Cherry Stem (Vampire Cherry, #1) by Sotia Lazu
PNR
E book
March 15, 2014
Smashwords
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “My mom always told me not to play with my food […] She never told me not to let my food play with me.”
Cherry Stem was involuntarily turned into a vampire. A former model and rising adult film star, her now undead status has stymied her career and left her hustling for food and rent. When her normal trolling hooks her up with the gorgeous detective, Alex Marsden, Cherry figures she’ll let him wine and dine her, get what she needs, erase their memories together, and everyone will be happy. Except plans change when she falls asleep at Alex’s house and he discovers his one night stand is actually a vampire.
“So it’s Bram Stoker more than Stephenie Meyer?”
I couldn’t contain a very eloquent, “Huh?”
“Your hand.” As if that explained everything. “Stoker had the vampire thing down better than Meyer, right?”
He sounded like he really wanted to know the answer.
Only a dead and buried person would have missed the buzz the latter’s works had caused, and the former was a legend. “Stoker’s definitely closer—I mean, sparkling? Seriously? Neither is completely right, though.”
One steamy passion filled night leads to many more when Alex makes the connection between Cherry’s turning and a series of unsolved cases involving other young females. When Cherry finds out the man who turned her may be involved, she is forced to contact her ex boyfriend, the man who broke her heart, for help in convincing the vampire council of her fears. As the clues mount up, Cherry begins to realise that everything that happened to her was for a reason. Now she just needs to discover what that reason was.
Fans of MaryJanice Davidson and Michele Bardsley will enjoy the snarky humor, steamy hot romance, and intriguing paranormal storyline that Sotia Lazu employs in the first book of her new vampire series. Lazu takes readers on a light hearted journey that leaves you giggling while giving you a couple of mysteries to solve. Well written with engaging dialogue and smooth steady pacing made for a quick fun read. Lazu produces a vampire romance that sticks close to the legends but adds her own twists that modernizes it. While the old adage of sunlight kills is still in effect, garlic and religious artifacts don’t bother them at all.
Cherry Stem (giggle) is an amusing heroine with her witty monologues and no-nonsense attitude. Lazu gives us a supernatural who isn’t warrior trained or self hating. She isn’t stunning beautiful, all powerful, or a special snowflake that everyone adores. Cherry is a normal 23 year old woman, with normal issues, who happens to be immortal. And she has problems with that.
The main reason I’d been pissed off for the better part of six years was that I’d been turned before getting the lipo and boob job I’d planned on pampering myself with for my twenty-fourth birthday. Now I was doomed to go through eternity without the perfectly flat belly and double D breasts Dr. King had promised me.
Alex Marsden is the perfect match for Cherry. As a homicide detective, he rocks the whole knight in shining armor personae, but with a hint of vulnerability and little boy charm. He wears his heart on his sleeve, is overly protective, cooks a mean omelet, and makes love like a veteran porn star. Funny and smart, he is everything Cherry could ever want…except his human. Cherry doesn’t date humans due to their less than stellar life spans but when she meets Alex, he makes her want to stay wrapped in his arms forever.
The romance comes at the readers fast. Sex on the first “date” and it’s rinse, lather, and repeat from there. Combustible chemistry and plausible attraction made this easier to swallow than normal. Steamy love scenes with a dominant Alex in the bedroom also helps. *wink* Cherry rightly questions her relationship with Alex in that it could be dangerous for him to be with her and of course, that fact his life span doesn’t even come close to matching hers. Though…SEXY RACY love making makes up for a lot of things in mine and Cherry’s book.
And Alex doesn’t disappoint.
“Do you want me?” he asked. I barely had time to raise an eyebrow in question before he pushed two fingers inside me. “Do you want me, Cherry?”
I swallowed. “You know I do, but—” We were outside his mom’s house, on top of his car. Even I knew that wasn’t right.
“Because I want you. All the time.” He withdrew his fingers slowly and made a show of licking them clean.
Hell, it wasn’t my neighborhood.
“Show me,” I whispered, pushing my hips upward. I wanted more of him. I tried to sit up, reached for him, but he held me down.
“Sit back.”
I did, and waited for his next move.
It didn’t disappoint.
The conflict is interesting though not as well defined or evenly balanced as the romance. Certain aspects are fleshed out but over all I felt the reasons behind the main conflict were weak and not executed clearly. Various characters come into play to help expand the plot lines but their scenes and development also remains weak as the narrative is from Cherry’s pov so we miss seeing their thoughts behind their actions. The only character who was on par developmentally with Cherry and Alex is Cherry’s ex-Constantine. A overly confident and narcissistic vampire who mentored Cherry after her turning and betrayed her in the most basic of ways. His somewhat ruthless manners are offset by the visible love he still holds for Cherry and his willingness to step aside for Alex. I do hope he gets his own book.
Lazu ends the book with a conclusion of sorts, wrapping up some issues but leaving a door open for the arc to continue. Sadly though she uses an deus ex machina to achieve her happy ending. Regardless of the contrived ending, Cherry Stem is a light hearted fun and sexy paranormal romance that is sure to appeal to fans who love their heroes sexy, their heroines funny, and their romance steamy. The second book, Cherry Blossom, is currently available.
RATING: B
Recent Reviews:
PRUF Reads
The Jeep Diva
Booked Up
Goodreads I Author Website I Series List
Thank you so much for the great review!