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bookloverchelle's review against another edition
4.0
A new-to-me author I jumped in with book 5 of the Last True Vampire series. I felt that Ms. Baxter did a good job of capturing the story line until now so that jumping in this late in the game was not too confusing. There were some secondary characters, over-arching plot lines I did have some confusion with but the overall world building and character development were easy to enjoy. Saeed is a vampire who has spent years without his soul knowing that once he meets his true mate he'll finally find completion. He begins his hunt for his mate in Seattle and finds her in Cerys, a fae who can steal souls. Her soul was stolen over a thousand years ago and has spent that time in service to mage bent on domination. Cerys may be attracted to Saeed but she knows that without her soul she can never love him, and that the mage will never give her soul back. Saeed will not let anything, including Cerys service, stop him from his goal and will do anything he can to make her whole again. A really great, sexy, suspenseful paranormal read with some great characters and some fun kickass action. Good read!
*I received a copy of this book as past of a GoodReads giveaway.*
*I received a copy of this book as past of a GoodReads giveaway.*
raven168's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I probably would have rounded up instead of down for this one except for the fact that there was just so little Mikhail in it (practically none at all, really). I know it's not his book, but he's still my favorite and I want more of him.
What I liked probably most with this book is that the main couple here did not fall in love in an instant. The last six books I've read have made insta-love a very urksome thing to me so this was almost refreshing with it taking weeks at least.
By the end of the last book, I was a bit worried about how much I would like Saeed here. He's lucky he won me over. He ended up being a great guy once he got his head out of the damn collective. I loved the way he talked and acted. He might have been a little too full of himself considering he was newly turned, but that wasn't surprising.
I also liked Cerys. Over a thousand years as Rin's slave have changed her. But she also has made herself into a cold and uncaring person as a way to keep moving. A rare type of fae, Cerys is a soul stealer. Having been betrayed by her own sister, Rin holds possession of Cerys' own soul and forces her to do his bidding. Even though it kills her a little bit more each time she takes another's soul. She hates her life and she especially hates Rin. But she IS taken care of, in a fashion, and she really sees no point in even hoping for change let alone wanting it. Until Saeed shows up.
Saeed was so sure that Cerys was his mate, but when she fails to tether his soul he is at a loss as to why. Even so, he still believes that she is his and is determined to prove it to her. Playing a dangerous game with Rin, Saeed puts himself into place as Cerys' bodyguard. Weeks pass as the two of them get closer and learn more about the other, but Saeed is no closer to finding where Rin has hidden her soul. Cerys has lived so long without emotion that when she feels things around Saeed she is taken by surprise. Worst of all is the hope she feels from his unfailing conviction that she is meant to be his and he will free her from her soulless state. Add to that the fact that he is the only person to treat her with kindness and actually wants to be around her, and her heart is done for. No matter how hard she tries to push him away or change his mind, Saeed refuses to leave without her.
When Gregor and some of his men show up in Seattle, things take a very quick turn for the worst. Despite the danger, Rin sends Cerys out to collect another soul. Were it not for Saeed, she would have no doubt died there. As it was, even Saeed barely makes it back to his condo. They end losing themselves to each other, and then losing track of time. Which leads to something that was easy to see coming. When the sun finally goes down, Saeed is out of time and out of options. Making a very temporary alliance with an interesting fae named Fallon, it's off to Rin's club. I really liked how everything went down there and did not expect Gregor to do what he did.
It may have ended well for Saeed, but Sasha has gone off the deep end. I honestly don't like what her character has turned into. So I guess, much like with Saeed, I can only hope that she doesn't piss me off too much in her book next.
ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.
I probably would have rounded up instead of down for this one except for the fact that there was just so little Mikhail in it (practically none at all, really). I know it's not his book, but he's still my favorite and I want more of him.
What I liked probably most with this book is that the main couple here did not fall in love in an instant. The last six books I've read have made insta-love a very urksome thing to me so this was almost refreshing with it taking weeks at least.
By the end of the last book, I was a bit worried about how much I would like Saeed here. He's lucky he won me over. He ended up being a great guy once he got his head out of the damn collective. I loved the way he talked and acted. He might have been a little too full of himself considering he was newly turned, but that wasn't surprising.
I also liked Cerys. Over a thousand years as Rin's slave have changed her. But she also has made herself into a cold and uncaring person as a way to keep moving. A rare type of fae, Cerys is a soul stealer. Having been betrayed by her own sister, Rin holds possession of Cerys' own soul and forces her to do his bidding. Even though it kills her a little bit more each time she takes another's soul. She hates her life and she especially hates Rin. But she IS taken care of, in a fashion, and she really sees no point in even hoping for change let alone wanting it. Until Saeed shows up.
Saeed was so sure that Cerys was his mate, but when she fails to tether his soul he is at a loss as to why. Even so, he still believes that she is his and is determined to prove it to her. Playing a dangerous game with Rin, Saeed puts himself into place as Cerys' bodyguard. Weeks pass as the two of them get closer and learn more about the other, but Saeed is no closer to finding where Rin has hidden her soul. Cerys has lived so long without emotion that when she feels things around Saeed she is taken by surprise. Worst of all is the hope she feels from his unfailing conviction that she is meant to be his and he will free her from her soulless state. Add to that the fact that he is the only person to treat her with kindness and actually wants to be around her, and her heart is done for. No matter how hard she tries to push him away or change his mind, Saeed refuses to leave without her.
When Gregor and some of his men show up in Seattle, things take a very quick turn for the worst. Despite the danger, Rin sends Cerys out to collect another soul. Were it not for Saeed, she would have no doubt died there. As it was, even Saeed barely makes it back to his condo. They end losing themselves to each other, and then losing track of time. Which leads to something that was easy to see coming. When the sun finally goes down, Saeed is out of time and out of options. Making a very temporary alliance with an interesting fae named Fallon, it's off to Rin's club. I really liked how everything went down there and did not expect Gregor to do what he did.
It may have ended well for Saeed, but Sasha has gone off the deep end. I honestly don't like what her character has turned into. So I guess, much like with Saeed, I can only hope that she doesn't piss me off too much in her book next.
ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.
rclz's review against another edition
3.0
more like 3 1/2. written well enough but couldn't really connect with the main characters. Not my favorite of the series.
tanyad74's review against another edition
3.0
When I began The Lost Vampire, I was prepared to put up with some selfish, craziness from Saeed. I didn't think he had the organization to get Sasha and Diego turned and prepared to lead his coven while he runs off to Seattle to find his mate. The Collective is driving him into madness and he sees his mate in the Collective's memories. He has to follow the hints he received from the child Foreseer as that is the only lead he has. Saeed believes once he is tethered and his soul is returned, he will be able to get his life back together.
Saeed is going to find getting his soul back just a bit harder than he expects. Cerys is a soul stealer who has had her own soul stolen and now lives in captivity with Rin. Rin uses Cerys to collect souls of those who break their agreements with him. Slowly this is killing Cerys. Saeed believes that once Cerys has her soul back, then she will tether him. He embarks on a plan to get her and her soul away from Rin.
I have to say, The Lost Vampire made me hungry. Cerys tries to fill the emptiness that was her soul's with food, and lots of it! Cerys tries not to get her hopes up about Saeed's plan, and tries to keep him away from Rin. Unfortunately she ends up losing Saeed and being pushed at Gregor. What Gregor is after is a mystery. Even after he helps Saeed get Cerys, Gregor's intentions are hidden. Saeed doesn't wait for Gregor to change his mind and quickly gets Cerys back to LA. He'll discover Gregor's plans soon enough.
Cerys was a great, spunky character. Even after thousands of years being Rin's captive, she still has an attitude with him. She's kept a part of herself that keeps her from becoming too submissive. Saeed seems to be obsessed with Cerys, which worries her, but he is able to keep his head straight for the most part. I feel like he had desperation and I wasn't crazy about that characteristic. It took away from the strong hero outlook I wanted to have for him. Cerys was a character I really connected with though and I loved all her scenes. I didn't find the book as intense as I was expecting, but I did really enjoy it. We do not see much of our previous characters, probably because the story was based in Seattle, and I missed that a bit. I would like to see them all interact more.
We have some side characters who are building parts in anticipation of the upcoming war as well as their books. I am really excited for The Wicked Vampire and Sasha's story which is coming out December 5, 2017. She begins to let loose in The Lost Vampire and I can't wait to see what interesting things that will cause!This review was originally posted on Rantings of a Reading Addict
Saeed is going to find getting his soul back just a bit harder than he expects. Cerys is a soul stealer who has had her own soul stolen and now lives in captivity with Rin. Rin uses Cerys to collect souls of those who break their agreements with him. Slowly this is killing Cerys. Saeed believes that once Cerys has her soul back, then she will tether him. He embarks on a plan to get her and her soul away from Rin.
I have to say, The Lost Vampire made me hungry. Cerys tries to fill the emptiness that was her soul's with food, and lots of it! Cerys tries not to get her hopes up about Saeed's plan, and tries to keep him away from Rin. Unfortunately she ends up losing Saeed and being pushed at Gregor. What Gregor is after is a mystery. Even after he helps Saeed get Cerys, Gregor's intentions are hidden. Saeed doesn't wait for Gregor to change his mind and quickly gets Cerys back to LA. He'll discover Gregor's plans soon enough.
Cerys was a great, spunky character. Even after thousands of years being Rin's captive, she still has an attitude with him. She's kept a part of herself that keeps her from becoming too submissive. Saeed seems to be obsessed with Cerys, which worries her, but he is able to keep his head straight for the most part. I feel like he had desperation and I wasn't crazy about that characteristic. It took away from the strong hero outlook I wanted to have for him. Cerys was a character I really connected with though and I loved all her scenes. I didn't find the book as intense as I was expecting, but I did really enjoy it. We do not see much of our previous characters, probably because the story was based in Seattle, and I missed that a bit. I would like to see them all interact more.
We have some side characters who are building parts in anticipation of the upcoming war as well as their books. I am really excited for The Wicked Vampire and Sasha's story which is coming out December 5, 2017. She begins to let loose in The Lost Vampire and I can't wait to see what interesting things that will cause!This review was originally posted on Rantings of a Reading Addict
readermonica's review against another edition
3.0
I read The Lost Vampire during a road trip and it was a good choice as a vacation read. The story is evenly paced which made it easy to pick up and put down. Although it is book five in a series, I was able to read and enjoy it as a stand alone story. However, because this story takes place further into the series, there were instances where more context would have provided better understanding for Saeed's history.
Cerys and Saeed are both in bad situations that feel inescapable to them. Cerys is basically enslaved to Rinieri who controls her by holding her soul captive and using her powers for his own purposes. I enjoyed Cerys as a character; she has the strength of will to do whatever is needed to take care of herself in a horrible situation. She does not come off as weak or beaten down, but instead as a woman who is surviving in a position that would break most people. It was also nice that Cerys doesn't instantly fall for Saeed and look to him to save her. Instead, Saeed becomes a steady force that she can eventually count on to help her reclaim her soul.
The Lost Vampire has plenty of action to move the story along as well as the building of a romance between two complicated people. There is also the buildup of the story that will probably be the next installment of the series. So although Cerys and Saeed's story comes to a nice conclusion, I was left interested in what will happen next. Because I enjoyed The Lost Vampire, I think that I will at some point go back and start at the beginning of this series so that I can get the other stories that lead up to this point.
**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
You can find me at:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
Cerys and Saeed are both in bad situations that feel inescapable to them. Cerys is basically enslaved to Rinieri who controls her by holding her soul captive and using her powers for his own purposes. I enjoyed Cerys as a character; she has the strength of will to do whatever is needed to take care of herself in a horrible situation. She does not come off as weak or beaten down, but instead as a woman who is surviving in a position that would break most people. It was also nice that Cerys doesn't instantly fall for Saeed and look to him to save her. Instead, Saeed becomes a steady force that she can eventually count on to help her reclaim her soul.
The Lost Vampire has plenty of action to move the story along as well as the building of a romance between two complicated people. There is also the buildup of the story that will probably be the next installment of the series. So although Cerys and Saeed's story comes to a nice conclusion, I was left interested in what will happen next. Because I enjoyed The Lost Vampire, I think that I will at some point go back and start at the beginning of this series so that I can get the other stories that lead up to this point.
**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
You can find me at:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
amym84's review against another edition
4.0
If you read [b:The Untamed Vampire|30528852|The Untamed Vampire (Last True Vampire, #4)|Kate Baxter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492814246s/30528852.jpg|51052436] you should be pretty acquainted with Saeed who was turned by Mikhail and then promptly swept up in the memories of the Collective. While looking through the memories of those long since dead, Saeed sees a beautiful Fae woman. Instantly he knows this woman is meant to tether his soul. When he's given information that suggests the fae woman is in Seattle, Saeed quickly steps down as head of his coven, and departs.
What awaits Saeed is an entrapment that is centuries long. Cerys Bain was captured by the feared mage Rinieri de Rege centuries ago. As a soul thief, Cerys generates enough fear on her own merit, but being under the command of Rin, and people try to avoid her at all costs. It's been a lonely existence for Cerys, but when she meet Saeed and he speaks about tethering, she can't help but draw a little bit of hope about one day being free, no matter how futile this hope may be.
I loved the build up of Saeed and Cerys' story in the previous book. I think that maybe this set me up for certain expectations, and while I still really enjoyed their romance, it didn't quite meet the expectations I had myself set up for.
While, yes, Saeed has been looking for Cerys for months and envisioning her within the Collective, Cerys doesn't know anything about Saeed. So I felt her attraction wasn't as genuine as Saeed's, understandable so of course. I would have like to have seen a little more balance in regards to Cerys' feelings for Saeed. I felt like the action of the storyline moved along too quickly. Really, the story is supposed to take place over the course of weeks thereby giving Cerys and Saeed the ability to get to know one another, but for me, it didn't feel like that. Had it, I think I would have been more on board with Cerys' feelings for Saeed.
I did love the insertion of the fae into the supernatural mix of this series. Of course the vampires take center stage, but I like that it's not just vampire and vampire tethering that's happening. I love that the world has been expanded out a bit more, and this includes Saeed actually leaving LA. True, he doesn't travel too far, but I like that things are growing as the series grows.
One of the big draws for me, and something that Kate Baxter has really executed well up to this point, is the overarching storyline with Ian Gregor and the berserkers. Their backstory, and the history they have with the vampires is very interesting. What's more interesting is Gregor's endgame. How is everything being set into place for the finale? I think we still have a few more set-ups, before then. Besides the Gregor storyline, Kate Baxter seems to have some interesting character romances in the works. I say "seems to" because I never know how these things will end up playing out, but I can't wait to see.
So far, this has been a great series, that keeps getting better.
What awaits Saeed is an entrapment that is centuries long. Cerys Bain was captured by the feared mage Rinieri de Rege centuries ago. As a soul thief, Cerys generates enough fear on her own merit, but being under the command of Rin, and people try to avoid her at all costs. It's been a lonely existence for Cerys, but when she meet Saeed and he speaks about tethering, she can't help but draw a little bit of hope about one day being free, no matter how futile this hope may be.
I loved the build up of Saeed and Cerys' story in the previous book. I think that maybe this set me up for certain expectations, and while I still really enjoyed their romance, it didn't quite meet the expectations I had myself set up for.
While, yes, Saeed has been looking for Cerys for months and envisioning her within the Collective, Cerys doesn't know anything about Saeed. So I felt her attraction wasn't as genuine as Saeed's, understandable so of course. I would have like to have seen a little more balance in regards to Cerys' feelings for Saeed. I felt like the action of the storyline moved along too quickly. Really, the story is supposed to take place over the course of weeks thereby giving Cerys and Saeed the ability to get to know one another, but for me, it didn't feel like that. Had it, I think I would have been more on board with Cerys' feelings for Saeed.
I did love the insertion of the fae into the supernatural mix of this series. Of course the vampires take center stage, but I like that it's not just vampire and vampire tethering that's happening. I love that the world has been expanded out a bit more, and this includes Saeed actually leaving LA. True, he doesn't travel too far, but I like that things are growing as the series grows.
One of the big draws for me, and something that Kate Baxter has really executed well up to this point, is the overarching storyline with Ian Gregor and the berserkers. Their backstory, and the history they have with the vampires is very interesting. What's more interesting is Gregor's endgame. How is everything being set into place for the finale? I think we still have a few more set-ups, before then. Besides the Gregor storyline, Kate Baxter seems to have some interesting character romances in the works. I say "seems to" because I never know how these things will end up playing out, but I can't wait to see.
So far, this has been a great series, that keeps getting better.
readermonica's review
3.0
I read The Lost Vampire during a road trip and it was a good choice as a vacation read. The story is evenly paced which made it easy to pick up and put down. Although it is book five in a series, I was able to read and enjoy it as a stand alone story. However, because this story takes place further into the series, there were instances where more context would have provided better understanding for Saeed's history.
Cerys and Saeed are both in bad situations that feel inescapable to them. Cerys is basically enslaved to Rinieri who controls her by holding her soul captive and using her powers for his own purposes. I enjoyed Cerys as a character; she has the strength of will to do whatever is needed to take care of herself in a horrible situation. She does not come off as weak or beaten down, but instead as a woman who is surviving in a position that would break most people. It was also nice that Cerys doesn't instantly fall for Saeed and look to him to save her. Instead, Saeed becomes a steady force that she can eventually count on to help her reclaim her soul.
The Lost Vampire has plenty of action to move the story along as well as the building of a romance between two complicated people. There is also the buildup of the story that will probably be the next installment of the series. So although Cerys and Saeed's story comes to a nice conclusion, I was left interested in what will happen next. Because I enjoyed The Lost Vampire, I think that I will at some point go back and start at the beginning of this series so that I can get the other stories that lead up to this point.
**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
You can find me at:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
Cerys and Saeed are both in bad situations that feel inescapable to them. Cerys is basically enslaved to Rinieri who controls her by holding her soul captive and using her powers for his own purposes. I enjoyed Cerys as a character; she has the strength of will to do whatever is needed to take care of herself in a horrible situation. She does not come off as weak or beaten down, but instead as a woman who is surviving in a position that would break most people. It was also nice that Cerys doesn't instantly fall for Saeed and look to him to save her. Instead, Saeed becomes a steady force that she can eventually count on to help her reclaim her soul.
The Lost Vampire has plenty of action to move the story along as well as the building of a romance between two complicated people. There is also the buildup of the story that will probably be the next installment of the series. So although Cerys and Saeed's story comes to a nice conclusion, I was left interested in what will happen next. Because I enjoyed The Lost Vampire, I think that I will at some point go back and start at the beginning of this series so that I can get the other stories that lead up to this point.
**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
You can find me at:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
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