Review: A Taste for Passion

Lucian has waited decades for the reincarnation of his beloved Elizabeth to appear. And just when the desolate vampire was about to give up hope, he meets Rana. He is drawn to her right away, but her identity is confirmed as his lost love when she makes a connection to the spelled ring that once belonged to Elizabeth.

Rana is mourning the death of her grandfather and fears at first that her attraction to Lucian is really just a way to fill the emotional void in her life. But every night when she closes her eyes, Lucian is there to fulfill her desires. And that makes it harder and harder to resist him in the flesh.

In the meantime, Lucian has decided to take his place as the vampire leader. But his nemesis Kraid wants the position for himself and plans to gain it at any cost --including going through Rana. Kraid's actions have serious consequences that I can't get into without spoiling the story. But I will say that for their severity, the repercussions were laid out too quickly and without enough explanation for me. It's never made clear who or what is responsible for mitigating the fallout and, later, why and how the rules were able to change.

I felt like we had to take a lot of the book at face value and that the story did not have a chance to be terribly deep. While some scenes were rich with detail (mostly the steamy ones,) it just seemed like some elements were addressed too superficially. The book was closer to novella sized than a full length novel and maybe that had something to do with it.

I did enjoy the romance, though. The sex is hot and because of the reincarnation element, the quick attachment between Lucian and Rana didn't bother me. I also liked that the story featured a smattering of well developed secondary characters, which we'll see more of in future installments of the series.

Overall, it was a short and sexy read, but one I may have enjoyed more with a little more fleshing out. 3 stars.

*Book provided by author for review

Click to purchase: Amazon

A Taste for Passion

by Patrice Michelle

Original Release Date: August 2003

Publisher: Ellora's Cave

Re-Release Date: December 2, 2011