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Fantasy. Fiction. Romance. HTML: "An author who delivers only the best." �Romantic Times "Put Jeaniene Frost on your must-read list!" �Lara Adrian, New York Times bestselling author Spinning off from her wildly successful, New York Times bestselling Night Huntress novels featuring vampire soulmates Cat and Bones, Jeaniene Frost kicks off the thrilling new Night Prince series with Once Burned. Vlad Tepesh, the ruthless master vampire and inspiration for Bram Stoker's dark legend (but don't dare call him Dracula) encounters a mortal woman with unimaginable power...including the ability to enflame his cold heart. Paranormal romance and urban fantasy fans who hunger for the novels of Kim Harrison, Christine Feehan, and Charlaine Harris are going to love The Night Prince and this dark and steamy tale of supernatural attraction..… (more)
User reviews
I've been a Jeaniene Frost, Night Huntress fan since day #1. I love Cat & Bones, and have a soft spot for Spade, but I have been in love with Vlad since he was first introduced in the series and would anxiously await any parts in the
Once Burned gives us Vlad (THE man that ALL of the Dracula myths were based upon) in all his sexy, cocky, powerful, undead glory, and introduces a loveable, relate-able heroine and some villains that you will absolutely love to hate.
Leila is human, but with some 'extras'. She is able to conduct electricity through her body, and is psychometric. In attempting to deal with her 'additions', she's sequestered herself in a small town with a family of traveling carnies and is working as a trapeze artist. After being snatched up by some bad guys, she's thrown into a world that she knew existed, but never thought to be immersed in, and finds herself directly linked to a powerful vampire who's apparently #1 on everyone's hit list.
Vlad, having his mind reading abilities in addition to his pyromania, realizes when he's being spied upon psychically by Leila. The 2 are inevitably thrown together to sort out the wicked plot that is not only jeopardizing Vlad and Leila's lives, but that of their friends as well.
Leila is a great strong heroine and in my personal opinion, a wonderful match for Vlad. The two together are dynamic and explosive and the best part is that Leila's no damsel in distress. She's definitely her own woman, and while Vlad doesn't change for her either (thank goodness - he remains the same arrogant, sarcastic, sometimes merciless but never without a reason Vlad we've come to know and love), he accepts her feisty side and even encourages it.
Take these two utterly fantastic leading characters and throw them into the Night Huntress world that never fails to amaze with an action packed storyline full of intrigue, danger, twists, turns, and surprises around most corners, etc and you end up with one incredible read!
The first installment of the Night Prince series spin-off was an amazing addition to the Night Huntress World.
My only complaint was the abrupt ending because dang it... I want the next book NOW!
LITERAL ADDICTION gives Once Burned 5 Skulls and is eagerly anticipating the next book in the series.
Vlad rescues her and takes her home with him. His ability to read her mind lets him know that she is a victim and not a lure. It takes a while for Leila to get used to the idea that Vlad can read her mind but she adjusts to it. Her experiences with touching others and knowing their most shameful secrets has made her more open to having her thoughts out there for him to see.
Vlad is a very frightening hero. He doesn't hesitate to kill to protect those who are his people. He is also arrogant. Of course, he is also beautiful and one of the only people Leila can touch without killing. Her ability to know about objects wasn't the only result of being electrocuted when she touched a downed power line. She also is electrified herself. She can't touch anyone without electrocuting them. But Vlad's element is fire. Not only can he accept her touch, he revels in it.
Together Vlad and Leila have to find out who arranged her kidnapping and who wants to kill Vlad. It was great watching the two of them develop a relationship. Despite his vast age and power, Leila is a match for him. She won't let him push her around and, unlike everyone else around him, he doesn't bow down to his commands.
I can't wait until the next book in the series to find out more about Vlad and Leila.
My first complaint is the biggest. The unique and original Vlad has turned into a bland any-vampire romance character. Seriously, I would never have realized this was the same character had his name not been the same. Then there was the story. While mildly entertaining, it was also slow moving and I never really felt a strong connection between Vlad and Leila. And I did really like Leila. Her unique abilities really worked in my opinion. She made the story readable. When the action was at the forefront of the book, the story was much more entertaining and enjoyable than when the romance was the focus. Again, I just never bought their romance. It was a lot of insta-love which was the exact opposite of the tension and attraction readers could feel sizzle on the page between Cat and Bones.
The book took me way too long to get through. Unfortunately that usually signals that a book is slow moving and not very engrossing. While this isn't a bad book, it just doesn't live up to the standards Jeanine Frost has set for herself. This is a sub-par offering. I hope her follow up is stronger. I don't want to give up on Vlad but I just can't see how this introduction could lead to a strong spin off series.
This was a really fun book. I love Jeaniene Frost because her books are usually action packed, funny, and have some good steamy love scenes. Once Burned delivered on all counts. It wasn’t quite as funny as a Cat and Bones book but I think that’s only because Bones is such a cheeky character. I think Vlad is much more serious than Bones so the feel is a little more serious but still highly entertaining.
While Vlad has made many appearances in the Night Huntress series, his past has remained a bit of a mystery. In Once Burned, we learn about his past and the events that shaped him. Having lost everything before and been betrayed, he is wary to trust. But he is not as cold and ruthless as he seems. It’s obvious that he cares for Leila even if he won’t say it in so many words. There is a scene in which Leila gets into his head and sees him picking out what to wear in order to meet her family that made me go “awwww” a little.
I really, really liked Leila. She’s lived a lonely life, estranged from her family and unable to touch anyone. But she doesn’t wallow in self-pity and or invite sympathy. She’s tough and brave and extremely loyal, often putting herself in danger to help others. I love that she isn’t afraid to stand up to Vlad and calls him out when he’s acting like an arrogant ass. Her unusual powers are what initially make her intriguing to Vlad but it’s her compassionate and fiery nature that really draws him in. Since this is a Jeaniene Frost book, I expected the chemistry to be hot and I wasn’t disappointed.
There are also some fun secondary characters to keep things interesting. Maximus and Marty stand out the most and I do hope that Maximus finds a girlfriend one day soon. Cat and Bones make a very brief appearance, which is fun. Their scene is quite brief but it was nice to see them.
The only thing I was really disappointed in was the ending. For some reason I thought Vlad was just getting a book, not a whole series. But it looks like Frost has been contracted for at least two Vlad books. If you’ve read Cat and Bones then you know that Frost isn’t always the queen of closure and the ending of the book feels somewhat unfinished. Since I thought this was the only book, I was expecting it to wrap up neatly and was surprised at the abrupt ending. But that's my only real complaint. But other than that small issue, this book lived up to my expectations and more. Now I just have to be patient and wait for the next book to come out. :(
I LOVED this book. I never thought I would say that about a book with a bare chested man on the cover, but I did. This is the beginning of the Night Prince series but it is part of the Night Huntress world so I need to go back and catch up on those because it seems that Vlad appears in those books too. This book is definitely paranormal romance, but Leila is a great character as well as Vlad who is, quite frankly, drool-worthy. There is plenty of action and just the right amount of sex for me which is about 2 really good romps. The next book is out in 2013.
First, let's begin with the horrendous book cover. I'm aware that authors don't generally get much say in the design of their book covers - though perhaps they should, because this one is particularly bad - so it's not necessarily a reflection on her. For the record, Jeaniene Frost is classified as "Urban Fantasy" - but the cover of this book is clearly raunchy romance with BDSM kings. The main plot of Once Burned really has nothing to do with romance - though, granted, there is romance involved - after all, it is a book about vampires and romance is a standard MO for vampire books these days.
My point is, the book's cover sends the wrong message about the book's content. Truthfully, I probably wouldn't have purchased the book if I didn't already know what to expect from Jeaniene Frost.
With that statement, we can segue into the book's content. As that earlier sentence implies, I already have a clear idea of what I can expect when picking up a Jeanine Frost novel, and this one was no exception. It hooks you in from the first chapter and doesn't let go until the very end. Frost is a master at balancing character development, plot development, and romantic development while maintaining the appropriate pace.
As mentioned in the introduction, Once Burned is a story about Vlad - and how he found love again. Leila is human, but with a special "gift," thanks to an accident that nearly claimed her life (and did claim her mother's) when she was a child. Ever since this accident - which involved a downed power-line - anyone who touches her skin immediately receives a shock treatment. In addition, Leila can see the person's worst sins - and sometimes more, depending on the type of contact she has with the person. She crosses Vlad's path when some vampires kidnap her in an attempt to use her to figure out where Vlad is so they can kill him. Thanks to Vlad's mind-reading ability, when she seeks him out for the vampires, he is able to sense her and read her mind, which enables her to warn him and tell him where she's located so he can come kill the others.
Of course, this is where it gets a little crazy because, though he saves her life, they are unable to figure out who sent the vampires after him in the first place. In an effort to keep her out of their master's hands, he takes her back to his home until the mess can get sorted out. Naturally, this creates the perfect environment for a new romance - if only Leila wasn't so opposed to the idea. While they are sorting out their relationship and their differences, Vlad also has to work hard to figure out who's trying to kill him so he can stop them before they succeed. I won't tell you who is behind it, for obvious reasons, so you'll just have to go read the book to find out for yourself!
Of course, Cat and Bones make an appearance, which is blended well within the story without making it seem contrived or out of character. As Cat and Bones are the two who started the whole thing, I love seeing brief glimpses of them in these spinoff stories. Now, operating under the assumption that Jeaniene Frost didn't have a say in her cover design, this book gets the full six stars because it is well-written from start to finish, and Frost demonstrates her professional story-telling abilities yet again. I would recommend this book for any Jeaniene Frost fan, or anyone who loves a good urban fantasy with a little bit of romance thrown in the mix.
**Original review posted on honestreviewscorner.com**
Was up way to late finishing this one - definitely a keeper. Likeable main characters and a good hook on the end.
While I am a huge fan of the Night Huntress Series, I haven’t been a big fan of the Night Huntress World Series. The World Series seems to lack much of the humor and badassness that makes the original series so great. Mencheres, Spade and Vlad are awesome side characters, but on their
Vlad has always been one of my favorite side characters in the series. He’s an arrogant, ruthless SOB and I love his deadpan humor. I especially love his interactions with Cat and Bones. While Vlad remains as arrogant and badass as ever in Once Burned, he lacks his usual humor. There are some funny moments and zingers, but they are too few of them.
His love interest, Leila, was interesting at first, but then she started to bore a bit. As a child Leila had an accident that left her with the ability to shock people in both the literal and metaphorical sense. She’s able to see the past, current and future of anyone she touches and is able draw out the essence of a person by touching objects they touched. Her power was really interesting, but the accident and family drama part of it weren’t handled well. The accident and guilt Leila carried were drawn out for the better part of the book. When everything was finally revealed it was anticlimactic and it just felt stupid that she felt guilt over what happened. Also, the resolution of the guilt happened so quickly it was a blink and you miss it moment. Other than this, I did like Leila and I think she has potential to develop into a better character.
Together Leila and Vlad have great bedroom chemistry…on par with Cat and Bones, so that’s saying something. *wiggles eyebrows* However, I didn’t really get the attraction outside of the bedroom…not on Leila’s part, but on Vlad’s. I didn’t see what he saw in Leila. There was no real build up to their relationship. It was built on insta-lust. Yes, Leila resisted a bit in the beginning, but her resistance lasted like a day or so. For the most part their dialogue and interactions were rather “meh”. There were few moments that distinguished this book from the thousands of other romance novels out there. However, I do think there is potential there as Leila and Vlad come to terms with what happened at the end of this book. I’m glad that their relationship wasn’t settled in this book because that would’ve been a big disappointment.
The mystery part of the book was intriguing. That is part of the reason why this book got bumped to 3.5 from 3 stars. I liked the villain and the extent of his evilness. There is a lot of potential for conflict in the next book, which makes me look forward to seeing what happens next.
Overall, I think this latest installment is an improvement on the Night Huntress World Series. By the way, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t read the other two. While Mencheres and his wife make a small cameo in this book it’s not crucial to the story.
Once Burned starts off really strong, and wastes no time throwing readers into the story. Leila the love interest in this book is an ordinary girl who was in an accident that caused her to have some shocking abilities. I had mixed feelings throughout the story about Leila's abilities. Early on in the story Leila had to worry about touching people, and couldn’t get on airplanes, and couldn’t use electrical devices. I was worried Leila’s abilities weren't going to play out smoothly with the story during the latter half of the book and it turned out I was right.
First in the beginning of the story Leila has to expel the electrical currents before she showers on lightning rods, but then later she jumps right into the shower for a hot and heavy sexy scene with Vlad. I may have missed something, but I’m pretty sure she needed the electrical expel before she could get wet. Leila also later uses a cell phone to call Vlad for help but it was okay apparently because she was wearing some guy’s gloves, not the special gloves Vlad made for her. I just think this particular ability was complicated and was difficult to work into the story. I think Leila's psychic-ish abilities are awesome; I loved that she could touch objects and read past, present, and future from the human essence left behind. I think the psychic abilities alone would have been perfect, but the electrical thing got complicated.
I also kind of missed the old Vlad in this story. Vlad in The Night Huntress series was comic relief. Vlad always had a smart butt reply, and his banter was hilarious. In Vlad's new series he is a different guy almost, very serious but that could be because the entire book someone is out to kill him. I would have liked to see the chemistry between Vlad a Leila a bit stronger, but I think this is going to get stronger as the series progresses. Now the sex scenes between Vlad and Leila did have chemistry, and in fact was incredibly hot in more way than one. Sweat worthy if I don’t say so myself.
All and all I did enjoy the story. I easily would read a hundred pages at a time without realizing it. Other than the few hick ups above that distracted me, I loved the story. I am definitely going to be picking up book two in the series. I want to see if the electrical abilities are explained better in the next book, and of course I want to see the chemistry intensify. I've read the great work Jeaniene Frost puts out, and I can't wait to see her take this series and make it as amazing as The Night Huntress series. This book is recommended to adult readers only, and is best for lovers of the Paranormal Romance genre.
Quick & Dirty: Oh Vlad how I lust for thee… Action-packed and intriguing characters, you just can’t go wrong with a Jeaniene Frost novel.
Opening Sentence: I parked my bike in front of the restaurant, wiping the perspiration from my upper lip.
Excerpt: Yes
The Review:
Leila Dalton has one heck of a problem on her hands. She can electrocute someone just by touch but her right hand is a real troublemaker. When a woman accidentally brushes her hand, Leila sees the woman’s murder. Always wanting to do the right thing Leila stops the murder even though she knows she will be seen as a freak but being a freak is something she can handle ever since she touched a power line. She has the scars to show for it running from her right temple down to the all-seeing right hand. Leila knows she is in for some trouble when her heroics make the news.
In order to hide her secrets, Leila travels around in a carnival performing gymnastic tricks with her vampire partner, Marty. (Marty is more like a father figure to Leila.) Unfortunately it is the winter season, so no traveling for Leila, as she is kidnapped by a group of vampires while she is training. These vampires want to use Leila’s powers to track down one scary vamp in Vlad. But Leila already knows they will kill her once they have their information so when Vlad knows he is being spied upon Leila makes a deal with the devil. In this case, better the devil you don’t know than the devil you know especially when you know they will kill you once your usefulness is done.
Vlad flies in to the rescue, literally, wanting to know who is spying on him. He also plans to use Leila to find out the information. Vlad is surprised by Leila’s abilities and is intrigued by her. When Leila foresees herself in an intimate situation with Vlad, she wants nothing to do with him. She has been warned that Vlad will only break her heart, but she also knows how arrogant and self-absorbed he is, so she does her best to stay away from him. But when she finds that she wants to be in his company whenever he is around she cannot hide it anymore. It really doesn’t help that Vlad can read her thoughts so he knows exactly how she feels.
Leila gets torn into the vampire underworld, where two sides want her power. She has to decide whether being held by Vlad is really such a bad thing because either way she will never be free. She will always be hunted for her power. She doesn’t mind helping Vlad but she doesn’t like how her father, her sister and Marty have been turned into pawns for her cooperation. Vlad really only uses Marty against her but he makes her realize what could happen to her family. Leila decides to follow her heart and the path that will keep her with Vlad.
I am a HUGE Jeaniene Frost fan, so it didn’t take long for me to devour Once Burned. I love her characters and Vlad and Leila are no exception. Vlad is dark, self-obsessed and overly macho. He knows he is a big baddie in the vampire world and he does what is takes to keep his reputation. He wants to make sure everyone is scared of him. Leila understands Vlad’s act but she doesn’t want to believe it until it affects her. She is strong and impetuous, running into situations that realistically should have gotten her killed. Thankfully, tall, dark and handsome runs to her rescue.
The vampire world is revealed in small doses which is nice and refreshing for fans of the series so they don’t get dumped everything in the world but Once Burned doesn’t really show the complexity of the world that Jeaniene has created especially for new readers. I would wholeheartedly recommend reading the Night Huntress series first so new readers can see why fans of this series love Vlad so much.
Once Burned is told strictly through first person with Leila as the narrator. This is what throws this story, for me, from being paranormal romance into being more urban fantasy even though the setting isn’t in an urban area. The plot is action packed and gripping from start to finish.
Overall, Once Burned is a thrilling read. There is a bit of an open ending with the book regarding the villain but there still is a bit of a satisfactory ending. I absolutely can’t wait for the next book in the series Twice Tempted and know what is next for Leila and Vlad.
Notable Scene:
His hands left my back to weave in my hair. Then he leaned down until his face was very close to mine.
“I never set a standard that I won’t keep myself, and if you ever want out, you need only say the word. But mean it, Leila, because once I leave, I’m gone forever.”
Vlad’s eyes bled back to deep copper as he spoke, and though they were no longer glowing in that inhuman way, somehow, they were more compelling.
“Right back at you,” I said, matching his unyeilding stare. “Is that all?”
His lips twisted. “No. I can give you honesty, monogamy, and more passion that you can stand, but not love. That emotion died in me long ago, as I suspect you already know.”
I took a deep breath, fighting a twinge that made no sense because he was right. I had guessed that about him.
“Good,” I replied in a steady voice. “I was worried that you’d turn into one of those obsessed, emo movie vampires, and that would be embarrassing for both of us.”
His laughter rang out before changing into something rougher and infinitely more sensual. Emerald overtook his gaze once again.
“Enough talk,” he muttered, and lowered his head.
FTC Advisory: HarperCollins/Avon Romance provided me with a copy of Once Burned. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
All around great story.
Also, the obsessive need that Vlad has to impale people was just this side of ridiculous, and it got to the point that it was making me laugh.
The book is written in first person point of view which is a rarity since a lot of paranormal romance genre are written in third POV. It was a convenience in some dialogues especially when the main character was narrating in her mind, Vlad kept replying to her without her saying anything. But I kept finding the book going on the conventional paranormal romance pathway more than urban fantasy. So, if you are a reader of urban fantasy, you might want to skip this book. Although there was action and drama, the romance element was more abundant especially with Vlad and Leila’s cat and mouse relationship.
I would have rated it better had the book more funnier and had both the character not been mind readers. I like Dracula novels since I’m way more Team Dracula than Team Van Helsing (Helsing is a misogynistic self-righteous crazy old man in the Stoker novels). After I’ve survived Christine Feehan’s years of endless mind reading alpha vampires and the Edward Cullen-ess of it, I’m pretty sick of the whole vampire mind f*beep*ing all over the genre, personally, its over used. Some parts reminded me of flying Erik Northman from True Blood, Meg Cabot’s Lightning Girl series and Kristin Bell’s character in Heroes and Prince Zuko from Avatar.
I do think the story is linear and does flow right but I had some misgivings since the book is a series. Personally, the book might have been better had the author written it in stand alone serials than one couple serials. So now, I am more skeptic at the continuation of the book since there was not much about the other characters themselves. This is why I dislike first person POVs, the characterization is truly limited to the narrator, unless the author decided to switch narration. Frankly, I think I like it even more had half of the book written in Vlad’s POV.
Honestly, I would recommend readers to wait for next year to read the first book since the next book will be out on March 2013. I felt immense dissatisfaction after reading this book, probably because I want more Vlad. Plain and simple.
There is nothing here I can say that won't be just gushing.
If you like Jeaniene Frost and if you like Tavia Gilbert, there is nothing about this book that will change that.
It is all about bad boy Vlad, and that is all good. There was not an HEA but the HFN seems to fit better with
Good stuff.
My Amazon review: If you are familiar with the Cat and Bones series, then you have met Vlad.
Vlad is true to his character in the other series. He doesn't become a romantic like Bones; he doesn't change his philosophy of survival. What you get is a protag who is strong in his views and follows through.
The heroine is just as strong as Cat, but in her own ways. A former gymnast who was electrocuted in her youth and survived, she now has powers that are useful to the undead world, making her a prime target for Vlad and his enemies.
I do have moments of thinking our female protag is a bit TSTL, but what the heck, you need some of those moments so you can berate her and feel superior.
It is well done. A great beginning to a new, yet not, series.
Ms. Frost does manage to keep it fresh.
Loved it. I love Vlad and Leila and how they connected. I missed Jeaniene's writing and her own specific brand of vampires. Cat, Bones, Kira and Mencheres' cameo was fun. I wish it lasted a little longer, though. I'd have loved seeing how the ladies communicate. Maybe in the
I absolutely love how seriously he takes offense at the "rumors" or the "public image" he has.
Can't wait for the next one.