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chelseavbc's review
4.0
This review was originally published at Vampire Book Club.
I always enjoy a heroine who thinks for herself. That’s the case with Izzie. She’s a demon hunter without a reason to kill vampires and the like. She does it because she’s good at it, because the man who saved her from the streets has a vendetta. She knows humans can be just as vicious and cruel, and she only attacks those who make a move on her. And that makes her incredibly interesting to Ryker.
Ryker’s an old vampire and, really, he just wants to be left to live his life. He’s not really the eat a bunny kind of vampire, but isn’t out hunting to kill either. Humans haven’t really interested him, but there’s something about a vampire slayer who doesn’t see every one of them as evil that catches his eye. And, well, he’s a good guy. When is past catches up with him, and pulls Izzie into a dark place with him, he’ll do whatever he can to change things. To save her.
Their romance blossoms under awful circumstances — lab rat style, folks — so they both have to question if their feelings are real, safe or even right. Rosalie Stanton manages to craft an intense relationship borne of a mix of lust, shared survival and a bit of fate for her hero and heroine. The journey is intense and complex, but also damn hot.
I can appreciate love coming from a dark place, and that’s what we have here. The journey isn’t simple. Points of the plot horrify the characters as well as the reader, but it’s done with purpose. Know Thine Enemy is dark, incredibly sexy and boasts a mile of twists.
Sexual content: Sex and sexual interactions under dubious situation
I always enjoy a heroine who thinks for herself. That’s the case with Izzie. She’s a demon hunter without a reason to kill vampires and the like. She does it because she’s good at it, because the man who saved her from the streets has a vendetta. She knows humans can be just as vicious and cruel, and she only attacks those who make a move on her. And that makes her incredibly interesting to Ryker.
Ryker’s an old vampire and, really, he just wants to be left to live his life. He’s not really the eat a bunny kind of vampire, but isn’t out hunting to kill either. Humans haven’t really interested him, but there’s something about a vampire slayer who doesn’t see every one of them as evil that catches his eye. And, well, he’s a good guy. When is past catches up with him, and pulls Izzie into a dark place with him, he’ll do whatever he can to change things. To save her.
Their romance blossoms under awful circumstances — lab rat style, folks — so they both have to question if their feelings are real, safe or even right. Rosalie Stanton manages to craft an intense relationship borne of a mix of lust, shared survival and a bit of fate for her hero and heroine. The journey is intense and complex, but also damn hot.
I can appreciate love coming from a dark place, and that’s what we have here. The journey isn’t simple. Points of the plot horrify the characters as well as the reader, but it’s done with purpose. Know Thine Enemy is dark, incredibly sexy and boasts a mile of twists.
Sexual content: Sex and sexual interactions under dubious situation
scorchingnix's review
5.0
A product of a broken home, Izzie latched onto the life of a Vampire Hunter when she was taken under the wing of a man who wanted to mould her into his own personal sidekick. Years into a well-deserved reputation, she only has one rule; don’t attack unless they do first. This rule is what saves her from Ryker when he realises that a Hunter has encroached on his patch. He doesn’t believe in killing humans for sport, so Izzie is safe until she strikes first. When she begins to stir feelings in him that he hasn’t felt in years, he begins to wonder if the Hunter could ever fall in love with her prey. When an old enemy with a grudge rears its head, things for Ryker start to look a little perilous. When said old enemy hands over both Izzie and Ryker to a Government determined to utilise them in their quest to study Vampire Biology, it looks like Izzie’s real enemy might not be as obvious anymore. Can she trust a Vampire to get her out of trouble? And when the dust settles, will they be able to go back to the status quo?
Izzie is a strong, snarky heroine who was in the Vampire Hunting business purely by chance. She didn’t hate them, it wasn’t her grudge that kept both her and Zack finding them, it was his. When she meets Ryker, he challenges the preconceptions that Zack has drummed into her. He doesn’t seem to be the mad, deranged killer that all Vampires should be; he like a normal guy, albeit a dead one. That she is completely attracted to him leaves her a little shaken, but I like that she didn’t dismiss it, she just chose not to act on it. When she gets an inkling that Ryker may be in trouble, she goes against Zack’s express orders and warns him. That she is willing to challenge her own views and break free of the safety net of Zack was really sweet! Then it all goes to hell in a hand-basket when the Government get them. My respect for her grew a million fold at the way she dealt with the horrors of the lab. The humans in charge were completely horrible, completely dehumanising her in the interest of research. She realised that the only way to survive was to try to find the light in the situation, to find her one salvation in a room full of torture; the attraction she feels for Ryker. The whole situation that goes on in the lab is uncomfortable to say the least. It left me a little shaken that I could be conflicted with two such extreme emotions as arousal and distaste. I coped only due to the strength of the characters; if they could find a moment to savour their attraction I could feel OK with it! I approved with the way that she dealt with the whole thing as it proved just how strong she was.
Ryker is yummy. Ryker rivals Dante as Rosalie Stanton’s hottest vampire. A Vampire that considers himself on the right side of the moral line, he has secrets in his past that both haunt and ground him. Without the choices that he has made previously, I don’t think that he would be quite as lovely. The respect that he shows Izzie, as both a warrior and a woman, was quite rare in a PNR. He never questions her decisions but does his best to support her. He does his best not to hurt her with his true nature. He measures his every action around her, never really giving into his baser instinct unless he deemed she could handle it. Once he did give into them…..*fans* jeeeez The sex scenes in this books are the stuff of wet dreams, I just didn’t feel comfortable with my own reaction to them in parts. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief when I could just enjoy them together; I’ve never wanted the suspense part of a story out of the way so quickly before.
Well, I’ve only read one other of Rosalie Stanton’s books before (which I loved) but this one has cemented her onto my very limited pre-order list. This book was original, dark, sexy and really quite twisted. I don’t like to think the couple are a product of circumstance, but I have to say that the time that they spent together in the lab cements them together in a way which I think would be hard pressed to reverse. I loved this book and would LOVE to see more from these characters. A fast paced, gritty paranormal romance which make me think, squirm and pant….a recommended read!
Izzie is a strong, snarky heroine who was in the Vampire Hunting business purely by chance. She didn’t hate them, it wasn’t her grudge that kept both her and Zack finding them, it was his. When she meets Ryker, he challenges the preconceptions that Zack has drummed into her. He doesn’t seem to be the mad, deranged killer that all Vampires should be; he like a normal guy, albeit a dead one. That she is completely attracted to him leaves her a little shaken, but I like that she didn’t dismiss it, she just chose not to act on it. When she gets an inkling that Ryker may be in trouble, she goes against Zack’s express orders and warns him. That she is willing to challenge her own views and break free of the safety net of Zack was really sweet! Then it all goes to hell in a hand-basket when the Government get them. My respect for her grew a million fold at the way she dealt with the horrors of the lab. The humans in charge were completely horrible, completely dehumanising her in the interest of research. She realised that the only way to survive was to try to find the light in the situation, to find her one salvation in a room full of torture; the attraction she feels for Ryker. The whole situation that goes on in the lab is uncomfortable to say the least. It left me a little shaken that I could be conflicted with two such extreme emotions as arousal and distaste. I coped only due to the strength of the characters; if they could find a moment to savour their attraction I could feel OK with it! I approved with the way that she dealt with the whole thing as it proved just how strong she was.
Ryker is yummy. Ryker rivals Dante as Rosalie Stanton’s hottest vampire. A Vampire that considers himself on the right side of the moral line, he has secrets in his past that both haunt and ground him. Without the choices that he has made previously, I don’t think that he would be quite as lovely. The respect that he shows Izzie, as both a warrior and a woman, was quite rare in a PNR. He never questions her decisions but does his best to support her. He does his best not to hurt her with his true nature. He measures his every action around her, never really giving into his baser instinct unless he deemed she could handle it. Once he did give into them…..*fans* jeeeez The sex scenes in this books are the stuff of wet dreams, I just didn’t feel comfortable with my own reaction to them in parts. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief when I could just enjoy them together; I’ve never wanted the suspense part of a story out of the way so quickly before.
Well, I’ve only read one other of Rosalie Stanton’s books before (which I loved) but this one has cemented her onto my very limited pre-order list. This book was original, dark, sexy and really quite twisted. I don’t like to think the couple are a product of circumstance, but I have to say that the time that they spent together in the lab cements them together in a way which I think would be hard pressed to reverse. I loved this book and would LOVE to see more from these characters. A fast paced, gritty paranormal romance which make me think, squirm and pant….a recommended read!
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