Book 68, 2018

[chez_jae]

Ethan's Mate by J.S. Scott

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



After finishing one book last night, I started (and finished!) an ebook novella. It was Ethan's Mate by JS Scott, and it is the first story in the author's "Vampire Coalition" series.

Ethan Hale is a 500 year-old vampire who works for the Vampire Coalition, protecting humans from the fallen--vampires who kill and enjoy it. Ethan has given up on finding his mate, the human woman destined for him, the one who carries his soul. He is taken by surprise, therefore, when his mate calls to him. When Ethan finds Brianna, however, he is almost too late. She is dying of what has been diagnosed as leukemia, but in reality is her life force fading because she has yet to bond with her vampire mate. Ethan is overjoyed to find her, but reluctant to subject Brianna to the violent, dominant mating ritual that will be necessary to seal their bond. In addition, Brianna is being stalked by one of the fallen, and he is intent on killing her.

Hm. The author did some interesting things with vampires, including making them born (not changed) and all males, awaiting their human female mates. It was a short, chaptered story, which means the author wasn't able to include much world building, but some things were touched on and not explained that annoyed me. For one, if Ethan (or any other vampire) was not aware of his mate until she called out to him in her dreams, how did the fallen vampire manage to find her? For another, being with Ethan restored Brianna's good health, but no mention was made of her family's reaction to her "miraculous recovery". Third, the mating ritual had to be witnessed? Really? That was a big squick for me.

Favorite line: "I'll show you your own asshole."

Sex was hot and erotic, but my logic!brain cried over some of this. Giving it an average score of three:

***