done something else to teach Delia a lesson, anything but what she did. I am curious to see what Las Vegas holds for Aaron and Michelle though.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.