DAMIEN – Jacquelyn Frank
The Nightwalkers Series, Book 4
Zebra Books
ISBN-10: 0-8217-8068-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-8217-8068-8
June 2008
Paranormal Romance

San Jose, California - Present Day

Damien, Prince of the Vampires, is like all vampires…he has no emotions. He has sex, but never falls into slumber with a woman beside him. In fact, he’s never slept with anyone around him, not even his trusted friends. When one of the other members of otherworldly creatures comes to him asking for someone to represent the vampire clan in exploring the Nightwalkers library, Damien sends Jasmine. She seems a bit restless lately, and she does love to read, so she would make a good choice. He visits the library one evening and sees Syreena, the Lycanthrope princess. She’s beautiful in a strange sort of way, and she intrigues him because she’s tough and doesn’t care who knows it. So when she sneaks out of the library without Damien seeing her, he decides to follow, only to discover that Syreena has been taken, and rather brutally by Ruth, a bad demon. He follows the scent of Syreena, rescues her, and when he sees that she’s lost a lot of blood, he bites into her neck to give her the healing agents in his. Wow! What a rush…Syreena’s blood is potent, and Damien nearly dies from it. But what a way to go. Along the way, Damien finds he’s gained a very intriguing power by sampling her blood. He’s also realizing that he cares for Syreena. Just how will that work out?

Sister and advisor to Sienna, the Lycanthrope Queen, Syreena wishes she wasn’t the heir to her sister’s throne. If Sienna would just get busy with her new husband, Elijah, and have a baby, then Syreena might just remove part of her mantle of responsibility. Sienna asks Syreena to be the eyes and ears, so to speak, at the Nightwalker Library. She’s to protect those there and the interests of the Lycanthrope. Right now there’s a semblance of a truce between all the different clans, and Sienna would like to keep it that way. Syreena does her sister’s bidding and runs into Damien, the Vampire Prince, at the library. He is as handsome as ever, but deadly too. He enlists her in a conversation, and when he turns his back, Syreena sneaks out. He is way too perceptive and inquisitive. She doesn’t want to examine her life and what she wants. That’s not how it works for the heir to the throne. Thankfully, though, when Syreena is captured and tortured, it’s Damien who comes to her rescue, although she’s not sure why. Then, when he takes her blood, it’s euphoric and almost deadly for them both. As they spend more time together trying to find out why someone is out to get Syreena, they begin to have feelings for one another. Strong, powerful feelings. But vampires don’t have emotions…do they?

Next in Ms. Frank’s Nightwalker series is DAMIEN, and it packs quite a wallop. Both Damien and Syreena are powerful beings who really have nothing in common, but amazingly enough, they are perfect for each other. Damien doesn’t understand what’s happening to him after he saves Syreena’s life. Did taking her blood bespell him or something? Syreena wants nothing more than to shed the encumbrance of being the heir and have a life of her own, though she would never tell anyone else that. Together Damien and Syreena discover things…things that could cause a problem if they remain together as a couple. Secondary characters include Syreena’s sister and her mate; Jasmine, Damien’s friend for a lifetime or more; an enemy to all, and a few others who help round out the story. Though the story revolves mostly around Damien and Syreena, their developing relationship and the danger surrounding them, I was intrigued by Jasmine. She loves Damien, yet has never shared that with him in fear it would ruin their friendship. She’s smart, savvy, and not a woman I’d want to tick off…much like Syreena. <g>

A paranormal romance with elements of danger and mystery, DAMIEN is one not to be missed.

Sinclair Reid