The Nightlife; Paris by Travis Luedke

Synopsis

Vampire master Michelle, and her slave, Aaron Pilan, leave the heartbreak of Vegas for a new start in Paris. Aaron’s mistakes in Vegas make him question everything he knows about Michelle, and the prospect of a long, lonely future with her.

Struggling with his predatory alter ego, Aaron chafes under Michelle's rules. His animalistic desires drive him to take a lover without conditions – a bloodslave – but Michelle refuses.

Michelle is not blind to Aaron’s needs. She answers his demands by opening her heart and soul to him. Their minds intertwine and Aaron relives her dark, gritty tale of survival in the ravages of war-torn Paris under the German occupation. Her disturbing revelations are met with shock, pushing Aaron even further from her. For the first time, Michelle begins to reconsider the way she has lived all these decades.

And they are not alone in Paris. An investigator has shadowed them from Vegas, seeking the unique gifts of Michelle’s blood. He hunts the vampires, attacking them at their most vulnerable time. Michelle and Aaron face death and worse – separation.

Review

The beginning of the book finds Michelle & Aaron arriving in Paris, where Michelle is so happy to be back in her home town. Aaron is carrying the burden and guilt of losing Anastasia and Michelle feels the pain he’s going through. She is his one salvation her love for him keeps him going through the days that have passed since the events unfolded in Vegas. Aaron pushes Michelle to show him her home in Paris, and is shocked at the enormity of the property she owns, and he feels a fool that he’s been trying to earn enough money to keep both of them, when he finds out Michelle has millions at her disposal. It’s at this point that Michelle decides to show/tell Aaron about her life in Paris and what made her the way she is.

Most of the book centres on Michelle’s back story and it’s great to find out where she has come from and how she became the vampire that she is today and why she enforces her rules on Aaron. The story takes us from her idyllic life in Paris, through to the start of World War 2 and the arrival of Julian the master vampire who turned her. The story was touching in parts and violent in others as Michelle struggles to survive. Her life with Julian was shocking and the death’s she caused throughout the war left me  astounded at her ability to survive whatever is thrown at her. On one hand I felt so sorry for Michelle and what she had to endure, but I defiantly admire how she fought through and came out the other end a much stronger person for it.

There is also the introduction to Urvashi a shape shifting fallen angel who rescues Aaron (but I won’t say why as I don’t want to spoil the book) and makes Michelle look like a pussy cat. She is a master puppeteer & manipulator who over the century’s gone, influenced humanity and her intentions are never clear. Also lurking in the background is Michael Jamison the private investigator from Las Vegas, who has a major impact on the storyline, and Michelle & Aaron don’t see him coming.

Aaron has become a petulant child again in this book which inevitable brings more chaos to their lives. I must admit I’m not really keen on Aaron when he’s like this, I much preferred him in Las Vegas when he was confident and happy with his lot, but I understand why he had to change again to allow the story to progress with major implications.

I must admit that after the Vegas book I felt a little let down with the more sedate nature of this book compared to the Las Vegas one which was certainly a roller coaster ride which I enjoyed so much. Saying that I feel the series needed Michelle’s back story of her life before Aaron, so the readers could understand how she came to be who she is. One thing defiantly changed in this book is how the two main characters are becoming more dimensional as layers are added to them as the books progress. I did like how Michelle’s story is told as if she was really living the events, it kept me turning the pages to find out more.

If you are looking for loads of amazing vampire sex in Paris then you may be disappointed as it did seem a little toned-down in this book compared to the previous two, but don’t let this put you off. However this book was rawer and full of aggression and fear, and it did not lack the action I have become accustomed to in The Nightlife Series. I must say in a genre dominated by great female writers such as L K Hamilton Travis stands out as a great writer of vampire novels and this is due to the different angles he uses to write his books which are so unlike other vampire books I’ve read.

I rate this book