Romance for paranormal enemies…

This is the sixth book in the Last True Vampire series that can be read as a stand-alone. It seems that lately I start books mid series so to speak but the author did provide enough information to enable the reader to follow the intricately woven background plot fairly well, the read would be enhanced if you’ve read the previous stories.

Lost when her soul was ripped from her being, Sasha Ivanov was a dhampir made vampire to replenish the race by one she respected and cared for who left her to fend for herself during the transition. She’s been haphazardly flitting through existence until she ran into a berserker and her soul is tethered once more, that is what a mate does. It’s a cruel twist of fate that her mate is the enemy of her race yet she can’t stay away from him after their first encounter, he’s an obsessive drug to her system. The berserker doesn’t seem to feel the connection between them and all she’s left with is the pleasure he can provide. Is that enough for one who has known heartbreak and really needs to matter to her mate?

Berserkers are one of the deadliest races, brutal fighters to the core. Ewan Brún is one of them, enslaved to the strongest of his kind who is out for vengeance against all in the vampire race when only few were guilty of sin against them. Planning escape from that servitude he fights in the underground paranormal arenas to put money aside to accomplish his goal. One night a vampire shows up and he’s inexplicably drawn to his mortal enemy but when in her presence the last thing he wants to do is kill her. There is something atypical about this sexy vampire and he doesn’t know what it is, the berserkers lost much through the ages including it appears their racial memory. She tells him they’re mates and he doesn’t believe it and sets out to use her for information but the more time he spends with her he feels the instinctual pull between them that his race had long forgotten, that he now wants to keep her and protect her is a serious dilemma and one which could cost him his life.

This paranormal world has serious political racial intrigue with many plots in motion of which only a few are seen here but others were implied, there are multiple points of view and lots of action and suspense to captivate the reader. There’s an age’s old vendetta driven by an obsessed madman, a romance born of the pairing of mortal enemies, demons really upset about losing money on the fights and much more. In this world magic exists as do witches, vampires, dhampirs, berserkers, shifters, sylphs, demons, fae, and don’t forget the unsuspecting humans.

As a reader I found myself wanting to read the stories missed as I was fascinated by the characters and depth of the storyline and felt there were things previously told that I should have known. I would have loved it if the author had included a recap of events, regardless this was a most enjoyable read.

An advanced reading copy was obtained from the publisher via NetGalley.

4.5 stars

The Wicked Vampire (Last True Vampire #6) by Kate Baxter is an exciting paranormal read. Sasha and Ewan should be mortal enemies but the mating bond has other ideas. Sasha is a female vampire always looking for the next big adventure. Ewan is a powerful berserker in a underground fight club. I love reading paranormal romances, and to have a berserker as a main character is brilliant! This is my first read by this author and the sixth in the series, but it can definitely be read as a stand alone. The author does a superb job of character and plot development with an intriguing and adventurous storyline. I'm just sad that I somehow missed the first five books in the series. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for providing a copy for review.

Good bookbub. FAst paced and thrilling the book takes you thru numerous twists and turns!

Wicked Vampire by Kate Baxter features Sasha and Ewan, a vampire and a berserker. Two enemy factions for centuries. One with a crazy leader who even treats his own kind with violence and fear.

Sasha went a little wild after being turned and having Saeed leave town and find his mate. She gets to the point where the bar scene is getting kind of boring and her friend decides to show her some underground fighting in hopes of getting rid of Sasha’s boredom. First step into the building and she finds herself tethered. Her soul returned. Her surprise turns to dread when she realizes it is a berserker that has tethered her. Up until this point Sasha just thought she was being trouble. Now she’s in BIG trouble.

Ewan is already defying his master. He’s fighting in he underground fights to earn some money to try and get free of Gregor. Gregor hoards all the money, making the berserkers live in squalor to further his cause against the vampires. Ewan and his cousin Drew are sick of it. However, Ewan does get caught when his fascination with a vampire is shown publicly and word gets around as to where he has been. Now he needs to do some smooth talking to keep Gregor from catching onto his plan and taking all of his money. He offers to use Sasha to gain information on the vampire covens so Gregor can make plans for attack.

The two start seeing each other and try to balance the inner turmoil of a berserker who does not know how to show love and a vampire who is desperate to be loved. Their feelings get tested when some demons get tired of losing money in the fights and want Ewan to throw a fight. In other words, let himself be killed. Now the two must figure out what they are willing to do for each other.

I went into the story thinking I was going to like Sasha. And I do. But she wasn’t as sassy and sarcastic as I thought she was going to be. She was more hurt from everything she’s gone through and is tired of being disregarded. She’s strong, don’t get me wrong, but she seemed more sad and hurt. Ewan is a great hero. I know berserkers are supposed to be like, the most hated species, but Ewan and his determination to get away from Gregor made him different. He took shit from every direction and kept a smile on his face. He was frustrated with himself when he couldn’t express his feelings, but I fell in love with this berserker.

There was some good action with the demons, and the mystery surrounding Gregor and his plans is continued through this series. I definitely recommend reading The Lost Vampire first. It will help to understand a little of what is going on with the characters in Gregor’s storyline. It has been awhile for me since I read it so I was a little bit lost in that area. I actually wish I had of done a reread of The Lost Vampire first, or maybe that Gregor’s part in the previous book was explained more. I remembered Saeed and Cerys and Rin’s parts, but not Gregor.

I was also disappointed that we didn’t get to see many of the other vampires from the previous books. Lucas does play a part, but we don’t even get to see Mikhail’s reaction to Sasha and Ewan’s bond.

I’m definitely glad to see Sasha and Ewan get their HEA. Their romance made the story. I didn’t feel like the demons made very formidable enemies, but really, they are fighting a berserker and a vampire. They really didn’t have too much of a chance. It seems Gregor still has some deal with Saeed, that I can’t remember, going on and I think that will continue on into our next few books.

This is the first book I've read in this series and the author. I can't really tell if I'm missing anything or not but that's a good thing right?

I love the idea of a beserker in a story. Never read anything of the sort but I play video games with them in it so it reeled me in real quick!

I love the "taboo" nature of the relationship of a vampire and beserker. But what I liked most is that even though the characters are so different they mesh well. Ewan comes off as a jerk in the beginning but he grows gradually and so well. Sasha was pretty much a badass even though she let others make her feel otherwise.

I love the style of writing in this. I got to see others point of views and it helped since I don't know what previous books contained.

Overall this was awesome!

Another epic instalment into the paranormal world where vengeance is common, lust is always there and finding your mate is the norm.

I am a huge paranormal romance fan largely for the imaginations of the authors who write in this genre. I can now add Kate Baxter to my list of go-to’s for PNR. I really liked this book. The storyline had a great flow largely in part to the well thought and well developed characters that just kept everything moving at a nice pace. It’s a lot of fun actually and our H/h, Ewan and Sasha had incredibly sizzling hot chemistry. This made for some super hot and steamy scenes. They were so good together even though in reality they should not have been. Sasha never backs away from danger and Ewan is just gob-smacked and powerless to resist Sasha. But that’s love and attraction, it can’t always be put into a nice neat little box. I know there are many books I need to go back in read in this series but I feel as though this book stood on its own just fine.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is one where it’s all on me and I didn’t realise it was book 6 in a series, so for now this is on the back burner until I’ve caught up. This is absolutely no reflection on the author, she has a fabulous voice and the fact I’ve just grabbed the previous 5 books is testament to to the standard of writing I read in the first few chapters here.

Let me first start off saying I have not read any other book in this series. You can read this book as a stand alone though I did not know what everything the book was talking about but it did not deter from the book at all. I'm pretty sure this book has every supernatural creature in it. This book is about Sasha finding her mate. Her mate is not what everyone else thinks should be her mate but he is the exact right person for her. There is violence, sex scenes and romance along with a story to pretty much save the supernatural kind. I did enjoy this book and would others in this series.


*Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this for my honest opinion*

**My thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

Another epic instalment into the paranormal world where vengeance is common, lust is always there and finding your mate is the norm.

Sasha is one of Saeeds head of security and since his turning and return with his mate, Sasha has decided that she needs some her time and goes out in search of some excitement, pretty much leaving her duties behind her. It is following the excitement she craves that she first sees Ewan, a berserker trying to forge his own path.

Through the tether they soon find that things may not always be as they seem and that by trusting each other and talking to each other they are stronger and can accomplish more.

Both find a new sense of family and security that they never felt before, especially when it comes to being loved. A new sensation to both of them.

I really cannot wait to see what happens next in the series and who will get a HEA next.

I received a copy of this e-book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Sasha is a Vampire and bored with life. One night she goes to a supernatural fight club with her friend and this night will change her life...

She meets Ewan this night and they are tethered...bonded as soul mates. They are automatically drawn to one another which is a no-no. Ewan is a berserker, a dark warrior who was born to kill. There is a backstory to the Berserkers and the Vampires, just know that they are natural enemies and Ewan should have automatically killed her. This doesn't happen though.

Ian, Ewan's leader, is a cruel man. He doesn't know Ewan fights and would not be happy but Ewan hopes to get away from him once he saves some money because he doesn't really believe in Ian's cause anymore.

Sasha lives with her coven and her life is just the opposite. She has basically whatever she wants with no questions asked while Ewan has grown up in abandoned buildings, eating whatever is around.

Sasha and Ewan continue their relationship but hiding it from her coven, his leader and the demon's who are upset with Ewan because he wins all his fights and has lost the demon leader thousands and thousands of dollars.

I did enjoy this story. talk about opposites attracting! Ewan was raised to be a killer, he doesn't know anything about love or soft words or holding someone in your arms after making love. He doesn't believe in a "tethering" but after awhile he has to consider it because he feels like Sasha has "become part of his DNA", his words.

This couple has so many obstacles to get through if they want to be together.

I received an ARC from Netgally in exchange for an honest review.
I have enjoyed this series. I was particularly intrigued with this matchup. A vampire and a beserker--sworn enemies. How was this going to work? I did not like the initial "romance"--Ewan was basically slaking his lust and refusing any thought that this was his mate. Sasha I felt sorry for--she really had no choice in the matter. However, true love eventually wins out. How will this play out in the beserker war against vampires? Only more books will tell.
I recommend reading the other books in this series in order to get a more complete picture.

This is the first book by Kate Baxter that I have read and I got it through NetGalley. It was enjoyable, passionate (refreshingly so due to my most recent NetGalley reads), had strong characters, an interesting plot, a detailed conflict and villain, and the emotional turmoil that I am so hungry for in my romances. The characters had obstacles they had to overcome in order to get to their happily ever after, and it kept me hungry for more. I will definitely go back and read more from this series from the start since this is book 6 in the series. Loved Ewan, his character and personality appealed to me a lot, and Sasha was strong enough to be his match in everything, yet still have a vulnerability that Ewan had to win over in the end. Loved the whole story from start to finish.

Sasha and Ewan are mortal enemies but somethings happens when the first see each other,they become tethered to each other,that is when the trouble begins.
Great story,drama,action,angst and passion.
This is in the Last vampire series.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Wicked Vampire. Kate Baxter is a lovely writer and her world building and character development are always so strong. I loved the romance between the two main leads and how they overcame the obstacles to their relationship.

This book can be read as a standalone; however it would probably be a good idea to have read at least the first couple of books first. I have previously read books 1-3 in the Last True Vampire series and it stood me in good stead for this one. Having said that, it is possible to read this book on its own and still enjoy it.

So fantastic, AWESOME, exciting! Totally just exceeds expectations!!!!

The Wicked Vampire was another fantastic vampire romance by Ms. Baxter. They just keep getting better.

Okay.... Let's be brutal honest here: I think the cover is the best part of the book. The cover was promising, the blurb sounded real good, the reviews so far have been great. But when after only one chapter Ewan was bending Sasha over for a 'wham-bam-thank-you-maam' without even knowing her name, just because they had tethered (it took me another chapter to realize what this was), I had my first doubt.

Yes, I like paranormal books, about vampires, werewolves and other supernatural beings. So if I meet a new kind, in this case Ewan the berserker, I'm looking forward to meeting him. And although Ewan had his moments, he was mostly one killing machine. And if he wasn't killing anybody, then someone was trying to kill him. But since he is nearly indestructible, his enemies tend to slice him up again and again.

So after yet another beating to a bloody pulp, with broken bones and hanging limps I really got bored. I guess I'm more of a Disney paranormal romance kind of girl and not a bloody Rambo paranormal romance kind of girl.

And still, even when I didn't want to read about the bloodshed any longer, I had to finish the book, to see whether Sasha and Ewan would end up together or not. And therefore not one, but two out of five stars from me. With a thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.