Antonio (Vampires in America 15 / Vampires in Europe) by DB Reynolds-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 11, 2022

Porto, Portugal—home to writers and poets, to revolutionaries and dreamers. And down the river to the sea, a grand estate rises on green hills of latticed vineyards—the home of the powerful and deadly vampire who rules Portugal.

Darkly handsome and charming, Lord Antônio Silveira is a warrior at heart. But his future was warped in an instant when he defended his Sire against overwhelming odds and emerged not only victorious, but the Vampire Lord of Portugal in his own right. It was a title he never sought, but one he will defend to the death.

Rachel Shepherd knows nothing of loyalty or family. Abandoned by her powerful mother to be raised as an orphan, she is chosen to serve an ancient society as an assassin, a weapon to be pointed and fired with always fatal consequences. But Rachel has begun to question those who command her to kill, and when they send her against a vampire lord known for his ferocious battle skills, she begins to wonder if maybe, this time, her superiors are hoping she’ll die trying.

Brought together by a threat to both their lives, Antônio and Rachel join forces to reveal their true enemies and drag them from the shadows, where together, vampire and assassin will decide who lives and who dies, and ensure an end to their enemy’s poisonous intrigues. It is time at last for the hunters to become the hunted…

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REVIEW:ANTONIO is the fifteenth instalment in DB Reynolds’ adult VAMPIRES IN AMERICA/ VAMPIRES IN EUROPE erotic, vampire romance series. This is Portugal’s Lord Vampire Antonio Silviera, and vampire assassin Rachel Shepherd’s story line. ANTONIO can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from previous story lines is revealed where necessary. Antonio was first introduced in book fourteen XAVIER.

Told from third person perspective using present day and memories from the past, ANTONIO follows vampire assassin Rachel Shepherd on her latest task, an assignment from The Society to take down and kill Lord Vampire Antonio. Working as the translator for German vampire Lady Ingeborg Fischer, Rachel finds herself up close and personal on Lady Inge’s visit to Porto, Portugal with the man she has been ordered to kill but Rachel knows there is more to this assignment that she hasn’t been told, and our heroine finds herself the target of some very powerful people.

From the age of twelve Rachel Shepherd found herself a virtual prisoner of The Society, a group of powerful men and women who claim to take in unwanted orphans, and train them to become lawful citizens but Rachel knows better, and The Society’s focus is on the take down of the supernatural, one vampire at a time using highly skilled assassins in the process. Lord Antonio’s attraction to Rachel is immediate and visceral, something Lady Inge is reluctant to accept but Antonio suspects there is more to Rachel than Inge’s language translator, and Antonio is about to seduce the truth from our story line heroine.

We are introduced to Antonio’s right hand man Breno and their head vintner Amadeu Pinto; German vampire Lady Ingeborg Fischer and her assistant Frau Rose Margrit; Lord Walther and his lieutenant Gerhold; and fellow assassin Barnabe, Rachel’s mother Mavis, and vampire mistress JoJo Griffin.

ANTONIO is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, love, acceptance and understanding. The slow building premise is complex and detailed told mostly through internal dialogue, reflection, contemplation, consideration and narrative. The romance is passionate and seductive ; the characters are determined and dynamic-to most vampires Rachel is considered nothing more than human fodder with which to toy, unaware of the powerfully trained assassin.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy