Compelled: Cerise (Blood Courtesans)

Cerise is a slayer, and the last thing she’s ever supposed to do is fall in love with a vampire…until she does. During one last undercover mission as a slayer, she pretends to be a blood courtesan for a gorgeous, hunky vampire named Bard. What she doesn’t account for is that she might fall in love with the sexy, confident vampire…And that he might have similar feelings for her. 

The romance is sizzling hot! The characters are entertaining, if a bit stereotypical – in particular Bard is a stereotypical male alpha vampire. Cerise has more depth and personality, but she too stays rather superficial in terms of emotional depth. Despite the rather bland characters, the romance between them works rather well, and the story itself is intriguing, to say the least. 

One of the quirky aspects of the book is how the chapters switch back and forth between Bard and Cerise. Some readers will like it, other readers will find it annoying. Either way, it does allow for the reader to crawl into the heads of both characters and figure out their thoughts. On the other hand, it does sometimes slow down the plot. Still, the book has mystery, suspense, excitement, action, and a compelling world the reader can get to know by diving into this book. Though part of a series, “Compelled” is easy to read as a stand-alone.

Majanka Verstraete