| In the late 18th century in Eastern Europe, a gorgeous flame-haired female vampire took her pleasure at will, enjoying the benefits of physical intimacy and blood-drinking with humans. One evening at a ball, she is interrupted in her pursuits by an approaching crowd of revelers, and must leave the corpse unfinished. Soon he too will be vampiric. Ten years hence, in England, Sidney Chesswell still grieves the disappearance of his wife Josephine and refuses to consider remarriage to father an heir. He disdains the family Curse, which declares that a red-haired woman will be danger; yet he devotes his time by inclination and need to his study of the occult arts, at which Sidney has become particularly skilled.
One night, walking along the tide line before an approaching storm, he finds what he takes to be a bundle of clothing at first glance. Actually it is a man, who confesses to trying unsuccessfully to end his life. A man without roots or family, Jadranko is renamed Adrian by Sidney. Jadranko is of course the vampire converted a decade earlier by the flame-haired vampires Therese, in Eastern Europe. Sir Sidney recognizes and understands the curse of vampirism, for he has studied it as well. He also recognizes that for the first time ever, his body experiences physical magnetism toward another male. He will be hard pressed to know whether his insatiable scientific curiosity and voracious search for knowledge or his newfound lust will be greater in intensity. Whichever, he knows he must accede to his passions, including allowing Adrian to use him as a blood source. Sahara Kelly simply cannot pen an uninteresting book, and I count Flame of Shadows as one of her absolute best. From sentence one, the reader is tossed into the volcano of sensuous and sensual lust and pleasure, amid the cruelty of a master vampires who takes at will what she wills. The characters are excellent drawn and appealing, and the plot fast-paced. As always, Ms. Kelly tautly weaves sizzling sensuality into the mix. Flame of Shadows is a must-read, and for readers not yet aware of Sahara Kelly, it makes an excellent introduction following which the reader will pant for all her other books. Publisher Caution: “Note: This book contains brief scenes of female/female sexual interaction.”
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Reviewer: Annie |