Dammit! I really don't like BDSM themed books, I don't. But the books from Kim Dare has a little something, something and I forgot why I don't really like these kind of books.

This book was wonderfully written. I like how the feelings comes slowly together and not like 'Hai, I just met you, love you and now I'm gonna bite you and ow yeah you're my b*tch!' ( )

This was an OK read for me. I liked the premise of Liam working to talk to a coma patient and the coma patient waking up and helping/falling for the one they heard for so many years. They both had some compromising and learning about themselves, but I worried while reading this that Liam wasn't quite there yet after his abuse and that it was a bit rushed. Overall, though, it was a good book. ( )

I am willing to give first 40% four stars, but the rest, it being bunnies and kittens and puppies and good at heart vamps and all around cuteness without much plot, has just about made it to 1.5. No BDSM either :( Not that it's a bad thing, but would be nice to know what to expect from a Kim Dare book going in.

2 stars. ( )

This is a fairytale which focuses on what happens AFTER the kiss that awakens the ‘prince’, so to speak. It is also a great vampire story, and has lots of hot sex and even some love thrown in to boot. And, as if that wasn’t enough, we get to see an abused man come to terms with the fact that he is still a sub, despite everything he’s been put through by an asshole who pretended to be a Master. How can you go wrong with those ingredients?

Liam is such a great guy. Abused rather than appreciated, loyal to the point of self-destruction, a quiet man who is hard to get to know, he is too scared to leave his current relationship until he gets some help from Marcus. The fact that the man is a vampire doesn’t worry Liam, but the fact that he is a Dom and attractive, doesn’t make things easier for either of them. With the typical tenacity and curiosity that has meant much trouble for Liam in the past, he now attempts to understand why he still wants Marcus to tie him down.

Marcus is an enigma, one of those ‘tall, dark and handsome’ men who never happen to be around in real life (well, not in mine at least). I thought it was great that he was the ‘helpless’ one initially and had to be woken up with a kiss. That was a nice bit of role reversal and made the story all the more interesting. Watching him gradually pull his life back together, reassert himself and plan revenge on the one who put him into a coma provided great entertainment as well as some mystery and tension.

I loved the slow build of trust between Liam and Marcus, the fact that both main characters have inner demons, their past and real enemies to fight. The gradually growing love and admiration between the two was wonderful. If you like vampire novels, fairy tales and hot men, you will love this book as much as I did. ( )

Kim Dare is known for her steamy BDSM writing. Doms, subs, leather, whipping, spanking, bondage; you'll find that and more in her work. But I think this is hands down my favorite story of hers. While it is a BDSM romance, it's so much more. Liam is a volunteer at a hospital. He sits with a patient and chats to keep them company. He has been assigned to Marcus (a vampire, but apparently that's ok in this reality. Though that's never really explained, they are fully integrated with human society), who has been in a coma for three years. Liam also has an abusive boyfriend. After a bad beating, he ends up waking Marcus up with a chaste kiss on New Years Eve.

And what follows next is such an amazing love story. Liam is frightened of most things, but Marcus treats him with such care and patience (all the while suffering from the after effects of a vampire being in a coma for three years). Liam opening up to Marcus (and the outside world) and Marcus' feelings for his 'pet' is just such a fantastic read.

A great twist on a classic fairytale!! ( )