Passionate Thirst
Candace Steele Vampire Killer #1
Author: Cameron Dean
Source: Personal Purchase
Genre: Adult Paranormal/Romance
Publisher: Ballantine Books
 (October 31, 2006)
ISBN-13: 978-0345492531

JUST ANOTHER NIGHT IN SIN CITY


Candace Steele is as tough as she is alluring. For her, killing vampires isn’t just a job–it’s personal: She’s still haunted by erotic memories of an all-consuming affair with Ash, a seductive vampire who thrilled her–and then nearly destroyed her. Now, working undercover in a Las Vegas casino, she seduces the most powerful undead–right before she drives a stake through their unbeating hearts.


When hot-ticket singer Temptation McCoy sweeps into town for a major concert, Candace is tapped for security. But after meeting Temptation, Candace feels the cold, tingling sensation that can mean only one thing: There’s a vampire in the diva’s entourage. To complicate matters, Ash suddenly appears in Sin City, vowing to do anything and everything to draw Candace back into his arms. Overwhelmed by desire and suspicion, she lets down her guard . . . a move that could cost Candace her life.

I purchased this series a few years ago in the hopes of adding a new author to my favorites list.  For one reason or another,  they kept getting pushed to the back of the bookshelf.  So I finally caved and decided to give them a try despite the upset and mysterious pen name involved with this series.

No one truly knows if Cameron Dean is a real person or if it is a pen name.  No author website can be found, and no other works have been published by this author.  So don’t expect to find much information on the web about this author in the hopes of adding the author as a favorite.  That being said, I still wanted to give the author a chance and dive into the dark vampire world again.

What you get is not what you expect.  I found this book so juvenile and unbelievable that I must have rolled my eyes on every chapter.  The character of Candace is suppose to be tough and is dubbed Nerves of Steele.  This is the complete opposite of what you will get when reading about her.  She is one of the weakest — if not worst — heroine I have read about in a long time.  She can’t make up her mind if she loves the hero Ash or if she wants to kill him.  Yes he is a vampire and had a slip up and bit her neck.  Come on!  You knew you were dating a vampire!  Then she is suppose to come out of his small slip up as a fearless vampire killer now.  She has no skills in her background but she works in security at a casino.

Are you keeping track of the plot yet?  Well, lets throw in the fact that she is also suppose to be heading security for a very important client at the casino, try and solve some murders of vampires around town (even though she kills them on the side anyway), has a boyfriend cop that is more friends with benefits than a boyfriend, a best friend who is sleeping with her married boss, and many more characters that spiral out of control and make you lose count.  I seriously couldn’t keep track of everyone.

At about 3/4 of the way through the book, I gave up.  I just couldn’t do it. This is one series that I wish I had never spent the money on and I could have found better things to do with my time.  On the plus side, I did free up room on my bookshelf to add a series more deserving than this one.