The Brotherhood

Joselyn "Joss" Hyde-White is the offspring of two vampire-turned-vampire-hunter parents. The parents completed a blood moon ritual which keeps them from having bloodlust. However, they are still vampires and shapeshifters. No one knew if Joss would have the taint his parents did, until he hit puberty. At age thirteen, Joss first shapeshifted into a wolf. Joss may have abilities, but he is not undead. He is very much alive, unlike most vampires. But now Joss is grown up and new symptoms are revealing themselves. Joss now finds the smell of blood to be extremely enticing. No bloodlust, but it is enough to make Joss decide that it is time to go to the Cumberland estate, Whitebriar Abbey, and speak with his parents. The North Country is having a blizzard and Joss is but one hour from Whitebriar Abbey when he comes upon a coach bogged down on the moor. After chasing off a wolf, he finds five passengers within the coach. Only one is alive, a female, buried under the other four bodies that the wolf had savaged. Of the coachman there is no sign. Once at his estate, Joss learns that his parents are not in residence. The antiquated butler, Bates, is the only member of the staff aware of what Joss and his parents are. Yet even he has no real answers. The young miss turns out to be named Miss Cora Applegate. Due to events in her recent past, Cora has zero trust in men. Joss may have saved her life, but he is still male. When people begin showing up at his door, people Joss knew had been dead in the coach, things begin to get ugly. Cora is in danger. Joss must somehow make Cora believe that vampirism is real and the area has become infested with vampires. Joss has no idea that things are really bad until Milosh appears. Milosh is from Romania and had been mentor to Joss's parents. Now Milosh takes Joss under his wing. Milosh has been tracking an age-old nemesis, Sebastian Valentin, who is determined to bring low the house of Hyde-White. Joss must learn about the Brotherhood, as well as about himself. At the same time, Cora and Joss become more and more attracted to each other. Just as romance seems possible, the estate becomes under siege from the undead. ***** Oh my! Author Dawn Thompson's writing is so descriptive that I felt as though I were there. The characters within this story do not just come to life, they soar off the pages. This is the sequel to BLOOD MOON, the story of Joss's parents. Though Blood Moon was great, this tale is even better! I actually felt chills go down my spine once or twice. Fans of the old style of Gothic Romances will absolutely adore this book. I want to be part of the Brotherhood! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Picking up thirty years after Thompson's BLOOD MOON left off, the author comes around with another stellar entry in her vampire series featuring a grown up Joss Hyde-White the child conceived between Cassandra and Jon Hyde-White during their `blood moon' ritual. Joss knows he is the child of shape-shifting vampire hunters ever since puberty when he discovered he could shape-shift; but now other feelings were starting to emerge and he knew he must find his parents to have them explained. Not finding them in London he set out for home in a storm that turned into a blizzard. Along the way, Joss came upon a stranded coach in which a wolf leapt out. Inside he found four mutilated bodies, and a young woman, half frozen but still alive. Bringing her home to Whitebriar Abbey would save Miss Cora Applegate's life, but in falling in love and trying to protect her from a vile creature bent on hurting the Hyde-White family might cost both their lives and possibly their very souls. *** What a tremendously exciting sequel to Thompson's first book in this wonderfully conceived and edgy vampire series where Thompson takes a new look at vampires while putting her own spin onto some preconceived notions of what they can and cannot do. In this entry she introduces the son Joss, of the former books H/H. Born of two vampires who had escaped the curse of blood-thirst, they watched Joss grow, knew he could shape-shift but knew not what other vampire traits he might inherit. This left Joss who was just now beginning to exhibit some strange exotic feelings, to have to determine what was happening to himself . In fashioning Miss Cora Applegate the author created a traumatized young woman whose past dictated her determination to never trust or let another male dominate her. Cora's secret shame and her unwillingness to trust Joss, made for some hotly contested maulings in which Joss, came out the loser in trying to keep the little spit-fire safe. The heroine Cora was quite a handful as she tried to ignore the attraction of Joss, adding additional angst to a dangerous situation but redeemed herself when she made a supreme sacrifice for love. In bringing back the centuries old gypsy vampire hunter, Milosh, the author enabled the reader to discover through Milosh's explanations to Joss what he was experiencing as well as relating stories of Joss' parent's roles in attempting to slay the vile vampire Sebastian Valentin. Just as in the first book of the series this one slipped into high gear right from the start and didn't let up it's furious pace until the very end as Joss accepted his vocation to join THE BROTHERHOOD of vampire hunters to help wipe out the blood thirsty vampires and try to destroy the vilest of them all Sebastian Valentin. I'm sure that this second installment by Dawn Thompson will thrill both Regency addicts as well as Paranormal fans alike with her passionate and sensual love scenes, fresh vampirism insights and compelling action. Pers

Joss Hyde-White, son of celebrated vampire hunters Jon and Cassandra Hyde-White, is in search of answers. He's plagued by a condition of sorts and only his somewhat equally afflicted parents can begin to be of any help in the matter. Unfortunately, they have gone missing and Joss has no choice but to return to their country estate, fears of his becoming vampire following in is wake. On the way a blinding snowstorm wipes out the land and he comes upon a carriage, its occupants savaged by what looks like a wolf. Since wolves are not native to England, Joss knows the creature to be of the foulest sort. Finding a lone survivor within the carriage, a young woman, he takes her on to his estate, where it no longer feels like home and at any moment they could be face to face with a monster of legend. Cora awakens to a strange landscape, one where reality has quite gone round the bend. Suddenly, vampires are real, but the small beauty is resolute, for she's born a great tragedy already. In the face of the oddest of odds, can she trust the man who saved her life? Though he stirs her blood and passion, his claims urge her to run, and far away. When the foulest of night's creatures begin to converge though, led still by the relentless Sebastian, Joss more than proves his trustworthiness. Soon he and Cora, along with the help of the gypsy Milosh, must stand against an army that wants them dead...or undead at the very least. The time has come once again for The Brotherhood to answer the call for which they were born to: to rid the world of this evil menace. I love the way the suspense moves through this installment. The first book, Blood Moon, began with such a wham bam take off and didn't slow down for a second. I was no less enthralled with this one and was pleased to see that pace continuing. It's been about thirty years between each book's storyline, but with Sebastian just now surfacing again, it's an understandable stretch of time. Joss is a character that's running a little blind. His condition is different form that of his parents and he evolves interestingly throughout the book in regards to it. In true Hyde-White tradition, he remains steadfast in avoiding any bloodlust and focuses on ridding the world of the vampires that can't, or won't, resist. He's heroic, especially where Cora is concerned. I did wish he'd given her a little space when he found out what her tragedy was, but then their romance unfolds and in light of their desperate circumstances, I was impressed with just how believable they were. Cora is not a wilting willow and she turns out to be the perfect woman to relate to Joss. Not to say she gave him an easy time of it. There are scenes that amused me with Joss's exasperation of her and I quite agreed with how he handled them. Together, they look to make as formidable a pair as his parents did in Blood Moon, which is exactly what the Brotherhood needs. This can be read as a stand alone, but why would you want to do that? I advise read

In 1841 England, Joss Hyde-White, the offspring of shapeshifting vampires, has recently learned the hard way that he has some special innate abilities including transforming into a wolf. He needs to know more about his sudden aptitude, why it manifesting now, and why his parents failed to warn him. He heads home to ask them pertinent questions. However, a blizzard makes travel almost impossible. Still he continues his journey as his home is near, but stops when he comes upon a broken down coach whose occupants are being destroyed by a wolf. He rescues one of the occupants, who inform him she is Cora Applegate; he takes her to his nearby manor-house. However, besides fighting his attraction to her as he fears his supernatural demons will destroy his beloved, he must keep her safe from the cold-blooded Brotherhood of vampires. Though not quite as biting as its precursor, THE BROTHERHOOD is a terrific paranormal romance that continues the fresh concepts of the BLOOD MOON. The story line is fast-paced with the lead couple struggling to survive as evil comes for them. Sub-genre fans will appreciate the adventures of Joss and Cora in the fascinating but dark realm of Dawn Thompson. Harriet Klausner

Dawn Thompson's Blood Moon really impressed me. Not only is the writing lyrical, beautiful, it was chilling, dark, sinister, a near perfect vampire story rooted in vampire mythos origins, a cunning hybrid of a Regency Romance and a sexy, vampire tale that leaves you breathless and wanting more. In typical Thompson style, she takes that starting point and then sends you on a wild ride at a relentless pace, taking what is old and making it new again, thus setting up the premise for The Brotherhood, now out, and the coming The Ravening (Spring 2008, Dorchester). Possibly (hopefully!) more books in the series after that. Joss Hyde-White, son of the hero and heroine in Blood Moon is in search of answers to matters troubling him, like who he is--WHAT he is. In Cumberland, his travels comes to a stall as a snowstorm hits the area. He stumbles upon a carriage and rescues the beautiful woman, who lies unconscious inside, from being attacked. From that point, everything is not to be trusted, but that won't deter Joss from finding out the truth about his parents, the Blood Moon rite and a mysterious group called The Brotherhood, that could be his salvation. His only ally is the sexy Gypsy, Milosh. (Book Three is Milosh's book, and it hints that it will be the best yet). With each book in the series, Thompson gives you another turn of the screw, earning praise from romance readers and non-romance readers alike. I simply cannot wait for Milosh's story! Please note: reviews referring to The Brotherhood as evil vampires are in error. The Brotherhood are the good guys!