September 5, 2011
Mutants, vampires, and undead Aztecs populate Viehl’s compelling fourth novel of the Kyndred (after January 2011’s Frostfire), a series spun off from her popular Darkyn books. Genetics company GenHance treated human children with vampire DNA, creating the Kyndred, and now wants to kill them to study their mutated genes. Another mysterious villain studies them in a different fashion: by kidnapping Kyndred, taking them to an island paradise, and forcing them to mate and interbreed. Kidnap victims Charlotte Marena and Samuel Taske find that the required sex is no hardship, and Viehl’s steamy love scenes allow the pair moments of pleasure between attempts to uncover the villain and make plans to escape. The swift pace and hot attraction between the leads combine for a fast read that will encourage readers to seek out Viehl’s backlist.
January 30, 2012
Viehl returns to the world of the Darkyn (after November 2011’s Nightshine) in the disappointing first of a new trilogy about vampire lords. Korvel, trapped in service as the seneschal of the Darkyn high lord, has been sent to retrieve a dangerous artifact hidden away by another vampire lord. Simone Derien, a sentinel among those who serve the Kyn, is constrained by a bargain with her father that granted her freedom in return for protecting the artifact. When the artifact is stolen by a psychopath seeking immortality, Korvel and Simone must work together to retrieve it, and Simone must choose between her growing affection for the vampire and a duty that requires Korvel’s death. Tempestuous sex scenes never elevate the tale to the compelling nature of Viehl’s Kyndred books; fans of the first series will no doubt be pleased by the return of familiar characters, but others are likely to search for their vampire fix elsewhere.