Red-Haired Ash Reads

Allison ” Allie” Chambers’ life is turned upside down when her neighbor, and best friend, entrusts her with raising her child. Allie has no experience with children, let alone a vampire child. Magnus doesn’t expect to find his life mate breaking into a blood bank but he will do everything he can to protect her and her adopted son.

“You are my life mate, and my life. I will spend however long I live cherishing you, adoring you, and keeping you safe and happy, because your very existence makes me happy.”

Allie is a very strong and independent woman who is terrified of being trapped in marriage. She fights her feelings for Magnus from the start and focuses on protecting Laim. I really enjoyed seeing Allie open up with Magnus and her progression of feelings as their story progressed. Magnus is a protective warrior who was also sweet. He respects Allie’s strength and determination to protect her son, and just does whatever he can to show he is there to support her in that effort. My biggest issue with Magnus though was that he felt neglected at times because so much of the story focused on Allie. We do get his backstory, but he still felt a bit flat in some scenes. That said, I still enjoyed this couple. 

I enjoyed this book but it had a slower pace than some of the previous books, with the action mostly happening at the beginning and end of the book. The main villain in this ends up being a character I completely forgot about because it’s been so long: Abbadon. Abbadon hasn’t been present in this series since the defeat of Leonius Livius II, so around book 21. I was glad to see that storyline finally wrapped up, but I did feel like Abbadon ended up being a bit of a disappointing villain in this, especially after he was the mastermind behind Leonius for all those years. But also, I know a lot of masterminds are eventually foiled by their own stupidity and confidence, which tracks with the story. So I have mixed feelings on how this played out. 

My only other complaint was that parts of this book felt repetitive and dragged a bit. There were lots of repetitive meal scenes and lots of food descriptions. I don’t need to know the exact thing everyone is eating every meal, especially when there is a rogue vampire on the loose and a newly found life mate. 

Overall, I did enjoy this book, even with its issues.  I like that we returned to Port Henry and are seeing a vampire town being built there. I wonder which immortal will find their life mate next. 

TW: house explosion/fire; death; child abuse mentioned; death of mother by suicide; death of sister mentioned; kidnapping; injuries and blood;

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Previous books and reviews for the series:

#1. A Quick Bite
#2. Love Bites
#3. Single White Vampire
#4. Tall, Dark & Hungry
#5. A Bite to Remember
#6. Bite Me If You Can
#7. The Accidental Vampire
#8. Vampires Are Forever
#9. Vampire, Interrupted
#10. The Rogue Hunter
#11. The Immortal Hunter
#12. The Renegade Hunter
#12.5. Bitten By Cupid
#13. Born to Bite
#14. Hungry For You
#15. The Reluctant Vampire
#15.5 The Bite Before Christmas
#16. Under the Vampire Moon
#17. The Lady is a Vamp
#18. Immortal Ever After
#19. One Lucky Vampire
#20. Vampire Most Wanted
#21. The Immortal Who Loved Me
#22. About a Vampire
#23. Runaway Vampire
#24. Immortal Nights
#25. Immortal Unchained
#26. Immortally Yours
#27. Twice Bitten
#28. Vampires Like It Hot
#29. The Trouble With Vampires