Once, as a girl of seventeen, beautiful, headstrong Portia Cabot saved the cursed life of the dashing vampire Julian Kane—who marked her forever, then left to go in search of his soul. He returns five years later to find the enchanting young girl he left behind grown into a bewitching woman with a woman's heart . . . and a woman's desires.
Portia quickly discovers that Julian's seductive and forbidden kiss can still make her crave the night . . . and his touch. But the Julian who has returned to London is not the vampire she remembers. His fruitless pursuit of his stolen mortality has reduced him to drunken debauchery. And a recent spate of murders makes Portia fear that the man she has always adored may truly be a monster.
Julian knows he must drive Portia away—but his passion and hunger for her grow more irresistible every time they touch. For years he has fought the temptation to embrace his dark gifts, never realizing that Portia's love may give him the most dangerous gift of all . . . a reason to live.
New York Times bestseller Teresa Medeiros wrote her first novel at the age of twenty-one and has since gone on to win the hearts of both readers and critics. All of her books have been national bestsellers, featured on the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. She currently has over 10 million books in print.
She is a seven-time Rita finalist, two-time PRISM winner, and two-time recipient of the Waldenbooks Award for bestselling fiction.
GOODNIGHT TWEETHEART was released in January 2011 and her latest historical THE PLEASURE OF YOUR KISS is coming from Pocket Books in December 2011. Teresa lives in Kentucky with her husband and her cats, Buffy the Mouse Slayer and Willow Tum-Tum.
This was absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!! I think I loved this even more than book 1?! Idk how that’s possible considering my love for After Midnight and Adrian (the hero of that book) knows no bounds, but here we are.
This ticked so many boxes for me: ✅Paranormal historical romance with gothic vibes ✅Vampire hero who’s a wastrel and feels unworthy of the heroine but gets an amazing redemption arc ✅Kickass vampire huntress heroine ✅Romance is the perfect balance of sweet, angsty, and sexy ✅Sweeping/epic feeling second chance romance that spans several years ✅The villain is the hero’s former mistress and gives me Darla & Drusilla vibes from Buffy/Angel ✅Plenty of Adrian/Caroline/Eloisa content ✅Dashes of humor thrown in that genuinely made me laugh out loud ✅Scenes where the hero has to act like a villain/monster to fit in with/appease other vampires when in reality he’s the opposite ✅Hero and heroine who are absolutely GONE for each other and would fight to the ends of the earth for one another
If my review hasn’t convinced you to pick up this duet, idk what will! I NEED to read more from this author ASAP!!!
Not as hot as book one and the end was a little much but still enjoyable. I’m happy I read this especially since it was just a duology. It definitely had some old school vibes and I’d like some more explanation of what happened when they were locked up together in the past. I’ll be reading more from the author. Don’t read this one before book one or even the summary.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5 🌶🌶🌶*/5
* way too many fade to black moments after the intense slow burn. Maybe even closer to 2.75🌶/5.
Maybe I’ve had enough vampire stories for a lifetime. The plot is interesting, but I just could not care for the heroine, or the side characters. How easily both Portia and Adrian believed the worse of Julian and even considered killing him. I was appalled! I almost wished he would indeed walk away with Valentine or save his soul and join the circus. Julian is a sweet hero (as sweet as a vampire can be), the story is well-written, but I caught myself skipping quite a bit towards the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I’ve been curious about this book ever since I finished After Midnight. There’s something awfully romantic in a Vampire desperately trying to recuperate his soul and become a human again.
Julian Kane is back in town.
Once, as a girl of seventeen, beautiful, headstrong Portia Cabot saved the cursed life of the dashing vampire Julian Kane-who marked her forever, then left to go in search of his soul. He returns five years later to find the enchanting young girl he left behind grown into a bewitching woman with a woman's heart . . . and a woman's desires.
Portia quickly discovers that Julian's seductive and forbidden kiss can still make her crave the night . . . and his touch. But the Julian who has returned to London is not the vampire she remembers. His fruitless pursuit of his stolen mortality has reduced him to drunken debauchery. And a recent spate of murders makes Portia fear that the man she has always adored may truly be a monster.
Julian knows he must drive Portia away-but his passion and hunger for her grow more irresistible every time they touch. For years he has fought the temptation to embrace his dark gifts, never realizing that Portia's love may give him the most dangerous gift of all . . . a reason to live.
I did like Julian a lot more than I liked Portia. After hearing Julian is back in London and not believing he is behind the recent murders of young women by vampires, Portia goes looking for the love of her youth to warn him that Adrian, his brother, is looking for him. She find a rake and a gambler who doesn’t care about what may happen to him but agrees to protect her reputation and leave before they are found together. He never tells her whether he is the one committing those awful murders or not.
With Adrian Portia concocts a scheme to find the vampire responsible for those murders and serves as bait. She fins a she vampire (vampiress(?)) who is also Julian’s lover and the holder of his immortal soul. Now what I had problems with was that Portia kept changing her mind whether she loved him or not, if it was because he could be a murderer or because he had a lover, or because he hadn’t killed the vampire to recover his soul… she just sounded a bit childish to me. Julian seemed a lot more interesting and complex as a character who has been trying to stay away from the woman he loves because he feels he doesn’t deserve and doesn’t have the courage to kill the vampire who holds his soul because she has saved his life. They spend much of the book without being honest with each other and that also helped create some misunderstandings regarding Julian’s intentions. Together they will have to face not only their family but also a group of vampires before Julian can get his soul back.
This book is constantly referring to situations of After Midnight and it might not be an easy read if you haven’t read the first book.
Goodness gracious these two were so loveable and sweet. *swoons* I was dying to read this and it did not disappoint. Julian is just delicious as a dark brooding heartbroken vampire. Very dashing charming witty lovable hero. I fell in love with him in the previous book. And of course he made me swoon in this. And Portia is so adorable. Witty sassy charming with an innocence that's really endearing. Great couple their love story is very passionate forlorn and heartbreaking. An amazing fun suspenseful read. The dramatic conclusion did not disappoint. You never know what to expect with Medeiros. Of course you expect a happy ending but the way she goes about it in her books really grabs your attention and your heart, always full of surprises. Forgive me for the cliche saying but it's true, I was at the edge of my seat while reading this. Loved it!
So I read this today in 1 hour ( or less but took me more than 40 minutes)
This contains ow drama spoilers because I want to read this again and know the safety details .
I loved this but The beginning really made me mad . I couldn’t understand the writing well ( he was with 2 women and I think he kisses one of them , he was taking them to a room and that’s when the heroine interrupts and he doesn’t do more ) also there is ow ( valentine ) she was kinda in a relationship with H ( Julian ) and she has his soul. and when they where having sex instead of saying her name he says the heroine name.
And then he denies it and says “ You were never anything more to me than a lovestruck child.” ^^ I was hurt
And at the end the ow still has his soul but he wants it back and he makes a plan to get it since the ow has the daughter of the heroine’s sister ( I think it’s her sister idk ) so he makes it seem he is interest in her and kisses her and offend and humiliates the heroine and then when the ow was going to bite the heroine ( since she is a vampire hunter ) the H bites the ow and I think she dies . ⬇️ “At the exact moment Valentine crumbled to dust in Julian’s arms, “
Then after that he never apologizes and they marry and then it just ends .
( also I think he is a man hoe because he says how he needs blood from women then he returns them a favor by giving them what they need ) —“ I go, there are always women willing no, eager—to offer me a little sip of themselves. I take just what I need to survive, and in return…I make sure they get what they need.” ( but then says how the heroine was the first women he drank for so I’m confused)
I loved this but still . As I said the writing was difficult for me to understand some parts and I also read this fast .
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The Vampire who Loved Me would have to rank as one of the most ridiculous book titles of all time. I made sure when reading that the title was obscured, which is a pain in the butt. Particularly given it is (thankfully) in no way indicative of the quality of this novel.
Readers should note that The Vampire Who Loved Me will not work well as a stand alone. You really should read After Midnight first.
At the end of After Midnight, Julian Kane left 17-year-old Portia and his devoted brother Adrian to search the world for the vampire who possesses his soul.
Five years later, Julian is back, and young women are being found murdered and drained of their blood. Coincidence? Portia, now a woman but still infatuated with Julian, is determined to find out. But Julian is not the man nor the vampire she remembers.
The Vampire Who Loved Me was true to the feel of After Midnight, part vampire romance, part Regency noir, and fully entertaining.
Portia is a feisty heroine who more than holds her own with sardonic Julian. They make a great couple who never quite allow you to be comfortable given all the obstacles in their way. We also get to spend more time with Adrian, Caro, Vivienne, Larkin and the wonderful Wilbury.
The Vampire Who Loved Me was a very quick and action-packed read. How disappointing that there were only 2 books in this series.
Skimmed this about halfway through. I did finish it, which does count for something. Full RTC.
Full review:
Julian Kane mopes around. It's such a waste of his character, because he has that charming rogue of a younger brother vibe going for him in After Midnight. And that was not on display here.
This is less fun than After Midnight, but I was also taken aback by one thing that was revealed that happened in After Midnight. I had to reread it because everything had been so hunky dory -SAFE- up until then.
This was the un-PC factor:
Granted, this is revealed rather than shown but if this story not only had more events like that, this would have been more my speed.
As it is, it's ok. If you really enjoyed the first book in the series, this would be good. If you were meh about it, it probably won't matter if you read its sequel.
Опитът ми с вампирите се изчерпва с един филм за Дракула (гледан доброволно, за да се възпитам да не приема ужасите буквално) и първата филмирана част на “Здрач” (гледана по принуда заради по-младото поколение, да пукна, ако разбрах нещо - все чаках нещо са стане, а ф��лмът взе, че свърши…).
Тук обаче си има класическа любовна история в добрата стара Англия, със съвсем малко вампирски елементи, и една бясна вампирица, която внесе екзотика. Оказа се забавно, м��кар и вече неактуално - сега май други тропи са на мода. Но на кой му пука!
I was expecting this story to be in contemporary era, just because of the cover. Imagine my surprise when I flipped open the book (actually; touching on my Nook), the story was set in 1826. And here, I was expecting some sort of Twilight devotion (shudders in a bad way).
I have never read the first book in the Cabot series, After Midnight. However, I truly enjoyed this one. It was written differently, with vampires in the Victorian / Regency eras. Most of the scenes were in the dark, with vampires only coming at night, hate garlic, cannot see their own reflection in mirrors, will die upon a stake or burn in fire, and turning into bats (wow, everything classic about being a vampire).
Portia has been in love with Julian for the rest of her life. We had flashbacks when Portia saved Julian's life, when he already become a vampire (I think I have to read the first book to understand how Julian turns to be a vampire in the first place). And how he lost his soul to another vampire.
As for Portia, she longed for Julian even though he had lost his soul. The story started 5 years after Julian left his family, and returned back to London - where strings of murders seemed to be connected to him. Portia searched for him, to prove that he is not the murderer.
Even though I do not seem to incline to like Portia's character much, I do love Julian's character. He is the debauched brother, a vampire who live his life in drunken stupor - and could not deem himself worthy for Portia. Even though he is a vampire, he has the human like quality like just any other man. He also miss the morning sun.
And this book had a valiant, the character written is strong that even though I am disgusted with that anti-hero, I feel that the author had invested a good time developing this anti-hero character.
Overall, it is a good read from Teresa Medeiros, with a different twist in the historical romance genre.
The heroine was kind of dumb and always got into these scrapes that could have easily been avoided and which I foresaw from miles away. I thought her character in After Midnight was hilarious, but she was just annoying in this book.
I wasn't a huge fan of the hero. In the beginning of the book, he is to participate in a duel with a man who called him out for messing around with his fiancee. The reason that he did so isn't really addressed in the book, so I have no idea why. Furthermore, he expresses zero remorse or regret for having done so. Am I, as the reader, supposed to find him charmingly roguish and rakish for messing around with some guy's betrothed? And why is the enraged nobleman cast as some sort of cookie cutter villain because of it? He had every right to call Julian out...Can someone esplain? Am I missing something? He just seemed like a sleazeball to me and not only because of that...
BTW- If you are looking for an interesting take or interpretation on the vampire mythology, you will not find it in this book. I really enjoy when an author takes a cliched mythology as their foundation and does his/her own world building around it to create something that is uniquely hers ( a la the Black Dagger Brotherhood and Sookie etc.) In this book, the vampire mythology is a plot device and it is all the cliched stuff we know by heart... (turn into bats, afraid of holy water and crucifix, stakes through the heart, garlic blah blah blah.)
Both Portia and Julian cause their siblings Adrian and Caroline a ton of worry, distress and put their entire family at risks because of their bs, and I can't help but lose respect for them because of it. They act like irresponsible children throughout most of the book, and this is supposed to entertain me?
Ohhhhhhh, this book is really wonderful! First thing to say, you should read the book one of this serie () or will not understand The Vampire Who Loved Me (Cabot, #2) . Second thing to say, this one is much better (really much better) than the first. Why? Simple, this book tell the wonderful story of Julian (Adrian brother) and Portia (Caroline sister). Now we are talking about vampire romance! If you doubt me I can tell you how Julian call Portia: "Bright Eyes". Yeah, he is so sweet! So romantic! And the first book didn't show a real vampire.... this book is only about one! .
The first book didn't have my 5 stars for the lack of romantic scenes (in my opinion)... but Teresa Medeiros with this one was perfect. The Vampire Who Loved Me (Cabot, #2) has the just measurement of romance, suspense and surprise.
Recommend it to all vampire suspense/romantic fans .
Just like the first one, loved this one too. Its difficult to write a review since its kind of important to read "After Midnight" first. But this is Portia's story and she was delightful in the first. Then she was 17 and saw Vampires and werewolfs everywhere. :). She was hooked on the gothic novels at the time and everything Byron.
So its really nice to see her a bit more grown up, but still having this inquisitive charm she always had.
I am just no good in writing reviews when I just don't want to give anything away. So read After Midnight first and also don't read the blurb or reviews of this one beforehand. Just my recommendation. :)
This was better than the last book, but the one thing I have to say is that...
Nectar: (n.) 1. the saccharine secretion of a plant, which attracts the insects or birds that pollinate the flower. 2. the juice of a fruit, especially when not diluted, or a blend of fruit juices: pear nectar; tropical nectar.
No where in that definition does it say "female anatomy". Just saying.
Also, stop it with the "delicate petals". Now I won't be able to look at flowers without thinking about Portia's "delicate petals".
Ik heb de Nederlands talige uitgave gelezen : Liefdesbeet - Candlelight Historische roman 667 . Wat een heerlijk romantisch vampieren verhaal , een absolute aanrader ook voor lezers die niet zo van de vampieren verhalen houden . Vergeet niet eerst het 1e deel te lezen .
i luv this book....kasih 4,5 bintang...beware SPOILER abissss !!!!
suka sama heroine nya yg berani dan gak cengeng...walau besar di keluarga pembasmi vampire tapi dia gak takut mencintai seorang vampire.
bermula 5 tahun yang lalu...portia yang waktu itu masih berumur 17 tahun sangat mengagumi julian kane, adik dari suami kakaknya ( menaing ipar ya ? ) sayangnya diketahui kalo julian ini ternyata vampire dan dikurung oleh kakaknya di suatu tempat...dan portia di tangkap okeh vampir yang merubah julian, dia pengen julian menyerah dan menerima menjadi vampire sedangkan julian saat itu memilih buat mati... portia dikurung bersama julian disana dan julian minta portia buat merantai dia ke tembok supaya julian gak bisa menyakiti portia.. tapi portia yang gak mau melihat julian mati menyerahkan lehernya buat di gigit yang akhirnya dilakukan juga oleh julian... after that julian pergi....
5 tahun kemuadian beredar kabar kalau julian kane kembali dari kontinental... tapi julian yang portia temui bukan julian yang dulu dia kenal julian yang ini sinis dan gak pedulian.. hobby berjudi dan womanizing.. padahal portia dari dulu berangan2 kalo suatu hati nanti dia akan menikah dengan julian julian sendiri sebenernya gak bisa melupakan portia tapi dia merasa gak pantas buat portia karena dia vampire dan banyak melakukan kekejaman..
portia mengira julian pergi buat mencari vampire yang jadi 'sired' nya... dulu julian di rubah jadi vampire oleh duvalier yang kemudian di bunuh oleh adrian, kakak julian (ada di buku pertama yg gw belom baca ;p) setelah duvalier mati, seluruh kekuatannya kembali ke vampire yang 'sired' dia dulu dan untuk mendapatkan soul dan kembali jadi manusia...
and then terjadi pembunuhan perempuan2 yg di hisah darahnya sampe habis...dan kejadiannya tepat pas kembalinya julian kane ke inggris... adrian kira julian yg membunuh para perempuan itu.... portia berusaha menemukan julian sebelum adrian....
awalnya julian bersifat sinis dan gak mengenali portia yang sudah dewasa... tapi begitu ketemu portia, yg dirasakan kembali lust....bagi julian portia bagai buah terlarang, gak boleh di sentuh tapi tetep aja dia mendekat..
akhirnya ketauan kalo vampire pembunuh para wanita itu adalah valentin...dia mantan mistress nya julian yg gak terima di tinggalin julian... dan ternyata pula si valentin ini sired julian.....so matah bangetlah portia....di kira nya selama ini julian pergi buat mengembalikan soul nya tapi malah dia tidur dengan valentin... yah sebenernya bukan salah julian juga..waktu itu portia masih kecil sih, dikira cuma cinta monyet dan julian juga merasa kalo dia gak bakal bisa memiliki portia....
portia jadi sinis ke julian dan bahkan menerima tamu yg datang ke rumahnya buat bertemu dengan portia...bikin julian cemburu setengah mati... so julian mulai lah merayu2 portia setiap ada kesempatan ...
portia salah sangka mengira julian gak membunuh valentin karena menyukai valentin.. valentin pernah menyelamatkan julian dari pasak kayu makanya julian berhutang ke valentin..tapi julian sama sekali gak mencintai valentin...dan menunuh valenton juga susah karena valentin kuat sekali karena mewarisi kekuatan duvalier sebelumnya...so julain pergi meninggalkan valentin.. womanizing yg selama ini itu di butuhkan karena vampire butuh makan dan cara yg paling gampang adalah mencari perempuan yang mau dan rela....so gak bisa dipisahkan antara lust dan minum darah...
buat menangkap valentin portia setuju buat berpura2 jadi vampire dan jadi pasangan nya julian... mereka pergi ke pesta para vampire berharap rumour beredar dan valentin tau kalo portia akhirnya memiliki julian...so valentin yg cemburu bakal keluar dari persembunyian..dan saat itu adrian,larkin (suami kakak portia yang lain, vivienne) bakal siap dengan persenjataan buat membunuh valentin... sayangnya ternyata valentin ada di pesta itu dan membuka penyamaran portia yg ternyata bukan vampire..so seluruh vampire di sana mengejar portia... tapi julian berhasil membawa portia kabur...
dalam pelarian dan persembunyian akhirnya mereka menemukan rumah kosong... portia pas sadar ada di tempat tidur dengan hanya memakai pakaian dalam....julian (terpaksa ?) melepas baju portia karena baju nya basah karena disiram holly water... bisa di tebak adegan selanjut nya....portia yg kali ini mendekati dan merayu julian....apalagi setelah portia tau kalo selama ini julian mencinta dia dan berusaha lari karena merasa gak pantas buat portia... soooo akhirnya mereka uhuk2 juga....(adegan ini (ehem) udah gw tunggu2 :p) biasanya di buku HR lain adegan "penting" ini maksimal ada di halaman 200..tapi disini baru ada di halaman 250 an.... tapiiiiii....sungguh tidak mengecewakan...karena seperti yang diakui oleh julian..keuntungan di rubah menjadi vampire pada saat muda adalah.....'stamina' ;p so bisa dibayangkan selanjutnya...malam itu (sampe pagi) mereka 6 kali uhuk2....(emang bisa ya ? :p)
setelah seharian 'sibuk'....akhirnya waktunya untuk kembali ke rumah....
begitu sampai di rumah yag mereka temukan rumah sudah hangus jadi abu... valentin menyuruh org untuk membakar rumah adrian dan menculik eloisa, anak adrian (yg berarti keponakan portia dan julian)
adrian menyalahkan julian...menyebabkan julian harus pergi...
besoknya mereka berkumpul...portia, adrian dan larkin serta buttler mereka akan mencari eloisa... mereka mencari valentin ke tempat para vampire berkumpul tapi menemukan rumah tersebut kosong... setelah yakin di dalam rumah gak ada penghuninya, adrian, larkin dan buttler pergi keluar ....portia tetap di dalam buat berjaga2...
ternyata valentine memang ada di sana...disalah satu kamar yg gak mereka buka.... valentin mengancam akan membunuh eloisa... tiba2 julian datang dari belakang portia...pura2 kalau dia udah bosan dengan portia dan akan kembali ke valentin asal eloisa di kembalikan... valentin awalnya gak percaya ... valentin minta julian membunuh portia di depan matanya baru dia percaya... so julian pura2 akan mengigit leher portia dan meminum habid darah nya tapi pas valentin lengah julian menggigit leher valentin dan meminum darahnya sampe habis....so dengan matinya valentin julian mendapatkan kembali soul nya dan menjadi manusia.
tiba2 muncul lord apa gitu, musuh julian yg tau kalo julian vampire...dia menembak julian...padahal saat itu julian udah kembali jadi manusia... untungnya nyawa julian berhasil di selamatkan...
endingnya very very happy....si lord yg nembak julian di tangkap dan di masukan ke bedlam (rs jiwa zaman HR) julian dan potia menikah.... dan di hari pernikahan....julian yg gak sabar membopong portia di altar sebelom mereka sempat mengucapka 'i do' ^^ hidup julian !!!!
nb : mo baca yg ttg adrian ah....kalo julian tipe co yg suka bercanda dan menggoda...si adrian kebalikannya, tipe co serius banget....yummy :p
This was really sweet and I adored it. Maybe not quite so much as the 1st book in the series, which don’t read the synopsis for book 2 if you don’t want the 1st book spoiled. This one was packed with romance and danger and some action, I loved the mentions of the couple’s past (from events in book 1). This was just a really fun paranormal historical romance series and I definitely recommend.
I just love this book! Having read how much Teresa Medeiros loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I wouldn’t be surprised if this series wasn’t the inspiration for her two Cabot books!
THE REASONS WHY THIS BOOK IS A ★★★★★ ALL-TIME FAVOURITE
JULIAN KANE
A gorgeous, brooding, cynical, sexy, vampire and there’s something about a tormented hero that I just love. Julian has to struggle against his inner demons, always haunted by Duvalier’s taunts to fully embrace his vampire nature. Although he loves Portia, his past actions make him feel totally unworthy of her. It’s wonderful to see how protective he is towards her and the sacrifices he is willing to make to keep her safe. I absolutely love his rapier wit:
“You know it’s one thing to threaten to drive a stake through a man’s heart, but ruining a perfectly fine waistcoat is bloody rude!”
PORTIA CABOT
A beautiful, spirited and courageous heroine whose matured from the enchanting young girl Julian remembers into a formidable woman who isn’t afraid to stand up to him:
”Your growling and posturing might impress the sort of women you’re accustomed to consorting with, but quite frankly, I find them a bit of a bore.”
I love the fact that Portia never gives up on Julian and her faith in him remains constant even when the rest of the family doubts him.
THE CHEMISTRY
This is totally sizzling with great sexual tension. I love that it’s Portia who initiates the big love scene and we also learn exactly what happened in the crypt all those years ago; how Julian can never forgive himself for what he did. It’s truly heart-wrenching because, for the first time, we see the depths of Julian’s despair. I loved Portia in this scene because she is the strong one. When Julian doesn’t trust himself to be able to control his unnatural hungers, Portia simply says:
”You don’t have to trust yourself. I trust you enough for both of us.”
What a perfect blend of the sensual, the romantic and the playful this whole scene is!
THE SECONDARY CHARACTERS
There is a wonderful core of secondary characters; Cuthbert (Cubby), Julian’s bubbling best friend ; Wilbury, Adrian’s ancient, staunchly loyal, family butler; Valentine Cardew, the villainess (anyone notice a striking similarity to Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Druscilla?). I enjoyed seeing Adrian and Caroline and Vivienne and Larkin with their respective children as well.
THE AMBIENCE OF THE BOOK
I love how Ms Medeiros combines the regency historical and paranormal so well. There are moments of tension, suspense and menace but they are always tempered by moments of laugh-out-loud humour. Here‘s one of my favourite scenes in the book, albeit a rather long one.
In this scene Caroline asks Wilbury to take the children out so the adults can talk
”Wilbury, my dear,” Caroline said, “would you mind taking the children and keeping them occupied for a bit?” "Twould be the high point of my golden years, my lady,” he replied with frigid politeness. “The culmination of a lifelong dream I had nearly abandoned in favour of waiting peacefully for the Grim Reaper to come and relieve me of my earthly duties.” Immune to his sarcasm, Caroline beamed fondly at him. “Thank you, Wilbury. I thought that’s what you would say.” Shuffling toward the hearth, the butler muttered under his breath, “I just love children, you know. I simply dote upon the overindulged little darlings with their grasping little hands and their sticky little fingers that foul up every freshly polished surface in the house”. As he leaned toward the hearth, the twins paused in play to gape at him. Baring his pointed yellowing teeth in a grimace of a smile, he rasped, “Come now, lads. I’ll take you to the kitchen for some nice hot chocolate.” Eyes widening in terror, the two boys leapt to their feet and ran shrieking from the room. Wilbury straightened as much as his hunched back would allow, rolling his eyes. “Wilbuwy!” Eloisa crowed, scrambling from her mother’s lap and toddling across the room. Wrapping her arms around one of the butler’s scrawny legs, she looked up and batted her long eyelashes at him. “Me want cocoa!” With a long-suffering sigh, he scooped the plump child into his arms, every one of his ancient bones creaking in protest. She joyfully tugged at his misshapen ears as he carried her toward the door. His curdled expression never varied, but as he passed Portia he gave her a nearly imperceptible wink.
Very disappointing follow-up to After Midnight. This book was missing the classic, mysterious feel of the first, but that was to be expected since we'd already laid out the ground rules for this particular mythology. The real trouble was that I didn't really like Julian or Portia and the entire plot was forced at best.
We met Julian and Portia in After Midnight. At the end of that book, Julian ran away in search of his missing soul while Portia remained behind to grow up, though she didn't grow any wiser. When Julian returns, there is a brief question as to whether or not he's been killing women that was answer quickly and with absolutely no surprise.
The bigger surprise was that Julian knew who had his soul, that she had been his lover, and that she was following him all over Europe.
Um...so why haven't you taken it back yet? The attempt at answering this question was feeble and incredibly unsatisfying. I basically call B.S.
When Portia fell in love with the vampire trying to get his soul back, I bought it. When she continued to love him despite the fact that he had decided to stay a vampire, I didn't buy it at all. It would be one thing if he'd returned, still on the hunt for his soul but unsure where to find it, but that's not how this played out.
Portia proved to be a dimwit at several points, particularly when she was pretending to be a vampire and one of them, obviously unconvinced that she had turned, threw holy water on her face and she sys something like, "It's only water." Really? You didn't guess that she was spraying you with holy water?
Then, of course, there was the bit about vampire romance that always turns my stomach -- being turned on by a man sucking your blood. "Oh please eat me! Please!"
Portia Cabot, once saved the life of Julian Kane, a vampire and one who has been searching for his soul, so that he can be mortal once more. Its been years since he has seen his family and Portia sister-in-law to his brother. So when he sees her coming for him in a gambling hell, all the emotion he once felt for her comes riding back like a ocean current and he knows he must protect her, especially against those that would just as soon kill her, a ex lover and a woman who has possession of his soul, a very ancient vampiress. Portia knows that despite the fact that they haven't heard from Julian in years, there is still much good in him, and her intent is to save him once more, with all the love she has always held for him..... The Vampire Who Loved Me is the second in the Cabot series, and this is probably one of my favorite series by Teresa Medieros. This is a author that I have come to adore over the years of reading her books, and I fall in love with each and every one of her stories, and this is a re read and its been quite a while since I had read it, and I love historicals mixed with the paranormal (which can be hard to find at times) The Vampire Who Loved Me is a emotional and tender love story that will pull at your heartstrings with every page. Its such a story that even though filled with twists and turns, definitely a memorable story and a pure delight!!!
My Favorite Quote "A lifetime won't be long enough to love you. I told you once before that whether I was a vampire or a man, I would love you for all eternity." He touched his lips to her brow. "My sweet...my darling...my angel...my bright eyes"
The heroine was always treated like naïve girl by both her brother and the hero so her innocent crush on the scandalous gentleman. But she was also adamant that she was meant for him and that her love will save him from his evil nature. The hero, who’s always painted as a villain, was actually resisting his desire for the young girl, sister to his enemy because he knew for a fact that he didn’t deserve her. He went out of his way to do anything is his power to change her mind about loving him and finally he succeeds. But the resulting pain in his heart makes it clear that though it was the right thing to do, he feels regret for the loss of her. The heroine did often come across as a silly girl but she was stubborn and brave enough to keep true to what she felt in her heart and it absolutely destroys her when she finds out about the hero’s betrayal. The font is quite large and it took me about 5 hours to read the entire book but I loved the give and take and suppressed feelings lace throughout the book. The most romantic ‘death’ scene I think I’ve ever read. The heroine once told the hero that the most her feelings for him meant to her was that if she ever had a cat, she’d name it after him. So that was the running phrase throughout the book. So when the hero lay dying in her arms he asks, in a teasing manner, if she’ll name that cat after him. It breaks my heart to read about her sobbing and smiling at the same time.
loved The Vampire Who Loved Me by Teresa Medeiros! This is book 2 of the Cabot series, and appears to be the last. This series, book 2 in particular had everything from humor to horror to romance and so on. I read After Midnight (book 1) last month, and loved that too. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. I really like Teresa Medeiros' style of writing. Just when I think its getting predictable, something totally unexpected happens. I've done a little research, and the Cabot series(only 2 books) appears to be the only paranormal romance that the author has written, as she primarily writes strictly romance. I've never been in to straight up romance without some paranormal element however, I'll be sure to get a few more of her novels during my next book spree.
I picked this up used at a local bookstore. Never heard of this author or this series or whatever.
I started reading it and figured out it is in victorian times or something, talk about fainting couches etc. Not really my cup of tea but I carried on.
No nookie until well over page 200, and when it finally started it used descriptions like "throbbing member" and "glistening womanhood" etc etc. BARF. I don't do this kind of romance stuff. I like my vampires mean(ish), badass, tough, preferably tattooed, possibly with an accent, and horny. Not "Oh my love, I need to impale myself in your warmth" blah blah. I'm very particular about my vampsmut, and this book is NOT it.
The Vampire Who Loved Me reminded me of all the reasons that I really don't like romance novels. I read many romance novels as an adolescent and I thought I would see what it would be like to read them as an adult. I wasn't impressed. I believe that Medeiros is a wonderful writer who is able to pull you into the story, but I didn't like how the vampire part of the book was never really well-developed, so I didn't really know what was going on. I may try romance again, but probably not anytime soon.
X. I can’t even go ooonnnnnn with this book. *yawn* The ONLY reason for 2 stars is that Julian had a lil’ sumpthin’-sumpthin’ in the sex appeal department & Valentine was formidable. However the velvet ribbons, tucking stakes in pocket of her skirt, stakes and guns in a satchel....oh my. *pssh, LAME!