Title:  Vamp Rising
Series:  By Moonlight, Part 1
Author:  Evie Ryan
Genre:  Paranormal Romance
Published:  May 14, 2015
Publisher:
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  Owned, Kindle edition
Cover Description:

Death is only the beginning…

When Gwen Keller arrives in the Cascade Mountains, ready for the long weekend ahead, she knows she’s out of her element. The steep terrain, crisp mountain air, and rugged wilderness are nothing like Seattle’s state-of-the-art amenities she’s accustomed to, but that’s the point. She wants an escape from her grueling career as a high-powered executive and the hectic lifestyle that comes with it. She needs time alone, just her and nature,so that she can come to terms with the diagnosis that’s looming over her head: Gwen will not live long.

Brandon Scott notices the city slicker the second she sets foot in his neck of the woods and he isn’t pleased. The way she wrestles her tent poles with a clatter, stomps noisily through the brush, and sings aloud through trails she has no business hiking sets his teeth on edge. But the longer he studies her from afar, the harder it is to deny she’s piqued his interest. Her curves, the short mop of blond hair she tosses with a smile, and the perky pep in her step has him curious about her, if not intrigued. Does she have what it takes to survive in his territory? Would his inner wolf scare her off? Maybe she’s the one…

But the opportunity slips through his fingers when he finds the lone hiker dead at the bottom of the ravine.

There’s only one way to restore her to life and it isn’t to make her like him. An ancient favor is called in, and the mysterious woman is saved. But what she’s become is destined to destroy him: a vampire.

Brandon must tame her darkness if he wants to win her heart, but Gwen is torn between the vampire life and that of werewolves. She must choose before time runs out…

The search party is closing in.

Read on for my thoughts on Vamp Rising.  No true spoilers, promise.

I’m going to be completely fair with anyone reading this review – this novel does end on a cliffhanger leading directly into the next part, Primal Darkness.  Please do not let that fact make you turn away from this trilogy of vampire and werewolf lovers.  If you allow that to stop you from reading this series, I honestly believe you will be missing a terrific story.  And, really, we’re readers – we read trilogies like kids eat candy, right?

Alright, you have a lot of the story from the blurb – a lot.  And if all of that hasn’t whetted your appetite yet – then I’ll add some more.  Gwen has recently been given the news that she is swiftly dying from a cancer of the blood.  Her life can be numbered in weeks now.  In an effort to sort out her emotions and figure out what to with the short time left to her, Gwen has read a few websites on camping and headed for the Cascade Mountains to get away and just… think and understand what is happening to her.  She is not a hiker and is clumsy at putting her camp together, but determined.

Brandon is a member of Sanctuary, a kind of wildlife preserve in the mountains.  He is also a werewolf.  He sees Gwen trying to put together her camp and is both amused and surprised by her success and her stubbornness.  He senses something from her, a feeling, an instinct perhaps – his mate comes to his mind but how can that be, she’s obviously human.  Brandon decides to keep an eye on her while traveling around his assigned territories searching for wounded animals or humans that need assistance from the folks at the Sanctuary.

As Gwen is standing at the edge of the trail, lost in the beauty spread out before her – the ground begins to crumble beneath her feet, and she is plummeted down the mountainside to fall lifelessly in the ravine far below.  Bones are broken, flesh is torn and there is not a spark of life left in Gwen’s body.  Brandon has returned to her camp, and not finding her there begins to follow her scent.  He is terrified beyond words when he sees Gwen lying at the bottom of the mountainside.  When he reaches her side he realizes she is cold, but refusing to believe in logic quickly gathers her up to make the trip back to the Sanctuary and hopefully help.  When the doctors and administration there tell him Gwen is dead he wants to return her to life through his bite for he is convinced she is his lifemate.  He is prevented from doing this because she cannot be turned to a werewolf because of the blood cancer, that would kill her just the same – there is only one other option.  To turn to the other side of the darkness, to ask for help from those who despise the werewolves and risk the fragile peace between the two species.  The only thing that can save Gwen’s “life” now is a vampire’s bite.

Now, I’ve written a lot more than I usually do in a review – but, all of this is pretty much up in the cover blurb so I’m not giving much away.  Gwen must come to terms with her new life and learn how to survive it.  Brandon must charm her into returning his affections as naturally as he can.  Everyone says that vampires and werewolves cannot be mates – he intends to prove them wrong.  This is their journey to finding out exactly what they are both together and apart – and will love be enough.  There are forces surrounding them that will work tirelessly to pull them apart … and then danger comes that cannot be faced alone.

I was captivated by this couple.  Gwen is so spunky and determined – and Brandon is such a dog *grin* and so sure that they can overcome anything.  There are definitely some steamy, sexy parts to the story.  I was really rooting for them to find happiness together – and hopefully they will eventually.  Ass I said at the beginning, this ends in a cliffhanger – and now I’m heading back to my Kindle to read the next part.

If you are a lover of the paranormal, this tale will give you a lot to enjoy.  Tension, suspense and a doomed love story that might not be what it seems on the surface.  I would recommend Vamp Rising, By Moonlight, part one without hesitation.

*Any review is just one person’s opinion. You might feel the same or totally different. The only way to know for certain is for you to read it. This was my opinion of this particular book.*

Vamp Rising is available for the Kindle