Forbidden/Once Bitten

Two books in one means twice the fun. Hope Welsh creates a world of dominant, sexy vampires that will have you asking for more. In FORBIDDEN, we meet vampire Devlin who has been in love with human Sarah since first seeing her five years ago. Devlin knows that Sarah is his soul mate, and even though Sarah is one of the Chosen, humans who can gentically be made vampire, it is forbidden to do so. Then one fateful night Sarah almost dies while saving a child from a burning building. Devlin witnessed her heroics and called 911 but was powerless to do anything else for her. Now scarred and cut off from the world, the only time Sarah is happy is while she is dreaming of a sexy green-eyed stranger. Going against the rules Devlin has begun to visit Sarah in her dreams determined to convince her to agree to let him change her. Devlin, not wanting to change Sarah against her will, goes to his maker and Elder, Carnia, to ask her advice on how to convince Sarah to become a vampire. Knowing there are dangers for their kind, Devlin tells Sarah of the Hunters and their desire to rid the world of the vampire race. Can Devlin convince her to stay with him and keep her safe from not only the Hunters but possibly a rogue Elder? The second part, ONCE BITTEN, happens along a parallel time line as the first story and it's Bennett Wilmont and Keri Henson's story. Bennett is a "born" vampire, his father is a vampire and his mother was a Chosen human, who after his birth his father changed. Keri is a Chosen human and, after catching her boyfriend cheating on her, decides to go out on the town with her best friend. After she arrives at the bar, she has second thoughts about being there and uses the excuse of needing her inhaler to leave. While standing outside looking for a cab, a man with the sexiest voice she has ever heard approaches her and asks if she needs a ride home. When Keri realizes who Bennett is and that he is a cop she accepts a ride home. Bennett has known Keri was his soul mate since high school but never approached her, feeling that he wasn't good enough for her. But now things have changed and he isn't going to walk away from her again. After giving her the best orgasm of her life, he tells her he is a vampire and that she belongs to him. Keri is less freaked out that Bennett is a vampire than she is that he wants to move their relationship along at such a fast pace. She is gun shy after the disaster her last relationship ended in. Bennett talks her into staying the weekend but can her convince to stay with him forever? I enjoyed both books and thought the mythology for this vampire world was creative. The stories are well written and both couples have great chemistry and are likeable characters. The emotions that Sarah felt about herself and her body were heart-wrenching and believable. While both men could be very domineering they were willing show and tell the women how they felt about them. I found Sarah's character and her reactions to be more believable and felt that Keri's quick acceptance less so. I really liked the Carina character and hope the author continues this series with a story for her. The only thing I didn't care for was the abrupt and anti-climatic ending to both stories and thought the story would have been better served with a little less sex and more of the danger/mystery element. If you like vampire stories and are looking for a story with a different twist, you will not be disappointed. I give this book 4 chocolate dipped strawberries. This book origianlly reviewed for The Romance Reviews. http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=1167