Title: Once Burned
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Series: Night Prince #1
Genre: Paranormal
Romance
Publisher:
Harper Collins Publishers
Format:
eBook/Paperback
Release
Date: June 26, 2012
Pages: 384
Source: Purchased
on Amazon
Contact Jeaniene
Overall Rating: 3.5 Bad Boys – Enjoyed It!!!!!
Reviewer: Kat
Author Summary
After
a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never
imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her
channel electricity and learn a person's darkest secrets through a single
touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude...until creatures of the night
kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the
world's most infamous vampire...
Vlad
Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all--but whatever you do, don't
call him Dracula. Vlad's ability to control fire makes him one of the most
feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against
him - a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila
meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both.
It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them
down in flames.
My Thoughts
I know. I know. 3.5 stars for a Jeaniene Frost novel. Blasphemy!
I struggled with rating this one, took some time to think it over and even did
a reread just to be sure of how I felt.
Let me start by saying I LOVE Jeaniene Frost’s novels. All of
them. She is among the most brilliant authors in this genre. Night Huntress is one
of my Top 10 favourite series of all time. Her talent for developing characters,
building story worlds, creating suspenseful plots, and weaving these things together
is unparalleled. All her novels are 5+ star-worthy.
So what happened with this one? It just didn’t resonate with me.
Maybe my expectations were too high. I was left with too many unanswered
questions. I understand this isn’t a
stand-alone novel so perhaps some of my questions will be addressed in the
future. And believe me, despite the fact that I didn’t absolutely love this one;
I will be first in line to get the next one. I just love JF’s work that
much. I’ll try and explain what I
thought but it will be hard without giving specific examples that might mean
staggering into spoiler territory. I’ll try my best not to though.
The heroine, Leila, is a good strong character. She’s had a lot
to deal with in her life and has learned to cope with the aftereffects of her
childhood accident swimmingly. That being said, I just couldn’t relate to her. I was completely on board with her being
human with these super-powers after her accident. Surprisingly, its believable
for this genre of fiction we all love. Her fearlessness, however, I didn’t
understand. She knows about vampires
(was practically raised by one) but she still lived a pretty sheltered life
since the accident. Superpowers or not,
this is Vlad we’re talking about. Not your average vamp. He did nothing to
assuage her fears and yet she got over any anxiety she felt rather quickly. A
little too quickly. In fact, she was quite flippant within hours of meeting
him. She admitted to herself that she was afraid but her actions didn’t portray
what she felt. Leila showed to be rather tough and resilient after getting
roughed up. Again, surprising since she was sheltered most of her life. Other
than those couple things, I found her to be witty, very resourceful and
stubborn (which in my opinion is a great character trait and not one little bit
a fault).
I was really hoping this story was going to be told from Vlad’s
Point of View. Had it been, I’m certain I would have felt more of a connection to
him and understood him better. I couldn’t tell what he was feeling. Ever. Is that a creative strategy perhaps? **minor spoiler alert** As an example, early in the story, Vlad tells
his second, Maximus, to go ahead and date Leila. I think Vlad was proving a
point that Leila was attracted to him and only him and not any man would do.
WTF!! Why did he do that? Did he feel
something for Leila that he wasn’t ready to feel so he was pushing her away? I
read the book twice and still don’t know or understand it. He made a few funnies in this book but nothing
that compares to the “premature inflammation” quote from one of the Night
Huntress books. Fans of that series will
know what I’m talking about and you’re giggling right now, admit it. That was
probably one of my all-time favourite quotes from any author and still has me
laughing out loud.
The supporting characters could have been fleshed out a little
more. I never did understand what motivated
Szilagyi. Power or a desire to be top dog? Was it really as basic as that? Also, I would have liked to hear a little more
backstory on Maximus. Just to understand him a little better since he does have
a pretty large role in the story. Does Vlad not allow him to have a mate? Does Vlad not allow any of his people to have
a mate or is it just Maximus?
As you can tell, I’m a reader that puts a lot of emphasis on the
characters of a story. Way more than the plot. I like to know what motivates
them and what makes them tick. Since this is one of JF’s strongest talents,
this is why I enjoy her writing so much. So, depending on what you are looking for in a
novel, the points I just outlined may not be important to you at all.
Despite my unanswered questions, this story is well written and easy
to read. Leila is a good match for Vlad
and I think she will have her hands full.
From what’s included in the Epilogue, she seems determined. This is just
the first in this series so its early days and I look forward to finding out
where JF will take this story.
Happy Reading!!
3.5 Bad Boys – Enjoyed It!!!
Buy Now
From Amazon…
I'm a huge fan of Jeaniene Frost as well, and as in all of the novels I've read by here, this one had me hooked from the beginning, and kept me there to the end. I do understand your points here, and I think when I compare it to a Cat & Bones novel, it's hard for me to rate it as high, because those books were a complete addiction for me. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks LJ. Its hard to top Cat and Bones. I'll still pre-order the next one and set my alarm for when its delivered to get up and start reading. Lol! Its early days and anything can happen. Glad you liked the review luv!
ReplyDeleteYeah...I didn't get the "Maximus, go ahead and date Leila...but not really" thing. But it looks like it bothered you a bit more than it bothered me. lol I am very curious to see if you will enjoy the next book more once the little details are all sorted out. Very well written review, even though you didn't adore it...like me ;)
ReplyDeletethanks Julie. i wish it was written from his POV. it would be so great if the next one is. can't wait to read it! she's a genius and i'm sure i'll read everything she publishes. glad you liked the review.
DeleteI really think you are right about it needing to come from Vlad's POV - just to hear the smartassy remarks floating around in his mind when Maximus was getting his flirt on!
ReplyDeleteGetting his flirt on… LOL! It would be cool to know more of what's going on in that mind of his.
DeleteI have not read this but so far you're not the only one who didn't go crazy over the story.
ReplyDelete