Review // Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost

“Only fools pity survivors their scars and you should never kowtow to fools.” - Vlad

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Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost

Night Prince #2
Release - March 26, 2013
Genre - Paranormal Romance / vamps
Heroine POV - 1st person
Heat Level - 3.5 out of 5 / a couple of scenes
Format/Source - ebook borrowed from the library / I own a copy
Length - 389 pages
Publisher - Avon

Goodreads * Amazon

Dating the Prince of Darkness has its challenges...

Leila's psychic abilities have been failing her, and now she isn't sure what the future holds. If that weren't enough, her lover, Vlad, has been acting distant. Though Leila is a mere mortal, she's also a modern woman who refuses to accept the cold shoulder treatment forever–especially from the darkly handsome vampire who still won't admit that he loves her.

Like choosing between eternal love and a loveless eternity...

Soon circumstances send Leila back to the carnival circuit, where tragedy strikes. And when she finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who may be closer than she realizes, Leila must decide who to trust– the fiery vampire who arouses her passions like no other or the tortured knight who longs to be more than a friend? With danger stalking her every step of the way, all it takes is one wrong move to damn her for eternity.

My Two Cents

3 "I don't know which torture is worse... Leila or what Vlad can do in his dungeon?" stars

Vlad's worst enemy might be dead so it's safe for him and Leila to really be together. Or not. Leila runs away, drama ensues, they get back together, powerful enemies are still on the prowl, betrayal hits close to home, and Leila can't act like a grown up even once.

I'm saying it again... I really don't like single perspective stories. Especially when they come from a character like Leila. I guess I'm supposed to like her. She's the light to Vlad's darkness, her innocence versus his jadedness and blah di blah blah. But I couldn't get over how childish she was. She was like every bad cheerleader stereotype without being a cheerleader. She couldn't decide who she was much less what she was supposed to do or feel. Love... this lady didn't have a clue. Every time she was horrified or appalled by something Vlad did or said, I had to ask myself "This chick realizes he's VLAD THE IMPALER, right?!"

I was going to quit while I was ahead, but for some reason I kept reading this book. The author's writing keeps making me want to continue, then I get stuck with all that is Leila, and not even my craven curiousity for Vlad makes it a pleasant experience. I wish I could get inside his head. Maybe that would make me want to read further, but this is probably the end for me. If Leila isn't leading on Vlad's best friend, she's trying to turn Vlad into a pussy, a real punk bitch, and I'm just not here for that. I don't need to read romance that serves to try to emasculate its alpha hero.

Why couldn't Leila be a better character? Why did she have to ruin everything for me? Gosh, if she was a fraction of all that's awesome about Veritas, I'd be okay. Sadly, she's not. I'm hoping Cat in the Night Huntress series is better. Please tell me it's better. Please tell me it's dual pov. And if it's not, please tell me that I'll enjoy it anyway.

Excerpt

I searched for one online, but I'm just going to put down some bits. Maybe you can see why I can't stand Leila...

"You're with Maximus." A statement, not a question.
I shrugged even though he couldn't see it. "That's none of your business."
Flames appeared, crawling up from his hands to his upper arms. "Oh, but it is."
Then his eyes opened and he sat up, looking around as if to pinpoint my location. I waved my hand back and forth, pleased when he didn't so much as glance in my direction. Vlad always seemed to know where I was before when I spied on him, further proof that none of this was real.
"It ceased to become your business when you walked away from us without a backward glance," I said, relishing the chance to unload some hurt. Thank you, subconsious!
"I walked away?" His snort managed to be both contemptuous and elegant. "I offered you everything, yet you spurned it all. I've had enemies be less merciless in their dealings."
I grabbed his shoulders but my hands went right through. So much for shaking some sense into him!
"Me merciless? All I wanted was for you to love me, but according to you, THAT was asking too much."
Those flames extinguised. Good. I didn't want to dream about him accidentally blowing up his plane.
"Words." His tone sharpened. "I shared my house, my bed, and my blood with you, as well as offered you a place in my life forever. What are words compared to that?"

I HATE LEILA SO MUCH!!

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"You've proven to be the exception to my rules."
Those burning lips made the cool pressure of his fangs feel that much more erotic. Still, a deep-seated hurt overrode the passion slamming into me.
"Not all of your rules."
Vlad made a sound too harsh to be a growl. "You won't be satisfied until you've brought me to my knees, is that it?"
"Why not?" It shot out of me with all the recklessness of my still-broken heart. "You brought me to mine."
He released me so abruptly I had to use the couch to steady myself. Without his body against mine, I felt cold despite the pleasant warmth of the room.
"I told you that you can't have it both ways, and that's true for us as well."
Did I miss something? "What are you talking about?"
"I'm Vlad the Impaler," he said, biting off each word. "I've survived for over five hundred years because if someone crosses me, I kill him, and if I am betrayed, I exact my revenge. I told you this when we met, yet you're still upset when I act on it."
"Oh, you don't have to remind me how merciless you are," I said, bitterness leaping to the surface.
"Obviously I do," he replied. Then he cupped my face with hands so heated they felt like brands.
"You claim to love me, but the man you love doesn't exist. That man wouldn't have survived years of beatings and rape as a boy because sheer hatred kept him from breaking. That man wouldn't have impaled twenty thousand prisoners to terrorize a larger advancing army because fear was the only tactical advantage he had, and that man wouldn't have imprisoned one of his closest friends for lying to him over a woman he was enamored with. I am not that man."
His hands dropped and he stepped back, his expression still frighteningly intense.
"You see, you don't want me to love you. You want the version you've made up. The knight, even though I'm the dragon and I always will be."

OMG I really can't stand this chick. She's in her first relationshp and thinks everything should go the way she wants. This male has lived HUNDREDS of years, most of them as an immortal, and she wants him to act like a human. Actually, even most human men wouldn't abruptly become the person she wants them to be. She plays way too many games and I don't have time for them.

About the Author

Jeaniene Frost is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Her works include the Night Huntress series, the Night Prince series, the Broken Destiny series, and the new Night Rebel series. Jeaniene’s novels have also appeared on the Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal, ABA Indiebound, and international bestseller lists. Foreign rights for Jeaniene’s novels have sold to twenty different countries.

Jeaniene lives in Florida with her husband Matthew, who long ago accepted that she rarely cooks and always sleeps in on the weekends. In addition to being a writer, Jeaniene also enjoys reading, writing, poetry, watching movies, exploring old cemeteries, spelunking and traveling – by car. Airplanes, children, and cook books frighten her.

Visit https://www.jeanienefrost.com/ for more information