This paranormal novel seems to be a cross between the Midnight Breed series by Lara Adrian and the Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter. Of course, it has its own premise and twists that make it unique, but it has far less action than the other two series (action meaning actions sequences, not love scenes. Well, it actually has fewer love scenes, too, which is not necessarily a bad thing.) The book is far simpler and quicker to read than the other series, but it seems to be missing something. I'm not quite sure what, though. I rate this as appropriate for those persons 18 years of age and older.
The basic framework here is that there is a group of vampires who form the Black Dagger Brotherhood, a sub-race of vampires that has evolved through selective breeding and that protects the vampire race. In this series, vampires can only be bred, not made, and vampires cannot feed on humans to gain the sustenance they require to live, only the blood of other vampires will do. They cannot go out in the sun, either, but that is where the coincidence with traditional Dracula vampire lore ends. As for the ultimate good and evil beings, the Scribe Virgin is the good, and the Omega is the bad. The Scribe Virgin created vampires as a celebration of her ability to create life, and the Omega trades the souls of humans for extremely long life and lots of power. The Omega uses his "Lessers" to attempt to eradicate the vampire race.
The leader of the Brotherhood, Wrath, is a reluctant king, who has not ascended to the throne due to his own insecurities. Instead, Wrath just leads the Brotherhood. Wrath's BFF, Darius, tells him one day out of the blue that he has a daughter, Beth, and wants Wrath to help her with the transition in case he isn't alive when that happens. Some time later, just a few days prior to his daughter beginning the transition, Darius is killed in a car bomb perpetrated by a Lesser, and so Wrath and Beth cross paths. Sparks ignite, and - happy, happy, joy, joy - they fall in love and get married. I'm not kidding. Meanwhile, Wrath and the Brotherhood are searching for the headquarters of the Lessers and for Darius' killer. I'm not going to give the rest of the book away, but if you add a scorned lover and her indignant brother to the mix, you have a recipe for betrayal, kidnapping, and death.
Most of this book seems to be focused on the Wrath/Beth relationship, and as usual with most paranormal novels, you have to suspend reality a bit to go with it. The book, as compared with the other series I mentioned earlier, is really fluff. Read it on a rainy day when you want something simple that you can easily put down if you want to take a nap, or read it during your lunch breaks at work. It is not so compelling that you cannot put it down, but it is an enjoyable read with some funny dialogue.
