International best-selling and award-winning author Ashlyn Drewek has always been fascinated by "weird" things like Edgar Allan Poe, Halloween, and witchcraft. Not necessarily in that order. But she's also a hopeless romantic who lives for stories about true love conquering all. Since variety is indeed the spice of life, she writes a mix of MM tropes and subgenres to satisfy her rapidly changing whims.
Full of angst, a hot vampire, and an intense storyline!
I am not a huge lover of paranormal romance, but this book was written brilliantly! It felt realistic and plausible. I loved how tough Kate was, she’s one serious bad a** and the slow build relationship between her and Collin’s kept me turning the pages. There were quite a few moments of humor that had me laughing out loud. There were also some heart pounding sexual tensions that left me wanting more from these two between the sheets. Hands down this is one of the best paranormal romance books I’ve ever read. Twilight has nothing on this!
I've started to realise that I struggle with the badass women that are just a bit snarky but appear to have little soul. So, if you write a story about a badass woman with plenty of depth, then I'm always going to be engaged in the story.
I started this book after reading one that seems to be loved by everyone (not by me) and another that I just had to give up on. However, I could tell from the first page that Out of the Dark was going to put me back on track.
Kate is an ex-soldier, turned police officer battling demons from her past and in the present. Then one night, she becomes the target of a real demon.
Eric is a vampire and a detective, trying to keep out of the nasty vampire politics and do some good. That changes when he saves Kate's life, and then takes on the role of continuing to keep her safe from his own kind.
The romance is a slow burn, with both putting up barriers to their feelings. However, keeping Kate safe means keeping her close and the closer they get, the harder it becomes to fight their feelings.
There is of course that awkward moment when Kate's world is rocked by the knowledge that vampires actually exist! That tends to put a bit of an dampener on any blossoming relationship. 🤣
Ashlyn is a fantastic writer and this is another fantastic book, written from both character's point of view. I'm trying to keep this review spoiler-free because you should just read it yourself!
This is only the second vampire book I have read in my life. I’m not a vampire fan but if the story idea strikes my fancy I am open to reading in a different genre. Out of the Dark is that book. A vampire cop teams with a tough former military female cop and together they must find a serial killer. This is Ashlyn’s debut novel and I was engaged from page one. Her research on police procedures as well as other elements of the story ring true. Although it is set in Chicago the author is able to focus our attention on a variety of setting without making me want to check a map to see if she has the location correct. I was too busy following the adventure. Love is blooming and there are a few mild sex scenes. I don’t particularly care for profanity in a book although I get it when trying to portray cops. However, there were times I felt the F word was overused. That said it didn’t cause me to put the book down. I found her take on vampire folklore interesting as she gives it a modern twist and gives Eric more of a heart then I’d imagine a vampire to have. I was a bit disappointed in Katie’s reaction in a few scenes regarding her father. That relationship I would have liked to have seen more developed. But this is the first in a series so there is time for her to work those feelings out. If you enjoy vampires or crime dramas grab a copy of Out of the Dark.
A vampire saves a fellow cop from being murdered by a fellow vampire and now they're paired up in this paranormal romance.
I was enjoying the story. They shared some cute moments of thoughtfulness for each other, they had good banter, the action plot was developing nicely and they had just the right amount of baggage to make the story a little tense. Sadly, the author completely ruins this progress by having the main female character think "I'm in love with this man" at 40% of the book. Mind you, even though they were spending time together they still didn't have much chemistry or good sexual tension, not even a good friendship! But anyways, I almost DNFd it but decided to continue. Suddenly, the characters felt completely different from the beginning and they started acting in ways that up until that point were not displayed and it was just weird. That's not all though, by 70% they suddenly decided to get married.... I thought it was a joke! This man out of nowhere gets down on one knee and proposes outside of a court house which they then enter to get married.... What?!
The author, for some reason, just wasn't capable of correctly building up the romance. Another issue is the lack of emotion behind some of the most important scenes between them. Everything felt superficial and that ending??? Felt like pages were missing!
Bonus, the sex wasn't even good! It was so brief and not sensual at all.
This is an original and fresh take on vampire fiction. Excellent writing and a well-paced plot make this a great read. I'm a huge vampire fiction fan but not necessarily a crime fiction fan. Nevertheless, I was wholly engaged in this story. The characters are well-developed and there's a good balance of romance, mystery, and criminal investigation. I look forward to reading Drewek's next book!
Heat Factor: It’s like a medium to slow burn and I dig it
Character Chemistry: Kate and Eric start out running into each other coincidentally and then they’re friends and then they end up in just the most realistic and goal worthy relationship I tell you what
Plot: Eric is a (vampire) detective who ends up intervening when police officer Kate ends up nearly killed in an alley with her partner. Kate ends up on desk duty recovering with Eric and as they race to solve her partner’s murder (and avoid serious vampire shenanigans), they slowly fall deeply in love with each other.
Overall: Dude, this book opens with maggots but it closes with my heart.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.
Vampires are real! Kate comes to learn this after her partner is killed while investigating a murder. The killer sets out to eliminate any witnesses and Eric steps in to protect her. There wasn't very much world building so it was easy enough to follow. Even though Kate is human, she is a strong character and is able to take care of herself. Eric was my favorite as he wasn't afraid to show his vulnerable side and was willing to die for Kate. There is a HEA, but I was not a fan. It seemed abrupt considering how the story itself flowed.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
So, the book was really good. I liked the plot, I was pleased with how well written the story was, and I loved all the characters. Well, I mostly lived the female lead but sometimes I just wanted to end her. Anyway, the book was going so great and then the end was just a total fail. Like why would you go through all of that, get married to a vampire, have the opportunity to turn yourself and then just end without a final decision made? Who does that? This author that's who.
This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I hardly ever pass up a recommendation. I’m only mad that I didn’t read this sooner! Kate is one badass woman and Eric is a hot vampire - you can’t ask for much more than that! This book was engaging...so much so that I could feel the intensity. I’m really giving this 4.5 stars because I wanted a longer ending. I hope there’s more to Kate & Eric’s story in the future!
If you enjoy dark, deep, storys about vampires than this is the book for you.Eric Collins made a mistake and he is determined to never make it again. This story is exactly what it says it is. I would definetly recommend to friends. trust me its worth your time!
A very interesting tale combining multiple genres.
A real attention grabber from the very beginning. While romance isn’t my genre the suspense that I enjoy really held this together for me personally. A steady paced plot drives the momentum onward. The writing was top shelf and Ashlyn Drewek knows how to build her characters. I found that even the romance side was done with care and sophistication. I’d swear she had been to one of my seminars back in the late 2000’s. As there were really no side characters she developed each of them and that takes talent. Talent Ashlyn has in abundance. Could a sequel be in the future? Well, we certainly can hope for it. I’ll be reading more by this author that’s for certain!
I don't usually read MF but I did because I was reading Ashlyn Drewek's backlist.
This was more than ok but less than stellar. I liked the dynamic between Eric and Kate and how you could see Kate warming up to him slowly in her thoughts. He went from "Collins" to "Eric" gradually, even if she still called Eric "Collins" to his face. That is one of those subtle things this author does that I really like.
The plot was decent with timing and suspense. The ending left something to be desired. I thought Kate was in for a different ending than what we got but maybe there will be a sequel to explain more.
And Eric was a solid vampire hero. I appreciated the new take on vampires in this and that some myths were turned on their head or given a different explanation. I liked that he and Kate actually had things in common, like being soldiers and police and having everyone around you die. It made their relationship believable despite the obvious age difference.