Meena Harper has a special gift, but it’s only now that anyone’s ever appreciated it. The Palatine Guard—a powerful secret demon-hunting unit of the Vatican—has hired her to work at their new branch in Lower Manhattan. With Meena’s ability to predict how everyone she meets will die, the Palatine finally has a chance against the undead.
Sure, her ex-boyfriend was Lucien Antonescu, son of Dracula, the prince of darkness. But that was before he (and their relationship) went up in flames. Now Meena’s sworn off vampires for good . . . at least until she can prove her theory that just because they’ve lost their souls doesn’t mean demons have lost the ability to love.
Meena knows convincing her co-workers—including her partner, Über-demon-hunter Alaric Wulf—that vampires can be redeemed won’t be easy . . . especially when a deadly new threat seems to be endangering not just lives of the Palatine, but Meena’s friends and family as well.
But Meena isn’t the Palatine’s only hope. Father Henrique—aka Padre Caliente—New York City’s youngest, most charming priest, has also been assigned to the case.
So why doesn’t Meena—or Alaric—trust him?
As she begins unraveling the truth, Meena finds her loyalties tested, her true feelings laid bare . . . and temptations she never even imagined existed impossible to resist.
This time, Meena may finally have bitten off more than she can chew.
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It’s finally here! The sequel to Meg Cabot’s witty paranormal Insatiable is finally here and does what most sequels can’t – matches the original, beat for beat. Meena Harper has been working for the Palatine Guard for six months now, trying hard to forget Lucien Antonescu, the man she fell in love with who turned out to be the Prince of Darkness and a vampire. The Guard supposedly hired her to use her “gift” to see when a person is going to die to eliminate the vampires plaguing New York City, but Meena suspects they have ulterior motives.
Even as she tries to forget the alluring vamp, Meena’s doing her best to convince Alaric Wulf, the gruff, alpha male Guard she’s had a crush since the moment they met, that Lucien isn’t responsible for the increasing number of missing tourists in the area. When Lucien resurfaces, acting stranger than ever, Meena finds herself pulled into another dangerous, mysterious situation that not only reveals the secrets of the city, but also the secrets of her heart.
I have been a Cabot devotee for ten years now and she never disappoints. Meena is a wonderfully quirky, complicated and human character. I spent half to book yelling at her not to trust the mad, bad, and dangerous to know Lucien, even as I was understanding the appeal and sympathizing her dilemma. The interactions between Meena and those around her sparkle with the signature Cabot wit and charm, but with an added depth that sets this book apart from her young adult works.
Love triangles usually frustrate me to no end, but I love Alaric and Lucien too much to care. Being the son of Vlad the Impaler and a supposed angel makes Lucien a fascinating character to try and unravel. Even as a prince in hiding, he’s got so many twists and turns going on around him, he must need a map for his own life. But unlike a lot of vampire characters, his wounds and flaws are interesting rather than annoying. He’s alluring and complicated.
Rather than making one love interest weaker than the other, Cabot keeps readers guessing by making Alaric just as appealing and interesting – to the reader and to Meena. He’s gruff and arrogant and everything you expect a big, bad special forces type, but he’s got a completely adorable soft spot for Meena. His feelings for her create issues for both of them, but again, they add a depth that is often missing from your typical vampire book.
Cabot creates gray areas in this story that make it a fascinating, intriguing read that is impossible to put down. If you haven’t read the first book, plan to make a weekend of it. I promise, you won’t regret it.
~ Taylor
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