With the cohesive characters and fast paced writing, this was the perfect book for me. It piqued my interest from the beginning and left me wanting to know what comes next for Baz and Nika.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this first instalment and look forward to the next chapter.

Thanks to NetGalley, and Julie Rowe for providing an ARC for an honest review.

Are you in to vampires, damsels in distress, and/or cop soap/dramas? This book would be for you.

The story starts off rather slow, and kind of picks up pace toward the middle, but it lost me a bit in the beginning and I'm not sure if it ever really recaptured my attentions. The different spin on vampires in this story was intriguing, but it just wasn't enough to keep me entertained. I ended up DNF'ing about half way in.

Thanks to NetGalley, and author Julie Rowe for providing an ARC for review.

If you like vampire novels, the damsel in distress trope, or cop dramas this is definitely one you should check out! It was a bit slow to start, but as I read I definitely became attached to the characters. It was an interesting read, and played out differently than I had imagined in my head while reading the synopsis. I really enjoyed watching the relationship between Baz and Nika blossom, their banter made me laugh. I also really liked the different take on vampires and their origin story.

However, I felt this book was quite rushed, and the ending unsatisfying, but not in a cliff-hanger type of way. And at times the dialogue seemed disjointed and unnatural.

Overall I really liked this book and would be interested in reading the second!

I really enjoyed this read.

I absolutely loved the chemistry between Baz and Nika and loved watching their relationship blossom. I also found the banter between Baz and Yvgeny absolutely hilarious.

The story line was great and had me gripped all the way through. I definitely look forward to reading more of this series!

Well this was so completely unexpectedly amazing! I honestly not sure how they were able to turn this cab driver in my mental picture to this completely hot vampire, but it happened. I did enjoy the complexity that was the back story from human trafficking to the “family business “. She’s a tough chick that doesn’t take crap but at the same time I was rooting for her and I truly enjoyed all the emotions this book took me on.

I read the blurb on this, and I was excited to try this even though the cover looks more like just a paranormal romance which I don’t mind, but I like a little suspense, too. At first, I was a little concerned about liking this. Baz just seemed like a character I wasn’t going to like. However, not long after he interferes with Nika’s police investigation, things really pick up, and this became a fun, action-filled, entertaining read. It lightens up a little, and we find out so much about Baz, his past, and he really becomes a tortured hero. There isn’t a huge amount of romance, but there is some. I really enjoyed this, and I’m looking forward to finding out more about Baz’s family, especially Yvgeny; he’s a such a hoot in his interactions with Nika and Baz. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

This is a vampire romance and, although some of the ideas and themes aren't new, it felt fresh and vibrant. Baz is a very very old vampire who has lived through a lot of trauma and caused his own fair share of it in others. Once he was one of the most powerful vampires alive, now he drives a cab and only drinks blood from people who are drunk (which turns out to be pretty toxic to vampires). When he saves a waitress, who turns out to be an undercover cop, from some folks that want her for more than just human trafficking reasons.

Nika is definitely a badass. She is smart, tough, and really cares a lot about helping people. I totally want to be her when I grow up. I loved watching her navigate the grey and murky waters of what was going on and how Baz and his family related to that. She pretty much just takes everything in stride and moves past it - with purpose in every step she takes.

Overall - I truly enjoyed this start to a new series and can't wait to read more.

I received this via NetGalley as an ARC but these opinions are all my own.

Baz has been alive for a hundred of years, and lost his wife and child to homicide hundreds of years before, after going Hannibal lecture for wayyy to long and killing a shit ton of people, he finally stops out of it and decides to pay some sort of messed penitence for his crimes by living the same dull boring life day in and day out as a yellow taxi driver….


Baz who still looks to be in his twenty’s to thirty’s due to his unique “sickness” that keeps him young, heathy and basically impossible to kill, uses his only weakness to basically keep himself from going postal again, he drinks only the blood of the drunk patrons from the bar before he drops them off. Alcohol being his weakness, it’s legit like drinking acid.

He sticks to his routine, go to the bar, drive people home, repeat.. until one night he notices the new waitress being followed by two men with bad intention’s… Baz decides to switch it up and play knight in shining taxi cab and goes to her rescue… except she didn’t want rescue… Nika is an undercover cop trying to find out more about the human trafficking operation that has taken a-lot of women over seas where they turn up dead and that was her opening to “getting taken” with a tracker.

Baz thinks this plan is insane, they could remove the tracker… he tells her plan is weak and if she does get taken she will probably not be found… Nika try’s to talk to her superiors and cancel the undercover op but to her surprise the people trying to kidnap her, keep on coming!

Now add in one funny as hell cousin of Baz who’s basically a crime boss( I want a story for him next) police corruption, multiple attempts of abduction, murder, vampire-sickness- politics and some steamy AF smut and you’ll get this book in a nut shell.

Legit a great action packed read for anyone wanting a different kind of vampire novel with some added in cop drama!

Do you like a damsel in distress tropes? Do you like cop dramas? well, this has both!

This is my first time reading this author's works, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The cover and previous experience with similar-themed books had me skeptical about this one. However, I am so glad I read this because it was a really enjoyable read.

My first impression of this was great, the author weaves the story well so that you jump into Joe's grungy New York diner with little need to think about it. I got a real sense of who Bazilyi " Baz" was early on, definitely brooding tortured type. I honestly think I liked his female love-interest the most. Nika is a no-nonsense undercover cop who is tough as nails. While these books usually leave the female helpless and in need of rescue, she uses her training and fights back when faced with danger. I liked that she wasn't written as incapable and is believable as a cop and does what a cop would do for the most part when facing attackers.

You will however need to suspend your disbelief with how quickly she spills all the beans about her super secret sex trafficking police operation to Baz a civilian who rescued her one time. The plot is full of action and challenges for Baz and Nika to try to figure out, and later his cousin Yvgeny joins in complicating things further and offering aid in his own way. I think I would have appreciated a bit more sleuthing and a bit less fighting, TBH. However, overall I wasn't disappointed with how things went.

If you are looking for something heavy on the romance side, i'd say this was only lukewarm, there is a romance and there is sex but it's not the focus of the story, it's more off to the side of the main plot line. Both Baz and Nika are thinking a lot about how much they care for each other, but I was just lacking a sense of heat or genuine chemistry between them. It works, it makes sense on paper, but it's not particularly spicy for me, it lacks a spark.

If you're a fan of police/ detective dramas and paranormal, this is definitely up your alley.

I received this book for an honest review through Netgalley, and with approval from the Author and independent publisher. Publication date is March 15, 2023.

Someone is kidnapping women and Nika wants them stopped. Nika is a cop and is currently undercover as a waitress, to tempt the kidnappers. Baz drives and lives out of his taxi. He is considered a good guy by a lot of people but they don't know the real him. Baz contracted the " Sweating Sickness " centuries ago and is a vampire. His wife and son were murdered long ago and he is "trying" to kill himself.
When Baz sees Nika walking home and two guys start following her, he follows and helps. What he doesn't realize is it was a sting operation and he has stepped right in the middle. They arrive at the police station and gunshots are fired. Several are killed and Baz protects Nika and her partner. Someone is determined to take Nika and Has is just as determined to not let them. Will Nika be able to live with what Baz really is?

Excellent story. Some parts had me cracking up. Baz is trying to drink himself into oblivion. Nika is smart and very capable of taking care of herself. I can't wait to read the next one. A little sex. Mystery. Secrets. And a little bloody.

* Received a copy from Netgalley and voluntarily read and reviewed it *

First, I wanted to thank NetGalley and anyone else who had a hand in me receiving this book in exchange for an honest review.

Secondly, I wanted to add that I read this in one sitting. It was only around 200 pages (on my iPad mini), and I just devoured it. It had me laughing out loud and in absolute stitches.

A little bit about the book, it's based around a cabby who isn't your typical taxi driver. He is old, and I mean like OLD. He is a vampire who has been outcasted from his ancient family for a few choices he made in his past. In his defence, his wife and child were slaughtered, and he went down a dark and drunk spiral. Now he has involuntarily been trusted into an undercover operation to uncover some criminal activity. Where we meet a sparky undercover cop. And if there if that doesn't already interest you, I don't know if I could say anything else.

This book is a witty, funny, well-rounded fantasy-romance-mystery-thriller, it's got a bit of everything and makes for a really exciting read.

4.5 stars

I wasn't entirely sure about this story at first. It seemed dark, and not in a particularly redeemable way. Baz, our hero, seemed a little too tortured, downtrodden to the point he was (sort of) alcoholic and content being unhoused, sleeping in his taxi's trunk. Nika came off better, a hard-nosed cop willing to put her life in the line to stop a trafficking ring. The book was so well written though, so I gave it a chance. I'm glad I did. Somehow, into the darkness, the author managed to incorporate a lovely tenderness between Baz and Nika, as well as a ridiculously funny, bantering relationship between Baz and his cousin Ygveny.

I many ways, the vampires in this book are no different from those in other paranormal romantic suspense novels. Uber strong, unable to eat or drink anything besides blood, uncomfortable (at minimum) in sunlight, and supremely hard to kill. But they're so much more than that here. They're a dying race, weakened largely by the fact that not just anyone can survive being turned--it's a genetic thing. And their very survival depends on being able to fly under the radar, but their inability to fully grasp the speed of modern technology means that staying out of the spotlight is increasingly hard. It all makes for a fresh, intriguing read.

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series tremendously. Super fun ride.

I received an ARC of this book for free from the publisher and Netgalley. I'm writing this review voluntarily, and it reflects my honest opinion. Thanks!

I loved this story, it isn't your usual vampire story and has a decent plot to it. I loved the storyline and that Vampire Baz, a down and out Taxi driver, feels that the people in his area are *his*. Baz witnesses an abduction attempt on Nika, a local diner waitress, and intervenes, to protect those in *his* area..

Baz sees her quickly changing demeanor and learns that he has interrupted a sting operation. They explain that woman have been disappearing for a while and he explains why the sting wont work.

This is an engaging, well written read, with great characters, plot and a few unexpected turns..

A big thank you to NetGalley and the author/Independent Publishers Assoc. for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I really enjoyed this book. It seemed very different and was amusing. I liked the characters. Baz is a disillusioned vampire, who ends up saving Nika not once or twice but three times!! 4 stars

Baz is a vampire who drives cabs in NYC, he is an alcoholic who sleeps in his car and believes he is the most evil creature. Rescuing Nika, an undercover cop from a human trafficking ring his life changes overnight. Can Baz help Nika unearth this human trafficking ring?

This book was a bit slow to start for me and I didn't know if I was going to enjoy this but I thoroughly did! I loved the complex past of Baz, the strong headed Nika and the hilarious cousin Yvgeny. This brought all my favorite themes together in one book: romance, fantasy and crime fighting. There were some parts that I wish were a bit more flushed out and felt a bit rushed but overall I did really enjoy this book!

Much thanks to NetGallery and Julie Rowe for an early copy in exchange for my honest review!

I had a great time reading this, it was such a suspenseful read and had that great tense atmosphere that I look for. Sinner’s Secret is a great paranormal read filled with twists and turns that will keep you occupied the whole time.