A Blood Seduction

Vamp City #1

by Pamela Palmer

Take me down to Vampire City...

Vampires live only for lust and pleasure in the eternal twilight of Vamp City. But the city's magic is dying. The only person who can restore it? A beautiful woman from the mortal world...one who knows nothing of the power she wields.

Quinn Lennox is searching for a missing friend when she stumbles into a dark otherworld that only she can see—and finds herself at the mercy of Arturo Mazza, a dangerously handsome vampire whose wicked kiss will save her, enslave her, bewitch her, and betray her. What Arturo can't do is forget about her—any more than Quinn can control her own feelings for him. Neither one can let desire get in the way of their mission—his to save his people, hers to save herself. But there is no escape from desire in a city built for seduction, where passion flows hot and blood-red.

Welcome to Vamp City...

Genres: Vampires, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Fantasy, Magic

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 29, 2012

About the author

Pamela Palmer is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Feral Warriors shape-shifter series, the Esri Series, and (coming in 2012) the Vamp City series. Raised in an Air Force family, Pamela lived in eleven different houses by the time she was fourteen. The two constants in her life—her family and her imagination. When her initial career goal of captaining starships didn't pan out, she turned to engineering, satisfying her desire for adventure with books and daydreams until finally succumbing to the need to create worlds of her own. Pamela now calls the suburbs of Washington, D.C. home.

For excerpts, more about the books and characters, and fun contests, visit www.pamelapalmer.net.

Reviews

[Jen Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should tell you this right off the bat: I found this book disturbing. I did not like the hero. I did not want him to end up with the heroine. I did not like the world in which it was set. And I almost did not finish it. The writing was good. The author definitely drew me in and made me feel things. They were just things I'd rather not feel when I'm reading a book.

The heroine is Quinn. For a while now, she has been plagued with visions of a shimmer in the atmosphere and glimpses of a dark world that mirrors her own. Through a series of events, she and her brother Zack are pulled into that alternate world and what they find there is horrifying. It's a city designed to be a vampire haven. The vamps run the show, keeping humans as slaves. Quinn and Zack are separated almost immediately and Quinn spends the rest of the book fixated on how she will rescue her brother.

The vampire who captures Quinn is Arturo. His vampire species feeds on emotion as well as blood. Arturo's delicacy is fear, though others feed on pain or other emotions. Right away, Arturo realizes there is something different about Quinn. She is immune to his mind control, which makes her interesting. We learn Arturo is planning to make her into one of his blood and sex slaves, using her once every four days to slake his desires. Obviously, Quinn's not on board with the plan --and frankly, this was point I started to worry about whether I could get behind Arturo as a hero. (After all, he'll be using his other slaves for the same purposes on the other days of the week.)

There are times he is less of a turn-off than others. That is to say, he is sexy and seductive and he doesn't seek to hurt his slaves. But if that's the best thing you can say about your hero, there's a problem. I can just imagine the internal monologue: He's not as bad as the other vamps. You know, like that Christoff guy who puts a spiked sleeve on his dick before he rapes his slaves. The guy who gets off on their pain while he, er, gets off. Yeah, Arturo would never do that. Quinn should totally fall in love with him. Um. No.

Arturo wants her to be his property. That never changes at any time. His allegiance is --and will always be-- to his sire, Christoff (see spiked dick sleeve story above.) And he is willing to put Quinn in that monster's hands. He is willing to lie to her, to betray her. But he won't rape her. Wow. There's a ringing endorsement. He doesn't beat her, but he'll stand by while others do. He is simply less horrible than the other horrible characters. That is just not a good enough reason for her to have any tender feelings for him, nor any loyalty, and certainly not any sexual interest.

The entire vamp culture was for me, in a word, irredeemable. And just when I thought there was a shred of something decent in Arturo at the very end... there wasn't. He wants Quinn. He doesn't love her. He doesn't put her before the monsters all around him. He unabashedly does what serves himself and his master. I am baffled how anyone could root for a relationship to develop between him and Quinn in this book or any other to come.

The constant abuse of the humans in this world included rape, beatings, forced feedings, burning, draining, slave auctions and gladiator games. And it's completely unapologetic. I just... didn't enjoy it. But if you like the idea of a dark world like this one, the book may suit you better.

*ARC Provided by Avon

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review now posted...

“Another person has been reported missing in downtown D.C. in a string of disappearances that has police baffled. This brings the total number reported missing in the past six weeks to twelve. This last incident is believed to have occurred near George Washington University.”

And so it begins....

The Story:

Vampires live only for lust and pleasure in the eternal twilight of Vamp City. But the city's magic is dying. The only person who can restore it? A beautiful woman from the mortal world...one who knows nothing of the power she wields.

Washington, V.C. is the backdrop of Pamela Palmer’s latest series, Vamp City. It’s a world on a different plane than ours, a duplicate of Civil War era Washington, D.C., supposedly created as a place where vampires, werewolves, and other immortals, could live in their version of peace. No sunlight, no laws but their own, able to hunt, enslave, torture and kill humans without fear of retribution. A true Vampire Utopia.

But even utopias have a dark side, and Phineas Blackstone, the powerful wizard the vampires had paid to create their dark city, had engineered a brilliant one—a death trap finally sprung two years ago. The moment the magic began to fail, all vampires within the city’s boundaries had become instantly caught, unable to escape. Soon, the sunbeams from the real world had begun to break through—slowly, at first, then more and more frequently until it became clear that their world was dying. And with it, every soul trapped within—vampire, werewolf, and immortal human alike.

Only by renewing Vamp City’s magic would they be saved.

Quinn and her brother Zack accidentally land in Vamp City, and it doesn’t take long for the Vampires residing there to figure out that there's much more to Quinn than meets the eye. In fact, unbeknownst to her, she’s a powerful sorceress who might just be Vamp City’s final hope for survival. But as the days go on and Quinn, who's being held as a slave, sees the world for the barbaric place it is, she starts to wonder if maybe it wouldn’t be better if Vamp City died, after all. The only problem is that Zack is also being held prisoner, and Quinn knows if V.C. dies, so will he.

My Thoughts:

Pamela Palmer is a name I frequently see running through my friends’ feeds on Goodreads, and always with high praise and impressive ratings. I actually own several books in her Feral Warriors series, but haven’t gotten around to reading them, yet. Well, after reading A Blood Seduction and getting a taste of her writing, that’s going to change, and change soon.

This world Ms. Palmer has created has a decidedly Urban Fantasy feel about it, but the actions of the characters living in there make it a dark paranormal story. It's brutal, edgy, barbaric, and there are scenes of sexual violence so anyone sensitive to things of this nature should consider themselves forewarned.

Arturo, the so called "hero" in this book, is one nasty, backstabbing, unfeeling ass. He reminds me of Anne Stuart's Ice heroes in his remorseless, selfish machinations. Truth be told, I'm not sure he's redeemable, but only time will tell.

I truly enjoyed Quinn. She's strong, smart, independent, devoted, caring... she really is a great heroine. I'm excited to see how things with her play out in the next book, A Kiss of Blood.

Fans of dark fantasy and paranormal romance will definitely enjoy this series, but be aware - this has an unresolved HEA.

The Bottom Line:

I love Paranormal Romance, especially vampires and shifters, but let's be honest here - the genre has been done to death. It's not often I run across a world as unique and compelling as Ms. Palmer's Vamp City is, so you can bet this is a series I'll keep following. It's fast paced, gritty, sexy, and downright disturbing at times, and I am thrilled to have found these books!

Note: The descriptions and quotes I used are taken from both A Blood Seduction and A Kiss of Blood.

[AH · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn’t want to meet the vampires from Pamela Palmer’s newest series. The vampires in A Blood Seduction are a bloodthirsty lot. These vampires are truly evil – they feed on emotions as well as blood. They are sadistic and revel in their “food’s” pain.

Vampires are not the only monsters in this world. There are huge, hungry werewolves, Rippers (vampires with no conscience), and Traders who sell wayward humans to vampires. This is a brutal world with no escape..

Quinn Lennox and her brother Zack get transported to this world. They are surprised to find themselves in an alternate universe of Washington, DC – Washington, VC (Vampire City). Vampire City was created by the sorcerer Blackstone in 1870. The magic holding this world together is deteriorating slowly. A sorcerer must be found to repair the damage. Little does she know it, but Quinn may have the magic…

Quinn and her brother are immediately attacked by vampires and separated. Quinn ends up in Arturo’s household. Arturo is fascinated by Quinn and tells her that her blood is like nectar to him.

I’m not too sure what to think of Arturo. Clearly, he is a powerful vampire, well placed on the vampire hierarchy. He comes across as smooth and debonair, but he is also selfish, deceitful, and evasive. Arturo seems to care about Quinn, but it always seems that he has another agenda in mind. Arturo releases Quinn into the custody of his master, the sadistic Cristoff.

I liked Quinn’s character. She seems to have some sort of immunity to vampires – they are unable to enthrall her. Quinn has some magical powers within her – those powers allowed her to see Vampire City from her home in our world. Her control of her magic is lacking however; she has not got a clue how to use it. I loved her sense of loyalty to her brother and to others around her.

The magic and sorcery were impressive. I loved how Grant and Quinn communicated using sorcerer’s writing. Ever cool. Quinn’s developing magic and the scope of her power was intriguing – I can’t wait to see what happens with her in the next novel.

The vampire hierarchy and structure into kovenas was fascinating. The politics of this world were convoluted. I also liked the addition of the Slavas, the humans made immortal from their exposure to vampire saliva.

A Blood Seduction was an entertaining read. I’m really looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Sadly, no release date yet.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Collins/Avon for a review copy of this book.

Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.

[D.G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ONLY way I'll read the next two books in this series is if somebody tells me that Arturo, the "love interest" will end up this way, thanks to Quinn, the MC (he totally deserves it.)



A Blood Seduction should have been called "Caligula with fangs." It's pretty much vampires running amok, torturing humans in every horrible way possible. Beatings, drainings, fuckings, burnings, gladiator style fights, you name it. The worst part is that these vampires have very few weaknesses and there's almost nothing the poor humans can do to fight back.

Given that most of these vampires are perverted fucks, I totally understand why poor Quinn would fixate on Arturo, who was outwardly polite and wouldn't physically hurt her - as she said it herself, he was the lesser of a million evils - but as a love interest, he totally sucks. I've read my share of alpholes in romance but I can honestly say that Arturo is the most disgusting, depraved, monstrous, loathsome, repugnant creep I've ever seen as a love interest. His highlowlights:
✘ Owns slaves.
✘ Sets up Quinn as his slave to feed him and sex him up "every 4th day" (because he has other slaves for the other days.) Yay! What every woman wants to become! A dinner date, vampire style!

✘ Besides blood, he also feeds on her fear! So when she's terrified, he enjoys it! What a catch!
✘ Once he discovers she has some powers they need, he gives her away to Cristoff, his sadistic vampire master while telling her he will help her find her brother. And then doesn't.
✘ His only loyalty is to Cristoff. If he has to trample on his mother to please Cristoff, he does it.
✘ Literally looks the other way when Cristoff is hurting her.
✘ Treats her well one moment and betrays her the next.
✘ Tells her over and over to forget about her brother.
✘ Lies to again and again to get his way. The worst part is that the poor woman would believe him and kept getting hurt when she found out he was lying!

✘ It's comfortable being a slaver/murderer because "I am what I am."
✘ When he finally does something nice for her, he wants sex as payment (and then has an ulterior motive!)

Given all the evidence of his douchebaggery, I could NOT understand how the hell Quinn would be constantly hot & bothered by this man. HOW THE HELL COULD YOU BE AROUSED BY A MAN WHO HURTS YOU SO? I could understand using him for what she could get (after all, he was far from the worst vampire in the book), but not be horny for the guy. If she wanted to have vampire sex, there were a couple of better options, vampires who cared for the humans and didn't bend over for Cristoff everytime he clapped his hands like Arturo did.

I'm not reading the rest of the books because it's clear to me that she must destroy Vamp City and I'm not sure she will because of that fucker Arturo. But why must she destroy it? And how? The reason is obvious. To stop those fuckers from slaving innocent people. Can you imagine the hundreds of thousands of people that those vampires have killed with no consequence in almost 150 years of existence? I'm not sure how she will destroy it but if she can save it, she can destroy it too.

Let's hope that Zach and Marcus - who seem to have some brains and don't trust vampires - will put poor Quinn on her guard because I'm sure that even with evidence to the contrary, she believed what Arturo told her, hook line and sinker. Regardless that I won't be continuing, I'm imagining her destroying Vamp City and frying all those fuckers to hell.

[VampireNovelFan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Palmer’s taking no prisoners with this gutsy new series

Having lived in Washington, D.C. all of my life, I was expecting to be pretty well-versed in the environment of A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer. But instead we’re introduced to Washington, V.C. Nope, there are no typos there. V.C.–”Vamp City” for short–is the alternate dimension of D.C., taking us through a bit of a time warp in the process.

While not in first person, the story primarily focuses on Quinn Lennox, a scientist with NIH who always had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn’t quite normal. Strange things have happened to her and around her all of her life. She’s had this sight into a strange parallel universe that she hadn’t been able to enter until her brother’s friend goes missing.

On their mission to find her they stumble into this world by accident, separating from one another as they soon realize that they’ve been swiftly downgraded to the bottom of the food chain. Vampires, werewolves, and witches, oh my! They all exist here and vampires enslave humans to not only drink their blood, but feed on their anguish in many forms. Quinn is taken in by Arturo Mazzo, a devilishly handsome and manipulative 600-year-old vampire who realizes that Quinn is no ordinary woman. In fact, she may be the key to save V.C. But saving her brother is her top priority, so she endures the many horrors of this world. Better the devil that you know…

I devoured this book in one day. It is a departure from your typical Paranormal Romance which I tend to prefer in order to enjoy this genre. I was instantly drawn in to Palmer’s familiar, but not so familiar setting. Quinn is not the most likable heroine, but she is occasionally relatable if not a bit stupid in a few instances. Honestly, at this point I’m trying to figure out what heroine hasn’t been on occasion. It all really just goes back to her devotion to her brother.

While we do get a few scenes from Arturo’s POV, this character remains mysterious throughout the whole novel. Her relationship with Arturo is fairly complicated and I couldn’t always predict what would happen. It’s really difficult to determine his real motivations or a definitive direction for his character. This makes him genuinely intriguing and a bit more than a pretty face.

Palmer’s vampires are genuinely horrible beings, but boy are they pretty… Thankfully a lot of the scenes with them at their worst quell that appeal. I was slightly shocked at the depravity and cringe-worthiness of the vampires actions, so Palmer’s mission was accomplished to really make me hate the worst of the worst for these big bads. I’ve been looking for a bit of horror in my books and this brings a very good dose of it, more than I was expecting based on the synopsis.

Palmer also injects a lot Washington, D.C. history (more than I know personally *hangs head in shame*), but your average Washingtonian wouldn’t know half of the facts Quinn was throwing out, and it seemed a little out of character because Quinn wasn’t particularly interested in history. That’s my only real gripe about this novel.

This book is ballsy without a doubt. While I wouldn’t necessarily call this a cliffhanger, beware that this book is certainly an introduction to Vamp City. The surprise ending left me wondering the fate of certain characters as the books progress, and I desperately wish that more books were available. It’s a story you’ll either love or hate, but if you love it, the second book can’t come soon enough. This is one where you’ll definitely hope for two books per year.

*ARC provided by the publisher

[Ezi Chinny · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are very few series where vampires are just all bad and corrupt. This is one of those where I just don’t see how they can be redeemed.
Quinn Lennox has always had weird things happening to her like seeing portals or her eyes/hair glowing etc. Quinn has been tested for almost every disease and there seemed to be nothing physically wrong with her.
One day Quinn and her brother are sucked into a parallel world where vampires are at the top of the food chain and that’s when Quinn learned that her dreams weren’t a figment of her imagination.

In this parallel world, humans are auctioned for the pleasure and servitude of the vampire and Quinn was purchased by Arturo Mazza, a vampire whose feeds on fear. It was confusing for me at first to decided where Arturo's loyalty lay. He seemed to feel something for Quinn, but his master wanted Quinn for her dormant magically powers, so whenever there was any issues, Arturo never stood up for her.

I came to hate the vampires because they reveled in their power over humans and abused them mercilessly. It was disturbing and I found myself rooting for a rebellion to kill the vampires.
In the end, Quinn and her brother were able to escape back to Washington DC and away from the vampires with the help of Arturo. But the last few paragraphs let the readers know that all wasn't what it seemed. Arturo isn't all that he seems. After this book, I don't think I can ever trust the vampires. They enjoy feeding off people's misery way too much. But I will continue reading because I am hoping the humans will crush the vampires.

[Book · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, to say I was disappointed would be an understatement of the year for me. First of all THIS IS NOT A PARANORMAL ROMANCE NOVEL! It reads more like a Sci-Fy novel to me. I almost stopped reading half way through but wanted to see how it ended only to be disappointed even more when things are not wrapped up in the end. An Open-ended ending in this book was like adding salt to an already burning wound.

I really like Pamela Palmer's Feral Warrior series and wanted to like this because it is about vampires. Unfortuately the vampires are just horrible monsters that you would prefer to be destroyed and the humans are just lambs to slaughter with no real chance to fight back. The Hero in this book is a real jerk that is only nice to Quinn in order to gain her trust and then stab her in the back. The heroin, Quinn is annoying because she knows this about Aurtoro and still wants to sleep with him, which I didn't buy into at all. I mean, who in there right mind would be sucked into a horrible dark world of monsters to be made a slave and food where people are being tortured and killed but then want to have sex! I mean, P-L-E-A-S-E. There was no depth to the Vampire characters and overall a very unpleasant world to be taken to with no happy ending. I definitely will not read this again and won't touch another book in this series. I can't recommend this. All I can say is the best part about this book is the Cover Art!

[Nafiza]

So you're thinking "Nafiza, if you're not going to read it, why is it even on your list of books?" I'm going to forward your attention to the synopsis where it says:

Vampires live only for lust and pleasure in the eternal twilight of Vamp City. But the city’s magic is dying. The only person who can restore it? A beautiful woman from the mortal world...one who knows nothing of the power she wields.

I feel obliged to protest on behalf of all the not so beautiful women in the world. We, too, wield power. Hmph. And we are smart enough to know about it too.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I didn't finish this one and for a number of reasons. Quickly, (because I don't want to dwell on it) Quinn supposedly has magical abilities and can see an alternate world. When she ends up crossing the magical barrier in a search for somebody, her and her brother stumble (literally) into an alternate place that's like a replica of Washington, D.C., but not aged since the late 1800s. Oh, and vampires rule the roost viciously with their human slaves. I probably should have stopped after the heroine Quinn finds out the name of the city is Washington, V.C. (Vampire City, y'all!). Yet I continued on hoping perhaps for some fightin' or vamp killin', but such is not my luck and instead Quinn and her brother are separated and Quinn is now the slave of Arturo, a yellow Jeep Wrangler-drivin' "Master", who upon Quinn's first bits of lucid moments sexually assaults her (but we find out later this is excusable because he feeds off of fear and he was just going to erase her memories later anyway, so whatevs right? He's still hot, Quinn bitterly muses). She makes her escape only to go back for her brother, which is nice of her, but guess what she goes back with? Wooden stakes, water bottles and power bars, because every girl with practically no fighting experience needs a quick pick-me-up when killing supernatural beings with crazy-fast reflexes. Maybe they'll be so stunned by her stupidity they'll stay still enough for her to slap them with her righteous indignation. And this is only the beginning of the story.

Anyway, it doesn't get any better than that because the bad guy is a mustache-twirler and Quinn doesn't get any wiser than being a pawn in other people's machinations, tiny and feeble as they are. Plus there's an extra-shot of Oh Hell to the No anytime Quinn and Arturo are in close proximity because you can see the story going where it shouldn't (I mean, this guy insists on Quinn calling him Master, then tells her she's to do menial chores and have sex with him every fourth night as he makes his rounds between servants-he makes a special point to mention he only takes blood from the male servant, no sex, well I call BS on that one- so she shouldn't fear him because he's good to his servants). Ugh! Wrong on many levels, this book was disappointing and I'm done.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ones a blend of Paranormal romance/urban fantasy. It's too dark and gritty to be paranormal romance and missing some of the staples of that genre; on the other hand it is too focused on romantic interactions and the traditional romance tells to be considered pure Urban Fantasy. The world is truly dark in Vamp City- many of the torture scenes are hard to stomach and it's pretty explicit, brutal. The heroine is extremely likeable as she loves her brother, friends, and is compassionate but not filled with stupid moves. She uses her head, her heart, and is trying to figure out this bizarre magic she has. Arturo held surprises for me a few times - he's passionately handsome and wickedly sensual, and just when you think he's had a sweet change of heart, he reveals a hidden layer of deceit. I have to say that if I were in the heroines situation, if my brother had been killed, I would make it a point to do all in my power not to save that awful city. The ending wasn't a huge cliffhanger so I can forgive that, but it definitely held a thread of a surprise where you really want to read the next book to see what happens next!

[Sarah Mac · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope. DNF.

While many negative reviews focus on the violent aspects of Blood Seduction, I've got no issue with that. Vamps should be portrayed as dangerous. I don't enjoy armies of sparkly, conscience-burdened vampires, nor do I want every protagonist to be a clear-cut positive.

...Unfortunately, that's all I liked about this book. I could go into more detail about the flat characters & lumpy world-building, but it boils down to one thing: CRAPPY WRITING.

Here are some snippets.


pg 17: Can YOU picture what's being described? Because I can't.

Superimposed upon a small section of her apartment building, to the left of the entrance, was what appeared to be a house of some sort. Or row house. It was set back and partially illuminated as if by a spotlight, surrounded by shadows. A crumbling, haunted-looking house that wasn't really there.

[...] The shadows fully blocked the sidewalk, extending almost to the street, as if the vision were three-dimensional, as if a slice had been cut away from another world, a square column, and dropped into the middle of hers. But the house didn't appear to actually stand within that column. In fact, the column didn't appear to quite reach the front of her apartment building at all. It was as if the shadows acted as a window into the world where the house sat, alone and abandoned.




pg 18-19: Descriptive words are descriptive.

Quinn hadn't even realized Zack had followed her until she saw him reach for the bright green ballpoint pen lying on the sidewalk just inside the shadows.

"Zack, no."

Instinctively, she grabbed his bare forearm just as his arm...and her clutching hand...dipped into the shadows. Energy leaped at her through the hand that held him, attacking her with an electrical shock that raced over her body like crawling ants, shooting every hair on her arms and head straight up.

Her breath caught, her eyes widened. Her brain screamed, Let go of him! But her fingers couldn't react in time, and, suddenly, they were both flying forward.

Into nothingness.




pg 27: Painfully un-funny reference to pop culture? Check.

Quinn had to hand it to him. Even in the face of insanity, he was keeping his cool.

"Assuming we can find our way back out of here." What if returning the way they'd come didn't work? Somehow, she wasn't holding out much hope for clicking her heels, and whispering "There's no place like home."




pg 30: The pain is self-explanatory.

It had been years since Quinn had practiced martial arts, but she still remembered a thing or two. Which might be helpful against opponents who weren't so damned fast. "Stay back," Quinn warned, shrugging away Zack's hands as she went into her fighting stance, her right leg back, her hands forming fists in front of her.

"And why would I stay back, sweet one?" The man smiled, his incisors looking more like fangs than teeth. "I've just found dinner."

Quinn gaped. Those fangs were growing.

"No fucking way." Zack's tone sounded more awestruck than horrified. "Vampires."

Quinn scowled. "That's ridiculous."

The man chuckled, his eyes changing, the black pupils turning a milky, startling white as the fangs lengthened, thickened. Sharpened. "Is it?"

The woman lunged first, though lunged wasn't the right word. She flew at Zack. By the time Quinn could move, the woman had Zack on the sidewalk six feet away, straddling him as she struck, burying her fangs deep into Zack's neck. She'd kill him!




Some reviews claim the book gets better, but meh. Whatever. I won't be there to see it. (And even if it does...for shame. Why open a multi-book series with this kind of lameness in the first 50 pages?)

[Mello ❣ Illium ✮Harry✮ ☀Myrnin☀ Torin Ichimaru · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing a review for this book isn't going to be easy. I feel really conflicted by it.

Quinn is a woman who has never felt normal. She can see things that other people can't. Weird things happen to her when she goes through what she calls a Shimmer. These Shimmers seem to be glimpses into some other world. If she passes through one, her clothes change color. Because of this, she avoids moving around the city too much for fear that someone will witness one of these strange color changes.

One day, her little brother Zack's best friend Lily disappears. Considering there has been a rash of disappearances in the city, Quinn and Zack are understandably worried. While searching for her, Quinn sees one of the Shimmers. Zack notices her looking at something and sees Lily's pen on the ground. He reaches for it and Quinn freaks. She tries to stop him and they end up getting pulled into the Shimmer. Life goes to hell for both of them after that.

A lot happens, though most of it is the witnessing of torture and a lot of molestation. There's also a lot of the heroine being repeatedly lied to. Hell, the entire ending of the book is a lie. Her being lied to didn't bother me. It was that she continually fell for it. Even as she was promising herself she wouldn't trust Arturo again, every time, he tricked her. Returned her to her captor. Arturo's lying didn't bother me. He's a vampire. One of the things I did love about the book is the fact that the vampires do not apologize for being vampires. They pretty much revel in what they are. There were a few that didn't enjoy harming humans or serving a sadistic master, but they didn't apologize for being what they were.

What bothered me was the fact that Quinn was so helpless. She really had no chance of succeeding without anyone's help. The problem was that no one really tried to help her. Arturo definitely wasn't going to. He told her so repeatedly. By the time he did, it didn't really matter. I think he does like her more than he should, care more than he should. Still, it didn't really change anything. Even with what he did at the end, he still played Quinn for a fool. And she bought it lock, stock and barrel. It's clear she actually does have power and that it will obviously be useful to the vamps, but she spent so much of the book powerless, that that didn't matter, either. I was just so frustrated with her always giving in so easily when he touched her. He didn't hurt her physically, but he made a slave of her, gave her to someone much worse than he was and still she kept turning to him. I don't hold what Arturo did against him, but Quinn should have. Every time she started to hate him, she never held on to it. She was just too easy and honestly, I wanted something awful to happen to her. I didn't really like her. I admired her loyalty to her brother. That was certainly a point in her favor, but the things she did, kept pissing me off. And the way she would waver over her attraction to Arturo was just annoying as fuck. I just wanted to slap her a few times.

I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn't. I enjoyed it okay, but it didn't do it for me. I am curious as to see what will happen in the next book. Only because Arturo's lie will obviously have to come to light. No matter how much he seems to care for Quinn, she's still a means to an end for him. He's a vampire, he'll use her how he sees fit because she isn't just some normal human. But if he does what he said he will do, I can't possibly see him remaining her HEA. Of course, this is a UF, so there was no HEA, at least not yet. Besides, Lily still needs rescuing. I wonder how long this series can run, though. Either Quinn saves V.C. or she doesn't. If she does, will the series continue to follow her storyline or someone else's? I'll read the next book since I'm curious, but I don't think I'll be in a rush to do so.

[Riverina Romantics · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can usually get a pretty good feel for a book within the first chapter. The dialogue, writing style, character descriptions etc – like every other reader, I don’t usually find it hard to tell if I am going to like something from the start. But A Blood Seduction was one of those books where I was constantly standing on the sideline not really knowing if I was about to start loving it, or exactly the opposite.

When I requested this book it didn’t have any classifications on Goodreads, other than someone tagging it as ‘Paranormal Romance.’ This was also my first Pamela Palmer read, so I didn’t know what to expect. Looking at the book now though – it has a people classifying it as Urban Fantasy. I think this may be the reason why I couldn’t fall madly in love with it. I’m not a fan of Urban Fantasy. I will plead ignorance and say that I don’t even know the definition of the genre, but every book I’ve read hasn’t had enough romance to keep me satisfied. So that is one reason for the 3 star review – which is reflective of my own personal tastes and not the book itself.

This story was also very dark. Vamp City is somewhat of a parallel city of Washington, yet lacks sunshine and everything is dead and dreary. So there’s no fluffy bunnies or skipping in the park in this book. Most scenes are consumed with darkness. The vampires are also very sinister and rarely have redeeming qualities....even the male protagonist. So to sum it up in a few words – if I was sent into Vamp City, I would crap my dacks and hope for a quick death.

Now, onto the characters. I enjoyed Quinn for the most part, she fought for her brother and I loved her determination and unwillingness to give up. But Arturo.....okay he was a hottie and I wanted (oh boy did I want to) love him, but I just couldn’t. I need a hero who won’t sexually assault me with the reasoning of ‘but I planned on taking away your memories afterwards). Touching someone without their consent is sexual assault, with or without the memory of it. I kept waiting for him to redeem himself, kept waiting for the chance to fall in love with him, but I just didn’t.

At one point Quinn says to herself (I’m not quoting, cause I can’t remember the exact words) ‘I knew he would never her me physically.’ Yes, she may have believed Arturo would never physically hurt her, but he left some damn fine emotional scars.

I could keep writing forever...but I will spare you my dribble. I gave this story 3 stars because I think the writing itself was fantastic. The author has a great voice, can make exciting action packed scenes and kept me entertained, I just didn’t love the story. And like I mentioned before – I’m not a fan of Urban Fantasy. There wasn’t enough romance in it for me. In saying that, there was never a point where I said to myself ‘maybe I should put this down and try something else.’ I always wanted to know how it turned out.

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: ★★★★☆

I'm not big on reviews or put arguments in an orderly fashion so I'll just put some impressions.

First off I am familiar with another of Palmer's series (Feral Warriors) which I like for it's reliable PNR plot. The world building is not phenomenal but I still like to read it. Being familiar with her writing I was unprepared when I picked A Blood Seduction.

A year ago I did not read much UF, mainly PNR stuff. It helped that I read one or two dark fantasy in the previous months. This book is a pretty complete departure from her previous series, which is a good thing in itself for an author to reinvent herself. It is the kind of book you will love or hate with a passion and won't finish. I liked it!

Are you tired of all those sparkly nice vampire. Do you crave the 'old school' vampire? Well, in this book the vampire are depicted as sadistic creatures that thrive on human pain, fear and blood. Humans are on the very bottom of the food chain in V.C. It's an incredibly dark, violent and brutal world Pamela Palmer has created. Since V.C is vampire playground, some acts performed by them are cringe worthy.

The heroine Quinn is loyal, brave and dedicated to rescue her brother Zack. Those traits made her a truly great character with interesting budding powers.

The most interesting or damning aspect of the book is the 'unconventional' hero. Arturo, Quinn's master, savior and seducer is one of the reasons Quinn can't escape. He may be pictured as a 'good' vampire but he revel in his nature so to call him that might be exaggerated. Humans and vampire are different species therefore morality is a point of view.

There is tension and action packed if you can get past the violent scenes, you may find it different and refreshing from what's out there. You get sucked in and want for Quinn and her brother to escape at all cost...the ending is a punch in the gut.

I guess what I am trying to say is that this book is ballsy. Yes there is seduction and tender moments but there is also unapologetic violence and depravity that are not hinted at but in your face. Yes you have vampires that are not at ease with their nature and face moral dilemmas but they are in the minority.

Palmer injected some nice Washington, D.C. history facts into the story. It was pretty interesting to know.

It is a dark and dangerous world to be human in it. Parallel universe, magic and vampire politics makes it a nice package. You just have to read this book for the right reasons.

Hope you are not put off by my clumsy rendering 'cause this book is really worth your time and money.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fan of Palmer's Feral Warriors Series, which is PNR; so I was very excited to get my hands on the first book in her new vamp series that is more on the UF side. I've seen some mixed reviews. I understand the parts some was having trouble with and can see how some would dislike the book for its darker elements. But they didn't bother me. I believe the much darker parts of ABS helped set the tone for the world that Palmer was setting up. This is a dark world where the vampires are not the sexy heroes most of us are use to.

Sure there are a few of the vampires that aren't as evil as most, Arturo being one of them. Don't get me wrong, he is still not a lovable vamp. He does what needs to be done in the name of his Master and makes no apologizes if its not what Quinn would see as a nice. After each time he betrays her, he reminds her that he is what he is and not to trust him. I can't blame her for wanting to trust him since he has saved her a few times; he is the lesser of two evils. But if Quinn meet him in the "real world" would she still feel the same about him? Would he be a good guy away from Vamp City?

Yes Arturo is very much an anti-hero and who knows if he is really good or evil. He lies by omission, never really lying out right. But come on, the guy has a weakness for Sweet-Tarts so he can't be all bad, right?

There is some sexual tense between the two that could grow into a relationship in the future but as it is right now I believe it's just physical and a little on the Stockholm Syndrome side. So many possibles for the future of their relationship and the world as this series moves forward.

While the ending of the book wasn't really a cliffhanger it does leave us guessing what bigger secrets Arturo is keeping from Quinn.

I can't wait to read the next book in the Vamp City series. If you are in the mood for a very dark urban fantasy read with a little sexual tense pick up A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer.

[Lady Lioness]

I've moved this title to my Currently Reading shelf aka Limbo. I read up to Chapter 12, scrolled forward to read the last two chapters, and proceeded to close the .pdf with a 'Holy Shit.' I'm not going to rate this because I didn't finish it.

Now, I like Pamela Palmer's books, and I did think, a few weak spots aside, the writing was particularly strong. However, I want to make one thing very, very clear. This is NOT a romance novel. This is horror. Granted, my PTSD makes me a little more susceptible to certain things, but I think we can all agree that when humanity's main role in a book is as a food source and as fodder for blood sports, it's a horror novel. The hero is such an anti-hero, to the point that I would have liked the book better if the heroine, or anyone else for that matter, had killed him. When you find yourself hoping the heroine musters up the gumption to slaughter the hero, you are clearly not reading a romance novel.

I won't make any recommendations about reading it or not as I am not the target audience, but just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into.

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Blood Seduction kicks off Pamela Palmer’s urban fantasy Vamp City series. For whatever reason, I assumed this was a standard paranormal romance with a HEA at the end. I feel the blurb is very misleading. It makes it sound romantic and this is not a romantic book. So with about 10% left in this book, as I was continuously frustrated with the romance, I realized, ah! This is an urban fantasy, where there is much to be resolved in future books. If I had known this was UF, I wouldn’t have been quite as frustrated with the romance, although I still had some issues. But first let me set up this world because it is pretty cool.

Quinn Lennox has always known she might be a little different, but tries to put it out of her mind. Recently though, very strange things have started to happen. First, she sees Shimmers, like a rainbow in a water mist. When she goes through them, her clothes change colors. This makes it difficult to hang out with friends, as how can she explain this if she walks through one while out? Worse, she has started seeing visions, sometimes outside of her apartment window of a dark, grey world. Sometimes she sees a horse and carriage, other times a yellow jeep zooming by the horse. It resembles Washington, DC but yet it is not quite the same.

Meanwhile, missing persons in DC have skyrocketed and no one knows why. The most important person in Quinn’s life is her brother Zack. When his best friend Lily goes missing, Quinn starts to think this is more than a coincidence. Running out with Zack to try to find her, Quinn spots a sunbeam where she can see part of her vision within the beam. Before she knows it, her and Zack accidentally fall into the beam, and they are no longer in Washington, DC. They are actually inside her vision. A crumbling, dark, old version of DC and they soon learn this alternate reality place is called – Washington, VC or Vamp City.

In 1870, a sorcerer created Vamp City, a six-mile wide place where vampires can live without worrying about hiding from the sun, because the sun never shines here. It still resembles the 1800’s. It used to be that the vampires could walk in and out of Vamp City at their will, sometimes choosing to live in the real, present day. But the magic is failing, and Vamp City is threatened to no longer exist. The vampires that live there need a sorcerer to fix this problem, and they think Quinn is just the person to do it. Problem is, Quinn has no idea she has any magic inside of her.

I could go on and on setting up this book. It is a very fascinating world, but I must stress, a very violent one. The vampires in this book are ruthless. They have absolutely no humanity left. Many of the vampires not only feed on blood, but on fear or pain. As humans from the real DC walk through these sunbeams and become trapped in VC, the vampires use them as slaves. Most slaves don’t live very long as their torture is extremely cruel and intense. There are a few scenes in here that made my stomach feel sick. I really like the fact that this author chose to make her vampires with no morals but I must warn you there is a brutal rape scene which Quinn witnesses in it. And other scenes of intense violence.

At one point, slaves are tortured so brutally and then Quinn learns they will get glamoured so they forget what they went through. This eases Quinn’s wariness somewhat. This made me feel ill. Because these slaves are tortured, are made to forget, and then are tortured again. I’m not sure how Quinn can find comfort that they are glamoured and this bothered me about her.

That being said, the hero (and I use that word very lightly – actually, I should not use that word at all ) is a vampire named Arturo. He is one of the few that is a little more decent. He thrives off fear, so while he loves to make someone scared, he usually doesn’t kill or torture for the fun of it. He rescues Quinn from some more evil vamps at the beginning of the book and she becomes his slave (of sorts). I had a lot of problems with this romance. They don’t fall in love with each other but there is lust and I really didn’t buy into it. The situation Quinn gets dumped into (which I’ve barley touched upon) is so intense. There is so many evil things that I just didn’t buy into her lust for Arturo. At the beginning he undresses her against her consent and there is some icky things between them. He is very loyal to his maker, Cristoff, (a vampire that feeds off pain and is just so evil) and at the end, he is still loyal to him. Arturo lies to Quinn, a lot and while he does help her, I don’t trust him. At. All. And for him to be the main guy in this book (and I can only assume the eventual HEA) he has A LOT of ground to make up for in the next book. Like, he needs to stop having sex with other people. Oh, and stop lying to Quinn and making her fear him.

The supporting cast is not all horrible vampires. We meets some that honestly don’t want to participate in destroying innocent humans, but can’t escape out of Vamp City. We meet some sorcerers and some slaves that are also decent people. The city the author has created feels very detailed and full of engaging characters. That is where the strength of this book lies. The world was so vivid while I read, I still have a picture in my mind of what it looks like. I’m still not sold on the romance, and for that I have to mark down my grade. This book is so dark and violent, I wish we could have had a better romance to get us through the dark times. We needed something to hold onto as the slaves are being tortured and we didn’t get that. It is a depressing book, yet I didn’t want to put it down.

I think some will hate this book and I think some will love it. Either way, it will get you talking, that is for sure.

I’m so curious to see where this series heads in the next book.

Rating: C, maybe C+

[Samina The Story Devourer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quinn has been weird lately. She thinks she can see fragments of scenes from the past. Old crumbling houses and dusty roads deserted by everything living. One day while trying to look for his brother Zack’s friend, they manage to get themselves into the world that Quinn keeps seeing. They land into his unknown world and are attacked by vampires. Quinn is saved by a mysterious Italian vampire named Arturo by her brother is kidnapped by these vampires. Then she is told that is in Washington V.C, the Vamp City and that she is Arturo, the vampire’s slave.

From the first moment she’d stepped into Vamp City, her fate had been sealed.”

Quinn, I found, was boring and uninteresting. She was understandably weak as anyone would be if they were thrown into Vamp City.
However, no matter how much I tried I could not like her. Her only redeeming quality was her attachment towards her brother Zack. As to why she found Arturo attractive is beyond me as she didn’t seem a shallow type to go ‘Whoa, he is handsome and dangerous so I like him”. Maybe she was a victim of the Stockholm syndrome. Her name kept throwing me off as I half of the book I kept getting confused between Zack and Quinn.

Arturo was the handsome vampire who saves Quinn for the other vampires trying to drink her dry. He was written as smart and sexy who had a Mediterranean look about him. He was supposed to be untrustworthy and unpredictable but to me he just seemed evil and two faced. I know what the writer was trying to do with a sketchy hero who would be straddling the lines between good and bad which we have seen in many Urban Fantasy as being highly successfully, for example, Barrons and Dorian. However, to me he felt like a creep and a hypocrite. He was a called the Snake and in all intent and purposes, he well and truly was one. He had the ‘I am what I am’ attitude but the things that he did under that cover were despicable.

Everyone loves a moral less degenerate but as soon as the hero sees the heroine or at least where she is concerned he should be quit being one. He was nice, sweet and gentle but it was all a facade to get into Quinn pants. I can understand it but even after all that she had been through right in front of him; he was such a sick person that he kept throwing her in danger. Even if he did rescue her a few times it was at what price? I don’t know why Quinn was attracted to him as he was creepy and their ‘affair’ if it could be called so, seems sick and disturbing. At first I could have understood but even after the events I still don’t think Quinn should have been so quick to forgive him. She didn’t learn from her mistakes and kept trusting him again and again.

My favourite character out of them all would be Zack and Kassius. Zack was funny in the beginning and felt very real. Whereas, Kassius was someone who should have been the hero who was kind, brave with an agenda of his own. He was a vampire but he that the traits of being a better person than Arturo. I’m hoping we get to see him more in the next book.

The ending was good and not what I expected. Near the end, I was thinking about not reading the next book in the series but the ending blew it out of the window. So even if it was disturbing and sick at times I would give the second book a try.

The story had a good narration, slow at times but it kept me on my toes. The story-line was unpredictable and it was difficult to guess what would happen next. I still had hopes that Arturo will redeem himself but he plunged even deeper in my mind. I suppose I am sadistic after all.

Regardless of the awful things I have said above, the setting and the world was very unique and interesting. The Era recreated by the author took me back in time and the gritty story-line was right up my street. I disliked the main characters but I still have hopes from them. Quinn would probably have more power than she realises and kick Arturo’s ass and I am hoping Arturo will get better and turn out to be an okay hero or perhaps both.

In short, a new dark and gritty Urban - Fantasy, suspense and betrayal at every corner, with a great setting and a new world.

Releasing on 29th May, 2012.

Arc provided by Avon.

Read more of my reviews at Escapism from Reality

[Bri Martinez · Rating 2 out of 5]

[sigh] I had such high hopes for this book. With world building comparable to Ilona Andrew’s On the Edge series, I was immediately taken in with the idea of a vampire city overlaying the ‘real world’ of Washington, D.C. The vampires that live in this parallel world, Washington, V.C. (Vamp City- I kid you not), are complete monsters, where in addition to thriving on human blood, they also enjoying feeding off the fear and pain of humans. Humans are beaten, whipped, tortured, and enslaved, all to satisfy the desires and bloodlust of their master vampires. There are no sparkly, loving vampires here! I loved the rough, gritty feel to the world and all its occupants, but the book still ended up falling flat for me. The fault lies in the characters.

The main character, Quinn, has some magic in her blood, enabling her to see into V.C. When a friend goes missing, she accidently stumbles into the vampires’ world and meets Arturo. This is when everything hits the fan. Quinn ran me through an emotional gamut. She would be terrified of Arturo one minute, then desire him, and then hate him, all within a couple of paragraphs. Her emotions and feelings toward Arturo would shift so quickly that it was impossible for me to keep up with them. She would be scared witless but still crave him. I thought emotions like fear, hate, and desire in a relationship were mutually exclusive (unless someone is an extreme masochist, which Quinn is not). Even at the end of the book, her feelings were still ambiguous, where I was unsure if she trusted him and how much she liked him.

Another thing about Quinn is she is weak, both physically and emotionally. Arturo told her not to trust him, that his allegiance was to his vampire master, Cristoff, first and foremost. However, she would believe him when he was lying to her, expect something from him, and then cry when he betrayed her. This happened over and over again. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. She also couldn’t fight to save her life. I kept expecting her to pull out some big guns and show the vampires who was really boss, but she spent most of the time cowering in fear. It is hard for me to get behind a character like that. It also gives me a newfound respect for other characters like Kate Daniels or Mercy Thompson, who always stay strong and fierce, regardless of what is being thrown at them.

Arturo is a whole other type of monster (literally). He lies and betrays Quinn so much throughout this book that I had to keep asking myself, Is this guy really Quinn’s love interest? I still question whether he actually cares for her. There were a few snippets in the book where the reader knew what he was thinking and begins understand why he did what he did, and just when I think he is about to redeem himself in some grand gesture, he goes and demolishes any progress he made. I am all for the dangerous bad boys or the dark, broody types, but when a guy shows how much he ‘cares’ for you by turning you over to his master who he knows is going to torture you, I quickly fall off that guy’s bandwagon. No, thank you, sir. Even at the end, after he helped Quinn escape, he says that he will kidnap her again at a more convenient time and once again give her to his master (who has threatened to cut off appendages next time he finds her). Hmmm, I think this guy does not understand one crucial thing….

Dear Arturo, that is not the way you care for a lady. Allow me to help you out here. A real woman would prefer chocolates or flowers, maybe even candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach for the more romantically inclined, not torture and pain and death. Most women do not find physical and mental torment romantic. Just some advice you should take note of. From a concerned bystander, Bri.

Overall, the world was intriguing and I loved Palmer’s take on vampires, but the characters were lacking. I found Arturo and Quinn’s relationship to be extraordinarily unhealthy and disturbing, making it hard to really appreciate what this book had to offer story-wise and romantically. I may try out the next book in the series, but I am going to be hoping it turns out better than A Blood Seduction.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review might include minor spoilers. // Edited and properly written review to come.

Dear Future Patricia,

the setting of this book was brilliant. A little like Ilona Andrews' Edge novels, A Blood Seduction is set in our world, but not quite. Female Lead Character Quinn can see, and first suspects she's finally turning loco, another world, just sometimes. When her brother's best friend and soon-to-be girlfriend is a few minutes to late, he suspects something's happened, and it has: Like many other people she disappeared.

Quinn and Zach (that's her brother's name if you hadn't guessed) search for her and fall through a "portal" to this other world. A little like Inu Yasha but they don't timetravel, they travel to an Alternate Washington DC, which is called VC - Vamp City, where the sun never shines, where humans are slaves, and torturing them is okay, because hell, they are slaves.

There are vampires and werewolves, and those supernatural beings are definitely monsters. They are creepy and scary as hell, which was fabulous for me as a reader and I would probably give the book 5 stars if it weren't for the protagonist and her relationship to Arturo.

Do you know people you really like but they fell for assholes and this notion of them makes you feel like they aren't as great as you thought they were? Quinn does that. I am not saying Arturo is an asshole. He is what he is and as a normal character, not a love-interest, I probably would have loved him.

He's one of the vampires who feed on both blood and emotions. His emotion is fear. There are others, his master for example, who feed on pain. Apparently there are also some who feed on pleasure. In any case, he is very loyal to his master, and that would be okay, if it wasn't for him probably being the guy Quinn ends up with.

He is, as the love interest, not redeemable so far and as the reader I needed to know why he felt this strong loyalty for someone who was obviously not just a vampire, but also a sadistic bastard. In the beginning I suspected that he was bound to the master, but there were scenes written in his POV that suggest this isn't the case. As I've said, it wouldn't be a problem, but one has to wonder why Quinn would feel attracted to a guy who doesn't seem to care about more than sleeping with her. He has blood-and-sex-slaves, and stated as much, he betrayed her, he scared her, he made it obvious that he didn't care about her brother, who might die.

Even though she still felt not only attracted to him but acted on this attraction. It was a horrible case of InstaLust that made me gasp, because despite her situation, her hornypants still got the better of her. What the heck, girl. What the heck.

She knew it, and she couldn't forgive him for that. Why did she keep letting him kiss her?

Yeah, Quinn. I wondered the same.

Future Self, you know that books can be very enjoyable even if you don't like the couple that is featured - some of Nalini Singh's books are best proof of that. But it is very hard to enjoy a novel if you do not like the protagonists, and it was hard to relate to Quinn.

I do think, however, that there will be lots of readers who won't have the same issues with the book, because the possibility of a HEA or HFN is enough for them to be satisfied with the progress of this book's plot.

This was my first Palmer book and it's save to say that I will complain as long as it takes for someone to get me all her other books.

[Vanessa theJeepDiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read something outside of my genre comfort zone, way outside of it and I loved it. I’ve read Pamela’s Feral Warrior series and loved them. When I discovered she was going to write a vampire series it was instantly a must read. Then once I dived into the scary world of Washington V.C (Vamp City) I discovered something. I did not have a paranormal romance in my hand. I had an Urban Fantasy. A very dark world where vampires are cruel and no one ever does anything without very selfish motives. There’s also a Jeep Wrangler driving anti-hero.

Quinn Lennox has known she is different her whole life. Strange things have always happened to her and around her. She has tried to hide her differences, especially from her brother who she has a very close relationship with. The frequency of the oddities have escalated in the past few months. In an attempt to help her brother find his missing friend they both get sucked down the rabbit hole and into an alternate world where they have instantly became food, game, sport and slave labor.

There were so many things that I utterly enjoyed about A Blood Seduction. I liked the dark violence the most. I enjoy my villains to be evil to the max. The vampires that call Vamp City home are beyond cruel. Not only do the vamps feed on blood but they feed off of emotions too, many feed on fear and pain. They also only care for themselves. The magic that protects the alternate world from human discovery and from the sun has begun to fail. They are actively seeking a sorcerer powerful enough to keep their world from killing them, which was the original sorcerers plan to begin with.

Quinn’s only desire is to find her brother and get out of Vamp City. The problem is that she has been captured and her captor plan to keep her as his slave. Arturo is a vampire and a master manipulator. He wants Quinn pliable and he wants her to trust him. He lies and tells her many half truths to get her trust. The things that he does to her are shocking, unbelievable and continuous. Quinn is easily likeable. She is loyal to the only person in either world that she loves, her brother. She wants him to escape Vamp City with her and she refuses to leave him behind. She also amazing strong in the face of continuously impossible situations.

I think that there is the possibility of a romance between Quinn and Arturo in future books. Readers are given one incredibly hot sex scene between the vamp and Quinn, but he is still loyal to himself first and foremost. The last chapter is full of shockers that have me wanting the next book in the series now. Pamela has given readers a complex world, numerous characters that leave you curious and wanting more, an intriguing anti hero and a heroine that has some amazing backbone.

[Suz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it was dark and gritty, that's for sure. The vampires are not nice people at all, they are unapologetic for it, too. The hero is an anti-hero and he's one of the best of the bunch. He's redeemable but it's too little, too late in general.

The heroine is just too stupid to live and I never really cared if she made it through or not. She started out falling into his arms and I didn't understand why and that only got worse, and every time she did I liked her less. At the end she kind of came into herself a bit but by then didn't really have a chance to develop her skills and the way the ending was written I suppose the next book will be her opportunity for that, perhaps primarily in the "real" world instead of the Vamp City world.

The end isn't a cliff hanger but it was a set up for a longer arc, and the book arc was satisfactorily closed although it was on a reveal that just continued an established trend about the anti-hero and confirmed my already firmly established opinion of him. I might read the next installment but I'll be reading in the hopes of seeing everyone finally get their comeuppance, not because I like anyone enough to wish them a happy ending or am rooting for them.

3 to 3.5, mostly for the macabre world building.

[Lisarenee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A vampire may play with his food, but he never sets it free."

People in the Washington D.C. area have recently been disappearing at an alarming rate. In the last six weeks twelve people have gone missing. It's thought a serial killer might be walking the streets, but so far no clues or bodies have been found. The police are baffled.

When Lily, a friend of Quinn's brother, goes missing they start searching for her. Within minutes of Zack talking to her and just a short distance from where they were to meet, Lily had disappeared. Quinn always knew she was different. Usually it was silly little things that happened that just weren't normal, like the changing of the colors of her clothes. One moment what was blue turned purple, what was red turned yellow, what was white turned bright blue, but on at least two occasions scarier things had happened. Now she was seeing things, visions of another older world. Each time the visions would manifest she'd feel a chill skate over her skin. She thought she was going crazy and perhaps loosing her mind, but now she's not so sure. While searching for Lily, she gets one of her visions and the two, she and her brother, travel through a temporary portal only she can see and enter a world Quinn thought only existed in her imagination. Something tells the two they're not in D.C. anymore. They now knew how Dorthy felt when she entered the land of Oz and it was not pleasant.

Welcome to Washington V.C. aka Vamp City.

"In 1870, the sorcerer Phineas Blackstone created a city just for vampires. A city where the sun never shines...It exists precisely where the original lies. One on top of the other, duplicate worlds. Duplicates at first. No more. The outside has changed. And this one has moldered...They traveled freely between the two worlds, living here, hunting there when they chose. Until the magic began to fail...Now the vampires are trapped by the failing magic..If another sorcerer is not found soon, one to renew the magic, all those caught in Vamp City will die."
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I just adored this story. Ms. Palmer's world building skills are phenomenal. She gave a fresh feel to an old genre that left me wanting more. It has a dark feel to it and the vampires are more like the traditional ones we all read about before the Twilight invasion. While a lot of questions were left unanswered, this is only the first book of hopefully many more in a new series, so I expect more answers will be forthcoming.

Some of the vampires in V.C. feed off more than just blood, they feed off emotions. Some feed off fear, some pain, while others on pleasure. Humans are considered slaves in V.C. and are treated as the title would imply. The main law of the land is that vampires rule and humans have no rights. They are considered property, playthings, and mobile meals. Vampires are stronger, quicker, and can travel great distances in the blink of an eye making escape virtually impossible.

When Quinn and Zack breached the V.C. boundary they were captured and claimed almost immediately. Unfortunately they ended up under the ownership of different vamps. It is rumored no human has ever escaped Vamp City and most will not survive long. One of the biggest obstacles in Vamp City is figuring out who to trust, if that's even possible. It seems like everyone has some sort of hidden agenda for what they do. The question is what is that agenda? The one thing that Quinn has going for her is she can still see glimpses of D.C. via sunbeams. They're cracks in the magic that temporarily open portals between DC and VC while letting sunlight in, but strangely most cannot pass through them.

Quinn is smart, loyal, and brave. While she doesn't always make the best decisions, her heart is in the right place. Now she's focused on only thing, freeing herself and her brother from the Hell on earth they've found themselves as quickly as possible. With each passing day the chances of both of them surviving decreases.Quinn's best chance at saving them is to convince the dangerous yet seductively alluring vampire Arturo to help her. Arturo's loyalties, however, lie with someone else and bargaining with him is like making a deal with the devil--you take a chance at getting burned.

I gave this one 5 out 5 roses. It was such a good read. It captured my attention during and after I finished reading it. I could see this one turning into a movie or miniseries. The thing I loved the most is I have no clue what will happen in the next book but I so want to. *sigh* I love it when a book does that to me. If you haven't figured it out already I HIGHLY recommend this one. A word of warning--if you're looking for a 'Happily Ever After' romance wrapped up neatly in one book, this one doesn't have that. It looks like the real romance is going to be one that spans more than one book. I'm not even sure if we've met 'the one' for our heroine, but we'll have to patiently wait and see. It does have a love scene, but I use the term 'love' loosely. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one scored a STEAM rating--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed.

To view more of my reviews please visit my blog at www.seducedbyabook.com I'd greatly appreciate it. :)

[Christen (GoldiloxReads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my VERY FIRST Terrible Girls Club feature I am buddy reviewing A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer with my good friend Cat from Addicted 2 Heroines.

Cat's Question : Ok, you know what I'm going to ask about first. What was your reaction to the way the story ended?

Goldilox : Wow, I did NOT see that ending coming but I'm so happy with the way it ended. It was more believable than what I thought was going to happen, given Arturo's character, and it has me really looking forward to the next in the series!

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Goldilox's Question : What did you think of the world building, especially Vamp City?

Cat : I loved the alternate universe setting with its similarities to a historic Washington, D.C. I thought it was one of the novel's most appealing aspects. And a lot of what took place was very dark and morbid, so a decaying, crumbling Vamp City complimented that perfectly.

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Cat's Question : What were your thoughts on Quinn's character?

Goldilox : I thought she was a good heroine, strong at times but still realistically weak. Her fear was fitting given the situation she suddenly found herself in and I really appreciated the loyalty she had to finding her brother. I thought her simultaneous attraction and repulsion to Arturo was well written, although she seemed to jockey back and forth between the two emotions pretty suddenly throughout the story.

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Goldilox's Question : Arturo is the king of anti-heroes. Were you rooting for him and Quinn to be together or not?

Cat : Absolutely not! I enjoyed the characters individually, but I cringed each time Quinn admitted to wanting Arturo despite his deceptions and admission that he would betray her whenever necessary. Ugh! I appreciated Arturo's "I am what I am" attitude, but he should stick to his sex slaves and one night stands, not relationships.

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Cat's Question : Did you have a favorite moment or favorite quote?

Goldilox : I did not have a favorite quote that stood out to me. As far as a favorite moment, I actually enjoyed every time Quinn attempted an escape from Arturo or the vampires because I found her need to escape believable. I was so glad that the author didn't have her be stupid enough to just stick with Arturo, fall in lust, and wish there was a way to help her brother. I liked that Quinn understood the danger she was in and was scared and smart enough to try and get away!

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Goldilox's Question : Were there any parts of the story that bothered, annoyed, or concerned you?

Cat : Ok, be prepared to laugh at me, but there is one particular scene that stands out because it ruins what is supposed to be a very sexy and heated moment. Quinn exposes herself to Arturo at his command and when he compliments her breasts, she responds by saying that they look like fried eggs! Talk about killing the mood! I couldn't take it seriously after that.

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Cat's Question : Here's a tricky one -
Put yourself in Quinn's shoes. Do you try and save Vamp City for the sake of the innocent people who are trapped there or do you allow it to collapse without its magic and save future humans from suffering the same fate as the vampires' slaves?

Goldilox : Ugh - thanks a lot! I asked myself this exact question the entire time I was reading. Palmer doesn't make the reader pity the vampires or anything like that, and for that I am extremely glad. The reason to restore the magic of Vamp City and save it would be to save all the humans that are trapped inside...but at the same time most of those humans wouldn't survive outside of Vamp City anyway (this is stated in the book, however I won't elaborate any further so I don't spoil anything!). There are some vampires that are better than others, and as sad as it would be to see them die with the evil vamps...I think I would get my butt out of there and let the city die to save further humans from the fear and pain!

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Goldilox : Will you be reading the next in the series? Are you looking forward to it?

Cat : YES! The ending of this story kicked the sequel up to pre-order status. This is assuming the next story will feature the same characters. I've been tricked that way before. But I'm looking forward to more development and possibly some growth for Arturo's character...or maybe just Quinn getting played some more, ha! Either way, I have to know what happens to the residents of Washington, V.C.

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Cat's Question : Same question to you - Will you be reading the next in the series? Are you looking forward to it?

Goldilox : I will most definitely read the next in the series. I enjoyed the story and thought the premise was really original.

Read more of my reviews at: http://goldiloxandthethreeweres.blogs...

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

So you think you loathe the glittery vampires, all hot, sexy and seductive? Well, get ready to meet their polar opposites in A Blood Seduction. There’s not an ounce of shimmer here. But you might grow to hate these vamps as much as Cullen & co. Because the vampires in this novel are dark. Seriously dark… and predatory. They feed off of pain or fear as well as blood and they do not apologize for their nature. If you don’t think you can cope with rape and torture scenes: DO.NOT.READ this book. You should also know that even though there is a twisted sort of attraction between H/h, this is NOT a paranormal romance and definitely no HEA.

V.C.(Vampire city) is a realm overlaying Washington DC. It was created over 150 years ago by a sorcerer. It’s a place of refuge for vampires: where the sun never shines and humans are merely a food source, for sex or grisly blood games in the arena. But now its magic is failing, houses are decomposing, rays of sun break through ever so often and kill unfortunate vampires. They desperately need a sorcerer to replenish the magic.

In Washington, a lot of people have suddenly gone missing, and when her brother’s girlfriend disappear they go searching for her, only to be drawn into the dangerous city themselves. Quinn has sensed the presence of V.C for weeks, believing she’s delusional.
Quickly captured and separated from her brother, her captor, Arturo, realizes Quinn’s got a latent gift and plans to make use of it, in any way possible. And so their fairly twisted relationship begins to form. While Arturo is fascinated by Quinn’s ability to withstand mind control and desires her sexually, he has very few qualms about betraying her, over and over.. and over again to his coven master for the greater good of his decaying world.

Frankly, I think it's this aspect of the book that turns off quite a few readers. The descriptions of what happens to the human prisoners, as well as the immortal slavas are quite disgusting. And to have Arturo handing her over to these people doesn’t endear him to the readers. Like Quinn, we're constantly left wondering whether there is even a shred of decency left in him after having spent centuries as a vampire. We need to remember that Arturo isn’t a MAN, he is a hardened predator, unaccustomed to feeling sorry for his prey, and even though his feelings for Quinn are made quite clear from the beginning, he’s driven by centuries of allegiance to his coven master Cristoff, a horrific pain feeder. In other words: Hardly a healthy basis for an interspecies relationship, or a hero readers can relate to.

Quinn nevertheless struggles with her feelings for him, even though he himself warns her about his nature. She’s drawn to him against her will; unfortunately he is also the man who refuses to help her find her brother, caught in an even worse situation. While I enjoyed the more tender moments, I had a hard time really understanding how she could feel something, anything for him after the initial betrayal. And frankly, after her first escape, I had an even harder time, understanding how even a sister as devoted as Quinn, would attempt a rescue that foolhardy. I mean, come on! I get it, she loves Zack, but no normal human being would be that stupid to go after him again without any kind of backup. It’s call survival instinct! In other words, Quinn’s character came across as a little too unbelievable/shallow in this book.
In fact, there isn't a whole lot of character depth. Vamps are bad, and humans the ones who suffer. With one notable exception of a human woman and a vampire that seem to have developed an affection for each other. They are however, very minor characters in this book.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this story. It cleansed my palate after all those sugary sweet YA’s I’ve been reading lately.
Not a book for everyone. You are hereby warned.

3.75 stars.

[All Things Urban Fantasy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

I get so irritated by characters who huff and puff, threaten to take whatever they want whenever they want, and whisper terrifying things about themselves only to never follow through. Too many of them are all talk. In Pamela Palmer’s A BLOOD SEDUCTION, the first book in the new Vamp City paranormal romance series, we get Arturo. Finally a love interest who walks the line between hero and villain.

Arturo is a vampire who rescues Quinn from another vampire when she unwittingly stumbles into Vamp City. But instead of rescuing her for noble purposes, he takes her back to his mansion, ties her to his bed and proceeds to make good on all his threats. He stokes her fear higher and higher. Biting her, touching her, and laying out exactly what he intends to do to her: Make her one of his blood and sex slaves. He never apologizes for being a vampire, nor having the appetites that he has. He’s harsh and dismissive of her situation.

Of course, in addition to being a delicious villain, he does reveal his hero side too (although only when it helps him). In his very limited way, he grows to care for Quinn, but he never completely sheds his ruthless ways, at least not in A BLOOD SEDUCTION. If Quinn wants or needs something, he demands a price for his help. He lies, he betrays, and sympathy is not an emotion he experiences. He reminded me of a mix between Eric Northam from the Sookie Stackhouse series and Jericho Barrons from the Fever series.

Without going into too much detail, the worldbuilding is super cool. A vampire city created by magic centuries ago for vampires to live openly. No sun, no rules, no mercy. Humans are caught and sold at slave auctions. Vampires feed on more than just blood. Some, like Arturo, feed on fear, other feed on pain. There are some very disturbing, but thankfully brief and without description, scenes with a pain feeder that mention horrifying torture devices that are of a sexual nature.

Overall, A BLOOD SEDUCTION was an excellent read. Unique worldbuilding, truly evil vampires as well as ones who dance with villainy and heroism. Strong characters, and a great setup for future installments. The next Vamp City book will be released in 2013. I’m already looking forward to it.

Sexual Content:
Scenes of sensuality, sex scenes, references to rape, references to sexual torture

[Scooper Speaks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite Lines: "I own you, tessoro. I can watch you whenever I like." Cristo! The wrong thing to say to a woman he wished to calm. "Someday, you will trust me, Quinn Lennox." Though that was probably a lie. And not his first." (p. 82, e-galley)

This is an urban fantasy, not a romance. If you read A Blood Seduction expecting a romance you will be disappointed. As it is, the series is not going to be what people are expecting. I think that works. There can be no tedious "as normal in UF" reviews on this one. I think some people are going to say there is shock factor for the sake of shock. I didn't feel that way.

I was shocked, but I feel each time I felt that way I learned something or a fact about a character was reinforced. I felt like you could never let your guard down 'cause you didn't know what was coming. That edged the story above the norm.

Characters: I'm glad Palmer made Quin (the heroine) a character who cannot forget what she sees. So you know bad things can't be wiped from her memory. There is no he beat her, wiped her memory and now they're in love. Wait for it...until her memory miraculously came back. The hero--Arturo--is a major anti-hero who I spent equal time loving and hating. He is definitely not a romance hero and I don't know how he could ever be the heroine's love. Lust, yes. Love, no way. He's all about saving and satisfying himself. He knows his place in vampire society and is not willing to risk it for Quin. Then there's the bad ass nasty vampire who was so scary evil that I was finally happy. He is no washed out villain. He is truly a vamp to fear. In addition to vampires and magicians, there are shapeshifters.

Conclusion: I was left with many questions at the end of A Blood Seduction. Those questions revolve around the survival of people, places and things. I have to have the next book. The ending of A Blood Seduction cinched my "like" of the book. I was so shocked that I had to love it. Palmer took a chance and I think it paid off.

On a side note: I didn't like the romance tinged description of the book. It did not match the horror-like feel of the story.

[Torzilla]

DNF: read the first 50+ pages and could not get into this story. I'm just going to list what didn't work for me:

* not a very interesting start in my eyes. I don't make a huge deal about the first sentence of a story (though I do appreciate it when an author writes something funny or interesting), but the first sentence in this book was just so boring and monotonous, and really set the stage for how the remainder of the chapter was like.

* not a very interesting heroine. I still can't remember her name.

* too much telling, not enough showing. You're told about the "love" the siblings share, told about the dedication, but you're never shown it. The brother and sister have each other's backs? Well, how heartwarming... But if you can't PROVE it, then why should I care?

* not a lot of action, and when things do finally pick up, I honestly did not care. By the time our "hero" appears, I was bored out of my mind and couldn't take the book seriously.

* the heroine doesn't have a lot of spunk. The part where the "hero" snaps that he is her master, and then she turns around and calls him master so easily... Ugh I don't know, it just rubbed off on me the wrong way and my amusement dissipated. Mind you, she was giving him an attitude not moments before him snapping at her, so I don't know why she would suddenly give in without a fight.

After my initial disappointment with the pacing of the story and my lack of interest, I tried to continue reading... I really did, but the only way I was able to do so was by NOT taking what I was reading "seriously." I do enjoy books that I never intend to review, and I have read plenty of books that I thought was a joke, but this one just had one thing after another that simply did not work for me.

There are, however, plenty of other reviewers who have read this story and who seemed to enjoy it. If you're looking for a review gushing about this title, then I suggest you look for those. As for me, I can't recommend this book if you have similar tastes to my own.

[Laura *Little Read Riding Hood* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn damn damn!

Quinn is a scientist. As such, she has been looking for a logical explanation for all the odd things that have happened to and around her throughout her life. Such as her clothes changing color & seeing things that aren't there. Or at least things she think aren't there.

Through a series of unfortunate events, Quinn and her brother end up in Washington V.C., Vamp City. It is a near exact replica of D.C. from the 1800's, only without sunshine and more wear and tear. Almost immediately they are attacked, and we meet Arturo, who ends up being the "hero" of the story.

Why the quotation marks? He is not your typical hero. As in, he is not 100% good. I would say he is a 50/50 mix of good and bad. I've seen him described as "the lesser of two evils" and I would have to agree. You love him, you hate him, you loathe him, you forgive him, you want to punch him in the crotch, then you want to kiss it all better him. :-) By the end I was so torn, but still forgave him. He is a true vampire.

Quinn is pretty bad-ass herself. She never ever gives up. Ever. There were times I as a reader wanted her to give up, if only to make things easier for her, but she didn't listen to any of the advice I screamed at her. Stubborn characters not listening to me. What are they thinking? I can see this metaphorical train is going to crash and am yelling for you to jump but NOOOO, you know better. Fine then, be that way.

And the world building ... I've never been to D.C. but I could clearly picture V.C. in my mind. It was a sad, terrifying, beautiful place to visit. I CANNOT wait to go back for more in June, which is when the sequel, A Kiss of Blood, is set to release.

Before I go, I do feel like I should warn you: this is a city of vampires. And they do some horrific, disgusting, demented, nauseating things to their food. It can be hard to read. But it made the vampires more terrifying and the stakes (ha!) even higher.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what to say about this book. I enjoyed the concept, the original spin on the vampire lore. But the characters never clicked with me and I'm really repulsed by Arturo, the main love interest. This is the only PNR that I've ever wished for the couple to *not* get together. Quinn was a great character in the beginning. She was strong and saw Arturo for what he was. But then she's "attracted" to him and that's where things started to sour for me. Yes, this is a dark, gothic, Vampires rule world. Yes, Arturo is a product of that world. So how Quinn can overlook the willingly cruel, sadistic and evil things that Arturo does or allows to happen *to her!!!* is beyond me. There was not one redeeming quality about him throughout the book. Even the ending supports this! Even when he finally helps her, he's really helping himself!

I lost total respect and like for Quinn when she "falls" for Arturo despite the many! times he lied to her, allowed her to be beaten and would not help her fight for her brother. She became the stockholm syndrome character who begs for more from her tormentor. I was actually kinda disgusted when they finally consummated their lust for each other, b/c I felt like Quinn had completely buried and ignored her principles just for a good lay. I was so close to DNF this book but I was curious to see how Arturo "could" be redeemed in the end and become worthy of Quinn. He never does and it's even set up for him to deceive/betray her yet again in the next book!

After reading this book, I'm left feeling like I just watched a rapist drug someone at a bar and leave with her and I did nothing to stop him. I'm so torn b/c I could "see" what the author was trying for... to create an intentionally dark and evil world... for originality maybe... but she took it too far in my opinion. It's a fine line and I usually enjoy the anti-hero but this one actually repelled me. Not going to be continuing this series :(