Women born with a special genetic anomaly that shows up in their blood are being snatched and traded like breeding chattel. Three difference races fight to claim the special women, The Dragons, who are able to have children with the specific races. These races are dying out. In a hidden cave system in California lays a modern city with opulent comforts and family life. The Vârcolac, the vampiric human race is dying out. Some Dragon women have found a home in the city, joined up the local authority, and are defying centuries old cultures and laws. New women are offered a job and a wad of cash to live in the city under the guise of a research facility, in the hopes they will find their mate during that year without giving the women too much information to make 'em running for the hills. Vârcolac men and women can't engage any physical activity without horrible pain unless they are bonded to their new mate. Mating with their Vârcolac kind produces nada babies. Thus, each new coupling between a Vârcolac and a Dragon women or man will produce desperately needed offspring for the dying race.
Second race are the freaky, demonic Om Rau who have a hellishly hot and scorching city, next to the Vârcolac, that gets its power on continual chaos. They are attempting to add more Dragon women for the same purpose- but not for a loving pair. Think more of a breeding stock.
The third race is the weirdo, British, and prone to tantrums topside Om Rau who are half bred with fae. Their leader is attempting to snatch one of the paired Dragon women presented in book #1, Toni, and provide other helpless Dragon women to the nasties of the Om Rau.
The main female lead, Marissa is kidnapped with a few other women, headed to craptastic life with the Om Rau, when Dev Nichita and the other warriors save them. Once underground into the city and safe, the women are spoon fed the job opportunity and money and some chose to stay.
This story follows mostly along with the give and take of Marissa and Dev Nichita's relationship. Both have family members who despise them and make their life hard- Marissa's sister and Dev's very bitter, very old world mother. In between their story are other characters presented in book #1 who meet their mates through various struggles. The book switches up between the stories and a past that explains the near eradication of their species.
Ms. Tappan does a fine job of weaving the stories together and provided a much needed background and explaining the Vârcolac culture, including its strong morals and strict, out dates rules. Families’ pasts are explored, a lot of things are explained, and there is some fun sex to make it just naughty enough to pull off being an awesome paranormal romance with a fantastic and deep storyline.
After earning a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling, Tracy worked in the clinical field before becoming a full-time writer. Married to a retired Naval aviator, she's lived throughout the United States and overseas, including diplomatic tours in Rome and Madrid. Now settled back in sunny San Diego, she body surfs, plays tennis, enjoys a good bottle of wine, and writes gritty romance novels, spanning genres across paranormal, historical, and military suspense. Visit Tracy's website at www.tracytappan.com.
