What do you think?
Rate this book
Encounters with Evil #1
The Valjevo Encounter
When an imposing man dressed in black leather, riding a Harley, and sporting a mysterious eye patch charges into an alley and saves college senior Melvin “Tigger” Jacobsen from a creature with soulless, solid black eyes and glistening fangs, sparks begin to fly. Too bad they may not live long enough to explore their irresistible attraction.
Guy Salluci is a vampire hunter who works for a highly covert organization called EERIE. He is Mel’s dream man come-to-life. His bulging muscles and stern countenance are a sharp contrast to the gentle care he gives the injured Mel.
Until now Mel’s biggest challenge was finding a studly boyfriend who will put up with his terminal geekiness. When he finds himself on the run from the vampire, Valjevo, who has targeted him for his next meal, Guy puts him into protective custody at his hidden Mercer Island residence. Mel finds himself falling head-over-heels for the enigmatic vampire hunter—a man torn between his ravenous desires and the horrors of his twisted past. But is Guy even capable of returning Mel’s affection?
When Valjevo hunts Mel down, intent on torture, mayhem, and satisfying his vampire lust, Mel’s only hope is to be rescued by Guy. But the vampire hunter turns out to be not entirely human and unexpectedly vulnerable.
Publisher’s Contains scenes of graphic violence, male/male sex, brief non-con, and mild BDSM.
Guy Salluci is a vampire hunter who works for a highly covert organization called EERIE. He is Mel’s dream man come-to-life. His bulging muscles and stern countenance are a sharp contrast to the gentle care he gives the injured Mel.
Until now Mel’s biggest challenge was finding a studly boyfriend who will put up with his terminal geekiness. When he finds himself on the run from the vampire, Valjevo, who has targeted him for his next meal, Guy puts him into protective custody at his hidden Mercer Island residence. Mel finds himself falling head-over-heels for the enigmatic vampire hunter—a man torn between his ravenous desires and the horrors of his twisted past. But is Guy even capable of returning Mel’s affection?
When Valjevo hunts Mel down, intent on torture, mayhem, and satisfying his vampire lust, Mel’s only hope is to be rescued by Guy. But the vampire hunter turns out to be not entirely human and unexpectedly vulnerable.
Publisher’s Contains scenes of graphic violence, male/male sex, brief non-con, and mild BDSM.
239 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2014
64 people want to read
About the author
J. Vaughn
5 books43 followersJay Vaughn lives in sunny Seattle, a clean, progressive city that is way too expensive for a writer’s income. Therefore, Jay holds down a full-time, computer-industry day job, but writing is her passion. It’s a hobby-gone-wild, so much so that her teenage kids accuse her of being an addict.
Jay carries her laptop everywhere and can often be seen combining other favorite activities with writing. For example, you can find Jay sitting at a small table in the back of the gay bar around the corner from her house, drinking wine and writing. Or waking up early while camping, dragging out the laptop, and writing. Or writing in the truck on the way to and from concerts, ski-trips, visits to relatives ... wherever.
Jay’s favorite genres are sci-fi, fantasy, and M/M erotic romance. She discovered M/M quite by accident when she was writing a traditional fantasy novel, and one of her characters ended up in an all-male prison for a bit too long. Whoops!
Find out what Jay is working on next at authorjvaughn.com, follow her on Facebook (Jay Vaughn in Seattle), or drop her a line at jayvaughn@live.com. She’d love to hear from you.
Jay carries her laptop everywhere and can often be seen combining other favorite activities with writing. For example, you can find Jay sitting at a small table in the back of the gay bar around the corner from her house, drinking wine and writing. Or waking up early while camping, dragging out the laptop, and writing. Or writing in the truck on the way to and from concerts, ski-trips, visits to relatives ... wherever.
Jay’s favorite genres are sci-fi, fantasy, and M/M erotic romance. She discovered M/M quite by accident when she was writing a traditional fantasy novel, and one of her characters ended up in an all-male prison for a bit too long. Whoops!
Find out what Jay is working on next at authorjvaughn.com, follow her on Facebook (Jay Vaughn in Seattle), or drop her a line at jayvaughn@live.com. She’d love to hear from you.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 4, 2015
M/M romance is going Blade and Wesley-fucking-Snipes? Hell Yesssss!
I soooo needed a bad-ass vampire book! A Ducati wouldn't have been bad either... okay, we got a Harley.. :)
Wow! This one was unexpected! I always wanted to read a Vampire M/M romance and what I got was so much more. The Valjevo Encounter turned out to be a Blade-style vampire hunter M/M paranormal fantasy thriller, a roller coaster of mystic, suspense and hot M/M loving…
In this story the vampire isn’t the hero, and the cute, geeky MC Mel doesn’t fall for him. The vampire is an evil undead who only wants one thing from Mel, his blood and his life. Luckily an imposing man dressed in black leather, riding a Harley, and sporting a mysterious eye patch charges into the alley and saves Mel from the ruthless creature.
J. Vaughn is a new author for me and her gripping writing style sucked me into the story pretty fast. It has been a while that I read a book that kept me on my seat like this one. My poor fingernails…
This book is a well written combination of fast-paced action and emotional drama. It has a real ‘edge of your seat’ excitement and true emotional turmoil. But there is also passion, love and hope.
If you like a mix of suspense, crime and hot men love and if you love paranormal adventures, this first book of the Encounter with Evil series might be the right one for you. Be warned, it's not for the faint of heart, it’s action-packed and violent! Don’t forget to fasten your seat belt and brace yourself for a wild
February 10, 2015
I loved this one. I don't know why I avoided it for so long. The cover is stunning. I think I avoided it because I've burned myself out on vampires...I still love them, but I'm on a break. This one is different. It's more vampire hunter, with a little vampire lovin'.
I was engrossed all the way up to the We Love Each other part. And that was good. I could have ending right there....well, after the hot sex anyhow, can't miss out on that! The last few chapters were still good, just not quite as engaging.
Loved having both points of view. And I loved MINE MINE MINE!
I was engrossed all the way up to the We Love Each other part. And that was good. I could have ending right there....well, after the hot sex anyhow, can't miss out on that! The last few chapters were still good, just not quite as engaging.
Loved having both points of view. And I loved MINE MINE MINE!
December 12, 2014
I enjoyed every minute of this spirited and heroic “make you see you are the one for me” love story. Innocence, superheroes, and vampires make for a dreamy and stimulating mix in this paranormal tale that falls on the pop yaoi side of male/male romance.
Inebriated college geek Melvin/Tigger is on his way home after another fruitless Friday night of clubbing. Busily contemplating his shortcomings he wanders into an alley and straight into the clutches of a creature out of a nightmare. Trapped and taunted by the vampire who wants more from him than blood, Melvin is rescued by larger than life vampire hunter Guy who swoops him up, swears him to secrecy, and secrets him at a luxurious safe house.
Heroic, brawny, and dominating, Guy is all the man Tigger has ever dreamt of and it’s love at first sight for him. But despite major sparks igniting between the two, Guy seems to be doing everything possible to avoid him. Can Tigger harness his submissive tendencies, gather his courage, and go after the man he wants? Will Guy realize that sometimes protecting the person you love means keeping them by your side, not pushing them away?
To my mind this story read like the best of a Boy’s Love manga wrapped in a CW script and mixed with the mystery of the Japanese animé, Yami no Matsuei. A captivating romance, a stirring paranormal adventure, and an intriguing introduction to a secret organization make for a fast-paced, lighthearted read that is both tender and at the appropriate times—tough. The writing is solid with vivid descriptions, excellent mental/emotional backstories, and flowing dialogue. Add in a villainous vampire and a solid plot and all the parts balance nicely. The smex has a touch of BDSM to it and while the heat level starts tender, it spirals to scorching as the story’s tension mounts.
Inhabiting the two charismatic lead characters as they stumble their way to true love under less than ideal circumstances was seriously delightful. Trigger was adorable as “the mouse that (finally) roared”. His angelic appearance and wistful flightiness balanced nicely with his inner indignation and fierce determination to (for once) act on his feelings.
Guy appeared to me a superhero the moment he entered the story and I could not rid myself of the image of a cape flowing from his broad, muscular shoulders. Nor did I want to as the image served as a nice juxtaposition to the very real human vulnerabilities that run like a crack through his capable but damaged self.
Supporting the romance pair are Consuelo, Guy’s witchy-looking, heart-of-gold housekeeper, and Jon, Tigger’s alluring roommate. More experienced in matters of the heart than Mel, Jon supports Tigger by supplying both romantic advice and acerbic outrage on his friend’s behalf. Capricious, and courageous, I hope to read more about Jon in another “Encounter.”
At 239 pages the story centers primarily on the romance between the lead pair, but the adventurous “search and destroy-the-vampire” mission is quite racy and sheds further light on the secret organization EERIE, and its formidable leader “Ed”, leaving me to hope that The Valjevo Encounter is only the start of a terrific paranormal action adventure/romance series.
Thank you, J. Vaughn, for a super “hero finds love” tale…may I have another?
“Wham, Pow, Slam, Love!”
NOTE: This book was provided by the author for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Inebriated college geek Melvin/Tigger is on his way home after another fruitless Friday night of clubbing. Busily contemplating his shortcomings he wanders into an alley and straight into the clutches of a creature out of a nightmare. Trapped and taunted by the vampire who wants more from him than blood, Melvin is rescued by larger than life vampire hunter Guy who swoops him up, swears him to secrecy, and secrets him at a luxurious safe house.
Heroic, brawny, and dominating, Guy is all the man Tigger has ever dreamt of and it’s love at first sight for him. But despite major sparks igniting between the two, Guy seems to be doing everything possible to avoid him. Can Tigger harness his submissive tendencies, gather his courage, and go after the man he wants? Will Guy realize that sometimes protecting the person you love means keeping them by your side, not pushing them away?
To my mind this story read like the best of a Boy’s Love manga wrapped in a CW script and mixed with the mystery of the Japanese animé, Yami no Matsuei. A captivating romance, a stirring paranormal adventure, and an intriguing introduction to a secret organization make for a fast-paced, lighthearted read that is both tender and at the appropriate times—tough. The writing is solid with vivid descriptions, excellent mental/emotional backstories, and flowing dialogue. Add in a villainous vampire and a solid plot and all the parts balance nicely. The smex has a touch of BDSM to it and while the heat level starts tender, it spirals to scorching as the story’s tension mounts.
Inhabiting the two charismatic lead characters as they stumble their way to true love under less than ideal circumstances was seriously delightful. Trigger was adorable as “the mouse that (finally) roared”. His angelic appearance and wistful flightiness balanced nicely with his inner indignation and fierce determination to (for once) act on his feelings.
Guy appeared to me a superhero the moment he entered the story and I could not rid myself of the image of a cape flowing from his broad, muscular shoulders. Nor did I want to as the image served as a nice juxtaposition to the very real human vulnerabilities that run like a crack through his capable but damaged self.
Supporting the romance pair are Consuelo, Guy’s witchy-looking, heart-of-gold housekeeper, and Jon, Tigger’s alluring roommate. More experienced in matters of the heart than Mel, Jon supports Tigger by supplying both romantic advice and acerbic outrage on his friend’s behalf. Capricious, and courageous, I hope to read more about Jon in another “Encounter.”
At 239 pages the story centers primarily on the romance between the lead pair, but the adventurous “search and destroy-the-vampire” mission is quite racy and sheds further light on the secret organization EERIE, and its formidable leader “Ed”, leaving me to hope that The Valjevo Encounter is only the start of a terrific paranormal action adventure/romance series.
Thank you, J. Vaughn, for a super “hero finds love” tale…may I have another?
“Wham, Pow, Slam, Love!”
NOTE: This book was provided by the author for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
November 14, 2014
Oh, this was a book I've been waiting for. Firstly, because it's written by Jay (:P) and, secondly, because I was getting sick and tired of shiny vampires. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against them, but I miss those books where vampires are evil impersonated. That's exactly what this book is about and that's why I loved it. It's so much different than what's out there right now in the M/M world. It's original, it's fresh.
But that's not its only good point. The best point of The Valjevo Encounter is the characterization. It is amazing how much connection the reader feels with this characters. Well, I didn't expect otherwise from Jay Vaughn, but for those of you who haven't read her Rough Boys series, it might come as a pleasant surprise how much you'll fall in love with her characters.
On one hand, you have this strong alpha male named Guy (real name Salvatore) who's gone through so much hardship in his life, he's not afraid of anything, but becomes vulnerable as all hell when he meets Melvin and instantly falls in love. Yes, the whole story is mostly insta-love, but it's one of the few plots that worked for me. They didn't mate like animals in heat though they both felt the unstoppable, palpable attraction. They didn't declare undying love for each other or called each other silly endearments. On the contrary, both characters had pride and an underlying fear that wouldn't allow them to act on their attraction, which made the plot all the more captivating.
On the other hand, you have Melvin-cute, tiny and angelic virgin whose world turns upside down when he discovers vampires and other monsters are very real and very deadly. I loved this character because he's so proud and so strong on the inside. At the beginning of the book, he goes by the nickname "Tigger" only to give it up at the end by asking his best friend to start calling him Mel. I liked this metaphor for growing up, for becoming someone new. Not sure if anyone will see it like I did, but I tend to see subtle metaphors in anything, really, and I strongly believe J. Vaughn is a master of veiled messages.
But I also loved the supporting characters—Ed, Consuela and, most of all, Mel's best friend, Jon—all strong, brave, exceptional characters that will make your reading experience even richer. I honestly hope Jay will prepare a sequel with Jon as main character because he was amazing!
For those of you who've read Rough Boys and enjoyed it, you'll be happy to know J.'s writing is still as fantastic as ever and I'm sure you all can't wait to read this book.
For those of you who couldn't finish Rough Boys because of the dark subjects, I'm happy to announce you will certainly be able to stomach The Valjevo Encounter. It's much lighter in comparison to the Rough Boys series, and focuses a lot more on the romance between characters rather than the dark theme of vampires. Although not completely lacking dark moments, The Valjevo Encounter will not make you uncomfortable, will not make you cry rivers of tears. The whole purpose of it is a beautiful love story with just a bit of adventurous angst.
I'm sure everyone will enjoy this book immensely.
But that's not its only good point. The best point of The Valjevo Encounter is the characterization. It is amazing how much connection the reader feels with this characters. Well, I didn't expect otherwise from Jay Vaughn, but for those of you who haven't read her Rough Boys series, it might come as a pleasant surprise how much you'll fall in love with her characters.
On one hand, you have this strong alpha male named Guy (real name Salvatore) who's gone through so much hardship in his life, he's not afraid of anything, but becomes vulnerable as all hell when he meets Melvin and instantly falls in love. Yes, the whole story is mostly insta-love, but it's one of the few plots that worked for me. They didn't mate like animals in heat though they both felt the unstoppable, palpable attraction. They didn't declare undying love for each other or called each other silly endearments. On the contrary, both characters had pride and an underlying fear that wouldn't allow them to act on their attraction, which made the plot all the more captivating.
On the other hand, you have Melvin-cute, tiny and angelic virgin whose world turns upside down when he discovers vampires and other monsters are very real and very deadly. I loved this character because he's so proud and so strong on the inside. At the beginning of the book, he goes by the nickname "Tigger" only to give it up at the end by asking his best friend to start calling him Mel. I liked this metaphor for growing up, for becoming someone new. Not sure if anyone will see it like I did, but I tend to see subtle metaphors in anything, really, and I strongly believe J. Vaughn is a master of veiled messages.
But I also loved the supporting characters—Ed, Consuela and, most of all, Mel's best friend, Jon—all strong, brave, exceptional characters that will make your reading experience even richer. I honestly hope Jay will prepare a sequel with Jon as main character because he was amazing!
For those of you who've read Rough Boys and enjoyed it, you'll be happy to know J.'s writing is still as fantastic as ever and I'm sure you all can't wait to read this book.
For those of you who couldn't finish Rough Boys because of the dark subjects, I'm happy to announce you will certainly be able to stomach The Valjevo Encounter. It's much lighter in comparison to the Rough Boys series, and focuses a lot more on the romance between characters rather than the dark theme of vampires. Although not completely lacking dark moments, The Valjevo Encounter will not make you uncomfortable, will not make you cry rivers of tears. The whole purpose of it is a beautiful love story with just a bit of adventurous angst.
I'm sure everyone will enjoy this book immensely.
November 14, 2014
This was the first book I've read by J. Vaughn, and I have to say, I enjoyed it. She seems to be a fairly new author and I think she has a lot of potential. It's hard to do characterizations and she pulled me in to care about Melvin (Tigger) and Guy from the beginning. I do wish the middle and end of the book had lived up to the potential of the beginning, though. It kind of started out with a bang, then started lagging. And there was a lot of unnecessary angst . If you're going to slow the action, then use the downtime to build up the story in other ways, but I don't think she used the full potential of the book to build up the world for the series. And there was kind of an elephant in the room she ignored. I think she has the ability to make her characters more complex, saw the outline of this in this book, and she just needs to live up to this potential with the next book. And high five, girl, on the sexy times, let's see more of that! I saw an interesting writing prompt on Reddit where it said the author of a book starts slowly falling for the antagonist instead of the protagonist of the book, and the protagonist is jealous and tries to the author to focus on him again... I think this might be an interesting direction for Jon's story, if that's where the next book is headed, and I hope it is. Anyway, I only critique the ones I love, sweetheart, and I can't wait for the next book.
September 6, 2015
Very interesting take on vampires and hunters. I really enjoyed the chemistry between the two MC's. I didn't like the build up. I wanted a bit more interaction between the two men. I just didn't get the "down time" with the two I would have preferred in the building of the relationship. There was too much of the same between the meeting of the two men and when they finally form a true relationship.
I like the overall plot and the side characters as well. I would love to have a little more information about the "company" that the hunters work for. I do look forward to the next book.
I like the overall plot and the side characters as well. I would love to have a little more information about the "company" that the hunters work for. I do look forward to the next book.
December 23, 2014
I LOVED THIS!!! Give me more m/m vampire stories and less werewolf shifter stories anytime. This was just HOT! Mel and Guy had burning chemistry together and I really loved the writing in this. Loved the type of vampires in this and what type of character Guy was, even though he was an ass to Mel a few times haha. Definitely an awesome start to what I hope will be a series. I'd love to see Jon get his own story? Or heck, more with Mel and Guy because they were just hot and wonderful together. Highly recommended!
February 4, 2015
Awesome cover and the book was just as great, if not better!! The author's website says there are more planned and I hope so because this one was very intriguing, sexy and entertaining!
I purchased through Divergent Publishing and bought it because I really enjoyed the Author's free story in "Hunting Under the Covers" called "Pierced." It's a short but really great character development. I'm so glad I did and cant' wait to read more from this author.
I purchased through Divergent Publishing and bought it because I really enjoyed the Author's free story in "Hunting Under the Covers" called "Pierced." It's a short but really great character development. I'm so glad I did and cant' wait to read more from this author.
April 15, 2020
So good. Refreshing from other vampire cliches, and so good that I had to login to my account just so I could rate it.
And to show my appreciation for creating something so reinvigorating and special!!! So gooood.
And to show my appreciation for creating something so reinvigorating and special!!! So gooood.
February 16, 2017
I thought I'd like it.
I thought I'd like it but it feels like vampires, vampire hunters, fallen angels and some BDSM don't mix too well. I didn't like that it tried to be a bdsm book - it really wasn't, it was just trying but mentions of flogger, some spanking and kneeling in front of "Your dom" was not enough. It wasn't also sexy enough.
Repeated "older/younger man"and "my angel" got annoying after a while and if I'd like to be honest I find the whole story rather ridiculous. A lot was happening there but there was almost no plot, characters were one dimensional and felt unreal. In theory there was a chase after a vampire that was supposed to be interesting and make the story flow, but instead we have an attack and then the constant thought of sex and "mating". And then we have sex.
This is not what I expected.
I thought I'd like it but it feels like vampires, vampire hunters, fallen angels and some BDSM don't mix too well. I didn't like that it tried to be a bdsm book - it really wasn't, it was just trying but mentions of flogger, some spanking and kneeling in front of "Your dom" was not enough. It wasn't also sexy enough.
Repeated "older/younger man"and "my angel" got annoying after a while and if I'd like to be honest I find the whole story rather ridiculous. A lot was happening there but there was almost no plot, characters were one dimensional and felt unreal. In theory there was a chase after a vampire that was supposed to be interesting and make the story flow, but instead we have an attack and then the constant thought of sex and "mating". And then we have sex.
This is not what I expected.
October 29, 2015
*Beta'd for author*
dnf
November 2, 2016DNF at 20% because I couldn't suspend my disbelief.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews