Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Imagine an earth just a bit different from ours. In this world normals unknowingly share the planet with all manner of beings, including vampyres, most of whom rely on bagged blood, which is supplemented by the blood of sabors, valued individuals whose blood contains an element necessary for the survival of the species.

Tyrell Small has always felt different. He just never knew how different. On his sixteenth birthday, his father reveals Ty is one such sabor, with the birthmark to prove it. Upon learning he’ll be required to feed vampyres, Ty decides he’s not having any of that. He’ll run away and make his own destiny. Slipping out his second story bedroom window, he finds Adam Dasani, the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen, waiting for him on the roof.

Adam is reluctant to distress the young sabor about to slide down the drainpipe, but he’s one of the vampyres Ty will one day feed. Equerry to the vampyre king, Adam had been given the task of guarding Ty on the day he was born. Because the blood of the two most powerful saborese families in the shared history of vampyres and sabors runs through Ty’s veins, some vampyres will do anything to obtain him for themselves. It will be up to Adam to keep Ty safe, not only from those rogue vampyres but from others who have plans of their own for him.

Everyone keeps telling Ty he can’t escape his destiny, but he has no intention of sitting around twiddling his thumbs, waiting for life to catch up with him. However, will something Adam inadvertently said give Ty a way to live the life he wants and keep those he loves -- including Adam -- out of danger?

 

 

First edition published by Dreamspinner Press, January 2015.

 

Book Review

The world presented in this book is interesting. It's a slight variation on other vampire stories, since the creatures who rule are called vampyrs. It also contains some fascinating characters with the kind of flaws and quirks I really like. The idea that the majority of vampyrs are now "civilized" and live mostly on bagged blood is not new to me, but the thought that they still need real blood, albeit form a specific group of people called sabors, is an interesting one. I loved the history supporting who the sabors are and how they handle life, and even though some details remain unexplained, there is always hope for a sequel, right?

Tyrell has plans for his life, but when he turns eighteen, he has a huge surprise coming. Try life-altering, actually. He takes it all in relative stride. I'm not sure I would have been so relaxed about suddenly being "food" for vampyrs with no ability for self-determination. Luckily Ty deals with that quite well, until weird things start happening, and villains pop up out of the woodwork. They are out to harm him, but Ty isn't having any of it. It seemed to me as if he has some interesting abilities, and the way he stands up for himself and fights the ones he doesn't like certainly keeps things interesting!

Adam is a vampyr of power, but even he has to obey certain rules, he does bend them where possible, or rather, when it's in Ty's interests. I liked that about Adam. All the politics he has to deal with and a definite belief in himself make him just a touch too arrogant for his own good, but Ty had his number, so to speak, so it's all good. And Adam is able to learn and adapt, an essential ability for someone charged with keeping Ty safe. As Adam discovers, that is pretty much a full-time job.

If you like variations on the legend of the vampire, if big, dark secrets , megalomaniac villains and court politics interest you, and if you're looking for a read with a good deal of humor, self-deprecation, and two men who work well together, then you will probably like this novel.

 

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 145354 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	16-December-2020
Price	$5.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.jms-books.com/tinnean-c-224_239/they-come-by-night-p-3605.html