REVIEW: Awakened by Virna DePaul

In Awakened (The Belladonna Agency #2) by Virna DePaul, When Barrett Miles left the army, she walked away from her lover Nick Maltese, thinking she would never see him again. She never dreamed the next time they met they would both be working for different factions of the FBI in search of rogue vampires. For that matter, Barrett wouldn’t have guessed vampires were real, either. Now that she’s trying to take down a sex slave ring being run by vamps, unfortunately a girl Barrett knows has disappeared and seems to be captive in that seedy world. She hopes Nick can use his tech wizardry to help her locate Jane before she comes to any harm. It also becomes obvious that Barrett and Nick are still seriously attracted to each other and their feelings haven’t dissipated with time. Can she really allow herself to be distracted by romance when a young girl’s life is on the line?

‘This was a man she could trust. She’d known she could trust him with Jane. Hell, with her life. Why couldn’t she trust him with her heart?’

Nick Maltese has had to do some very difficult things in the army and while working with the FBI as well. Things that will haunt him forever. The one thing he’s always regretted was how he handled the situation when Barrett left the army. He will never forget their time together. When she shows up unexpectedly to ask his help with a missing persons case, Nick will do anything he can to keep Barrett from harm and help find the teenager. But as secrets are revealed and their working lives overlap, he’ll have to try doubly hard to keep her trust. Nick has to make this work, though. He can’t stand to lose Barrett ever again.

“I’ve dreamed about you every night for the past year,” he said. “I remember the way you feel. The way you sound. The way you smell and taste. But memories aren’t the same.”

I have to hand it to Virna DePaul. Awakened is a novel that had some of my favorite elements all in one place: romance, paranormal beings (vampires), suspense, and action. But most of all, it had a whole lotta heart.

I was privileged enough to get an advanced copy of Turned, book one, earlier this year and really enjoyed it. So obviously I had high hopes for Awakened. I’m happy to say that this series keeps getting better, as I felt a strong connection to our protagonists Nick and Barrett. These novels can be read independently if you’re new to the series, where each installment focuses on a different member of the Belladonna Agency. Even though it’s a rather complex world Ms. DePaul has created here, there is enough information to make sense out of the situation our two main characters find themselves in.

Barrett and Nick were very solid characters, I thought. I liked them individually and as a couple. They both had a strong sense of guilt over family members they had lost. And they were very selfless in their acts to take care of those in need while overseas in the army and now through the FBI. They had a fiercely passionate romance that they thought was the product of the dangerous jobs they had, but I think that was just their unique chemistry together. I felt like it was pretty realistic how Barrett was portrayed as a very strong woman who had a difficult time letting go emotionally with Nick. She didn’t like that she wanted to feel protected by him. And Nick…whew! He was such a sexy sweetie. He was definitely one of the good guys you want on your side.

I think paranormal fans will enjoy reading about Barrett and Nick’s high octane adventures fighting vampires, and of course their HEA as well.

Book Info:

Published July 1st 2014 by Bantam | (The Belladonna Agency #2)

Perfect for fans of J. R. Ward, Nalini Singh, and Lara Adrian, bestselling author Virna DePaul’s thrilling series of paranormal romances invites readers into a seductive and dangerous world where vampires secretly exist among the general population, while the FBI tries to keep the Rogues among them from preying on humans—for killing, for turning, for pleasure.

Ex-soldier Barrett Miles had no idea that vampires were real—until Belladonna recruits her to serve as a covert agent and infiltrate a murderous sex ring run by the most depraved of immortals, those who feed on the purity and blood of innocents. Their latest victim: a young girl whom Barrett promised to protect. She will be sold—unless Barrett can find her first. Forced to team up with her former lover, Nick Maltese, an undercover sniper, Barrett is caught between fulfilling her personal mission and shielding her heart from the man who betrayed her.

Nick’s hunting a new breed of vampires and harboring a terrible secret when Barrett finds him. Soon a seething underworld of strange desires threatens to engulf them all. Can he save the girl and reclaim Barrett’s heart? Nick knows he has only one chance to prove himself to her as the hunt begins—and their love forces them to embrace the darkest places in their souls.