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Companion #2
The Hunger
Discover a realm where anything is possible. Where peril and passion collide. Where a woman is tempted by a man she wants but can never have. A man she could destroy with just one kiss. Discover THE HUNGER…
An Undeniable Desire…
The year is 1811, and vampire Beatrix Lisse has spent six hundred years trying to atone for her sins.Yet she can’t forget the one man she loved many centuries ago—until she meets John Staunton, the Earl of Langley. John is London’s most notorious rogue, but he sees an innocence in Beatrix that she no longer believed existed. But Beatrix can’t bring herself to reveal her true nature to John, even after they surrender to their fierce passion. It’s only after John abandons Beatrix that she learns he has a secret of his own…
Leads to Love that Burns Eternal…
An undercover spy for England, John’s mission is to find out who is behind the sudden shift in power in the French government. If he allows himself to get too close to Beatrix, John knows he’ll put her life in danger. But as John gets closer to completing his mission, the very person he seeks is none other than Beatrix’s centuries-old rival. With the world unraveling around them, John and Beatrix unite to fight a nemesis whose fury has no limit—even as their unquenchable passion grows more dangerous by the day…
An Undeniable Desire…
The year is 1811, and vampire Beatrix Lisse has spent six hundred years trying to atone for her sins.Yet she can’t forget the one man she loved many centuries ago—until she meets John Staunton, the Earl of Langley. John is London’s most notorious rogue, but he sees an innocence in Beatrix that she no longer believed existed. But Beatrix can’t bring herself to reveal her true nature to John, even after they surrender to their fierce passion. It’s only after John abandons Beatrix that she learns he has a secret of his own…
Leads to Love that Burns Eternal…
An undercover spy for England, John’s mission is to find out who is behind the sudden shift in power in the French government. If he allows himself to get too close to Beatrix, John knows he’ll put her life in danger. But as John gets closer to completing his mission, the very person he seeks is none other than Beatrix’s centuries-old rival. With the world unraveling around them, John and Beatrix unite to fight a nemesis whose fury has no limit—even as their unquenchable passion grows more dangerous by the day…
375 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2005
7 people are currently reading
375 people want to read
About the author
Susan Squires
41 books203 followersSusan Squires is a NYT bestselling author known for breaking the rules of romance. Whatever her time period or subject, some element of the paranormal creeps in. She has won multiple contests for published novels and reviewer's choice awards. Publisher's Weekly named Body Electric one of the ten most influential mass market books and One with the Shadows a Best Book. Time for Eternity received a starred review.
Susan has a Masters in English literature from UCLA and once toiled as an executive for a Fortune 500 company. Now she lives at the beach with her husband, Harry, a writer of supernatural thrillers, and three Belgian Sheepdogs, who like to help her write by putting their chins on the keyboardddddddddddd.
Susan has a Masters in English literature from UCLA and once toiled as an executive for a Fortune 500 company. Now she lives at the beach with her husband, Harry, a writer of supernatural thrillers, and three Belgian Sheepdogs, who like to help her write by putting their chins on the keyboardddddddddddd.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 18, 2024
It’s been a long time since I read THE COMPANION, so I wasn’t sure how this would go. Time between then & now has seen me grow away from vampires & PNR in general, tho I still occasionally partake if they’re done in a style I like. Even so, recent disappointments prepared me to suffer another extended bout of eye-rolling for the sake of my 2021 Sagas-&-Series Challenge, only to be capped by a new addition to the Goodwill bag.
...But that never happened. Because friends, this book was really good, & I enjoyed it just as much as I remember enjoying THE COMPANION. :D Squires’ writing is very dark & thick, veering more towards horror than romance (although there is a vein of Twu Wuv buried deep). She also demands a certain amount of mental exercise by the reader re: historical setting & plot, as opposed to pandering to the lowest common denominator with a paper-thin background. If pressed, I’d call her style a combination of Anne Rice & Lydia Joyce—lush, dark, velvety, Goth(tm), overtly sexual, & splashed with horror both blatant & subtle.
Be aware that there are scenes of torture, & the hero is raped multiple times by the villain. I’ve encountered hero rape before in Old Skool bodice-shredding adventures, so perhaps that’s why it doesn’t phase me, but I like how Squires isn’t afraid to show that villains can scar heroes & heroines alike. The evul vamps in her books aren’t afraid to exert their sexual power over others, regardless of gender, & I find that refreshing. Bad shit can happen to MCs with peens just as easily as those with boobs, right?
Sidenote: Heroine Beatrix was great. I loved that she was the jaded, tired, bored aristocrat who feared hurting the hero with her love, both literally & metaphorically... because, again, that role is usually reserved for the hero. Thankfully John wasn’t a bumbling, wilting woobie, because I hate when authors feel compelled to pair alpha with beta. Instead they were drawn to each other’s strength. 👍🏻
Strong 4.5/5 stars. [2024 NOTE: This is not a book for everyone due to the dark undercurrents & abusive elements, but looking back it’s my favorite of the series (thus far), so I’m belatedly rounding up. 😬]
...But that never happened. Because friends, this book was really good, & I enjoyed it just as much as I remember enjoying THE COMPANION. :D Squires’ writing is very dark & thick, veering more towards horror than romance (although there is a vein of Twu Wuv buried deep). She also demands a certain amount of mental exercise by the reader re: historical setting & plot, as opposed to pandering to the lowest common denominator with a paper-thin background. If pressed, I’d call her style a combination of Anne Rice & Lydia Joyce—lush, dark, velvety, Goth(tm), overtly sexual, & splashed with horror both blatant & subtle.
Be aware that there are scenes of torture, & the hero is raped multiple times by the villain. I’ve encountered hero rape before in Old Skool bodice-shredding adventures, so perhaps that’s why it doesn’t phase me, but I like how Squires isn’t afraid to show that villains can scar heroes & heroines alike. The evul vamps in her books aren’t afraid to exert their sexual power over others, regardless of gender, & I find that refreshing. Bad shit can happen to MCs with peens just as easily as those with boobs, right?
Sidenote: Heroine Beatrix was great. I loved that she was the jaded, tired, bored aristocrat who feared hurting the hero with her love, both literally & metaphorically... because, again, that role is usually reserved for the hero. Thankfully John wasn’t a bumbling, wilting woobie, because I hate when authors feel compelled to pair alpha with beta. Instead they were drawn to each other’s strength. 👍🏻
Strong 4.5/5 stars. [2024 NOTE: This is not a book for everyone due to the dark undercurrents & abusive elements, but looking back it’s my favorite of the series (thus far), so I’m belatedly rounding up. 😬]
May 16, 2013
Reviewed for THC Reviews
The Hunger was another wonderful read in the Companion series. Now that I've read and loved three stories from this series, I'm even more baffled as to why it doesn't get higher ratings and why I don't hear more about this talented author. Ms. Squires deftly combines an intense plot with well-drawn characters and an emotional romance. She is also good at setting a scene with her descriptive narration and even throws in real historical figures as background characters and weaves historical facts seamlessly into the plot. Everything just came together to create yet another story of hers that will be going on my keeper shelf.
Beatrix is a vampire who is over seven hundred years old. She is a rare vampire who was born rather than being made, which is something I'd like to know more about and hope the author explores further in future books of the series. She never knew her father and her mother was very distant while she was growing up, eventually abandoning her at the age of fourteen, about the time that born vampires transition. With no one to guide her through that formative period, Beatrix became animalistic, killing indiscriminately to survive, until Stephan Sincai came along and taught her another way to live. Stephan was an excellent mentor, and Beatrix fell in love with him for his kind and gentle ways. They eventually became lovers, but he ended up hurting Beatrix, causing her to run away with her “sister” Asharti. Following in the conscienceless Asharti's footsteps, Beatrix returned to her more bestial self, allowing her bloodlust and sexual desire to intermingle into an insatiable hunger. For a century, she repeatedly broke the vampire rules until something inside her snapped. She realized what she was doing was wrong and that she couldn't live that way any longer. For the past six hundred years, she has fashioned a well-honed persona as a much-sought-after courtesan. This supplies her with the blood she needs to survive, but she has remained celibate, believing that if she allows herself to experience sexual pleasure, she will lose control again. Beatrix takes only what she needs and leaves her “donors” alive with pleasant memories of ecstatic love-making, which only adds to her allure. Despite being adored by men, she feels very much alone in the world and has become apathetic about life. Lately, nightmares and memories of her past with Stephan and Asharti doggedly haunt her too until she can neither sleep nor eat and feels like she might go mad. Then the intriguing John Staunton comes into her life. She knows she shouldn't get too close and should treat him like all her other paramours, but something about John sparks her interest in a way she hasn't felt for a very long time. When John leaves on a spy mission, she thinks he's thrown her over for a mere prize fight, but she still misses him deeply. John is like a light to her darkened soul. When he returns, she cannot resist him, but their happiness is short-lived, as John must immediately go on another mission even more dangerous than the first. Beatrix was incredibly intelligent to figure out that John was a spy and then investigate, following the trail of breadcrumbs to figure out where he was, as well as very brave to go after him. I greatly enjoyed having a role reversal in which the heroine saves her hero from the clutches of the evil villain, but he does get the opportunity to pay her back.
John had his tender heart broken years ago, when he was just a callow youth, by two women, one of whom merely used him for sex. This relationship ended up being humiliatingly scandalous. As a result, he became promiscuous for a time but now has no enthusiasm for sexual encounters even though he has carefully cultivated a rakish reputation as a cover for his spy activities. In part because of his past, John felt he had nothing to lose and so became a volunteer spy for his country, risking life and limb. With all the appalling things he's experienced as both a spy and in his personal life, John has become cynical and jaded and disdains women, but when he meets Beatrix, something about her makes him believe that she might be different from the other women he's known. Throughout the ordeal of his first mission on the prison hulk, thoughts of Beatrix are what kept him going, even though he didn't think anything would ever come of their relationship. And yet, when he finally escaped, he was compelled by his heart to risk her rejection and finally complete his previous engagement with her. It doesn't entirely go as planned though, so he leaves on the second leg of his mission with another wounded heart. John goes after Asharti, not knowing that she is a powerful vampire, and ends up as her prisoner, suffering unspeakable horrors at her hand, which are not for the faint of heart. Even though he believes that Beatrix no longer cares about him, his memories and fantasies of her, again, are what keep him sane throughout his ordeal, but unfortunately, even after being rescued, there are more challenges for him to face before he can find true happiness. John was yet another hero in this series who is a deeply tortured soul.
Together, Beatrix and John make the perfect couple. Over the years, both have become soul wearied to the point that nothing excites them anymore. Each of them recognizes that the other is keeping secrets and that intrigues them, stirring their interest into wanting to uncover those secrets and learn more about each other. In the beginning, these two engage in a stimulating battle of wits and wills, resulting in an exquisite dance of intellectual seduction. Both Beatrix and John are perceptive enough to read between the lines and understand things that were never said in so many words. It's like they intuitively know what the other is thinking or feeling. Their communication goes far beyond mere words to encompass looks, touches, shared interests, and even actions. Unfortunately, due to both of them carrying deep wounds from betrayal and abandonment by those they loved, they, at one point, unintentionally hurt each other with their words and deeds, when all they were really doing was engaging in subconscious self-preservation. Yet, their actions in risking their lives to save each other spoke volumes as to their love. Beatrix and John were quite simply made for each other and share a rare and beautiful connection of body, mind and soul.
Every good villain has a good backstory, and it is in this book that we learn Asharti's. All the new information that was added to her character here is very intriguing. She's not merely the villainous vampire queen we first met in The Companion. Prior to being made vampire, she lived in the Middle East during the Middle Ages. She was very much a product of the time in which she was born and the fact that she was a woman on the wrong side in the Crusades. She witnessed many atrocities perpetrated against her people and was herself abused. As a result, when she became vampire, she vowed she would always be in control and never let anyone do things like that to her again. In many ways, her beginnings shaped the person she has become, although there may have been some natural underlying tendencies toward evil that were there all along and were awakened by her experiences. Instead of trying to heal and move on from all she suffered, Asharti became bitter, vengeful and sadistic. She no longer feels empathy for anyone and is a classic case of an abused person becoming the abuser.
Stephan is a fascinating character too. He is a very powerful and very old vampire, possibly thousands of years. In an effort to prove to the vampire council that born and made vampires are equal and that made vampires shouldn't be killed, especially if they were turned against their will, he mentored both Beatrix and Asharti. He tried to teach them how live by the vampire rules and that they didn't have to kill in order to survive. However, some of the things he did in his efforts to prove his point ended up breaking Bea's heart badly. Stephan is definitely one of the good guys, but his good intentions with Beatrix and Asharti went horribly awry. As a result, it appears he has been torturing himself for his responsibility in what they became, and I don't think he has ever quite stopped loving Beatrix either. I'll be quite interested to see him get his HEA ending in the next book, The Burning.
Even though The Hunger was written and published after The Companion, the events in the story predate it chronologically. Some readers may not find the ending of the book entirely satisfactory, but knowing that the story occurred before The Companion, I wasn't overly bothered by it. I already knew that Asharti would live to terrorize another day, and it does explain how she came to be in the Sahara Desert in that book. Overall, I thought this was a great read. I love how Susan Squires challenges me as a reader. Her prose is very rich, dense and intelligently written, more so than I typically see in romance, which is perhaps the reason her books don't get higher ratings. I sometimes find myself reading her books a bit slower than I usually do just to pick up on all the nuances of her writing style. She has obviously researched her time period and settings quite well too, occasionally even throwing in a little period vernacular, all elements that I can appreciate. I've really fallen in love with Ms. Squires writing style and can't wait to continue the series.
Note: The sensual scenes between the hero and heroine are only moderately steamy, but in Beatrix's flashbacks of her time with Asharti, she engaged in some pretty racy Bacchanalian pleasures that are somewhat explicitly described but tastefully so, in my opinion. There is also a brief discussion of a character having engaged in an incestuous relationship. Sensitive readers should be forewarned that there are some explicit scenes of physical and sexual violence as well.
The Hunger was another wonderful read in the Companion series. Now that I've read and loved three stories from this series, I'm even more baffled as to why it doesn't get higher ratings and why I don't hear more about this talented author. Ms. Squires deftly combines an intense plot with well-drawn characters and an emotional romance. She is also good at setting a scene with her descriptive narration and even throws in real historical figures as background characters and weaves historical facts seamlessly into the plot. Everything just came together to create yet another story of hers that will be going on my keeper shelf.
Beatrix is a vampire who is over seven hundred years old. She is a rare vampire who was born rather than being made, which is something I'd like to know more about and hope the author explores further in future books of the series. She never knew her father and her mother was very distant while she was growing up, eventually abandoning her at the age of fourteen, about the time that born vampires transition. With no one to guide her through that formative period, Beatrix became animalistic, killing indiscriminately to survive, until Stephan Sincai came along and taught her another way to live. Stephan was an excellent mentor, and Beatrix fell in love with him for his kind and gentle ways. They eventually became lovers, but he ended up hurting Beatrix, causing her to run away with her “sister” Asharti. Following in the conscienceless Asharti's footsteps, Beatrix returned to her more bestial self, allowing her bloodlust and sexual desire to intermingle into an insatiable hunger. For a century, she repeatedly broke the vampire rules until something inside her snapped. She realized what she was doing was wrong and that she couldn't live that way any longer. For the past six hundred years, she has fashioned a well-honed persona as a much-sought-after courtesan. This supplies her with the blood she needs to survive, but she has remained celibate, believing that if she allows herself to experience sexual pleasure, she will lose control again. Beatrix takes only what she needs and leaves her “donors” alive with pleasant memories of ecstatic love-making, which only adds to her allure. Despite being adored by men, she feels very much alone in the world and has become apathetic about life. Lately, nightmares and memories of her past with Stephan and Asharti doggedly haunt her too until she can neither sleep nor eat and feels like she might go mad. Then the intriguing John Staunton comes into her life. She knows she shouldn't get too close and should treat him like all her other paramours, but something about John sparks her interest in a way she hasn't felt for a very long time. When John leaves on a spy mission, she thinks he's thrown her over for a mere prize fight, but she still misses him deeply. John is like a light to her darkened soul. When he returns, she cannot resist him, but their happiness is short-lived, as John must immediately go on another mission even more dangerous than the first. Beatrix was incredibly intelligent to figure out that John was a spy and then investigate, following the trail of breadcrumbs to figure out where he was, as well as very brave to go after him. I greatly enjoyed having a role reversal in which the heroine saves her hero from the clutches of the evil villain, but he does get the opportunity to pay her back.
John had his tender heart broken years ago, when he was just a callow youth, by two women, one of whom merely used him for sex. This relationship ended up being humiliatingly scandalous. As a result, he became promiscuous for a time but now has no enthusiasm for sexual encounters even though he has carefully cultivated a rakish reputation as a cover for his spy activities. In part because of his past, John felt he had nothing to lose and so became a volunteer spy for his country, risking life and limb. With all the appalling things he's experienced as both a spy and in his personal life, John has become cynical and jaded and disdains women, but when he meets Beatrix, something about her makes him believe that she might be different from the other women he's known. Throughout the ordeal of his first mission on the prison hulk, thoughts of Beatrix are what kept him going, even though he didn't think anything would ever come of their relationship. And yet, when he finally escaped, he was compelled by his heart to risk her rejection and finally complete his previous engagement with her. It doesn't entirely go as planned though, so he leaves on the second leg of his mission with another wounded heart. John goes after Asharti, not knowing that she is a powerful vampire, and ends up as her prisoner, suffering unspeakable horrors at her hand, which are not for the faint of heart. Even though he believes that Beatrix no longer cares about him, his memories and fantasies of her, again, are what keep him sane throughout his ordeal, but unfortunately, even after being rescued, there are more challenges for him to face before he can find true happiness. John was yet another hero in this series who is a deeply tortured soul.
Together, Beatrix and John make the perfect couple. Over the years, both have become soul wearied to the point that nothing excites them anymore. Each of them recognizes that the other is keeping secrets and that intrigues them, stirring their interest into wanting to uncover those secrets and learn more about each other. In the beginning, these two engage in a stimulating battle of wits and wills, resulting in an exquisite dance of intellectual seduction. Both Beatrix and John are perceptive enough to read between the lines and understand things that were never said in so many words. It's like they intuitively know what the other is thinking or feeling. Their communication goes far beyond mere words to encompass looks, touches, shared interests, and even actions. Unfortunately, due to both of them carrying deep wounds from betrayal and abandonment by those they loved, they, at one point, unintentionally hurt each other with their words and deeds, when all they were really doing was engaging in subconscious self-preservation. Yet, their actions in risking their lives to save each other spoke volumes as to their love. Beatrix and John were quite simply made for each other and share a rare and beautiful connection of body, mind and soul.
Every good villain has a good backstory, and it is in this book that we learn Asharti's. All the new information that was added to her character here is very intriguing. She's not merely the villainous vampire queen we first met in The Companion. Prior to being made vampire, she lived in the Middle East during the Middle Ages. She was very much a product of the time in which she was born and the fact that she was a woman on the wrong side in the Crusades. She witnessed many atrocities perpetrated against her people and was herself abused. As a result, when she became vampire, she vowed she would always be in control and never let anyone do things like that to her again. In many ways, her beginnings shaped the person she has become, although there may have been some natural underlying tendencies toward evil that were there all along and were awakened by her experiences. Instead of trying to heal and move on from all she suffered, Asharti became bitter, vengeful and sadistic. She no longer feels empathy for anyone and is a classic case of an abused person becoming the abuser.
Stephan is a fascinating character too. He is a very powerful and very old vampire, possibly thousands of years. In an effort to prove to the vampire council that born and made vampires are equal and that made vampires shouldn't be killed, especially if they were turned against their will, he mentored both Beatrix and Asharti. He tried to teach them how live by the vampire rules and that they didn't have to kill in order to survive. However, some of the things he did in his efforts to prove his point ended up breaking Bea's heart badly. Stephan is definitely one of the good guys, but his good intentions with Beatrix and Asharti went horribly awry. As a result, it appears he has been torturing himself for his responsibility in what they became, and I don't think he has ever quite stopped loving Beatrix either. I'll be quite interested to see him get his HEA ending in the next book, The Burning.
Even though The Hunger was written and published after The Companion, the events in the story predate it chronologically. Some readers may not find the ending of the book entirely satisfactory, but knowing that the story occurred before The Companion, I wasn't overly bothered by it. I already knew that Asharti would live to terrorize another day, and it does explain how she came to be in the Sahara Desert in that book. Overall, I thought this was a great read. I love how Susan Squires challenges me as a reader. Her prose is very rich, dense and intelligently written, more so than I typically see in romance, which is perhaps the reason her books don't get higher ratings. I sometimes find myself reading her books a bit slower than I usually do just to pick up on all the nuances of her writing style. She has obviously researched her time period and settings quite well too, occasionally even throwing in a little period vernacular, all elements that I can appreciate. I've really fallen in love with Ms. Squires writing style and can't wait to continue the series.
Note: The sensual scenes between the hero and heroine are only moderately steamy, but in Beatrix's flashbacks of her time with Asharti, she engaged in some pretty racy Bacchanalian pleasures that are somewhat explicitly described but tastefully so, in my opinion. There is also a brief discussion of a character having engaged in an incestuous relationship. Sensitive readers should be forewarned that there are some explicit scenes of physical and sexual violence as well.
July 13, 2020
Sentimenti...
Ancora Asharti, che sembrava essersi dissolta nel primo libro precedente, ancora Beatrix su cui si centra la vicenda. Sorelle di vita nel sangue, dolore, torture e piacere e oscuri scenari. Tutto questo in un secondo appuntamento con la Squire che mi ha confermato la mia decisione nell'approfondire la vicenda.
con toni oscuri e fatali, intesse uno scenario e un destino per i protagonisti dove solo la spregevole presenza di Asharti riesce a consumare l'animo integro maschile su cui si accanisce anche in modo perverso...e se questa volta è Bea a doverne fare i conti, a scontrarsi con lei e con il passato che le accomuna c'è veramente poco da fare che lasciarsi andare alla lettura e ai retroscena.
Piacevole ed intrigante, scivola e intriga come non mai! consigliato agli amanti del genere.
Ancora Asharti, che sembrava essersi dissolta nel primo libro precedente, ancora Beatrix su cui si centra la vicenda. Sorelle di vita nel sangue, dolore, torture e piacere e oscuri scenari. Tutto questo in un secondo appuntamento con la Squire che mi ha confermato la mia decisione nell'approfondire la vicenda.
con toni oscuri e fatali, intesse uno scenario e un destino per i protagonisti dove solo la spregevole presenza di Asharti riesce a consumare l'animo integro maschile su cui si accanisce anche in modo perverso...e se questa volta è Bea a doverne fare i conti, a scontrarsi con lei e con il passato che le accomuna c'è veramente poco da fare che lasciarsi andare alla lettura e ai retroscena.
Piacevole ed intrigante, scivola e intriga come non mai! consigliato agli amanti del genere.
March 17, 2025
Good read
This is only the second book by this author that I've read it was interesting I liked all the characters If you're looking for something new and different pick this series up and read it I think you'll enjoy it I did
This is only the second book by this author that I've read it was interesting I liked all the characters If you're looking for something new and different pick this series up and read it I think you'll enjoy it I did
July 17, 2019
Rated 4 Stars
August 12, 2023
Vampire romance series read this last year
August 15, 2025
Beatrix is of the mind that her long long life is likely soon to end. She has lost the appetite
for pleasure, company and even blood as non seem to excite her any longer. Living as a courtesan
in London, using compulsion to trick her many admirers into thinking she has just given them
the best sexual experience of their lives but all the while only taking their blood. The thrill
of life is gone, leaving her with only memories of betrayal and heartache. That is, until she lays
eyes on an Englishman who manages to something no other human has - unnerve her.
John lives two lives. One as a play boy, financially ruined and scandalous - spending his nights
with married women and whores alike. The other as a spy for the British government. He too has had a lot of painful memories of loss and heartache to endure and when he looks into the lovely Beatrix's eyes, he can see she has experienced the same. Though she has a gift of putting him off balance during their quiet war of the wills, John holds his own and together they find a strange companionship if one built of sly glances and ever slyer words. Then it all ends.
John is captured by his target for assassination, a beautiful was truly dangerous female whom he finds out is a blood drinking beast. Tortured, raped and forced to betray his country, John longs for death that his capturer will not allow. When Beatrix learns of his capture at the hands of one she used to call sister, Beatrix doesn't hesitate in throwing herself into danger in order to save the man
she's come to love.
This book was good. However, it was definitely leaning more heavily towards fiction and even horror then romance. In actuality, the hero and heroine spend very little time in the same scene for the majority of the book. With John on missions that leads to his capture and Beatrix lost in her own mind. I understood their 'love' for one another however to me, it felt more like friendship then
love love. But it is a fact that love paired with friendship can be more lasting so maybe I am
wrong. I just didn't believe it entirely. The novel itself has a disturbing amount of rape - mostly
with John but also a bit with Beatrix during her flash back memories and John is a very tortured
soul because of it. That paired with him becoming vampire and believing himself to be the monster
like the one who abused him.
It was a good book and one that was written in a way to be very impactful. It just lacked some elements which I am looking for.
for pleasure, company and even blood as non seem to excite her any longer. Living as a courtesan
in London, using compulsion to trick her many admirers into thinking she has just given them
the best sexual experience of their lives but all the while only taking their blood. The thrill
of life is gone, leaving her with only memories of betrayal and heartache. That is, until she lays
eyes on an Englishman who manages to something no other human has - unnerve her.
John lives two lives. One as a play boy, financially ruined and scandalous - spending his nights
with married women and whores alike. The other as a spy for the British government. He too has had a lot of painful memories of loss and heartache to endure and when he looks into the lovely Beatrix's eyes, he can see she has experienced the same. Though she has a gift of putting him off balance during their quiet war of the wills, John holds his own and together they find a strange companionship if one built of sly glances and ever slyer words. Then it all ends.
John is captured by his target for assassination, a beautiful was truly dangerous female whom he finds out is a blood drinking beast. Tortured, raped and forced to betray his country, John longs for death that his capturer will not allow. When Beatrix learns of his capture at the hands of one she used to call sister, Beatrix doesn't hesitate in throwing herself into danger in order to save the man
she's come to love.
This book was good. However, it was definitely leaning more heavily towards fiction and even horror then romance. In actuality, the hero and heroine spend very little time in the same scene for the majority of the book. With John on missions that leads to his capture and Beatrix lost in her own mind. I understood their 'love' for one another however to me, it felt more like friendship then
love love. But it is a fact that love paired with friendship can be more lasting so maybe I am
wrong. I just didn't believe it entirely. The novel itself has a disturbing amount of rape - mostly
with John but also a bit with Beatrix during her flash back memories and John is a very tortured
soul because of it. That paired with him becoming vampire and believing himself to be the monster
like the one who abused him.
It was a good book and one that was written in a way to be very impactful. It just lacked some elements which I am looking for.
April 20, 2014
I feel like I missed something here. Everything says that this is book 2 in the Companion Series, but it reads like it should be book 1. The set up and the story is set just before book 1, the evil Asharti, who we met in Book 1, is here again, but as we know her final fate and what happens here is hinted at in Book 1, there was no real suspense, plus we knew that the main character would survive her ordeal. Unsure of whether this is a mistake or I am just not seeing it. Anyway, I found myself skipping over all the flashbacks in this book. i was just not interested at all in the sexual exploits of a nasty piece of work and how that would affect the peace of mind of the main character. I preferred the events happening in the present, which is what I read, and enjoyed, and found that I didn't really need those flashbacks at all. To me, this says get rid of them. If they don't affect the story, they aren't needed, and when you come right down to it, this is a paranormal romance set in the Regency era, and that is what we want to read about, not about some sexually deviant vampire and her lust for power in the middle ages. And again with the humiliation of the male lead with rape and buggery. I'm beginning to see a theme. If I see this again in the third book I may have to give up. The only thing making me continue on is the characterisation of the male leads. It continues to be one of the strengths of this author. Hopefully the next book won't have these horrendously long flashbacks but I am not holding my breath.
April 16, 2018
This is the story of Beatrix. At a reception in her London salon she is torn from her boredom / life-weariness by John Langley. They get involved into an arguments, but quickly realize that they are fascinated by each. John has to go on a spy mission smuggling himself onto a brutal prison ship. Only the thought of Beatrix makes him survive his mission. After his escape he decides to see her again. The two spend a night of love but in the morning he tells her that he is leaving again. She is disappointed, but pretends not to be offended, which in turn offends him.
At the next espionage mission he falls into the hands of Asharti, who "treats" him with her usual SM methods in a castle in France. Beatrix saves him, accidentally he becomes infected with her blood and leaves her because he hates to be a vampire. But when Beatrix is captured he is doing everything to rescue her...
An adventure story, a love story with two strong characters and a little bit of SM. The slow approach of John and Beatrix is well written. There is no sudden change from "I hate her / him" to "I can not live without her / him". Besides, both are really equal. He saves her, but she saved him first. A draw!
At the next espionage mission he falls into the hands of Asharti, who "treats" him with her usual SM methods in a castle in France. Beatrix saves him, accidentally he becomes infected with her blood and leaves her because he hates to be a vampire. But when Beatrix is captured he is doing everything to rescue her...
An adventure story, a love story with two strong characters and a little bit of SM. The slow approach of John and Beatrix is well written. There is no sudden change from "I hate her / him" to "I can not live without her / him". Besides, both are really equal. He saves her, but she saved him first. A draw!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2016
This book was recommended to me by Vampire Don Henrie who is a live person I met over the radio when I interviewed him/his manager some years ago over an online radio broadcast. Don Henrie was not one to do a direct interview and so hung in the background while it was going on. He answered questions through his manager Sarah Lester. You can see him on the TV show "MAD MAD HOUSE". He claims to be a real vampire and does drink blood.
Anyways, Don Henrie said this book, "THE HUNGER", was his favorite vampire/love novel, so I gave it a go to see what it was all about.
It's a well-written novel, date set from like the 1100's until the 1800's. If you like vampires, romance, evil vs bad and can handle a bit of mature sexual scenes here and there, including some blood and gut scenes too, you'll like this book.
I didn't rate it a 5 because it's a not a novel I'd want to read again. I enjoyed the story, but it's not a story I would just love to read again.
Anyways, Don Henrie said this book, "THE HUNGER", was his favorite vampire/love novel, so I gave it a go to see what it was all about.
It's a well-written novel, date set from like the 1100's until the 1800's. If you like vampires, romance, evil vs bad and can handle a bit of mature sexual scenes here and there, including some blood and gut scenes too, you'll like this book.
I didn't rate it a 5 because it's a not a novel I'd want to read again. I enjoyed the story, but it's not a story I would just love to read again.
February 14, 2016
I didn't hate this book but I also wasn't so captivated by it that I had to keep reading until it was finished. In fact, I had to force myself at times to keep reading which doesn't happen too often. This is the first book that I have read from this author and when I found out it was book 2 I couldn't believe that there was more to this story than what I just read and wasn't compelled to read the 1st or 3rd books. It was well written but it just wasn't so me.
April 23, 2013
I have come to a realization that Susan Squires pretty much keeps writing the same book. This isn't as good as The Companion and not as ridiculous as The Burning, but if you've read them, you've read this one.
December 11, 2008
I liked this book. This is another with sexual scene but more than the other probably. I love the love story within it.
July 27, 2011
This wasn't a bad book but I really had to struggle to get through the first 100 pages after that it became a book I couldn't put down.
April 15, 2016
Appalling book
May 25, 2010
Paranormal Regency Romance
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