"First Drop of Crimson" by Jeaniene Frost

Book Description:

The night is not safe for mortals. Denise MacGregor knows all too well what lurks in the shadows -- her best friend is half-vampire Cat Crawfield -- and she has already lost more than the average human could bear. But her family's past is wrapped in secrets and shrouded in darkness -- and a demon shapeshifter has marked Denise as prey. Now her survival depends on an immortal who lusts for a taste of her.
He is Spade, a powerful, mysterious vampire who has walked the earth for centuries and is now duty-bound to protect this endangered, alluring human -- even if it means destroying his own kind. Denise may arouse his deepest hungers, but Spade knows he must fight his urge to have her as they fight they nightmare together...

Review:

Now this is the style of book I like! Strong female lead, vampires that aren't afraid to rip someone to shreds (not to mention, they don't sparkle), and a story line that prevents me from putting the book down!

"First Drop of Crimson" is the first book in a "new" series by Jeaniene Frost called Night Huntress World, which is actually just a spin-off of her Night Huntress series. I'm already a huge fan of the the Night Huntress series, which so far has four books in print about half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her lover, Bones, who is a vampire. "First Drop of Crimson" is about Denise, Cat's best friend, who gets cursed by a demon who as some bad blood with one of her ancestors. Denise then enlists the help of Spade, Bones's best friend from when they both were turned in vampires back in the 1800's.

At first, I was a little sceptical of this book, just because I've never been much of a fan of spin-off novels. They always seem like such a money grab, like the author can't come up with any new material. Well, I didn't have to worry about that with this book, it was actually quite good. It's a good vampire romance with a good plot to carry it along with only a few steamy scenes throughout.

Since I have already mentioned that this is a spin-off novel, I would like to point out that you don't need to read the Cat and Bones novels to know what is going on. It may help a bit, just to become familiar with the characters, but it's not required. And since it's a spin-off, nothing that happens affects what happens in the Cat and Bones novels either, so no fear there if you never plan on reading "First Drop of Crimson".

Like all of Jeaniene Frost's novels that I've read up to this point, it's well written, the characters are well developed and there is actually a plot that goes along with the story, the romance seeming somewhat secondary at times, which is awesome.

I also liked how the narrative was split up between Denise and Spade. For the most part, we saw the story from Denise's view, but occasionally, we were blessed with seeing it from Spade's view. Personally, I think I liked Spade's point of view more than Denise's, but I've always kinda liked his character from the Cat and Bones novels. (This is where I'd insert a winky face, if you catch my drift.)

I would definitely recommend "First Drop of Crimson" to anyone who likes reading good vampire novels. You won't be disappointed. Though, I remind you, it is a romance novel, so if you are someone who can't overlook that fact, you may want to push this one to the side. But, if you want a good read, don't mind some steamy scenes, and love adventure, definitely pick this book up.