The Last True Vampire
Kate Baxter
St. Martin's Paperbacks, Jun 2 2015, $7.99
ISBN: 9781250053763
Hundreds of years ago, claiming the Fate ordained their extinction
mission, the Sortiari hunters committed genocide
of the Ancient Ones after torturing each of their enemy. The brutalized Last True Vampire to die from
the stake Mikhail instead survives when the sharpened spike fails to
strike directly into his heart.
In present day Los Angeles, Michael Aritsov remains tormented by
what happened centuries ago to his species.
Wallowing in self-pity and abject loneliness, Michael gave up on life
and ignores his duty to the hybrid Dhampir who
desperately need him and though he pretends otherwise he needs them too.
On her own since she was sixteen, Claire Thompson
works as a waitress who reluctantly supplements her income with pickpocketing
and pool hustling. Needing cash to pay
the rent on her dump after giving away her money to her young neighbor, Claire
selects Michael as her target. Instead
he marks her as his savior mate from the first sniff of her blood. While most Dhampir rejoice, the horrified
Sortiari realize a true Vampire exists.
The first Last True Vampire urban fantasy romance
is a terrific opening act that introduces the audience to Kate Baxter’s awesome
paranormal spin of Southern California.
The First Couple’s behavior leads readers wanting to kick both their
butts until he finds her (relatively early) and she finds acceptance of him
(much later); their relationship eventually endears them to the subgenre
audience and most Dhampir. However, it
is Baxter’s world with its competing final solutions that make for an exciting
thriller with more to come.
Harriet Klausner
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