Lone Star Vampires: Virgin Vampire Vixen by by Alecia Monaco From Changeling Press site: Cameron Zane, rogue slayer, can't stand the sight of vampires until he gets an eyeful of his new client, soon-to-be vampire empress Eden Lockhart. Eden's got more curves than most guys can handle and a killer hot on her trail. Will this vampire vixen fall prey to a bloodthirsty criminal, or will her new bodyguard take care of all her needs...in more ways than one?

I'm sure it's no surprise to my fellow readers that I felt the need to scoop up Alecia Monaco's latest in her Lone Star Vampires series as soon as it became available. I've been very much looking forward to reading more in this series and more importantly seeing how Ms. Monaco wraps up the murder mystery introduced in Crimson Hungers, and continued in Black Pearl.

Once again, Ms. Monaco gives me characters I can like. Our heroine is already in a position of power and she's working hard to maintain it. She's set to be the next empress of the vampires, but also has followers within the shifter community and other preternatural groups. She also comes complete with a bit of attitude (always a plus when dealing with a strong male . Our hero is definitely a strong male, though he does have a bit of history that gives readers a sense of vulnerability there. It also doesn't hurt that Ms. Monaco's descriptions of Cameron make him sound very yummy indeed.

The tension that Ms. Monaco builds up between these two is fantastic. When they do come together, it's great and I really think it's because Ms. Monaco did do that build up.

Another thing I enjoyed with this story - we get the answer of whodunit! Ms. Monaco did an awesome job of carrying on her mystery and wrapping it up within these pages. While I was sad to see the series end (because Ms. Monaco just kept coming up with such interesting characters and stories within it) I know that she's going to be working on more stories and series that will keep me just as entertained. Thank goodness!

C.L.

Pssst, readers. Are you too shy to speak up about Changeling Press books you've enjoyed? If you want to drop a note to ezine@changelingpress.com and recommend something I'd be more than happy to give it a read and speak up for you : Not only would others get to hear about some great books, you'd be helping me attack my tbr pile <g>