REVIEW: A Venetian Vampire by Michele Hauf

In A Venetian Vampire by Michele Hauf, recently turned Kyler Cole is sent by her maker to retrieve a Faberge egg containing a spell that will grant him immortality–not even a stake through the heart would kill him. Vampire Dante D’Arcangelo had been the protector of the egg until it vanished. Now that he has it back in his sights, he’s not about to lose it again. Dante suspects Kyler’s maker, King, is actually a vampire hunter who knows there’s more to the spell than immortality–it would kill thousands of vampires. Kyler doesn’t want to believe it’s true, but when King gets more desperate for the egg, Dante’s claims place doubt about King in her mind.

Even though Dante has been around for over one hundred and fifty years while Kyler has only been a vampire for six months, the two have something in common–to want to be cared about by their makers. King hardly bothered with Kyler until he needed the egg. He didn’t seem to even explain the vampire culture to her, as she wasn’t even sure how to ask to join a vampire tribe. Dante’s maker left him soon after his transformation and leaving the egg in his custody.

So why had he kept the egg for her?
That was obvious. Because when she’d asked him he’d felt hope, as if they had another chance. And really, it had been an immense show of trust and he’d felt honored knowing that in his care was something an entire population of vampires would appreciate him protecting.
Kyler had confessed much the same; she’d run back to King with the hopes of rekindling what she’d wanted to be a real relationship.

There’s plenty of action as the pair are on the run from werewolves who are also after the egg. When needed, Drake’s tribe jumps into the action to protect her against him, even though they didn’t know her.

I felt a couple of things were unresolved and I had a couple of questions. First, Drake kept mentioning that the ruling body of the paranormals, the Council, had to be notified of who King really was. It didn’t seem like that was done. If he had, would they have sent help? The second thing was that King kept saying his tribe didn’t accept women into it. Now that King and Kyler were together, would they accept her into the tribe or would he need to find another one that would? I would have like to have seen how the tribe did or did not embrace Kyler into it. I was also a little disappointed with how things were left off with King.

While this isn’t listed as being part of a series, the author’s note at the end states that Dante first appeared in her book called The Dark’s Mistress. It also mentions that Rook, King’s right hand man, was in the book Beyond the Moon, as well as that King has appeared in several stories. Even though they all appear to be linked, this can definitely be read as a standalone.

If you’ve enjoyed other paranormal books by this author, you may enjoy this one. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good vampire story.

Book Info:

Publication: January 1, 2017 | Harlequin Nocturne |

Vampire Dante D’Arcangelo enjoys diversions. Especially those that involve seducing beautiful women, like newly made vampiress Kyler Cole. The curvaceous ingenue stirs Dante’s deepest desires. But they share more than blistering chemistry. Dante and Kyler each seek possession of a priceless Fabergé egg containing a spell that would annihilate thousands of vampires while granting only one eternal life.
Caught up in a wickedly sexy game of cat and mouse, Dante and Kyler try to outmaneuver each other as thieves and as lovers. But when a rival steals the egg, they form a wary alliance to recover it…knowing that their delicate bond must eventually end in betrayal.