When Tony Nelson is swept off his feet by Genevieve, an eight-hundred-year-old vampire queen who doesn’t look a day over thirty, it’s quickly apparent sucking his blood isn’t all the sexy vampire has in mind. But Tony has bigger plans for his undeath than a sexual attraction that sizzles his synapses.

Torn between his insatiable hunger for Genevieve and his desire to celebrate his new “super” powers by fighting crime in Ft. Lauderdale, Tony butts heads with the feisty queen more than once.

But when his superhero deeds threaten his new family, leading their arch-enemies, the werecats, straight to their door, Tony has a difficult choice to make—one that will have ramifications for all of them.

Truth, Justice and the Vampire Way by Ashley Ladd
Paranormal Romance
ebook, short novel
Ellora’s Cave
Book received from author

Queen Genevieve is lonely and bored. She has quite the insubordinate vampire family and she is tired of constantly making sure they follow the rules. Constantine, part of her vampire family and her occasional lover is one of the worst when it comes to listening. He is extremely vain, silly, and is desperate to become an actor. Genevieve prefers her vampires to keep a low profile, since their existence is secret to the mortals. Genevieve is convinced there are no nice men out in the world and she will never find happiness. Out with Constantine one night, he makes her a bet. If they find a nice man to turn into a vampire, Genevieve has to let Constantine continue to strive to become an actor, and if he man turns out to be rude and obnoxious as Genevieve assumes, Constantine must give up his dream. Little do they know, one of the nicest men is right around the corner.

Tony Nelson is a do-gooder. He loves to help people and he works with runaways in a local shelter. But his life is going to change this night when he is bit and subsequently turned into a vampire. Instead of scary monsters, he finds his new family is slightly insane, but not out to hurt him. Vampires do hurt people when they feed, something Tony refuses to participate in. Instead, he drinks the contaminated blood from blood banks, something his Queen finds as a weakness.

An attraction develops between Genevieve and Tony but for them to become a real couple, they have a big obstacle to overcome. Tony wants more compassion from Genevieve regarding human life, and Genevieve wants Tony to toughen up. Oh, and there is the small problem of the werecats out to hunt their race.

Truth, Justice and the Vampire Way is a light-hearted, entertaining story and although at some points it would take more of a silly turn, Ashley Ladd then throws in an extremely erotic scene, and there is nothing silly about that. Queen Genevieve is a queen that has little control over her subordinates and I liked that about her. She wants to be stern and brutal, she threatens but never really follows through. Her subjects really walk all over her. She secretly is a submissive and just wants a man who will take charge. I have never read a Queen of quite her demeanor and it was a fun change.

Tony accepted becoming a vampire way too easy. In this world, vampires are not out to the public, and he wakes up turned and that’s it. No panic, no remorse, just interest in his new life. One thing I did find amusing was once he meets the vampires he makes fun of them. Saying they are pathetic. They really are a group of misfits, and it was endearing in a way. Although his acceptance is a bit unbelievable, the silly banter between Tony, Genevieve and Constantine brought many smiles to my face.

One part of the plot that I think could have used more explanation is the vampires enemy. Werecats often attack and a good reason for these attacks is not given until almost the end of the story. For the most part, they attack and as the reader you really don’t know why. It doesn’t necessarily make the scenes confusing, but I wanted to know the reasoning behind the fear the werecats strike in the vampires, and the motivation for the werecats to attack.

The sex scenes are steamy, and often involved multiple partners. Seems these vamps like to put on a show. Tony and Genevieve develop a very strong attraction to one another, and once Genevieve lets go and lets the attraction drive her instincts, her and Tony sizzle up the pages.

Who stole the show for me is Constantine. With his laid back, silly demeanor, I loved him. I want a book just about him. He never takes himself seriously. He was a great character!

If you are in the mood for something more light-hearted yet still full of steamy scenes, Truth, Justice and the Vampire Way is the book for you.

Rating: Three Stars

Ashley Ladd’s website