Raphael

Nothing makes me happier than discovering a new author who knows her way around a genre and plans to keep writing more books to fill it. This delicious start of a new series features an elegant, old-school, drop dead handsome romantic male lead. Capable of all the best techniques this style hero possesses with a terrific back story and a lonely heart. The female lead is well to do, skilled and needing only to fufill her own lonely needs. It's great to have two character essentially meet on equal footing. She's not needing money--he's not needing blood. As a SoCal native I also enjoyed the excellent grip of setting including some unique issues of the SOCal coast that only another native or good researcher would mention. Highly recommended and going now to grab her next book.

I read this book, reread it, and think it may get read again when I go through those desperate-for-a-good-read times. Reynolds delivers in RAPHAEL on all of those points that I look for in a vampire romance; a bad boy vamp, a strong heroine, sizzling sex, a plot that is actually a plot, interesting side characters, facinating back story. JABRIL is the next in the Vampire In America series and is just as good. I anxiously await D.B. Reynolds' next book RAJMUND is due in 2010. I am a huge fan of this author.

Raphael is an extremely powerful vampire lord who rules with an iron hand and does not suffer fools. He finds himself with a problem that he feels requires the assistance of a human. One of his vampires has been kidnapped and this vamp is special to Raphael. He hires Cynthia Leighton, an P.I. and former cop on the advice of one of his underlings. Cynthia, like many others, knows that vampires exist but are not officially acknowledged by the government, which suits the vampire community. They have their uses for humans, but no need of anything from them beyond those uses. Cynthia takes the job and has to initially deal with an attitude not only from Raphael but his followers. Cynthia is up to the job, she is tough, smart and competent. Soon Raphael and Cynthia are not only dealing with Russian mobsters and traitorous vamps but also with an attraction to each other. I found it hard to put this book down once I started. The pacing was good and the characters developed to the point I want to know more about them. I liked that there was a glimpse of culture clash between human and vampire in addition to the two main characters just trying to figure each other out. I also liked the fact that both characters are not alone in their world, they have backgrounds with family and situations. I also really liked seeing a vampire that seemed to be truly dangerous and in charge of his world yet was willing to move out of his comfort zone, to a certain extent. This is the first in a series and Cynthia seems to be the main character of the series. I can't wait to read more of Cynthia and hopefully in particular, Cynthia and Raphael.

Although the government and the people know that vampires exist, for the most part mortals prefer not to acknowledge the nocturnal species and the bloodsuckers concur keeping a low profile. There are eight vampire lords, each controlling a jurisdiction while respecting boundaries to avoid a lethal vampire war. Raphael is the most powerful of the octet with thousands of loyalists calling him Master throughout his domain, the Western states in America. Two human traitors from within storm his Malibu estate in daylight while he is away; they kidnap Alexandria, a vamp he vowed to protect with his life. To deal with mortals, Raphael hires human private investigator Cynthia Leighton, who works vampire cases. From the moment the client and the sleuth meet they are attracted to one another, but Cyn learned early in life not to believe in love, passion, or trust as they will be used as a weapon of mental destruction. Still she is determined to help the vampire lord rescue his sister. The first Vampires of America urban romantic fantasy, RAPHAEL, is a terrific tale that if it is an indication of the series, sub-genre fans are in for a treat. The protagonist is tough yet vulnerable as she uses psychological defense mechanisms to conceal her weaknesses behind a kick butt façade. The title hero is more aligned towards typical vampire behavior as an arrogant haughty alpha leader used to obedience until his dependant is abducted showing a rare weakness and then meeting the sleuth showing that rarity is a little more common than his minion thought. The investigation enhances the fine story line as star-crossed lovers try to mount the rescue. Harriet Klausner

Just finished reading this and I couldn't put it down. It was so readable, I was sneak reading pages while I was in my car waiting at traffic lights! I was not a big vampire novel fan prior to Raphael, but the gorgeous cover art intrigued me and pulled me in and I can say I'm now hooked on vampire romance novels. This story has a tight focused plotline and great characters. Cyn is the tough and sexy private eye who specializes in vampire matters. The vampire sire Raphael is compelling and the human-vampire romance scenes are hot. DB Reynolds characters are well developed and compelling with detailed description of vampire rules and some great historical color in the flashback scenes. I wished only for one thing more...that the book was longer...I wanted it to go on for another 1000 pages...guess I'll have to wait anxiously for the second installment of Vampires in America, Jabril which the author's blog says is due out in July. You will love this story.