#VampireRomance #ParanormalRomance #Agegap #FatedMates
Book Blurb
When a vampire bonds to a human, the consequences can be catastrophic.
Five-hundred-year-old vampire Marguerite Fontaine is teetering on the brink of mental ruin. The affliction, which plagues older vampires, only has one cure—a mate bond. But when Marguerite finds her mate, human musician Mikey Madeley, he falls short of her exacting social standards. She decides to take an experimental new drug to suppress the feelings triggered by her bond, freeing her from a lifetime of misery with an unsuitable mate.
Devastated and confused by her disappearance, Mikey agrees to help a group of ruthless vampire hunters capture Marguerite. He finds himself torn between wrath and desire for her, his misguided pact with the hunters hanging over him like an axe. When they are reunited, he is no longer able to bury his overwhelming need for her, their bond drawing them to one another despite his fury and her disdain.
Will Marguerite continue to deny her love for Mikey? And can Mikey forgive her for abandoning him before it’s too late to stop the hunters?
My Review
Pride and Prejudice – Vampire style! 5 stars
Bond Crushed, a paranormal age-gap romance, is the second instalment in Christie Clayton’s Bonded Vampire Chronicles. As with the first in the series, Bond Bitten, it illustrates how the path to love between bonded mates is not always an easy one – especially when a vampire seeks to reject their fated mate, a mate whom they have just turned…
I found the book to be a compulsive read, full of passion and emotional turmoil. I particularly enjoyed the push and pull between the couple as the story unfolds. Marguerite, a vampire featured in the previous book, is a strong and complex character; cold and indifferent on the surface but with an inner fragility. Stunned when she realises her fated mate Mikey falls far short of her high expectations, she goes to desperate lengths to reject and sever their fledgling bond, a move which risks devastating consequences. As for Mikey he is torn between desire for his mate and revenge after she deserts him.
I did not immediately warm to Marguerite due to how she behaves towards Mikey and others. However, I was mightily intrigued by her back story and the motivations behind her actions. Her character goes on quite a journey in this book! I enjoyed Mikey’s character growth too, as it became evident that he is far from the seemingly shallow man who is just out for a good time. He has his own demons from the past to contend with and inner depths which make him a worthy match for his reluctant mate.
I was intrigued as to how their story would play out – will Marguerite descend ever further into the mental ruin that afflicts older unmated vampires or can she set aside her pride and accept her mate? Will Mikey forgive her desertion? The stakes become ever higher as the hunters close in on the couple, and I found myself soon rooting for them to work out their differences and find their HEA.
Once again the word building within the novel was well done and I liked how Emily’s and Sebastian, the couple whose romance played out in the previous book made an appearance in this one too. I am looking forward to the next instalment!
Recommended for fans of paranormal romance, especially those who enjoy delving into the world of vampires and fated mates.
Reviewed by Tina Williams
Please note, a copy of this book was given to me by the author and I am voluntrarily posting an honest review
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