Night's Cold Kiss by Tracey O'Hara

I just finished Night's Cold Kiss by Tracey O'Hara. Almost from the start, I didn't want to put it down. It's the type of book hooks you right from the first page, and makes you want to stay up all night, and then call in sick to work to finish.

Antoinette Petrescu is a Venator (vampire hunter). As a child she saw her mother get murdered, and has spent her life killing the creatures responsible. Now, as a serial killer is murdering women, Antoinette has to team up with the creatures she despised to bring him down.

One thing that I look for when I'm reading a new urban fantasy, or paranormal romance is a distinct new world. I always want to see how well an author is able to establish the environment their characters inhabit. O'Hara is able to do that from the start. She has a fresh take on vampires, and is able to explain it easily. If the reader isn't sure, there's a glossary in the back that helps explains things as well. The supporting characters are just as great. I fell in love with Viktor pretty quickly.

Antoinette is my favorite type of heroine. She's had a rough past, and seem some darkness. She's rash, and makes terrible decisions because she's always acting before thinking. She's a lot like Rachel Morgan in Kim Harrison's series, and Joanna Archer in Vicki Pettersson's series. Although there are similarities to the lives of all three of those heroines, Antoinette doesn't come off as a carbon copy. She's got her own personality, and her own character.

This one definitely falls more under the umbrella of paranormal romance than urban fantasy. There's more hardened nipples and throbbing manhood in this one compared to Harrison and Pettersson. That's not really my thing, but the sex adds to the story. It doesn't seemed forced or just thrown in.

If you like your UF/PR on the dark side, with lots of action and a strong, slightly broken heroine, this book is for you. Think more Joanne Archer and less Sookie Stackhouse.

I was lucky enough to get an Advanced Reader Copy of the book from work. Night's Cold Kiss is being released on August 25th. Do yourself a favor and pick it up! It's already creating a well deserved buzz, and I think Tracey O'Hara is one of genre's most exciting new authors!