Soul Mates: Bound by Blood

Soul Mates: Bound by Blood
Jourdan Lane
Torquere Press
ISBN: 1-933389-76-1
Fiction, Erotic Romance
Reviewed by Shannon Frost

As a bartender in the gay dance club Rave, Peter Hayes is used to being hit on and admired by every type of man, but one-night stands and meaningless interactions isn’t what Peter is looking for. When his eyes fall on Lucien Delacroix dancing alone and moving as one with the music in the club, Peter feels he’d give anything just to be close to him, that is, until he learns that the beautiful Lucien is a vampire. Despite his fear of vampires, try as he might, Peter can’t keep his attraction for Lucien at bay. As he lets himself grow closer to Lucien, he begins to see that before him is more than he ever dreamed, a love that could extend beyond a lifetime.

Being written from a first-person perspective, the reader is thrown immediately into Peter’s mind and goes with him through his transition of one fearful of vampires to a man willing to do anything for the one he loves. His doubts and concerns come across very believable as he battles with himself to accept Lucien as he is, and as he grows to accept Lucien’s darker half, so does the reader. Lucien is everything a vampire should be, beautiful, sophisticated and powerful, maintaining enough human emotion to make him sympathetic. Though, for a vampire that’s over four hundred years old, not a great deal of his history is given and it would have been interesting to learn more, especially how he came to being a vampire. The erotic scenes never get boring, and author Lane’s bold, descriptive style makes even blood sharing seem sensual. As the story draws to a close, there are hints that a sequel may follow, and with major and minor characters as intriguing as these, it would definitely be something to look forward to.