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Tastes of Love and Evil

by Barbara Monajem (Goodreads Author)

4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 · rating details · 20 ratings · 7 reviews

Rose Fairburn is on the run. Her vampire nature can't protect her from everything, especially not herself. Now, when she should be worried about escaping her past, she can only think about one thing. Her kind can't live without blood or sex. Love they must forego. Jack Tallis can slake her thirst. Tall. Handsome. Trustworthy. And not a man alive can resist a vamp's allure....more

Paperback, 330 pages

Published September 15th 2011 by Dorchester Publishing Trade (first published August 17th 2010)

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Feb 21, 2012 Desiree reilly rated it 5 of 5 stars

his review is from: Tastes of Love and Evil (Paperback)
THE BOOK I GOT WAS FROM MS MONAJEM. I RECEIVED THIS BOOK IN PAPER BOOK I HAVE THIS ONE AND THE FIRST ONE. THIS BOOK IT GREAT AND I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO RECEIVE MORE TO BLOG ON AND REVIEW. I CAN SAY I LOVE THE ONE SHE HAD IN THE BOOK JACK WHO IS SHIFTER WHO CAN DISAPPEARS AND BE BEHIND YOU WITH OUT YOU KNOWING ABOUT IT .THEN THERE ROSE SHE A VAMP BUT DOES NOT WANT TO BUT SHE WILL PROTECT WHAT SHE HAS IS TALENT AND OTHER WANT WHAT SHE HAS. SHE I...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Tony-Paul Vissage rated it 5 of 5 stars

I expected good; I got better! Once again, we meet some of the characters from the first novel, and a new cast of characters for the second. Rose is feisty, well-aware of her vamp allure and not above using it…for the right reasons. She’s attracted to Jack from the beginning but after learning his prejudice, fears he’ll never respond with genuine emotion to her. Jack, with his White Knight complex, and the guilt of having let a client perish because he was under Titania’s spell, refuses to admit...more

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Sep 20, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads-read, pnr-fantasy-future-sci-fi-read

** I won this book through a First Reads Giveaway here on Goodreads**

Tastes of Love & Evil (2nd in series) by Barbara Monajem

- The Synopsis -

THE ROAD TO THE BAYOU Rose Fairburn is on the run. Her vampire nature can't protect her from everything, especially not herself. Now, when she should be worried about escaping her past, she can only think about one thing. Her kind can't live without blood or sex. Love they must forego. Jack Tallis can slake her thirst. Tall. Handsome. Trustworthy. And n...more ** I won this book through a First Reads Giveaway here on Goodreads**

Tastes of Love & Evil (2nd in series) by Barbara Monajem

- The Synopsis -

THE ROAD TO THE BAYOU Rose Fairburn is on the run. Her vampire nature can't protect her from everything, especially not herself. Now, when she should be worried about escaping her past, she can only think about one thing. Her kind can't live without blood or sex. Love they must forego. Jack Tallis can slake her thirst. Tall. Handsome. Trustworthy. And not a man alive can resist a vamp's allure. But...Jack can. And he has other secrets, like why underworld hit men are on his trail. Why love suddenly seems possible. How he can vanish into thin air. The shadows hide mysteries darker than Rose can even dream, and all will be revealed in the fetish clubs of one strange Louisiana town...

- My 'review' (such as it is...) -

As my reading updates will attest, the first 100 pages of this 330 page book left much to be desired, IMO. I'm not certain, even still, what the intention was. Was it a painfully long introduction to our main characters, in need of a good editor? Well, that's my belief. The majority of the first 100 pages was spent road-tripping in order to get us to the characters' preferred destination of Bayou Gavotte, LA. Our H/h even managed to rescue a precocious sixteen-year-old, because what is a road trip without some teenage angst and comic relief?! Aside from the several mentions at the very beginning, and a couple more throughout the length of said road trip, the paranormal aspects of a book specifically *about* paranormal characters were almost nonexistent. Those first 100 pages read more like mainstream fiction with slight secondary paranormal elements, and, frankly, not very good mainstream fiction at that. If I had to rate the story on this alone, I'm sorry to say it would get no more than two stars.

Thankfully, our H/h and teenage sidekick FINALLY made it to Bayou Gavotte, and we all said, 'Amen and Hallelujah!'. To be honest, after those first 100 pages, I was no longer expecting salvation! But, some divine intervention *must* have been at work, because the storyline began to pick up. I will say, first and foremost, this is quite a laid-back world the author has created in Bayou Gavotte. There are no kick-ass heroines or ghastly creatures only a mother could love. There is certainly *no* constant action and suspense. What Bayou Gavotte is, is a long, slow Sunday drive. And, well, look there! I may have just answered my own question concerning the first third of this book. To be honest, I didn't miss, or long for, the frenetic pace of most UF and PNR stories these days. By the end, I realized I had really enjoyed the last two-thirds of this book. Bayou Gavotte is a charming town, with just enough seediness to keep things interesting. It is peopled with some wonderful, interesting characters who manage to charm you senseless without you even realizing it's happening. As for the storyline? Once situated within Bayou Gavotte, the storyline did pick up, and even managed to surprise me once or twice, which I was most certainly not expecting! This series does focus on different characters with each new book, so there is even a nice resolution to the story.

I decided, after finishing the book last night, that I needed to think about my rating and review for a day or so, to let the story settle on me. Above, I said, based solely on the first one-third of the book, I would give this no more than two stars. However, by the end, I had enjoyed the remainder of the story so much that I was, and am, looking forward to the next book in the series! That *has* to count for something. So, my final rating is 3.5 stars, which I rounded up to four because of the inability to give half stars here on Goodreads. For the town of Bayou Gavotte and a great cast of characters, I recommend this book, and, in fact, this series. I'm going back to read the first one now!
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May 04, 2011 Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure, contemporary, paranormal, suspense-mystery

A LASR 'BEST BOOK'!

You know all about vampires, right? Wrong! Ms. Monajem has approached vampires from a totally new direction. A direction you are going to be captivated by.

Rose is a vampire who has only recently got in touch with others of her kind. Endowed with the vampire allure she entices men of all ages, even when she doesn’t want to. Her only means of releasing tension is sex. She meets Jack, a man who has the powers of a chameleon. He saves beaten and battered women to give them a new...more A LASR 'BEST BOOK'!

You know all about vampires, right? Wrong! Ms. Monajem has approached vampires from a totally new direction. A direction you are going to be captivated by.

Rose is a vampire who has only recently got in touch with others of her kind. Endowed with the vampire allure she entices men of all ages, even when she doesn’t want to. Her only means of releasing tension is sex. She meets Jack, a man who has the powers of a chameleon. He saves beaten and battered women to give them a new start in life.

They meet when Jack is shot and Rose uses her vampire saliva to heal him. He regains consciousness and immediately pushes her away. Circumstances force them to travel together in her beat up old van. Juma, a teenage runaway, joins them.

The vampires in this book are totally unlike any I’ve ever read about. They have healing properties and the bite of the female vampire takes their sexual partner to untold heights. Rose is a nice vampire. She doesn’t try to force others under her control; instead she tries to help people. Jack is fighting his own demons. He has escaped the coils of one vampire and has no intention of being caught by another.

Juma is the comic relief. She is an unusual teenager who loves books. She’s also frightened and behaves like a brat, scared of betrayal by all around her. Mixed with this is a longing to be loved.

In the background, but extremely important to the book, are several minor characters. Violet, a vampire who terrorizes all around her. Titania, an unscrupulous vampire who uses her allure to enslave all men to do her bidding. Constantine, a childhood friend of Jack, who can bend the minds of those who anger him. And the underworld of Bayou Gavotte, the leaders of the criminal element who are determined to have some form of discipline in the town.

I read this book from beginning to end without wanting to ever set it down. I needed to know what happened next and picked up my Ereader at every available opportunity. The characters were so real. Despite the fact I didn’t believe in vampires, by the end of the book I wondered if I’d got it wrong. These vampires were not a pack. They didn’t act like Count Dracula. They were individuals with their own personalities, the type of people you might find walking through the local mall.

Whether you like or dislike the paranormal, this is a marvelous book to read. Thank you Ms. Monajem for providing me with such an enjoyable few hours.

originally posted at http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...(less)

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May 12, 2012 Rexanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

A different take on the vampire idea. I liked it. I also liked the strong heroine working with the hero of the story. I've got Ms. Monajem's first book on hold to read.

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May 02, 2012 Ashlee rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a lot different from what I was expecting..but a good read that flows well. The Characters are great and easily liked. Rose and Jack are intriguing and a interesting pair. He is mysterious and she is just trying to be the best she can and be right. Definately different from other Vampire novels romances. More edge and more realistic and some nice steamy scenes.

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Aug 14, 2012 Cassie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampire

I won this book through Goodreads, Firstreads Program. Exciting and funny.....a great read for vampire lovers. The author brings the characters alive and has made an amazingly interesting story line. Don't miss this author in the future!

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Feb 23, 2013 Shawna rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Nov 16, 2012 Nancy Northcott rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Jan 01, 2012 Allie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-syfy, escape-fiction

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About Barbara Monajem

Barbara Monajem wrote her first story in third grade about apple tree gnomes. After dabbling in neighborhood musicals and teen melodrama, she published a middle-grade fantasy when her children were young. Now her kids are adults, and she's writing historical and paranormal romance for grownups. She lives in Georgia with an ever-shifting population of relatives, friends, and feline strays.

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