Primal Heat

Primes #5

by Susan Sizemore

Can a heroic vampire protect his clan from danger -- and save himself from burning desire?

As Prime of his vampire Family, Mathias Bridger is sworn to protect his own kind at any cost -- but years of acting as a fierce guardian of his people have left him yearning for more out of life. His chance comes in the form of Phillipa Elliot, the beautiful police officer whose allure hasn't dimmed in the two years since they had a brief, torrid affair. And though she's involved with someone else now, Phillipa can't deny the feeling that Matt is her destiny.

When the Family comes under attack from fanatical vampire hunters, Matt uncovers treachery that shatters his world. So how can he possibly invite Phillipa into it? Fighting to protect his kin, he tries to push Phillipa away to the safety of her mortal life -- but he aches for her, and his will is no match for the flames of their all-consuming passion. . . .

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Vampires, Romance, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy

350 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2006

About the author

Susan Sizemore's life and interests include such varied activities as medieval costuming and embroidery, being a chef, and working in the defense industry.She is owned by her spoiled rotten, beloved mutt dog, rather than the other way around, and this is just fine with her.Current hobbies include hiking and studying t'ai chi. She travels whenever she can, loves history, loud music, movies, good coffee, and writes constantly.She hopes readers enjoy her stories as much as she enjoys writing them.She has won the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart Award and has been nominated for two Romantic Times awards.

Reviews

[Amber Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan did it again! Another of her entrancing stories with beautiful charactors, a twisting plot and chemistry that set the sheets on fire. Phillipa is a strong woman, but like all strong women, she has a weakness. Matt Bridger, the mysterious best man with an accent that makes my skin chill. He has a sweet tooth for Phillipa and he wants to satisfy it.

Drawn togehter for one night of firey passion, Matt leave Phillipa in her bed without a backward glance. Years later, they come together again as Jo's first child is being christianed. After several near death experiances for her sister and herself, Phillipa realizes that Matt is a vampire. But that is the least of their problems...

Adventure,passion and killer accent, I give this one a 5 star rating. I just couldn't put it down until I finished.

Bravo Susan! It was wonderful!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

the only thing that kept this from being a 5 is that the hero and heroine went from lust to love without seeing each other for 3 years. It wasn't believable enough for me. The rest of the storyline, the side characters, everything else was fabulous. The lust was great, but it wasn't quite a 5.
Philippa had a one night stand with Matthias at her sister's wedding and 3 years later for the baby's blessing/baptism, they meet again. But Philippa's supposedly going through a ton of stuff...but we don't know about it. And Matt knew she was his bondmate, but we never knew. It was annoying that they were normal and then in love.
But the action and the story were great, so good read, enjoyable. Not my favorite of the Primes, but I'll read the next one for sure.

[AndreaH · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read one book in this series and thank goodness. Clan, Tribe, Family, Purists, Prime? Sooner or later, mostly later most becomes clear, but there is a lot unanswered.
Basically the two leads, one a vampire, have a one-night stand at a wedding and can't forget each other. They meet again at a family chrtistening and wham-bam thank you ma'am they're back in bed.
True love through sex. Not much substance in the relationship, but a little more in the story. The Purists want to kill all vampires, there's a gang robbing casinos, banks and others left and right, and somehow the two are tied together. It's up to the leads, both cops of sorts, to save the day.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matthias Bridger is sort of the enforcer of the Family Vampires, so his job is very dangerous. Philippa is also a police officer, sister to the heroine from the second book in the series. They meet at the sister's wedding and have a thrilling night together, pretty much starting a bond. But Matthias, despite the pull, can't bring Philippa into his world since his job is so dangerous and he won't risk her life. So he leaves her that night without a word (kinda breaking her heart). Several years later, they're having a baptism of sorts for the sister's new child and Philippa and Matthias are the "godparents." So they're back in close quarters again. Philippa is sort of seeing someone casually, but is even more determined to stay away from Matthias, remembering how casually he left her. Of course neither of them can resist the pull of being bondmates. But the danger of Matthias's world does in fact touch Philippa, since a band of vampire hunters is attempting to kill her sister and her new nephew and Philippa is in their way.

This was just sort of an average installation to the series. I didn't dislike it, though there were parts of it I didn't like, just as there were parts of it I really did like. I like that Philippa is no wimp and she's able to stand up and protect her sister and nephew. I didn't really like that she had absolutely no backbone when it came to Matthias, even though he kept trying to push her away. And then when he changes his mind, she just falls in line. She does give up some token resistance, complaining that Matthias got to make all the decisions and that's not the way a partnership works, but she stays made for like 2 minutes and then he agrees to listen and do it his way anyway. She realizes it's futile to argue and goes along with it. So she kind of develops into a doormat, rather than being one by nature. But the two have some undeniable chemistry and Matthias at least doesn't go out and try to get over her when he's pushing her away. Hooray for faithful heroes!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great series if you like the sexual strong male characters and their equally strong minded mates. For those who like vampires and romance will not want to put the book down. At the wedding of Phillipa Elliot's sister Josephine to Marcus Cage, she meets Prime vampire Matt Bridger and the pair come together for a night of great sex. Three years later they are brought together to be godparents of her newly born nephew Brandon. When the family comes under attack from Purists with an agenda of their own brings Matt to realize that he wants to be with Phillipa. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

[Mohammed omran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Sizemore does it again. She creates colorful characters that stand out on their own, and this time you didn't know who the 'evil' one was until near the end. I was surprised how Phillipa went with the flow instead of demanding more. She seemed stronger a character than that at the beginning, even with everything going on in her life. Still, I was happy to see her and Matt together. There was just the right amount of action, even though I would have liked to see a battle between Phillipa and Octavia, just to show what Phillipa can do, and was disappointed that Phillipa's role didn't seem stronger than that. The sex scenes were just as hot as usual, but for some reason, I still found this novel lacked something. It needed a bigger 'oomph' than what it had. Her other Prime novels seemed more exciting than this one. On that note, I can't wait for Primal Desire to come out so I can read Jason's story.

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great story. Mathias Bridger is the Prime of his vampire family and had one hot night with Phillipa Elliot. Two years later they see each other and no matter how hard they both try to stay away from each other they can't keep their hands off each other. They are drawn together in fiery passion and need. Despite this they both intend to walk away from each other again until Mathias' family comes under attack, which means Phillipa's sister, new brother-in-law and their infant are all in danger. As a police office Phillipa refuses to ignore the danger her family is in even if it means she can no longer ignore the passion burning between her and Mathias.

[Kaye Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the characters in this confusing.... Matt, Matthias, Mike, Michelle, Marc....etc. The plot took a bit to get going and although I finished the book quickly, I found it a more difficult read than the previous ones in the series. However, the series as a whole is good, so I will continue on....

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading it. Filled with lots of action, excitement, sizzling romantic scenes between Mattias and Phillipa. I really connected with the characters and liked learning about the different ranks of the 'Families', "Clans" etc.

[Shannon Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this series very good !

[Always bored · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly reading this book felt like reading a cheaply written Wattpad book. No character building, no world building. It was very boring and very expected ending. And a very weak plot twist.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Guess I should have done more research to figure out which was the first book in this series. Although from the page before the book starts, it lead me to believe this was the first book, Master of Darkness was the 2nd, I Burn from You the 3rd... but clearly that is incorrect. While it wasn't exactly difficult to figure out the overall workings of the universe we are in here, there were a few things that weren't explained at all (and I hope they are in the first book) - like what exactly the deal is with Family vs. Clan vs. Tribe. 'Cuz I still don't know. And how exactly does one become a "Prime"?

I had a number of issues with this book. First, the love scenes weren't so much steamy as mushy. And they were overly mushy. I'm all for the romance, and I know in this genre it tends to develop fast without much basis, but this took that to a whole new level. And, since the steaminess was just "ah" (another reminder I need to come up with a good steaminess scale to use!) I didn't even feel like it was balanced out with scenes good enough to make me blush.

Second problem with this book was the bad guys. You could eliminate the reading of those chapters/sections and you wouldn't miss them. And you wouldn't be confused. So, from a plot development perspective - they were really not very integral or good. Octavia - seemed to have so much potential, but who knows what the heck happened to her. And she wasn't, as a character, really developed at all.

The writing - well, I think a 6th grader could do better. There were dialogue scenes where I had to trace backwards after reading to figure out who said what. The jumping from character perspective (Mike, the wolf's and then the various vamp's) was just that - jumpy. Plus, it wasn't really about switching perspectives so much as simply switching scenes and I often felt like those witches were at awkward times, didn't move the plot forward, or were simply a waste of ink. And for someone who tried to keep the identity of the evil vamp a secret, relatively early on there is a slip (I assume it was a slip anyway) that totally gives the gender away. After that - I totally didn't get the point in not using the correct gender articles to identify "her" (versus "it"). When you add in the fact that there wasn't enough info to set Jason up as the bad guy red herring, it was no surprise at all as to the identity of the bad vamp. And, as stated earlier, we didn't get enough development of Octavia to really care that she was the bad guy.

Finally, the heroine in this book... yuck. I expected to find out she was dying of some incurable cancer or something - not to merely hear she is diabetic. I know a number of diabetic who live perfectly normal lives - but this woman? No, not her. Instead she is a whiny little girl... boo whoo she needs to test her blood sugar. And she's supposed to be some tough cop? Please... Reading about her made me sad for women of the world - I certainly wouldn't want to be identified in the same breath as this woman. Even the little bit of Jo - the sister - seems a better heroine and someone tougher. If the author did any research or knows anyone who lives with diabetes and this is what she based that portion of the story line off of I wonder about the quality of her research skills or the moral fiber of the person(s) she based this off of... anyway...

I probably wouldn't bother with the other in the Primes series - except I got them free a year ago, so I have 4 more. Might as well read them before sharing them. But unless the rest of these do a major turn around I won't exactly be purchasing any of Ms. Sizemore's titles for myself.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually a very interesting novel for me to read. It's not every day that you read a novel based on a character's sister, and have it go so well. What made it even more interesting to me was when I found out about her disease. It can be hard to corporate something like that into a novel successfully. The fact that this novel did just that was the icing on top of the cake. It was dangerous and sexy at the same time, which made it easier to read. The characters were very dramatic in their roles, but that's to be expected when they're supposed to act like that.

One of my favorite characters in this novel was Phillipa and her badass self. Phillipa comes from a long line of familia duty. Her mother was a detective, her father was in the force, and her sister flew planes for the army at times. Philippa herself is a hardcore cop that can take care of herself. That is until she was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. Now because of her "illness" her life revolves around needles and pills. The Department pretty much has her on light duty, which is almost the same thing as being fired. Because of all of this Phillipa has developed a depression from which there's no escape. Then Mathias waltz back into her life and turns everything into chaos. Mathias is the vampire version of a police officer, or a guardian if you will. He's the one that gets called in when a vampire has broken one of their own laws. He deals with them in his own way and then hands them over to be judged properly. Phillipa and Mathias had their own little affair during her sister's wedding about two years ago. Now he's back again so that he can be the Godfather of her sister’s child. This leads from one thing to another one when vampire hunters tried to kill her sister and infant nephew. Now both Mathias and Phillipa are both pissed and about to go hunting. Because whether Mathias likes it or not it's now her fight too. Because nobody tries to hurt her family and get away with it.

This is a really great urban fantasy novel and that's surprising, considering how far into this series I've gotten. It has romance, action, fights, and of course passion. All of these things in a novel that I consider great. The romance was clearly there, but was written well enough that it didn't overwhelm the whole novel. Combine this with all the action and fighting and you get a very happy reader. It draws you in until you have to finish it no matter what. This is just how Susan Sizemore works and its doing wonders for her. Her novels should be more well-known and I'm frankly still surprised that they're not. As far as the recommendation goes I recommend that you read this novel, because it's definitely one that you don't want to miss.

*Read on November 4th, 2015

[ceecee · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I began this book I didn't realize it was a series, so when I began the book I was a little lost on the beginning. After I read through a few chapters I didn't feel like I missed much. I guess each book is a stand-alone, with a few references to characters in previous and future books.

After just the first chapter this book reminded me of the books written by Lynsay Sands, the "Argeneau" series. Both books are about Vampires who are not evil, but who have occasional rogues that murder humans and must be tracked down and killed. They both have hunters who track down the rogue and vampire hunters who want to kill them all.

Primal Heat is the fifth book in the series. This book is a story about a young woman, Phillipa, who feels she has lost control of her life. She use to be a cop, but is now afflicted with diabetes and is insulin depended, which has effectively ended her career. She feels drawn towards Bridger a man she meet a few years ago and who she still craves. Bridger hunts rogues and knows Phillipa is his mate, but refuses to claim her. He's afraid of placing her in harms way after the previous hunter lost his mate to a vengeful vampire.

This book contains some exhilarating moments when vampires, hunters and vampire hunters have their fight scenes. Some very close calls make the reading fun and hard to put down mid chapter. The hot and heavy moments were great but the story line was what made me not want to put the book down.

I love finding books with action, love, some violence and a plot that makes you not want to stop reading. I'll definitely be looking for more of Susan Sizemore's books.

[mlady_rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edit 12/10/2010:

Oops! Re-read this one and didn't realize it was a re-read. Talk about forgettable. Did like the scene with werewolf in the lion cage. That felt vaguely familiar, but I was attributing that to a similar story from another author. Previous review stands. Fast, decent read, but forgettable.

*****

Review from August 31, 2008.

I read this really fast, and I was enjoying it while I was in the middle of the story, but I think it's ultimately one of those forgettable books.

With the best series, each book is near crystal clear. You walk away with the characters still inhabiting your head, and the plot pretty clear.

With great series, the characters always stick with you, but you may mix up the plots of individual books.

Then there are series where you remember liking the books, and remembering the basic world building, but there is nothing extraordinary that you take away. For good or bad, this series falls into the third category.

It's the literary equivalent of "Law and Order". You can always fall into the books, and enjoy reading them, but it's never appointment reading. It's never the book you have pre-ordered for months. It isn't the book you are tempted to skip work to read the moment it's available.

For me, the best in the urban fantasy/ paranormal romance genre is still Laurell K. Hamilton. And, no, not early Anita Blake, all of her work. I still say she's the grand dame of the genre.

X-posted to my LJ.

[Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I picked this up in a clearance bin and didn't realize it was the fifth one in a series -- but to be honest, it didn't much matter. The world was easy enough to figure out, but I'm sure whatever questions I did have could have been answered in the first book.

Still, I'm not a big fan of this book because while it was a quick read and served it's purpose well-- a divider between two different fantasy series I wanted to read, I don't think I'll be picking up anything by this author again.

The characters started out interesting, but I felt like Phillipa lost her personality as we went along until she was just another romance heroine waiting for her man to save the day and cure all her ills.

Also, this one is guilty of one of the things i abhor in these serial paranormal romances-- you see the romances from past books and we have to jam it down your throat how perfect and wonderful their lives are.

Happily ever afters great until you keep trying to tell the reader just how AWESOME and EPIC and WONDERFULLY HAPPY THEY ARE NOW LOOK LOOK THEY'RE SO MUCH HAPPIER THAN EVERYONE ELSE.

It gets old. Fast. I didn't read the really books so I didn't have a connection with Jo and Marc at all, but I can imagine if I did I would be wishing their romance felt a bit more real. Just something to sink your teeth in, or don't mention them as much as you do.

But as previously mentioned, that seems to be a cliche in paranormal romance series like these, so maybe other people enjoy it.

[♡ Sassy ~ Amy ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phillipa is at her sisters vamp wedding & meets Matthias. They have a fling. Oops... they are bonded. 3 years later they are together again & are solving a mystery. Robberies, murders & purists after Phillipa, her sister & new nephew.

In between the wedding & baptism Phillipa was shot. What that has to do with anything was beyond me. The how or why never came up, so maybe it's in another book? But after reading several of these stories, they're all this way. Tidbits thrown in that make no difference/sense & are never fully explained.

OH MY GOD!! By the time I was done, I was so irritated by all the talk about diabetes and how bad it was that I stopped absorbing the story... HOLY CRAP ENOUGH ALREADY! I get it!

BUT THEN... Duh she's bonded to a vampire, so it goes away. SO in her rant of being confused, we get a lesson all about diabetes, the numbers she has to check, insulin etc. YAY! SS did her research! Whatever!

2 more books to read and I am through with the ones I own! NO MORE!! Wee hoo! I feel obligated to read them for some reason. They are a 3/4 day read, so it's going fast.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is standard fare for a PNR series: vampire and mortal love, werewolves and action. What I did like about this series was that, while this was the fifth book in a series, you could read it as a standalone piece. Perhaps there would have been more information on some of the vampire hierarchy in the earlier books, but previous events were never referred to, so you didn't feel like you were stepping into a story part way through.

I did think the lead characters' romance was a bit fast and unbelievable, but I did still like both characters. The prose was easy going with a nice touch of humour and all in all it was a fun, quick read. The storyline was engaging; although, the ending felt a little too sudden for my liking.

Not a major standout PNR story, but one that is still a pleasant read and will appeal to vampire fans who like the 'middle of the road' PNR books and are looking for something new to sink their teeth into. I wouldn't rush out to buy the rest of this series, but I would be happy to read the other books if I came across them.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Sizemore does it again. She creates colorful characters that stand out on their own, and this time you didn't know who the 'evil' one was until near the end. I was surprised how Phillipa went with the flow instead of demanding more. She seemed stronger a character than that at the beginning, even with everything going on in her life. Still, I was happy to see her and Matt together. There was just the right amount of action, even though I would have liked to see a battle between Phillipa and Octavia, just to show what Phillipa can do, and was disappointed that Phillipa's role didn't seem stronger than that. The sex scenes were just as hot as usual, but for some reason, I still found this novel lacked something. It needed a bigger 'oomph' than what it had. Her other Prime novels seemed more exciting than this one. On that note, I can't wait for Primal Desire to come out so I can read Jason's story.

[Jenny Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this! Yes, it's another vampire series, but it's different enough to stand out. And it has werewolves, too, and ya'll know I like a good werewolf! Sizemore has a very easy, natural writing style with a touch of humor and a lot of heat! (But it's fairly clean, and no cussing, either.) It's got a good plot that kept me guessing. (Though I could've done with a few less POV shifts.) This is fifth in a series and all of the main characters are in various types of law enforcement, which always makes for good reading. I don't know if the rest of the books run in that vein, but I'll definitely read them and get to know the stories behind some of the supporting characters in this one. I scooped this off the library sale rack for 10 cents, and it's a winner! Hope a few more from this author end up on the rack!

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think because I jumped into these series without having read any of the four previous books that I must have missed some really important things. Like, for instance, why Phillipa doesn't freak out when she can hear Matt in her head.

The book, for me, was choppy and disjointed. Something would happen that either no one would mention or they'd have a delayed reaction to it. Even the sex scenes weren't as steamy as I'm used to when it comes to vampires as characters in paranormal romance novels.

The book was ok, but I doubt that I'll read the rest of the series.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize that I was reading the fifth book of this series. I'd like to go back and read at least the first in the series to see if it helps make sense of some of this book. I liked the characters Matt (Mathias - what an awesome name) and Phillipa, but I would've liked to have seen more memorable steamy scenes. It seems like they were just falling all over each other for no reason; I'd like to see if the previous books explain the bonding a little better. It's not one of my favorite books, but I'm willing to give others a chance.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matthias Bridger is the enforcer for the Families--the vampire charged with keeping order within the race so that the uneasy peace with the human race can continue. He knows first hand what the loss of a bondmate can mean to a Prime male and he's never been willing to put himself in that position. His cousin Marcus has other plans, however, and conspires to throw Matt and his sister-in-law Phillippa together at every opportunity.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a reason I love Susan Sizemore! Her books are rather addicting. Book 5 and I'm not bored. I love that werewolves are really coming into play and that in Primal Heat you really get the feel for the whole vampire society - complete w/ their own cop!

[Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Working on my review. But one thing I learned is that it is tough picking up a part of a series that is as closely connected as the Primes when it's been years since you read the earlier books and you haven't read the previous book. Definitely read these books in order and as close together as you can.

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definately a great read. I enjoyed the different concept of Sizmore's vampire world. I was drawn in by the main character's Mathias Bridger's masculine prowess and lusty passion for his intended Phillipa Elliot who happenes to be a beautiful fiesty cop. Great plot and great ending. One of my favs for PNR!

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 5th book in the Vampire “PRIMES” series

Another delicious and lustful 8 hour marathon read. I’ve always had a weakness for british male accents and a good looking guy with smile dimples always makes my insides turn to goo. Matt Bridger Muurroowwwww!!!!

[Omly · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are addictive, but romantic vampire fluff at best. I like the way she has decided to play out both vampire and werewolf culture and limitations in many respects, but for some reason I just can't get behind the bond-mates.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kept stalling in begining to read this book ,but as soon as i picked up i couldn't put it down. Love the romance, mystery, paranomal and humor. The characters were very intresting and brought the whole story together.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is probably very good. I like the book even though for some reason I couldn't get it. That was because is a sequel to 4 other previous books plus this story can not stand alone, you must have read the previous books in order to understand the story. It was a good read over all.